From Afghanistan to Venezuela, from Brazil to Yemen, from Gambia to Uruguay—they’ve come to the NVCC campus. This fall we welcomed students from some 40 countries to NVCC’s English as a Second Language Program. With these newcomers, we now boast a diverse group of students from about 54 countries around the world.

Our students are refugees fleeing the war-torn areas in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  They are first-generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic. They are international students with F-I visas and Au-pairs with J-1 visas. And, they are recently graduated high school students who with only a few years of English language study, still need more time to develop their English language proficiency skills.

Many are multi-lingual, speaking several languages. One student, Kenneth Pham says jokingly that in his household the conversations switch from Vietnamese to Chinese to English depending on whether he is speaking to his mother or his father. Speaking in English seems to produce the most laughter.

The class that wins most diverse is Professor Francoletti-Putz’s Reading & Writing IV class.  The 24 students enrolled hail from 14 different countries.  In that class, we might hear these questions: where is Togo? Is Burma still called Burma or is it now Myanmar? Despite disagreements that could arise from the geopolitics, they do agree on this—English grammar is not easy!

One area of division however is whose native country has the best coffee. Coffee seems to represent a source of pride where a number of students claim that their country grows the best coffee in the world. Those from Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Vietnam argue the most about wearing that crown—best in coffee.

They arrived excited, apprehensive, scared but they are driven to learn English in our ESL program and they are driven to seize the opportunities that our country has to offer.

In her essay “Taking off the Heels” for her Reading & Writing VI class, student Natalia Ferreira Dos Santos, a former lawyer in Brazil, tells the story of how she has approached reconciling the life she lived in Brazil with the one she now lives here in the United States.  Professor Paula Lenge, moved by the beauty of her story, thought she should share it with us. The following excerpt is taken directly from her essay:

“Never take the high heels off. I heard this expression many times in Brazil, and when I came to live in America, I brought it in mind as a kind of philosophy of life. This expression means that it doesn’t matter how bad the situation, do not put yourself in a lower position, do not lose your composure, and do not allow yourself to be shaken. Before living in America, I was always in high heels. I loved my collection of stilettos. Stiletto is a type of shoe used mostly by female lawyers and it represents all opulence and glamor of the profession. My shoes represented me in the social and economic elevation provided by my honorable profession. I decided to try one new experience in America. I took a small suitcase, put inside some few clothes, a book, my professional portfolio and, of course, my favorite red stilettos, and say goodbye to my Brazil. It is already two years that I am living in America, and my red stilettos are still in my suitcase. In my job, I definitely have no opportunity to use it. I work in a small shop, as a machine operator. Now I have a different vision about the life. In America, I understand that my value is not in my clothes, or in a successful professional career. My value is in the fact that I can overcoming my fears, I can be good in everything that I put strongly effort to. I am sure that these English classes that I am taking in the community college will help me very much. I still love my stilettos, and recognize the valor of my profession. However, I will always take with me an important lesson learned here in America: no one wins a marathon running in high heels.”

Learning a new language is a marathon not a sprint. English language study in the NVCC ESL program is one which fully prepares our students for further academic success in the college and beyond. The confidence our students gain when they learn to write well in our Reading and Writing courses or speak well in our Oral Communications and Pronunciation courses is invaluable. Many of our students spend the time in NVCC’s program working toward our Advanced English Proficiency Certificate which can provide employers with measurable proof of the individual’s proficiency in English. All of our students enrich NVCC by leaving a footprint of national pride, adding a slice of cultural richness, and through being an example of immigrant optimism.