with a new life, a new language

getting to america is only half the battle for immigrants. for many,
learning english has proved critical for success in america.

isabel ratner

usseen Al Ali* heard explosions as he dashed out of his

home in Homs, Syria. Carrying
his son and a few of his things,
he, his wife and his five children ran to
get on a bus while people yelled, Hurry
up! Hurry up! Hurry up!
The bus took them from Homs to Damascus, the capital of Syria. Al Ali had
left Homs so quickly that he could not
bring much with him. Once in Damascus, he bought some food and clothing
for his family. The next step was getting
from Damascus to Daraa, the border between Syria and Jordan. Al Ali had arranged for a friend to drive him and his
family. From Daraa to Jordan, they continued, but this time they had to walk
along the road.
[It was] about two hours walking. 11
[at] night, Al Ali said. He and his family continued until they reached Zarqa,
Jordan. They stayed there for three years
and resumed a somewhat normal life.
His children -- three daughters and two
sons -- attended school there. But his
sister-in-law, who had already been in
Michigan for ten months, awaited them
in the United States.
Al Ali and his family finally arrived in
Ann Arbor on Sept. 17, 2015. But they
still knew adjusting to their new life
wouldnt be easy. They had left everything in Syria.
I am forgetting my home, he said.
Starting over
It has been difficult for Al Alis family
to adapt to the big differences between
America and Syria, like being away from
his family. Al Ali has two sisters still living in Syria, and he is not used to being
so far away from them. The freedom in
the U.S. is also striking to Al Ali. In Syria,
he had fewer privileges, and now he has
the complete opposite.

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t he c o m m uni c a t o r

Here, [there is] too much freedom. Its

good sometimes, but its too much, he
said. Like when the kid of sixteen years
is taking driving lessonsYou must take
bus! No cars!
Despite the difficulties of living in a
new country, there are many positives
to living in America. Most importantly to Al Ali, safety is no longer an issue
for him and his family. He imitated the
sound of explosions and said that he no
longer hears them.
I am sleeping in my bed. But in Syria,
no sleeping. [I am] scared, he said.
Al Ali has high hopes for living in
America. He said that everything is expensive but he is confident he will get a
job and money to buy food.
I wish I have a good job. I wish my
children [will] study in America [and
have a good education] for their future,
he said. I hope I speak English as an
American.
a place for immersion
This is why he comes to the English
as a Second Language (ESL) Program
at Jewish Family Services. Al Ali takes
classes with other non-English speakers,
some of whom are refugees and others
who are on student visas.
The ESL program, which has been
serving refugees since 1997, originated as a resettlement for Jewish refugees
mainly from Russia. It has begun to turn
into a place with refugee services such as
immigration aid and ESL. The program
is drop-in style: students come as they
wish, depending on their work schedules
and children. Currently there are about
120 students from 20-25 countries, ranging from Iraq, Syria, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and other Middle Eastern countries,
to Nicaragua, Ecuador and other South
American countries.
Jessica Vinter began as a teacher for the

program and eventually evolved into being the Program Coordinator. She knew
she wanted to work for an organization
providing public service, and also had
previous experience teaching Russian,
Spanish, English literature and ESL.
Vinter understood the importance of
these refugees learning English.
When they are living in another country for extended periods of time or permanently, its not a question of wanting
to learn English, its an absolute necessity to learn English, Vinter said.
Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced
classes are held three days a week, in the
mornings and afternoons. Vinter teaches
the Intermediate and Advanced classes.
She begins her classes with 20 minutes
of speaking, where students walk around
the room with a script given to them and
make conversation with the other students in the class. Vinter also teaches
reading, writing, grammar and culture.
During one class taught by another
teacher, students looked at a picture and
described what was going on by forming
sentences using the names of the other students in the class. They put these
sentences on the board and read them;
afterwards, the teacher corrected their
spelling and pronunciation.
Volunteers also come in to help the
classes and work individually with students as conversation partners. Al Ali
worked with Nancy Szabo, on one recent afternoon this past December.
They looked at the same picture that Al
Ali was working on in class. This time,
he was to form multiple sentences for
Szabo.
Okay so tell me some of the things
you see in this picture, Szabo said.
What is happening?
They are dancing on the ice, Al Ali
replied.
And what are they wearing?

Jessica Vinter has worked with the program for five years and teaches Intermediate and Advanced classes. For her birthday she received this map as a gift from her students. Vinter said,Its a birthday card. Isnt it the greatest birthday card
ever? They said happy birthday all around the world. So each of those countries is where my students are from.

Hat.
Okay so she is wearing a hat, and he is
wearing a hat. You say they are wearing.
They are wearing hat.
Hats. So more than one you put an s
at the end. She is wearing, he is wearing,
they are wearing.
After this, Szabo goes on to explain
the drop the e, add -ing rule to Al
Ali, a rule that Americans learn at a very
young age.
Seeing her students English improve
is one of the reasons Vinter loves what
she does.
[The most rewarding part of the job
is] seeing people make progress and
make huge strides in their life goals, and
not knowing English is a huge obstacle
to that, Vinter said.
She recalled the memory of a student

from Senegal who came six months ago,

knowing almost no English, who is now
applying to the University of Michigan
and taking the Advanced class at the ESL
program. Vinter explained this while
pointing to his transcript, which she had
on her desk. Another one of her students came from Congo, also knowing
no English. Now she is studying nursing
at Washtenaw Community College.
JFS does so much more than just teaching English. They expose the refugees to
the community by taking them on field
trips to places such as the Farmers Market or the Botanical Gardens, going to
museums, and having potluck lunches. They support families with employment by helping them apply for jobs.
Some refugees can not afford a car, so
JFS gives them a bus pass. A food pan-

try is available in the building as well as

clothes on hand. The organization does
whatever they can to help the refugees
during this difficult time, and also serves
as a safe and comfortable place to show
the refugees that people support them.
They come here, there are people that
are just like them, in the same situation,
Vinter said. They know they can come
here any time, and learn English and socialize, and get help.
*name has been changed to protect anonymity

f eb ru ary

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