Churches, schools offer free English classes in Shelby County

Literacy, Katrina Watson said, underlies everything that exists. 

People can have any number of reasons for not being fluent readers and writers, but not being able to read and write can inhibit an individual from living their lives to the fullest. It can present communication challenges that are only fixed by increasing literacy.

When the Literacy Council of Central Alabama first opened in 1991, it identified Shelby County as an area of interest, said Watson, the group’s president and executive director. 

They provided support to the area by sharing literacy classes and initiatives, and in 2012, they added their English for Other Speakers (ESOL) program. Watson said in the first couple months of 2019, they will be bringing their first workplace literacy program into a company in Shelby County. She hopes many more companies will follow. 

“This falls into professional development, like writing at work, reading at work,” Watson said. “Perhaps their supervisor notices they are having trouble writing a report or fully understanding the manual.”

The program will spend time helping employees improve, both one-on-one and in groups. Research shows improving literacy can have a huge impact on productivity in the workplace, Watson said.

Another role the council will continue to play is pointing people in the right direction for free classes and resources offered in the community, she said, which helps families and individuals in Shelby County every year.   

Although they don’t currently have any classes set up at North Shelby Library, Watson said, that is something they are working to create in 2019 based on a model from other nearby communities.

Director of ESOL and Field Programs Stephanie Lyas said they specifically direct people to the weekly ESOL classes located at churches like Valleydale Church and North Shelby Baptist Church, in addition to various levels of offerings at the Shelby campus at Jefferson State Community College. 

Skills learned from the classes can help people with both personal and professional endeavors. Plus, Watson said, parents who learn how to read and write are able to engage more with their children. The more a parent reads to their child, the better the child generally performs in school, she said. 

“The majority of the students who come to our classes want to either get a job or get a better job or improve their education in some way. So the English classes can very much provide a way for them to do that, especially students who are low English proficiency,” Watson said. “We’ve had several students, lots of our students really, go on to get promotions on their current job as a result of having better English and taking English classes.”

The classes at Jefferson State primarily focus on academic writing, Lyas said, and is geared toward international students who need to improve their English writing and grammar skills so they can excel at college-level courses. 

“Many times, the spoken English is good, but they have problems when it comes to writing, so that class was developed to help those students develop written English proficiency,” she said.

James Herring, the organizer for the class at North Shelby Baptist Church, said their popular ESOL class is used as part of the mission outreach program where they try to build relationships with non-English speaking people who have moved to the United States. He said they offer classes at five levels, and although it is preferred people start during August or September, they get people all year long. 

“The first objective is to develop communications skills, for people to find their way around the community, shopping, going to the doctor. Then learn sentence structures,” Herring said. 

People who specialize in language training teach the class, he said, along with volunteers. They have students from as many as 12 to 14 countries, with most of them made up of adults and older teenagers, he said, since students usually have services offered at schools. 

“The teacher has a unique opportunity to get to know the immigrants. Since they don’t have any community of contacts here, we try to build a relationship, share experiences … We want these non-English speaking people to be able to be a part of the community and find jobs … Our doors are always open,” Herring said. 

People tend to progress at different intervals, Literacy Council of Central Alabama Vice President of Communications and Development Missy Burchart said, since learning a new language depends on time and persistence, and often the amount of motivation a student has.

“We would want to share they aren’t alone. There are a lot of people out there who have the same challenges [with literacy],” Burchart said.

The Literacy Council offers tutoring in fall year at their downtown Birmingham facility. These sessions are also free, Lyas said, and they hope to keep expanding them.

“For us, we have very strong philanthropic partnerships, and we are always looking to expand our support we receive. It enables us to truly reach the people who need the services. We don’t want the cost to be a barrier for a person,” Watson said. 

Lyas, who began as a volunteer, said in order to volunteer for the Literacy Council, they ask for a six-month commitment and attendance to an orientation. Each volunteer generally comes in once a week, she said, and people are able to set their own schedule. 

She also stressed that no foreign language is required to participate, but each volunteer must be at least 18 years or older and have a high school diploma or GED.

Watson encourages any companies in the Shelby County area who are interested in partnering with the Literacy Council of Central Alabama to contact them about a workplace literacy program. The more companies they can collaborate with, Watson said, the better offering they can provide. Call them at 326-1925.

For more information about tutor orientation and training, go to literacy-council.org/training-schedule/.

Free ESOL classes

Jefferson State Community College – Shelby Campus

► Placement test required. Call 205-983-5929 for an appointment.

► Math and Science Building, Room 117

► Mondays and Wednesdays, Intermediate/Advanced, 4:30-8:30 p.m. 

► Tuesdays and Thursdays, Beginner, 4:30–8 p.m. 

North Shelby Baptist Church

► Child care provided for pre-K through sixth grade during class time

► Wednesdays, 6-7:30 p.m.  (ESL textbook $20)

Valleydale Church

► 2324 Valleydale Road

► Thursdays, 6:30–8 p.m.