English as a Second Language
Mission Statement
After taking Dickinson's Created Spanish class called "Health for the Spanish Profession" Jess Ruhlman and Ozzy Aguirre created this new club in the Spring of 2005. The class requires a large amount of volunteer hours translating for migrant workers in medical settings. After this experience they realized how much that community could benefit from ESL classes. ESL's mission is to provide a weekly free service of English lessons to the Spanish speaking community in Adam's County.
Events
Once per week Dickinson students travel a half an hour to teach a group of adults and English according to their needs. The club also offers to watch any children while parents take the lessons.
Effectiveness
ESL can see small improvements weekly. This group gives college students the opportunity to teach while the ESL students practice their English. Class begins in lecture format where 15-30 minutes are spent going over concepts to be covered that night. The class then breaks apart and Dickinson students get the chance to work one-on-one with a student.
Problems/Dilemmas
One problem is that ESL do not have the resources to provide this service through out the week. The students could benefit much more if classes were Monday - Friday or even twice a week, but unfortunatly at this time classes are only held once. Because of this many students forget a decent amount of the material from class to class.
