22786: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Four navigate an alien world with language (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>


Posted on Sun, Jul. 25, 2004



Four navigate an alien world with language

Four older Haitian women are among those taking free education classes so
they can learn to read for the first time -- in English.

BY TRENTON DANIEL AND JO WERNE

tdaniel@herald.com


The letters on the dry-erase board in this North Miami Beach classroom
barely make up words. They are mostly abstract symbols for now, but the two
Haitian women are working to make sense of them.

They are learning to read for the first time, not in their native Haitian
Creole, but in a difficult foreign language: English.

And so, Olga Bastien, 63, and Lerencia Dieuveille, 51, are starting out with
the basics. Learning how to write their names, addresses, telephone numbers,
days of the week and colors is at the top of the list. Repetition helps.

''I think because they are older, they forget things a lot easier, and
things have to be repeated over and over,'' said first-grade teacher Lili
Rotholz, who did that repeating with the small group three days a week.
``But these students really want to learn, and they try hard.''

Community school courses typically cost $4 or more per hour, but the
beginning English class was free because Frank Mattucci, an assistant
principal at Oak Grove Elementary, got a $75,000 federal grant to pay for
almost 60 children and adults to take classes in GED preparation, computer
literacy and English.

''What I think is especially important is that, in our neighborhoods and in
Miami-Dade neighborhoods, you have members of the community who don't speak
or write English,'' Mattucci said. ``This helps the children because their
parents are able to communicate with their teachers, and also allows the
parents to help their children with homework.''

Bastien and Dieuveille were not the only ones seeking to understand an alien
language. They were joined by Philicia Utile, 79, and Valerie Pierre Louis,
73. Luxi Simota, 26, who immigrated from Mexico, attended the class, too.

On this June evening, the last day of class, Bastien and Dieuveille are
here, eager to figure out these symbols whose meaning has eluded them. Like
most of the Haitian poor and working class who can't read or write, they
never learned French, the language of the colonial ruler, much less attended
school.

Both hail from Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, where Dieuveille
sold rice and beans before reuniting with her family in North Miami Beach
last year. Bastien helped out her family with chores and arrived in South
Florida in 1995.

''Today we're going to look at some pictures again,'' Rotholz said as she
pulled out cards with color pictures of a leather belt, an apron, blue pants
and boots. ``What color are the man's shoes?''

''Broowwwwn,'' said Rotholz's pupils, who sat in chairs and at a table meant
for first-graders.

Later, Bastien and Dieuveille copied sentences from the board -- ''My name
is . . .'' ''My address is . . .'' Their handwriting was open and unsteady
despite the lines on the paper. Rotholz wants them to be able to fill out an
application that asks for a person's name, address and phone number and to
call for help if need be.

So far, they've made progress, she said.

''They're finally getting the alphabet, and their writing is much better
now,'' Rotholz said. ``When they first started, they could barely write
their names. Now they can write their names.''

The two women are upfront about their need to learn English.

''I need to speak for work, and if I don't, everything is going to be
difficult,'' Dieuveille, who doesn't have a job, said in Creole. ``If you
don't speak the language, it's a problem.''

Next fall, both plan to return if the school receives funding to resume the
program. Bastien is matter-of-fact: ``We're returning because if we don't
return, we can't speak English.''

_________________________________________________________________
Is your PC infected? Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfeeŽ
Security. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963