English as a Second Language

When it comes to taking language lessons, Maria Gonzalez may be too busy. But it seems that many others find the time.

Public libraries in Washington Heights offer free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Some non-profit community organizations, like Alianza Dominicana and the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, also have ESL programs.

PHOTO: MARTA FERRER In Washington Heights, even streets have bilingual names.

Estelle Friedman, who is in charge of coordinating the ESL classes at the Fort Washington Public Library at 179th Street says the classes are extremely popular.

"During the first day of registration the line is out the door," says Friedman. "But we can only allow 20 students in each class."

Students must pass a test to make sure they are at a basic level, according to Friedman. One of the teachers, Yooni Yon, says that her class — which meets twice a week from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. — is 100% Hispanic, mostly Dominican.

"The younger generation students haven't been here [in the United States] for very long," says Yon, "while the older students have been here a very, very long time."

What motivates them, according to Yon, is finding a better life for themselves, maybe find a better job. "Some work as taxi drivers or in restaurants and many are unemployed. They are unemployed because they don't speak English," says Yon, 26, who is originally from Korea but learned English at a very young age.

Actually, Yon finds that her students are pretty motivated. "I'm surprised that they even show up for class after working all day."

Because of the language barrier, Yon has not been able to communicate much with her students on a personal level. However, she has been around them enough to know that their lives are " tougher than we can imagine."

Something else that motivates Yon's students is being able to talk with their children, whose Spanish is as poor as their parents' English. "Some of the students have children that grew up here and only speak English," says Yon. "This means that they [the parents] have to learn English so that they can communicate with their kids."

For Maria Gonzalez, this is not a problem. Although her two kids learned to speak perfect English in school, they still talk with their Dominican parents in Spanish.

"Maybe they can teach me how to speak English!" jokes Gonzalez.

At Home in Nueva York

Staying Local

English as a Second Language

Did you know?
35.3 million	The nation's Hispanic population according to Census 2000
2.2 million	New York City's total Hispanic Population, the largest of any city in the nation.
417,816	Hispanic Population in Manhattan
154,394	Hispanic Population in Washington Heights and Inwood
21.4 million	The number of Spanish-speaking adults 18 and over living in the United States in 2000—one- tenth of the adult population.
39%	Percentage of the Hispanic population that was foreign born in 2000.
15%	Percent of all U.S. immigrants that settle in New York City
35%	Percentage of New York City's population that is foreign born, not including Puerto Ricans
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000