Enrollees in college’s English language classes come from around globe

Today’s lesson has Dr. Bette Brickman teaching her class the difference between “asked” and “told.” Each student reads a sentence aloud and picks the appropriate word. One sentence has a father talking to a child about cleaning the garage. The choice isn’t so clear.

“It will depend on the family dynamic,” she says to her students, explaining that some parents will ask for help in the garage, while others will command it.

All of Brickman’s students are adults. This is an intermediate-level class at the College of Southern Nevada for those studying English as a second language.

Having taught these types of classes since the ’80s, Brickman has seen the faces and stories of her students change through the years. It used to be her classes were predominantly Latino-populated. Now, students come from Iran, Thailand, Cambodia, Syria, China, Taiwan, Ethiopia and other countries.

Today’s class has only two Latinos, which could be a result of Las Vegas’ suffering economy that turned a booming construction industry into a bombed one.

“It used to be they wanted to help their kids with their homework,” she says of her Latino students. “Now they want to be managers or teachers. ... They see that road ahead.”

They also derive from all over the world, as opposed to just Mexico. And, as in the case of Jacqueline Torres, not all of them are immigrants.

When Torres first visited this country in 2010 as a work- and travel-exchange student, surges of anxiety became almost second nature when speaking.

While working at a nail salon, Torres memorized the store’s basic information, but when clients asked follow-up questions, she would freeze.

“When I wanted to talk, I was ashamed of my pronunciation,” says the now 26-year-old Torres.

Torres, who hails from Peru, remembers hearing the same question from customer after customer: Where is your accent from?

She was first exposed to English as a 14-year-old attending a three-year English academy in Peru. But being surrounded by Spanish speakers didn’t help her retain English long term.

“When you don’t practice enough, you don’t get enough experience,” Torres says. “So I came to practice my writing, pronunciation and everything.”

By the end of the three-month program, Torres’ command of English was light-years better. She immediately put it to use back home.

Torres’ dad owns an international trade business for clothes and shoes. He regularly makes trades in China. There’s just one problem: He doesn’t speak a lick of English.

That’s where Torres and her brother, who also speaks English, come in. Both exchange emails with Chinese clients and even visit the country for business meetings, all in English.

Torres is now on her second visit to the United States, this time as a foreign-exchange student. A hike in opportunities is her driving force in taking English courses.

“My life would be much better because I can apply to more jobs and have so much more opportunities for everything,” Torres says.

Torres is in the midpoint of the yearlong program but is leaning toward extending it. The embarrassment that plagued her first trip to the United States is a distant memory.

“I’m a little bit close (to becoming fluent in English) but I still have to study more,” she says.

Brickman would like CSN to introduce an ESL degree. She’s spoken to people in human resources at some of the casinos in town to find out what skills would appeal to them. Most say soft skills, also known as people skills. One said such a degree wouldn’t be necessary because “they’re just working in the kitchen, anyway.”

But adults who sign up for ESL classes, which can cost $260 each and can consume as much as six hours a week for just one course, are there because they want out of the kitchen.

Miguel Pacheco moved to the United States — Wisconsin — at 16. His sister, who had come before him with their older brother, urged Pacheco to go to school. The now 29-year-old didn’t heed her advice. Not when there was money to be made.

His first job was cutting vegetables for a salad distribution company. He worked in factory environments for several years before realizing he needed to learn English if he ever wanted to make a nonlateral job change.

Pacheco got his GED certificate two years ago. He’s attending this class and one more ESL class at CSN, in addition to holding down two restaurant busing jobs.

“The ones who speak English can go to easier job,” Pacheco says of his co-workers. “We just had to use our hands.”

He’s also trying to assimilate in other aspects of his life. His left arm is sleeved with tattoos and he wears Chuck Taylor Converse shoes. At home he listens to bachata and salsa music, but outside of the house, it’s Rihanna and Kanye West.

Pacheco will eventually enroll in a pronunciation class. It’s all in an effort to enroll in college and improve his professional station, but he has other motivating forces, too.

“Groups of people always make fun of people with accents,” he says. At work, his co-workers taunt him, repeating words he says with rolling r’s and silent h’s, such as “hamburger.”

“Pretty much they’re joking,” he says, “but trust me, they piss me off.”

Contact Xazmin Garza at xgarza@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0477. Follow her on Twitter @startswithanx.