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ESL Center
The Linguistics Department at Oakland University in cooperation with the Hispanic Outreach Services of Pontiac (now a division of Catholic Social Services) runs a community outreach program to provide English language skills to Spanish-speaking residents in the Pontiac area. Oakland University graduate and undergraduate students do their student teaching in English as a Second Language at Hispanic Outreach, gaining valuable teaching experience and the sense of accomplishment that comes with community service. [Below right, Denise Klungle introduces her advanced ESL students to computers and the web.] 
The program was begun in 1998-99 as a pilot project of the new Center for American English. Graduate students in the Department's English as a Second Language (ESL) Certificate Program provided the instruction under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. During this pilot period, the program was sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences at Oakland University with the support and encouragement of Dean David Downing. Background, goals, and features of the Hispanic Outreach Program are detailed below. Among the foreign-born, the Hispanic population is the fastest growing group in the U.S. While areas of the south and southwest have seen the largest growth, the number of Hispanic individuals in Michigan and in Oakland County has grown as well. According to the 1990 census, there were 7,000 Hispanic residents in Pontiac. Current estimates put the number at above 10,000. Many of these individuals are first-generation residents and for most Spanish is their native language. In response to this local need, during the 1998-99 academic year, the Linguistics Department inaugurated the Hispanic Outreach Program. The program addresses the language difficulties of the Hispanic community by providing ESL and literacy intervention strategies. 
The mission of the Program is to teach English to members of the local Hispanic community so that they can better understand American culture and customs, secure or advance in employment, and become fully participating members of American society. The Program is an initiative of the Linguistics Department's ESL Center, supported by the College of Arts and Sciences and administered in cooperation with Catholic Social Services of Pontiac. Student-teachers in the Linguistics Department's ESL teacher training program provide the English-language instruction under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. [Above right, students in Kevin Wilson's evening class work together in groups.] Yearly surveys indicate that the vast majority of participants feel that the English classes help them in the workplace, and many also feel that improved English skills will help them either obtain employment or advance in their current position. Participants report that they use their English skills to help their children with homework and to interact with teachers and other professionals. Some career counseling is incorporated into the classroom lessons and those that graduate from the highest level of the program are referred to the Pontiac Michigan Works office for additional training. Approximately half of the participants achieve sufficient mastery in the advanced level class such that many of them no longer need assistance to function effectively in the English speaking community. The remaining students typically continue to work on their English language skills until they too reach fluency. Nearly all public school districts offer free ESL through their adult education divisions. The Hispanic Outreach Program distinguishes itself from these programs in three ways - through access to its services, through provision of a program in a linguistically homogeneous setting, and through adaptation to the specific needs of the Hispanic community. Each is described below. Access Students are often unable to take advantage of traditional ESL programs because of difficulties with transportation (lack of public transportation, personal vehicles, or drivers licenses), childcare for their pre-school children, and time schedules. The program addresses all of these issues. In cooperation with the League's Hispanic Outreach Services, transportation is coordinated. Private funds for the program are used to pay for on-site day care for the participants' pre-school children and for books and supplies needed for instruction. Finally, classes are offered at two convenient times -- during the morning, when older children are in school, and during the evening, after the work day has finished. Linguistic Homogeneity ESL classes offered by traditional adult education programs are necessarily heterogeneous, serving students of many different native languages and cultural backgrounds. Often students' attitudes towards instruction vary, affecting the way they interact with each other and with the teacher. As a result of this heterogeneity, ESL instructors in community programs are unable to address in-depth the linguistic or socio-cultural needs of any particular language group. This is particularly detrimental to progress at the beginning level and has negative consequences for language retention. [Below right, graduate student Helen Kehr with her elementary ESL class.] 
Homogeneous ESL instructional settings allow instructors to directly contrast the native language with the target language. At the elementary level, this encourages peer learning - students are far better able to help one another if they can communicate with one another. In addition, students who have a common cultural background share the same differences with the culture in which they are trying to assimilate. The instructor can focus on issues faced by these students as part of the ESL instruction, including the legal, education and health care systems. Meeting Identified Needs of the Hispanic Community The students share a first language, a culture and a community. All need to learn English so that they can interact effectively in the community, assimilate into the mainstream, and secure employment. These goals are most effectively accomplished by focusing on oral proficiency, basic reading skills and grammar within the context of conversation and discussion that uses authentic language materials. Hispanic Outreach students are grouped according to their English skills, ranging from beginner to advanced. By grouping students with similar needs, classroom activities and materials can be built around the situations the students are most likely to encounter. During its eight years of operation, the Program has received financial support from the College of Arts and Sciences, corporations, and local government agencies. Gifts and grants are used for books and other educational materials, childcare, facility rental fees and the faculty coordinator. During the first year, the Program was entirely supported by the Linguistics Department and the College of Arts and Sciences of Oakland University. In its second year of operation, 1999-2000, funding for the Hispanic Outreach Program also came from Haden, International with a gift of $25,000. General Motors Corporation has been the major sponsor in recent years, contributing $20,000 in 2001-02, and $25,000 for 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05. During the 2003-04 and 2004-05 academic years, the Program also received support through a $25,000 grant from the Michigan Works Program. In the first year, the students, most of whom were women, were transported to the
University for instruction by graduate students. Their children were cared for
by childcare workers back at the Pontiac Area Urban League office. At the time,
there were only four regular participants. To increase participation, in the
winter of 2000, the Program was moved to the Hispanic Outreach Services office
that houses the Hispanic Outreach Services, a site that was familiar to the
students. In addition, the Director of Hispanic Outreach Services in Pontiac,
Carlos Marcillo, and his assistant, Josie Rigail, were known and
trusted members of the Hispanic community, as were the child care workers provided
through the program.
Registration, Location and Timing of Classes
Classes follow the yearly academic semester schedule of Oakland University for Fall, Winter, and Spring classes. Registration and placement is held during the first week of these semesters during the regular class meeting times. Classes meet twice a week -- on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-12 and on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-8 in the evening. | ||||||||
