ESL classes help students thrive
Professional golf coach Keiko Inoue found improving her English skills through Torrance Adult School’s English as a Second Language (ESL) classes has boosted her confidence in everyday conversations as well as enabled her to work with more clients.
When Keiko Inoue arrived from Japan in 2023, she didn’t think she’d need English classes. The professional golfer, who had played the United States before, came to be with her husband, who had been living here for 30 years. She thought she’d learn with him.
“My husband is Japanese; I always talk with him in Japanese. But living here, I knew I’d need English,” she says. “I thought I didn’t need to study English because I knew some English words, like, ‘Please,’ ‘coffee,’ and that’s it. But now I’m studying English, so it is really helpful and I enjoy talking in English.”
Today, she’s a student at Torrance Adult School (TAS), taking English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. She says taking classes three days a week with a teacher and a classroom full of fellow English-language learners has helped her improve both her speaking and writing skills.
“Now I’m studying English so it is really helpful and I enjoy talking in English.”
Keiko Inoue, ESL student, Torrance Adult School
“My husband speaks English well, but he never studiedEnglish,” she says. “That’s why I’m going to school now.”
Inoue says improving her English skills have helped her both professionally and personally. As a professional golf instructor, she’d only been able to take on Japanese-speaking students because she couldn’t teach in English. She’s hoping to expand her business and clientele with her new language skills.
“Before, I never thought about how to play golf in English, but now I can think how to play golf in English for my clients,” she says. “I have my US LPGA teaching license now and sometimes I have questions for them. Before, my emails were not that good … but now they’re 100% correct.”
Being able to express herself in English has given Inoue more confidence speaking in her everyday life as well.
“I always go to do the shopping but I never talked,” she says. “But now, ‘Excuse me, I’m looking for …’ or ‘Do you have …’ I’m enjoying speaking English in my [personal] life now.”
Inoue says her teachers and TAS staff have been very helpful and supportive, and the coursework has been really helpful, including the ESL computer skills she’s learned.
“I could use the computer in Japanese, but I didn’t know how to use the computer in English. But now I can use the computer in English,” she says. “They taught us about how to write business emails, or if I have a question for a doctor, now I can write an email to the doctor.”
While Inoue admits that learning a new language was hard, she’d like other students to know that it’s achievable with perseverance. Her advice to students: “Study, study, study!”
For more information on how Torrance Adult School can help you achieve your goals, visit www.tusd.org/tas or call 310-533-4689.
Written by Anne Stokes
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | English as a Second Language |
