Community Corner
NPD117 Parents Complete ESL Course through GSU
Parents Encouraged to Continue Learning
Carolina Ebarra credited her first-grade daughter Elymia for being the inspiration behind her taking the English as a Second Language (ESL) course offered at North Palos School District 117.
"I wanted to speak and understand more English," Mrs. Ebarra said. "This has been great and I look forward to taking more classes."
Ms. Ebarra was among more than two dozen NPD117 parents who completed the seven-week beginning ESL course offered through Governors State University. The two-hour class met once a week in the afternoon.
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GSU instructor Ewa Lazowska said the course focused on helping parents improve their speaking, writing, reading and listening skills. Topics included everyday items and activities like shopping, clothing and food.
"The parents are really excited about learning and want to improve their English," Lazowska said.
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Deena Yasin said she took the class to better communicate with her three children who speak mostly English. "I want to improve my English so I can help my kids with homework and talk to doctors," she said. "I'm excited about taking more classes to improve even more.
"By improving my language skills I can get more involved in their educations, their schools and the community," she said. "I'm really looking forward to this."
Monika Mokrzycka said she took the class to "improve my English since I did not speak much English during COVID."
"We spoke mostly Polish during that time and it is important that I learn more English. This is a great start."
Shadia Salem, the assistant superintendent of English Learning, said the adult ESL course is one of several programs NPD117 offers throughout the year. She said the EL Department meets in the beginning of each year with families of English Learners to get feedback on the types of programs they would like to see offered .
Mrs. Salem said the adult ESL courses are topics that come up frequently and GSU is known for partnering with local school districts. For this course. NPD117 sent out a registration link to 60 parents, 30 for each class.
