Volunteer Explorer

One thing I never really think about in the ESOL classes where I volunteer is politics. Of course, last year when I learned that Project Learn changed all of its classes to a schedule of six weeks on--two weeks off, due to budget constraints, I knew it was a political decision. But generally, the refugees I work with do not have the vocabulary to discuss politics, and that is more than fine by me. The time in these classrooms is an oasis for me, a tightly-focused escape from all the irritating realities of everyday life, a bubble of time and space dedicated only to vocabulary and syntax. Last Tuesday, that bubble was burst by the City of Akron. Have you heard about the sales tax increase the city wants to put on this November’s ballot?   Have you heard about the new sports arena The University of Akron and the city want to build downtown? Have you heard about how the tax increase is linked to paying for both the new arena and safety services, like police and fireme...

The man whose office is off the conference room where we have ESOL class is very, very patient and tolerant. We are not generally a quiet group. This week, I kept my half of our class working on the alphabet. I brought in a set of “tactile” letters from Project Learn, cards of single capital letters that are made of various materials, like fuzzy pipe cleaners or velvet or thick foam. I also brought in a canister of small plastic letter tiles, so the students could search for letters and match what I wrote on the board, then return the letters to the pile and start again. These were fun and got everybody out of their seats for a while. The side discussions in Nepali were overwhelming at times. Three new volunteers came to class this week: Joyce, a white woman just a little older than myself; Carmesha, a tall, twenty-something black woman with lots of eye make-up; and Rayshawna, a sixteen-year-old who goes to a year-round high school and volunteers for class credit. They have al...

Preposition usage is one of the most difficult aspects of learning a new language. When I studied French as an undergrad, my colleagues and I were always confused about which verbs require de after them and which require à . There was no rule for the choice, only an ambiguous guideline about the intent of the verb. Very French. English is crazy with preposition use. I once made the family I lived with in France laugh wildly by running down a partial list of how the meaning of the verb to get changes with different prepositions: we get up in the morning, get down with our bad selves, get in on a deal, get out of work, get over a loss, get under the covers, get around a problem, get to the point, get behind a candidate, get out in front of a crisis, but can’t get next to you, girl! Get it? So I can understand how confusing prepositions are for new speakers of English. I helped Rebecca’s class work on before and after this week. First, I wrote out the entire lower-case al...

It’s always unsettling for a woman alone in a secluded parking lot to encounter a loitering man who does not appear to be simply parking a car and going about his business. I don’t think most men understand how vulnerable women sometimes feel in situations like this. I’m certain the man I encountered Tuesday morning in the ASIA, Inc. parking lot doesn’t. He—tall, Caucasian, with thin, graying hair and wire-rim glasses—was standing between two of the half dozen or so minivans already parked in the gravel lot when I pulled in. The lot is secured inside a perimeter of chain link, but the low, burnt-out factories behind it create a bleak, lonely landscape. I’m glad I only come here during daylight hours. As I got out of my car, locked it, and walked along the chain-link fence toward the sidewalk by the street, I made particular eye contact with the stranger. “Morning,” I said, hoping he got my tacit message of I see you; what are you doing here? “Morning,” he replied. ...