ABHMS-supported ESL program: One student inspired its founding, another keeps it going

An English as a Second Language class at Eglise Evangelique De L’Union Chretienne, Brockton, Mass.

Were it not for the determination of one student—Eric Francois from Haiti—rain or heavy wind might mean cancelling English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at Eglise Evangelique De L’Union Chretienne in Brockton, Mass.
           
Because the church’s students walk to class, inclement weather means they’re absent. That is, except for Francois, who walks to class, no matter what.

During the winter, “even though nobody else was showing up, he came consistently every time,” says Vena Ulysse, wife of the church’s pastor, Rev. Fred Ulysse. “We’d have a little lesson and send him home. He’d say, ‘Please keep going. Please don’t cancel class. I want to learn and want to move on.’ ”

Francois recruited two of his Haitian friends to class. All three 20-somethings were working students in Haiti when the earthquake hit, causing them to come to the United States, according to Vena.

The church began offering a formal ESL program—featuring a beginner, intermediate and advanced class—on Monday and Wednesday evenings in fall 2010. The program is supported by American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS).

Beginner class is for individuals with low literacy skills, while intermediate class is for those who were educated in Haiti but speak no English, explains Vena. “They can read and write but need to transfer their native language into English,” she says.

Advanced class is tailored to students who understand a bit of English but aren’t as far along as they’d like to be. Many of them, Vena notes, have been in the United States for three or four years but could not afford classes.

Motivated by then-student Dorenencourt (“Dodo”) Poteau, who attended their church after coming to the United States from Haiti in January 2010, the Ulysses began offering small, informal ESL tutoring in summer 2010. Although Poteau has since relocated to and resumed studies in another town, Eglise Evangelique De L’Union Chretienne expanded its offerings and watched the number of students increase. Thirty-two students are currently divided among the three ESL levels.

Vena is impressed by Francois’ eagerness to learn. He’s reading in English, and, within two months of starting class, she says, he progressed from speaking no English to saying simple phrases. “I have never seen such a desire to immerse into the new culture and to learn the language,” she marvels.

In fact, Francois is nothing less than inspirational. “Because of him, we have to move forward—we have to keep going,” Vena says. “He is an encouragement for his teacher. She’s always talking about how he wants to learn.”

For more information about Haitian ministries, contact the Rev. Dr. Brenda Halliburton, ABHMS national coordinator of Black Church Ministries, at brenda.halliburton@abhms.org or 800-222-3872, x2443.

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