County Offers Free English Language Classes at the Northwest Hillsborough Family YMCA

Xiomara Reyes, a native of the Dominican Republic hopes to attend Hillsborough Community College to become a personal trainer one day.

But for now instead of instructing people on the exercise machinery at the , she sits in a classroom and learns the basics of the English language.

Reyes, 37, is one of the students enrolled in Hillsborough County's free English courses offered at the YMCA. The county's School Board Adult and Community Education Department offers the classes to adults four mornings a week. 

Students learn the essentials including vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation. The classes are designed for members of the community who need assistance with the English language, are looking to continue their education, or become a member of our workforce. Each student is tested on their English proficiency and their score determines their level of placement.  After a certain number of instructional hours, they are tested again to gauge how much progress they’ve made until they reach the highest level.

Instructor and ESOL teacher Carlos Gonzalez's class is comprised of  students from different countries and varying degrees of the English language, he said.  According to Gonzalez, the majority of his students are Vietnamese.  Others are from Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, or Poland.  Many of them currently live in either Westchase or Town 'N Country, making the Northwest Hillsborough Family YMCA an ideal location.

The classes focus on beginners (levels one and two) during the first 90-minute session, and on the intermediate students (levels three, four and five) during the latter.  Gonzalez has been teaching English for more than 25 years – 24 of which were in his homeland of Cuba.

“Being an immigrant, I also try to teach them how to live in the United States.  With the complaint letter assignment, some students wanted to write a letter to a credit card company.  Others didn’t even know what a credit card was," Gonzalez said. "So I explained to them what a credit history is and how to build a credit report.  Many of them have never used a credit card or aren’t familiar with traffic regulations so my hope is that I can help make their lives easier."

A recent sample homework assignment required the students to write a complaint letter to a company.  Each student was asked to read their letter out loud while their classmates helped analyze the pronunciation.  In addition, this format helps them feel comfortable speaking in public.

“The Y believes every one – regardless of age, income or background – has the right to feel healthy, confident, connected and secure," said Rebecca Bray, communications director at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA. "For this reason, we design our programs and partner with various organizations to provide programs that meet the needs of each specific community."

Due to space issues, last year’s summer classes were held at Jefferson High School, in the heart of the Westshore Business District on W. Cypress Street. 

“As much as we wanted to stay here, it was impossible since the Y offers so many diverse summer programs for its members and the community.  The only alternate location available was Jefferson, and unfortunately, we lost many students in the transition," Gonzalez said.

This year's summer location has yet to be determined. For now Gonzalez continues helping and inspiring students like Reyes.

“He is great teacher,” Reyes said of Gonzalez.  “I enjoy the way he teaches because in addition to advancing my reading and writing skills, I also get to learn about this country – and its history – which I find very interesting.”

ESOL instruction is available year round on an open enrollment basis.  Classes are held at the Northwest Hillsborough Family YMCA (8950 W. Waters Ave.) Mon., Tues., & Thurs. from 9am-12pm, and Wed. from 10am-12pm.  For more information, call (813) 740-7750 or log onto their website at http://ace.mysdhc.org.