Those include communicating with health providers, their children’s teachers and friends and to feel more comfortable going beyond their cultural community. There are also those who want to improve their English so they can get a better paying job.
“The community benefits because the adults who show up and register for classes, no one's making them do that, they are self-motivated,” Banks said. “They want to understand and be understood and they want to contribute.”
The setup
RALC, a nonprofit founded in 1990, offers English as a second language, English conversation, career bridge and citizen test prep programs.
When students register for 15-week ESL classes, they are given a free assessment to determine which of the five class levels is the best fit. English language foundations is the first level and is for students who know the alphabet but nothing beyond that.
“That is an important class where much of our wait list is,” Banks said. “We want to add more of those classes because people at that level can't go grocery shopping at an English speaking store—there's so much they can't do. They will say through a family member who translates that they just want to be able to understand their child's teachers or their doctor.”
ESL classes, which are two hours long, are held twice a week. The cost is $35 for the 15-week session.
English conversation classes do not require registration and are free. The program is teacher- led and follows a curriculum that encourages students to speak to each other in English.
Career Bridge is a workshop that focuses on topics pertaining to careers such as key words to use on resumes and during interviews and how to use job search sites.
“They are looking for maybe not professional jobs yet, because they're starting to learn the language,” Banks said. “Even though many people have masters and PhDs from other countries, without English, they can't apply for those yet, but they need jobs.”
Citizen test prep is held at BAL Law Firm in Richardson and taught by volunteers who are the firms’ paralegals and lawyers.
Meet the students
RALC students' ages range from 18 years old to post-retirement. The nonprofit has taught students from five continents and 52 countries.
Banks said currently, Spanish is the top language spoken by their students followed by Vietnamese then Turkish. She said they also have a large number of students from the Middle East and Africa.
Most people remain RALC students for two years.
“If someone comes in at the foundational level and they stay for a couple years, they definitely know a lot more English,” Banks said. “If they come in mid-level, because they are looking for better jobs, in a couple years, they get what they need. Then they end up coming back and volunteering for us.”
Meet the teachers
All RALC teachers are volunteers whose ages currently range from those in their 20s through people in their 70s. Their professional backgrounds vary including teachers and accountants.
“We have UTD students, which are fantastic, especially from the neuroscience department,” Banks said. “The group we have right now has been with us for two years, and now they have to stop because they have to go to med school.”
Get involved
Banks said they can always use more volunteers and financial support. Another request she has is for companies to partner with RALC to have their employees attend classes and together, measure the impact RALC offerings have in the workforce.
- Richardson Adult Literacy Center admin office: 1500 International Parkway, Ste. 300, Richardson
- www.ralc.org
