I'd like to know people's experiences with learning English. I've been looking into classes for when he comes (soon!)...and it's so expensive...at least from what I see in the Boston area...usually about $1000 for just 4 weeks. I've seen great reviews for Rosetta Stone online - has anybody used this? It's not cheap, $450 for levels 1,2 &3 but if it works I figure it's a small price to pay - especially when he'll be here with virtually no knowledge of the English language. Or are classes the way to go?

Hi, I'm an English as a Foreing Language (EFL) instructor. To determine what would be the best way to go, I'd need to know how much English he knows. Rosetta, for what I know, works with a CD-rom that brings a kind of a modern flashcard to work with.

If he knows little English, you could give a try at Pimsleur (I'll PM you about it). If he knows some English, than classes should work best. Look for smaller classes, otherwise he'll be doing a lot of listening and won't have too much time to speak.

Also, I should add that English as a Second language programs are quite expensive. But I've heard of some offered by community colleges that have better prices.

And, sorry, you've already said that he knows very little English. So... I guess he could use Pimsleur for Spanish speakers. It'll only have very simple structures at first and it doesn't bring grammar explanations. But it seems quite effective from what I've heard. I've used it myself to learn some Spanish. If he likes the whole self-study thing, he should be fine with it.

Thanks Mew, I"ll check out the Pimsleur website. He's been pretty good about self-studying. I gave him some books in Paraguay and he's trying to build up some vocab. I also know that immersion is key and hopefully we can find him a job when he gets here where there aren't a lot of Spanish speaking co-workers (cuz then he'll just speak Spanish all day!!)

No problem!

I should add that if he doesn't speak too well, he'll probably find taking classes a bit challening, because he wouldn't be able to verbalize his doubts and that would cause him some trouble to build his skills. Let me know if you need anything, ok?

I got the ESL classes here in the College and it was just $25 a quarter!!! Classes Mon-Fri from 09am-12pm!
Very good if I wasnt way past from the last level of English!!!

Good luck!

Carol

I have looked into learning English for my fiance who barely speaks any English. I called our community college and they said if you're not from here it's 150$ a unit to register however if he doesn't care about the units then he can take the classes but not for a grade. It costs 10 dollars a unit to do that and it's 15 weeks of English classes.

Also I asked about other tutoring and classes and they were able to help me find a local tutoring service for English it's one on one and it's free!!! It meets twice a week for 4 hours.

Good luck- just try calling around and see what you can find.

Sarah

The public high schools in my county offer free English classes at night. It's a very simple class, but I guess it helps you get going and helps you get a feel for American English without having to waste money.
And also, ss silly as this may sound, the best way to get him to learn and to practice is to limit how much Spanish television he watches. Make sure he watches English channel with Closed-caption turned on.

I agree...luckily there's only like 2 or 3 channels in Spanish around here. I can't wait til he gets here and we can start practicing English. I will definitely check out free classes around town. I'm sure they're not as intense but will definitely help him get his feet wet.

i assume it is probably the same there, but in most of the spanish groceries locally and in the paper are people who give private ESL classes. They won't be as formal (and possibly risky on quality because of this), but they are often cheaper.

The local community college and high school are huge options as well.

Ask at your public library- ours offers free ESL classes.

My wife and son is enrolled in ESL classed here at community college - Free!! Start in end of August. Try also some church groups and I hear that Cathlolic Services can help but I do not know directly about this.

Look around also for Literacy organizations. I'm not sure if you are IN Boston, but I googled "Boston literacy" and got several. They tend to offer tutoring sessions, one-on-one, plus classes, for free. I have volunteered at a few.

PS The advice about close-captioned TV is great; I had a few students who became quite fluent before coming to the literacy center, in large part due to TV and captions.

added: Literacy organizations are usually founded to combat illiteracy but these days deal mostly with EFL populations and SOME limited-literacy native speakers, and always have free services

Although expensive, my wife enrolled in the University's intensive english program, and she struggled at first, but by midterm she had turned it around and I have seen a lot of progress in her understanding of the english language. We tried self study, private institutes, and free church sponsored ESL classes--but she has learned so much more in one semester at the University than all the other ways of studying combined. The good thing about the university is its English English and More English. Before you enroll they do an assessment test to see what level your are at--and then register you for the level you tested. They have several areas of instruction: Grammar, Culture, Reading, Writing, Speaking, Conversation, Listening, Spelling, and Comprehension. Its and intensive system--but it really forced my wife to learn the language. She wishes she could continue studying--but she has to give birth to our baby boy next month so she will miss next semester. I hope she can enroll in January for Level II. She is really happy with this type of program.

If you can spare the cash or get a loan or financial aid I would try to enroll in a program like this.

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I will definitely check out everyone's suggestions online. (PS His interview is Monday!!)



I was under the impression that only US citizens can receive financial aid. Or is this wrong?

FAFSA on the web:
Are you a U.S. citizen?
If you are neither a citizen nor an eligible noncitizen, you are not eligible for federal student aid. However, you should still complete the application, because you may be eligible for state or college aid.

If you are in the U.S. on an F1 or F2 student visa, or a J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa,
or a G series visa (pertaining to international organizations), you must answer
“Neither citizen nor eligible noncitizen.”

Generally you are an eligible noncitizen if you are:
• A U.S. permanent resident with a Permanent Resident Card (I-551);
• A conditional permanent resident (I-551C); or
• The holder of an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the
Department of Homeland Security showing any of the following
designations: “Refugee,” “Asylum Granted,” “Parolee” (I-94 confirms
paroled for a minimum of one year and status has not
expired), or “Cuban-Haitian Entrant.”

FAFSA en el Red
¿Es usted ciudadano de EE.UU.?
Si no es ciudadano ni extranjero con derecho a participar, no puede recibir ayuda estudiantil
de los programas federales. Sin embargo, como es posible que reúna los requisitos
para recibir ayuda del estado o de la institución educativa, conviene llenar la solicitud.

Si usted se encuentra en EE.UU. al amparo de la visa de estudiante tipo F1 ó F2, de la
visa de visitante por intercambio tipo J1 ó J2, ó de la visa serie G (relativa a organizaciones
internacionales), deberá rellenar la casilla correspondiente a «Ni ciudadano ni
extranjero con derecho a participar».

Por lo general, se considera que uno es extranjero con derecho a participar
si:
• es residente permanente de EE.UU. y tiene la tarjeta de residencia
permanente (I-551);
• es residente permanente condicional (I-551C) o
• tiene constancia (I-94) del registro de su llegada o salida (emitida
por el Departamento de Seguridad Interna), en la que se indique
alguna de las siguientes categorías: «Refugiado», «Asilo otorgado»,
«Inmigrante cubano o haitiano» o «Admitido a prueba» (o
«Parolee») (tratándose de esta última categoría, la I-94 es constancia
de que la persona fue admitida a prueba por un mínimo de un
año y de que aún no ha vencido la correspondiente situación inmigratoria).

you learn something new everyday! this is great news thanks!

As an idea, he can download podCasts for the iPod on learning English. I have no personal experience of it, but from what I heard, it's pretty good. If you don't have an iPod, you can still listen to the podCast in iTunes.

www.podcast.net

KP