Finding the right wordsBy LAURA LATZKO Sitting two seats from each other in a classroom at Douglass High School, Markus Zegels of Germany and Temesgen Kifle of Eritrea speak in the language they share: English. Zegels dominates the conversation, speaking freely about the United States and his home country. Kifle, a refugee, is quieter but nods and smiles at Zegels’ conversation. Both are attending a December class in English as a Second Language, and they’re working as partners on the phrase “If I were you.” But they also are sharing their experiences. A desire to be closer to his daughter and grandson prompted Zegels to come to the United States with his wife. War and poverty forced Kifle to leave Eritrea — and his family. Kifle came to Columbia in August 2006 after 18 months in a Saudi Arabia refugee center. Now he stocks and ships books at Missouri Book Services. The local office of Refugee and Immigration Services has helped him get a job, an apartment and a green card. He lives by himself in Columbia. His wife is at a refugee center in Sudan; his son is in Eritrea with Kifle’s parents. “I miss my son, my wife, my mother,” Kifle said. “Being alone is hard.” Kifle studied English for nine years until 1997 and began learning again five months ago when he started ESL classes as part of his agreement with Refugee and Immigration Services. The classes are offered by the English Language Institute, a division of Columbia Public Schools’ Adult Learning Center. “I want to learn more,” Kifle said. “When I go out in the world, to talk more.” Zegels and his wife, Inge, heard about ESL classes through a newspaper ad and decided to take them. Both started their study of English in the sixth grade but said they had forgotten some of what they learned. They mainly speak German when they are alone or with their daughters. Inge Zegels said the classes teach her much more than English grammar. She meets people from different cultures and gains an understanding of English slang terms and idioms, such as “dishing it out.” Like Kifle, Markus Zegels said the most difficult part of adjusting to life in the United States has been being away from family. “Our other daughter’s living in Germany with our two grandsons, so it’s hard for us,” he said. “We have to fly twice a year to see them. Otherwise they maybe forget us.” Kifle and the Zegels share a classroom with students from northern Africa, Brazil, Russia, China, Thailand and Peru. All together, the three levels of English as a Second Language classes offered by Columbia schools include students from five continents: North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe. They come from countries such as Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. But even as ESL’s student body has become more diverse, its classrooms have become more congested. The number of students enrolled in ESL during fiscal 2008, which began in July, already is far above total enrollment for all of fiscal 2007. Despite the growing student body, the budget for ESL classes has remained stagnant, and it’s becoming more difficult to accommodate the demand. “We’re busting at the seams finding space for new classes,” said Timm Siebeneck, a teacher and supervisor of the English Language Institute. |
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