English language learners come to Northern Kentucky from over 20 countries. When they get here, many find their way to Gateway Adult Education in-person or online classes.
In fact, Gateway Adult Education director Gina DeWard told LINK nky that English language students make up a whopping 75% of the agency’s adult education population.
“We have over 30 languages,” DeWard said, referring to the native languages spoken by students in Gateway’s ESL (English as a second language) program offered through Gateway Adult Education — a partnership between Gateway Community and Technical College and the Kentucky Office of Adult Education. “We have a large ESL population in all different demographics. That’s really fun and exciting when you see all the different types of students coming together in the same classrooms.”
But opportunities for in-person English language learning classes through Gateway have been somewhat limited. For now, the only options are in-person classes in Florence, online ESL classes and some options through local businesses.
Enter Covington, where Gateway will start offering in-person English classes starting this August. The in-person classes will be held at the Gateway TIE building (Center for Technology, Innovation and Enterprise) at 516 Madison Ave. Orientation starts in July.
And like all ESL and GED (high school equivalency diploma) services through Gateway Adult Education, classes will be free to students.
The Covington classes are intended to serve a large number of English language learners in NKY’s urban core, said DeWard. Gateway decided to embark on the expansion after working with Kentucky Refugee Ministries – a resettlement agency that serves thousands of immigrants and refugees annually through its locations in Covington, Louisville and Lexington.
“We decided to do that because we know there are lots of people in the ESL population that are living in the city versus out in Hebron – although there are a lot of ESL individuals there as well,” DeWard told LINK nky. “And because we are working closely with KRM [Kentucky Refugee Ministries] in Covington. So it’s kind of a partnership we have created with them.”
Kentucky Refugee Ministries clients start ESL classes soon after arriving in the U.S. Other services like job workshops help connect newcomers to the workforce to ensure that “they can support themselves and their family,” according to the nonprofit.
Different levels of English proficiency
English language learners at Gateway are at different stages of English proficiency when they arrive in NKY, DeWard told LINK nky. Some need to learn the basics, others are more advanced. Each student is assessed and assigned to one of multiple class levels based on that assessment.
Each class is taught for five weeks. When the class is over, the student is assessed again “just to make sure they are learning some of the things we think they should learn and that they want to learn,” said DeWard.
Family, friends and translation tools on phones and computers help bridge the language divide between instructor and student.
“We teach 100% in English. A lot of times, if they don’t understand something, they will speak to their friends or family who have come to class with them to get clarification,” DeWard told LINK nky. “But you would be truly amazed at how immersive everyone becomes at speaking English as the class progresses,” she said.
Dembele Birama’s story
Dembele Birama is a Gateway Adult Education student from Mauritania who speaks five languages (French, Arabic and three languages native to his home country) and is now learning English. He arrived in NKY with a college degree and computer certification from Mauritania but intends to get his GED through Gateway and pursue work either in IT or driving large machinery.
Birama said in a statement that he left Mauritania “because of a lot of discrimination and racism and no equality rights. We were victims – and I don’t want my children to experience this at all. I want to be free to do what I want to do. Most importantly, I want to keep my family safe in the U.S.”
His goal of earning a GED is often encouraged by Gateway Adult Education as a next step for English language learners, said DeWard – whether they have a degree from their home country or not. She said a lot of students take that step.
“We do try to encourage them sometimes if they are thinking about postsecondary in the U.S. that earning that GED could be a helpful way to make sure they have the academic knowledge to be successful,” she said.
Immigrants and refugees interested in Gateway’s English language learner classes who may be concerned about citizenship status need not worry, said DeWard. That’s important to keep in mind when arriving for orientation, where everyone is asked to fill out an enrollment form.
“Citizenship status does not matter at all,” she said. “Our enrollment form has a social security number line on it but it does not have to be filled out, so we always make that very clear to make everyone feel comfortable at orientation.”
According to the website of the Kentucky Office of Adult Education — the agency that oversees adult education programs statewide — all English language learners are provided with “comfortable learning methods and environments in which students get the skills and tools necessary to help them adapt successfully to life in Kentucky.”
“Our experienced adult educators enjoy working with adult students of all nationalities and backgrounds,” the agency said.
Additional information about Gateway adult education programs—including ESL and GED—is available on the Northern Kentucky Adult Education website, by calling the ESL line at 859-442-1695 or the GED general information line at 859-442-1186, or by emailing info@nkyae.org.