Loan Nguyen, ESL level 1 and level 2 student
Neatly-dressed, Loan Nguyen speaks softly and smiles shyly upon those who encounter her. Her small frame and sweet countenance belies her determination to succeed. As a recent immigrant, Loan Nguyen aspires to work hard, earn her citizenship, and raise her child independently in America. The biggest obstacle to achieving her dreams stems from her inability to speak English.Read more.
Loan came to America in 2002 without the opportunity to learn English. Once settled, she needed to begin work immediately to contribute to family finances. With her brother's help, she found work alongside him at a local assembly factory. At work, she relied heavily on her brother for translation help, and never engaged in conversation with anyone else. Due to her limited English, Loan was terrified of talking to others, lest a misunderstanding occur.
On Loan's assembly line, she works and shares tools with a non-Vietnamese coworker. One time, Loan's co-worker saw that Loan was not using her tools, so she came and asked, "Are you using your tools?" Loan didn't understand, but wanted to be agreeable, so she said, "Yes." The co-worker returned to her place and waited. Half an hour later, she came back and asked Loan again, "Can I use your tools?" Confused, Loan responded, "No." Loan's responses made her co-worker believe that she was being uncooperative; the co-worker became so frustrated, she went and complained to the supervisor. After her brother came and interpreted their conversation, Loan realized that a huge misunderstanding had occurred. Thereafter, the whole company stuck her with the nickname, the "Yes/No" lady.
These experiences gave Loan the conviction to learn English. She has been enrolled in the ESL program at the SEAC since 2010. Before she came to SEAC to learn English, Loan couldn't communicate at her workplace to the extent that she was afraid to go to the bathroom by herself. She was afraid to talk to her supervisor, and her confusion created misunderstandings with her co-workers. Loan lacked essential English skills, which made her dependent on her brother in the workplace, and on her family for daily needs. Now, after a year, she has moved to SEAC's level 2 ESL, and her increased ability to understand English improved her relationships with her co-workers and helped her feel more comfortable at work. She understood when her supervisor announced pizza for lunch. She even knows enough English to engage in a social conversation and gained the confidence to talk to her supervisor about his weekend. Significantly, Loan recently earned her driver's license! She now wants to continue her studies to further expand her career potential. With her increased language abilities, Loan plans to apply for her U.S. Citizenship and take the exam next year.
At the Southeast Asian Coalition, we serve 150 ESL students a year. Loan's story is one of our many success stories. The ESL program is the most useful resource to help our community members become more independent and be a contributor to our society, since it prepares them with essential language skills. However, the funding for our program ceased at the end of September. At this time, we are working to apply for funding, and seeking to collaborate with other agencies in our community to connect our community members with the services they need. Without continued assistance, we will not be able to provide ESL classes to students like Loan in the future.
