Recently, I asked one of my students to describe the difficulties of attending both a GED and an ESOL class. While I imagine that we can all understand that GED class is difficult enough (how many of us really want to see what our score would be on the GED Math test?) but add that it is being taught in a second language and that adds a completely different level of difficulty. I’ve inserted her response below. Hong is a Chinese student who attends both my GEN Y GED class and ESOL classes.
I have been taking GED class and ESOL class almost two months. These are two different courses. The GED course helps students who do not finish high school to complete their high school education. The ESOL course helps people who speak other languages to learn English.
In GED class, almost all the students are Americans; English is their first language. Sometimes I don’t understand what they are talking about. Each class my teacher teaches me some new words. He explains the new words’ meaning and lets us make some sentences. I need to write an essay each week. I think that’s very helpful for me.
The ESOL course places special emphasis on words and expressions for everyday use and speaking. This course gives me more of a chance to speak with other people in English. In ESOL class, we read newspapers aloud and we often learn something new. I enjoy my GED class and ESOL class.
**FYI: Hong and I sat together and corrected some mistakes before this entry was published.
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Thanks for telling us about your experiences in the GED and ESOL class. Good luck to you in both of these classes.