One Step at a Time

It was the end of class one day. A student was leaving and pointed to another student, Ali, and said "Ali said you give him more trust in himself to speak." Ali heard this and came up to tell me a story. He said that he has to go to "the primacy" every month, and I had to stop him right there. "The primacy?" I asked. "Yes, for my medicine," he replied. So, we very quickly discussed the word "pharmacy" before he continued. He said that he has to bring a friend to interpret for him every month, but that the day before, he had gone by himself. He smiled with great pride as he recounted the simple conversation: "I said, 'I need my medicine. My doctor send it.' And they say, "OK, no problem.' " I was thrilled for this small but very real victory. I also loved that the telling of the story involved an error in one of the main words. It is so real! In ESOL, there is always so much more to learn. But every lesson brings students one step closer to maneuvering through the adult world with real independence. So this month for Ali, it was a trip to the pharmacy.  Next month, who knows? I am excited to see what's next for him.Nancy Harrison is an English teacher at one of CRIS’s fourteen class locations.  She has been with us since August and before that taught English with the Columbus Literacy Council.