New Words to Live By

They’re uncles, grandmothers, fathers and family friends. They speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Persian and Chinese.

But the thousands of Orange County adults attending Community Based English Tutoring programs share one goal: to help the children in their communities learn English.

In fact, the program offering free classes to adults by school districts countywide demands it.

“Students must sign a pledge card to tutor kids in their community before enrolling,” said Linnea Haley, coordinator for the program in the Fountain Valley School District.

The English tutoring program, which many Orange County districts started this year, was born out of Proposition 227, passed by California voters in June 1998.

Proposition 227, which effectively eliminated bilingual education statewide, included a section that put aside $50 million per year for school districts to provide free English instruction for adults who pledge to tutor limited-English speaking children. This year, because of unspent funds from previous budgets, the figure was increased to $100 million.

Sheri Annis, spokeswoman for English for the Children, the group that put the initiative on the ballot, said the idea was suggested by teachers two years ago when Proposition 227 was being drafted.

“Teachers told us that children who are learning in English would be at a disadvantage when they return home to parents who do not speak the language,” Annis said. “Teaching family members English would help the whole process of the children’s English immersion.” Annis said the program is aimed at encouraging families of students who speak limited English to work with their children.

“We want to give adults the tools they need, so that when students come home, parents are able to assist them and be involved in their homework,” Annis said.

The program has alleviated what had been a long waiting list for adult English language classes.

Orange County has received about $10.6 million this year to run the adult English classes in 22 districts that will accommodate thousands of adults.

Garden Grove Unified School District alone, will be teaching as many as 1,500 adults through the program.

The program runs in semesters, with classes at beginning and advanced levels, and does not have a time limit. Adults are encouraged to attend as long as they are benefiting from the instruction and keeping their pledge to tutor others, which can mean simply working with their own children.

Districts must apply to the state for the adult-education funding, which is based on the number of children in each district who are learning to speak English.

“The point is to teach parents how to use English so that they are then able to teach their kids,” said Lisa Livermore, who coordinates the program for the Garden Grove schools. “Parents are given English homework after each class that they are required to do with their children.”

In Garden Grove, the adult students were given hand-held video games that teach basic math and language skills. The parents were taught how to use the games which they will then pass on to their children to work on.

“Just for parents to sit down with their child while he or she is doing homework makes a world of difference,” said Haley.

Parents also learn information about the school system so they know what is expected of their children, officials said. Homework, test schedules, and grades are some of the workaday school procedures that will be taught to parents so they are more familiar with their children’s learning environment.

Studies have shown that parent involvement in a child’s schooling is an important factor in predicting school success.

The parents seem dedicated to their lessons.

“I want to know exactly what he needs to know in school and what he learns,” said Amy Tran, whose son Eddie is a second-grader in Garden Grove.

Jose Lona comes to English classes two nights a week--after working two jobs. He said he wants to help his son Anthony with “vocabulary, writing and pronunciation.”

In the beginning, though, the children might be of more help to their parents than the other way around.

“When my Mom comes home, I look over her homework and help her correct it,” said 9-year-old Claudia Palafox, a fourth-grader in Westminster.

Myra Burmudez, on the other hand, measures her mother’s English progress by how much she understands when she speaks English with her brothers.

“Every day she understands us a little more,” Myra said.

Westminster High School freshman Adrian Uribe comes to classes as a volunteer to help his aunt and uncle, as well as other students, learn English.

Throughout the 1 1/2-hour class sponsored by the Westminster School District, Uribe assists the older students with any misunderstandings of the teacher’s instruction. The 14-year-old also helps his adult relatives with the classwork when they get home.

“I do the exercises and practice with them,” Uribe said.

Although teachers said they welcome the family classroom atmosphere, they are eventually hoping to reverse the roles, and turn the parents into the teachers as their skills improve.

In Fountain Valley, there are plans to integrate the adult students as tutors into elementary after-school programs where they can help children with their homework, Haley said.