La Escuela assists victims of injustice
Students teach ESL to Thai immigrants in innovative ways
By Jennifer K. Morita
Daily Bruin Staff
Gathering in a circle on a green and white straw mat, four women
from Thailand got out their notebooks and pens and looked
expectantly at the UCLA graduate student who is teaching them
English.
One woman reached for a book, pulled out a piece of paper and
said, "Teacher, I know my ABCs." Smacking the piece of paper onto
the mat, she pushed it toward her teacher, asking him to teach her
what is on the paper.
"What is your last name, first name, middle initial?" read Bruce
Baird. "What is your address?"
So he pulled out a large, spiral sketch book and, with scented
blue and pink markers, he began to teach.
Twice a week, using drawings, Dr. Seuss books and body language,
a group of UCLA students help about 20 Thai immigrants learn
English through a student-run program called La Escuela de la Raza,
which offers English language lessons to immigrants in Westwood and
Boyle Heights.
And on Tuesday and Thursday nights, the Thai immigrants – mostly
single, middle-aged women who work all day sewing clothes – gather
in a two-bedroom apartment in Boyle Heights for two hours,
struggling to learn a foreign language just to survive.
They laugh at their mistakes, covering their faces with their
hands or notebooks, hiding smiles and muffling giggles. But when
their teacher sat down, revealing his one blue sock and one yellow
sock, one of the Thai women pointed to first one foot and then the
next.
"Blue," she said, pointing to the blue sock. "Yellow."
And they all laughed.
"It’s amazing that people who had such a bad experience could
have such a positive attitude, and be enthusiastic about wanting to
learn about us and learn our language, even when American society
hasn’t been good to them," said La Escuela Director David Dashiell,
who is in charge of the Boyle Heights site.
Last summer, the Thai immigrants lived in an apartment building
behind a barbed wire fence with a guard. They were forced to work
about 15 hours a day in a garment factory for $1.60 an hour, until
a federal multi-agency task force raided their building in El
Monte, according to Chanchanit "Chancee" Martorell, director of the
Thai Community Development Center.
"Basically they were submitted to very deplorable conditions,"
Martorell said. "This is a situation where the workers were treated
like caged animals forced to work on a continual basis. They were
not free to come and go as they pleased.
"It was a slavery situation in which they were indentured
servants, working to pay off the debt of their passage to the
United States."
When former La Escuela Director Michelle Di Pilla heard their
story, she wanted to help.
"I pretty much decided that I was going to help them out in some
way," Di Pilla recalled. "I just thought it was so unjust and
anyway I could help I wanted to do it. I thought, I have experience
teaching ESL; it’s what I do well and it’s what I love, so this is
what I’m going to do."
She proposed the idea to the other La Escuela volunteers and, in
October, they added the Thai immigrants’ apartment to their other
teaching sites in Puente and Westwood.
"This was a totally new experience because I had only taught ESL
to Spanish speakers and I speak Spanish," Di Pilla said, adding
that none of the La Escuela volunteers speak Thai. "That was the
biggest challenge.
"The first night somebody who spoke Thai was there, but after
that there wasn’t anyone who spoke both Thai and English fluently,"
Di Pilla said. "We had to base our classes on body movement and we
tried to pick out things we had pictures for."
Di Pilla explained that the volunteer teachers had to come up
with innovative ways to teach the Thai immigrants.
"We go out in pairs so that we can do a lot more," Di Pilla
said. "This way, we (would) ask each other questions and they’d
understand. Sometimes, when it was just one of us, the students
would just repeat what we’re saying. They weren’t grasping the
concept of question and answer. With two teachers, we can
facilitate conversation.
"Another way we teach is by acting," Di Pilla added. "One of us
will go outside, knock on the door and come in and say hello. We’ve
worked out really creative ways to make sure they understand
us."
Although Di Pilla said some of the volunteers were nervous about
teaching a group of immigrants whose language none of the teachers
themselves could speak, they all wanted to try to help.
"I’ve always used the bilingual approach and I thought it worked
really well," Di Pilla said. "I’ve always been a little suspicious
of teaching adults using total immersion. When you’re teaching
adults who have worked all day and who have not been in a learning
setting for over 10 years, it’s just easier when you can fall back
on another language and explain things in their language.
"But this is definitely proving me wrong," Di Pilla said. "The
students were extremely enthusiastic from the very start and it
worked out really well. A lot of the success we’ve had have to do
with their enthusiasm. They’re so excited to be learning
English."
Volunteers also give presentations on basic, practical tips for
living in Los Angeles such as how to get a drivers license, buy a
municipal bus pass and use the phone.
"Not only did they not have any familiarity with the culture,
but because they were imprisoned in El Monte, they had no contact
with the outside world. Upon their release, they had to be educated
about basic life skills such as how to use an ATM, how to withdraw
and deposit money and how to manage their finances," Martorell
said.
"We were ecstatic when the students from La Escuela (program)
approached us," Martorell said. "It really helps when we’re dealing
with 72 workers. These students really get along well with the
workers and the workers are having a great deal of fun with them.
The workers just adore them and are very receptive.
"A lot of people have mobilized to … assist these workers and
give them the dignity they deserve and help them achieve their
potential," she said.
The worker’s enthusiasm is what makes the difference, said
Dashiell, a UCLA alumnus who teaches the Thai immigrants every
Thursday night.
"They’re very appreciative and anybody who has ever taught
people knows the attitude of the students makes a big difference,"
Dashiell said.
To show their appreciation, the Thai immigrants will not let
their teachers leave without feeding them first.
And according to Dashiell, they’re learning fast.
"They tried to contact me and all the teachers on Christmas,"
Dashiell said. "They eventually got a hold of one of my friends’
answering machines and left a message with every English word they
knew."
…the Thai immigrants – mostly single, middle-aged women who
work all day sewing clothes – gather in a two-bedroom apartment …
struggling to learn a foreign language just to survive.
SCOTT O/Daily Bruin
Bruce Baird (right) helps Thai immigrants improve their language
skills, using body language and other creative techniques.
"The students were extremely enthusiastic from the very start
and it worked out really well."
Michelle Di Pilla
Former La Escuela Director
SCOTT O/Daily Bruin
Under the guidance of UCLA graduate student Bruce Baird (right),
Thai immigrants tutor each other in an effort to learn English
through the La Escuela de la Raza teaching program. See related
story on page 3.
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