For University employees who clean and maintain the campus but speak little English, communicating with students, let alone the greater Middletown community, proves an everyday challenge. Sarice Greenstein ’10, however, is head coordinator of a student-run effort that hopes to bridge this language gap.
As coordinator of the University’s English as a Second Language Program (WesESL)—a student-run organization that offers one-on-one English tutoring to custodial staff at the University—Greenstein’s job is to organize a small group of students who devote their free time to working with non-English speaking University employees. She also takes the time to get to know each WesESL tutee personally.
“I know the workers in the Butts, in…Usdan, [and] in the program houses,” Greenstein said. “This is why I love my position as coordinator.”
Although Greenstein emphasized the importance of creating a bridge between students and employees, the ultimate goal of WesESL is to teach English to those with little to no knowledge of the language. The tutoring sessions take place twice a week during three allotted pay hours that American Building Management (ABM), the contractor that the University uses for custodial work, offers its personnel in their contracts.
WesESL matches employees with student tutors who are responsible for creating lesson plans for sessions twice per week. According to Greenstein, approximately 25 employees are participating in the program this year.
In the fall semester, the program offers a student forum, during which tutors can help develop the program’s curriculum. According to Amy Torres ’12, another coordinator of the program, students who take the forum can earn one academic credit. The tutoring itself can be either a voluntary or work-study position.
The program offers credit and pay to attract tutors, but Torres and Greenstein emphasize the community service aspect of the program.
“Learning English is important to the workers so they can take higher education classes, advance to better jobs, pass the citizenship exam, help their children with their homework, get medical attention and communicate with students and co-workers on the job,” Greenstein said.
Molly Deutsch-Feldman ’12, who started tutoring last year, knows she is making a difference in the lives of ESL employees.
“Last year, [we] spent some time talking about banks, and how to deposit checks, things like that,” she said. “Then [my student] came in one day and told me she had gone to the bank by herself and used what she had learned.”
The application process for tutors ended on September 23, but applications will be open again in the future.
“I think WesESL is a great way to stay connected to an often overlooked community on the Wesleyan campus,” said Sean Burke ’10, another WesESL coordinator. “The workers here are enthusiastic, intelligent and friendly and are great as students and as friends.”