An English Class in the News : Students in Cerritos Program Use Media as Tool to Master Language

Jean Rose gets up as early as 5 a.m. every morning to prepare for her class at the ABC Unified School District’s Adult School in Cerritos.

The veteran teacher’s routine never varies: She reads her newspaper, she reads her neighbor’s newspaper before he retrieves it from his driveway, and she tunes in to newscasts on the three major television networks.

Then she is ready to face her 8 a.m. class of 40 students, who also have reviewed the news and are eager to discuss current events.

Rose, 50, teaches one of 68 English as a Second Language classes that are offered mornings, afternoons and evenings in the ABC adult education program.

More than 1,000 students are enrolled in the ESL program, where more than 20 language groups, including Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, German and Greek, are represented, Assistant Principal Betty Gerhardt said.

Rose’s students are a diverse group that includes housewives, retirees and professionals. All of them are trying to master English using newspapers and newscasts as tools.

On a recent morning, Rose and her class talked about the arson at a New York social club in which 87 people died. They discussed Lithuania’s move to break away from the Communist Party, and the Academy Awards.

The story on the fire used the term “DJ.” Rose explained to her students that the DJ who escaped from the burning building in New York was a person who plays music on the radio and is known as a “disc jockey.”

“They read the papers and watch television, but the news is not always clear to them,” Rose said. “The class helps them. After class discussions, they feel more comfortable talking with others about events.”

For many students, the class builds confidence and helps them communicate with English-speaking relatives and co-workers.

“You want to be able to talk about more than the weather,” Parisima Hafezadeh said. Hafezadeh, 40, from Iran, is a bookkeeper at a Norwalk auto dealership.

“Before I took the class I wouldn’t open my mouth. Now, I don’t close it,” said Soonja Park, 43, a registered nurse at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood. Park, from Korea, has lived in this country 14 years.

“Whenever I’m off work, I come to class,” Park said.

Hong Woo Lee, a 74-year-old retired chemistry teacher from Seoul, Korea, has lived in this country 18 years. He describes himself as a “professional baby-sitter” for his many grandchildren.

Because of the class, which he has attended for more than three years, Lee said he is able to hold conversations “in broken English” with his eight grandchildren.

Students are given entry tests to determine their level of English skill. They are placed in beginning, intermediate or advanced classes taught by 49 ESL teachers.

Rose’s current events class, which is an advanced course, is one of the more popular ones. Students can take it as many times as they want.

“Her enthusiasm and dynamite personality” as well as her professionalism have made the class a success, ABC Adult School Principal Lee Powers said.

Instructional aide Marie Sheffield added: “Jean is in tune with her student’s culture. She understands them. She respects them. They come to her when they need help.”

Assistant Principal Gerhardt recalled Rose’s taking time off from her job without pay a couple of years ago to attend court with a woman who did not speak English well.

Sheffield said she remembers a student who came to Rose for help because he was having problems communicating with his employer.

Many of the students continue the classes for many years because of Rose and her teaching ability.

“You don’t easily forget with Jean. She says things with body language,” said Park, who has been in the class for several years.

Rose teaches with the zeal “of a missionary,” Frank Hsu said. Hsu, 73, a native of Taiwan, has been attending the class for several years.

Rose, who has been teaching at the school since 1981, said her success is simple. “I do this because I enjoy it. I really enjoy it.”

Rose lives in Long Beach with her husband, Augustus, a physician. She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Pomona College and a master’s degree in linguistics from Cal State Long Beach. She has also taught ESL classes at Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach.