Supporting Community Leadership Development through ESL Classes: A Changemaking Initiative

This article describes the process of teaching English as a second language to members of an underprivileged local community. This initiative was developed as a result of a collaboration between a community center and a university. Three 1st-year TESOL master's candidates volunteered to design and teach curriculum to immigrant community members on a weekly basis to meet their needs in ESL and in areas such as health, education, community, housing, leadership, and autonomy. The class consisted of Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking senior citizens who were community leaders, and who needed the language, skills, and knowledge to be more effective in their leadership roles. A key goal was to create empowerment opportunities for these students to become changemakers and to advocate for themselves, their families, and their communities. In addition to improving their English, student outcomes included finding their voices in their 2nd language through discussions and through oral and written work, developing a sense of unity among class members, and gaining confidence to take action for the common good.