Blog | Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy

The Trio Every Learner Needs for Online Learning – Part 1

3 years 5 months 2 weeks 1 day ago

In the MCAEL network, many programs are continuing to offer online adult ESOL classes, while also returning to in-person learning too. Learners have relished the convenience of online classes. But, in order to clear the threshold toward success in an online class, an adult learner needs three things 1) a computer (preferably a laptop); 2) high-speed internet access (that is reliable and affordable), and 3) some level of digital literacy.

So, on Saturday MCAEL coordinated a day - with the help of amazing partners – to distribute free laptops, to provide on-site sign-ups for free and reduced internet services, AND to provide one-on-one initial digital training so folks could log on to their computers and download Zoom.

Thanks to Montgomery College we had a great hosting site in the science building on the Rockville Campus. That central location was accessible to families taking classes at MCAEL programs around the county – including Vietnamese American Services, Montgomery College, CASA, Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center, Seneca Creek Community Church, Catholic Charities, the Ethiopian Community Center, and many more.

Thanks to the Montgomery Connects program sponsored by the Montgomery County Department of Technology, Enterprise Business Solutions (TEBS), as well as Josh Bokee with Connect for Broadband, we were able to distribute computers provided through a federal grant that TEBS obtained and have representatives on-site from Comcast, Verizon, and T-Mobile to provide immediate sign-ups for internet services.

And thanks to MCAEL’s own Danny Quile and several volunteers, computer recipients could open up their laptops, learn how to start it up, and sign on and download Zoom for their online class.

We often share that adults wish to learn English to help their children in school – and sure enough – during our day, a Mom was learning how to log onto the MCPS website to look at her daughters' information. She was delighted to be one step further to her goal in her English language journey and I am very proud of the coordinating role MCAEL plays in our community. I’ll be back with a Part 2 about this event in the next day or two – stay tuned.

- Kathy Stevens, MCAEL Executive Director

Executive Director Spotlight - For the Love of Learning

3 years 6 months 22 hours 44 min ago

Today is the day. It is the first day of school in Montgomery County, MD for over 160,000 students, their teachers, para-educators, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and all the others that make education possible, including parents and families. I love this time of year. I love learning. Here at MCAEL, we will be studying and practicing just as much as the kids in MCPS classrooms and adults in MCAEL classes -my staff and I have started Spanish classes together-- working to improve our communication with many of the MCAEL network’s 11,000 adult English learners who speak Spanish. This morning I brought homemade zucchini bread to work which has been promptly labeled, pan de calabacin. The promise of a new year- new learnings, new teachings, new questions, and answers brings me hope. I wish everyone an inspirational and safe year full of challenges and successes. And now to get to work after “liking” all the first-day photos on social media.

- Kathy Stevens
Executive Director, MCAEL

Reflections from the 2021 WATESOL Conference: ESOL, Race & Equity

4 years 3 months 2 weeks 1 day ago

On October 16th I attended the Washington Area TESOL (WATESOL) virtual conference. I mapped out my workshop schedule eager to learn more about asset- based instruction and how to support learners who struggle with unseen learning difficulties. I found these workshops to be hugely informative, but it was the keynote address from Suhanthie Motha that has lingered with me every single day since.

Her presentation “Is antiracist English language teaching possible? Striving for racial justice in TESOL” challenged us as English language teaching professionals to look at our work in a larger social and historical context. There is an inherent complexity to teaching English that many of us may not have considered in our day-to-day lives as adult ESOL professionals. Historically to the present, the English language has been used as a tool for colonialism, oppression, racism and enforcing a culture of white supremacy. Conversely, most of us enter the field of ESOL with the intention to teach English as a tool for helping learners improve their lives through gaining the language skills needed to engage and thrive in their lives and community.

Motha’s keynote encouraged us to ask our field and ourselves difficult questions like, “How do I hold knowledge of oppression with the intention of supporting learners?” Difficult questions like this one call us to not only critically examine our field but also dig deep into our own selves to recognize that none of us are neutral in the way we see race. I left Dr. Motha’s keynote with an ache in my heart that reminded me that there is much work to be done to bring more racial equity to our field.

We at MCAEL are committed to evolving in our knowledge, practices and supports around racial equity as a community. Recognizing the work starts inside we’re committed to doing our work in house, as well as, in the broader MCAEL network. Motha’s call has sparked our staff and members of our Executive Board to form a book club. We will be reading her book Race, Empire and English Language Teaching: Creating Responsible and Ethical Anti-Racist Practice and exploring how it applies to the work we are doing here in the Montgomery County adult ESOL community. Creating a racially equitable community starts with digging deep inside of ourselves, but we don’t have to do it alone. When we work towards racial equity in compassionate community the lift becomes more doable for each of us.

Tiffani Ross
Manager of Network Learning and Development

Words Matter

7 years 4 months 1 week 4 days ago

Dear MCAEL Community:

Words matter. That is one of the reasons we support the network of programs that teach English to adults – we know that for people to reach their goals being able to use their words is critical. Think about how many times in a day you say something to someone, listen to another person speak, or read or write something ---how successful would you feel if you could not communicate about basic every-day living situations.

For immigrant adults, learning English is the bedrock of how they connect with our shared community. Improving ones’ English allows for a better job; it allows for a parent to work with their child and teachers on schoolwork, and allows them to conduct doctor’s appointments without having their children interpret for them.

Words matter. Thanks for visiting our website and stay in touch.

Kathy Stevens
Executive Director
Montgomery Coalition for Adult English Literacy (MCAEL)