How Spanish literacy courses have helped one student find his voice
As a child growing up in Cuernavaca, a city “filled with flowers,” as he recalls, Javier Reyes never stepped foot in a school.
“We were poor,” he says, speaking in Spanish. “The only thing we did as children was work.”
Now 56, Flores is in his third year of Spanish literacy classes learning to read and write his native language. The opportunity came from Allan Hancock College (AHC) in Santa Maria, a community college offering free and low-cost courses for adult learners.
“When I came here, I didn’t realize there would be opportunities to study, and when I heard about the classes, I knew I wanted to go. They open doors for us,” Flores says.
“When I heard about the classes, I knew I wanted to go. They open doors for us.”
Javier Flores, Spanish Literacy Student, Allan Hancock College
Flores attends his Spanish literacy class from 6 until 8:30 p.m. four evenings a week in the summer, and two evenings a week during the rest of the year—after spending long days planting, weeding, pruning, picking and packing produce to feed American families.
“I came here to work,” he says of migrating from Mexico 20 years ago. “I work in the field with vegetables – broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, and others.”
For decades, Flores was unable to read in either Spanish or English, putting him at a disadvantage when managing even the simplest everyday tasks in ordinary settings, such as ordering food.
His courses at AHC use a culturally appropriate curriculum to teach him how to recognize and produce letter sounds, read and write common vocabulary words and basic sentences.
“It’s a good program,” Flores says. “They help us students and explain things well. If we don’t understand something, we go to them and they explain it.”
Since starting his studies, Flores says his reading skills have vastly improved, including his ability to order a meal from a restaurant menu.
“Before, I could only look at the photo or drawing,” he says. “Now, I can read what the meal comes with, and everything. I can more or less read a book.”
Flores says he enjoys learning more about his native country and cultures, as well, through the course’s six books provided to students.
“I study my schoolbooks,” he says. “I learn about the Indian tribes, our cultural roots and the history of Mexico. We study about governments and presidents, plants, animals—everything.”
Flores says he still finds writing in Spanish challenging and plans to continue the coursework as long as it takes.
“There are times I write words and I’m missing letters,” he says. “I want to learn to write and learn how to use a computer to be able to fill out paperwork, pay bills, register my car, get insurance—anything I can do using the internet.”
At AHC the courses are designed to gradually introduce English. For adults, literacy in one’s native language is considered essential before learning a foreign language. Flores agrees.
“If we can’t read or write Spanish, English is very difficult,” he says. “After this, I want to learn English. It’s important to keep learning. You have to take advantage of things that help you.”
For more information on Allan Hancock College visit https://www.hancockcollege.edu/
Written by Dorsey Griffith
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | Literacy |
