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Edith has waited about two years to get into an English language course. She can only make time for an evening class, which limits her options in an already overburdened system.
“I want to learn because I have a daughter with significant disabilities, and all of her appointments are in English,” she said in Spanish.
Edith said not knowing English has closed doors in helping her daughter, who can’t walk or see. Her language skills have also made it hard to find work beyond her job at a hotel. Edith is using only her first name due to her ongoing immigration case.
Across Massachusetts, over 20,000 immigrants are waiting to get into English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, according to the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education. Edith and others who spoke to GBH News said those long waits have hampered their ability to move forward with their lives. Learning English is integral to finding work and housing, helping children with school, navigating the health care system, and routine tasks like getting groceries and using public transportation.
“The last year or 18 months have shown us that while we have a good, solid ESOL system, it’s not ready. It’s not equipped to handle large numbers of new arrivals arriving into the system,” said Claudia Green, executive director of English for New Bostonians.
The recent influx of migrants fleeing humanitarian crises in Haiti, Central and South America has further strained the English language learning system, as providers struggle to handle demand.
One in ten workers in Massachusetts speaks limited English, and Massachusetts lacks a strategy — as well as state and federal funding — to help immigrants contribute to the economy at their full potential, according to a new report by MassINC and the UMass Donahue Institute.
The adult population in Massachusetts with limited English proficiency grew by 50% in the last 20 years. Communities like Everett, Fitchburg, Salem and others in Western Massachusetts have no publicly funded providers. Revere has one instructional seat per 1,000 people who need it. Springfield and Lynn similarly have ten seats per 1,000 adults who need English language support.
“While we have a good, solid ESOL system, it’s not ready. It’s not equipped to handle large numbers of new arrivals.”Claudia Green, executive director of English for New Bostonians
Gov. Maura Healey’s administration told GBH News it launched an “unprecedented” strategy to increase access to ESOL classes through a pilot program for migrants in emergency assistance shelters, which offers online language learning and in-person classes focused on employment. Valentina Amaro, director of multicultural media for Healey, said nearly 1,250 people have enrolled in those courses since November 2023.
Beyond the shelter system, she said the administration has increased state funding for ESOL by $3.5 million. The state said the Office of Refugees and Immigrants recently released a request for bids to expand services, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funds providers that assist with adult education.
In the classroom
“Woman. What is the plural of one?” asked teacher Marcella Robinson.
“Women!” a group of students said in unison.
It’s a day for learning about singular and plural nouns in East Boston Community Council’s office, which subcontracts with English for New Bostonians for these classes. The tiny organization serves at least 400 language learners. Students attend ESOL classes here three times a week at the cost of $50 per month, for three months — but if they can’t afford it, the organization waives the fee.
One of the students in class that July day was Mickhjail Abreu, 25, who arrived in Boston three months ago after a long journey north from Venezuela, where he taught dance and designed clothes. One day he hopes to teach again, but believes he needs to know English well to do that. He also wants to design again, “like Versace!” For now, he’s working in a produce distributor in Chelsea.
He learned a little English in Venezuela, and from YouTube, but needed more guided instruction.
“The first day of class here, I was nervous! But I got comfortable and it’s become much easier,” Abreu said, adding that students do have homework, which he described happily.
Mario Medrano, a 24-year-old who joined his mother in Boston last month, was also in the class. In El Salvador, he worked in marketing, administrated social media, and was a videographer. He wants to find something similar here after he bolsters his English skills.
“We need to speak English, speak with other persons, and it’s necessary here, for example, to know a person, meet them, to introduce,” he said in English, before switching to Spanish. “When I look at jobs, you need to speak English for your job, especially to do well.”
Maria Consuelo Herrera, 59, immigrated from Colombia seven years ago because of domestic violence and economic reasons. She previously worked as a cleaner for public schools in Lawrence and has done part-time work for the park service. She’s hoping to work at the airport, and has recently interviewed for a job there.
In addition to job opportunities, Consuelo Herrera also wants to learn English for her granddaughter, who was born in the U.S., and for her upcoming citizenship exam.
“You have to be able to answer the questions in English, and know the history,” she said, mostly in Spanish. “There will be so many questions!”
Looking forward
Yovanni Zuleta, 40, has been on a waitlist for a course at Maverick Landing Community Services since shortly after he arrived from Colombia to East Boston in January.
“I continue to wait and ask, but I’m always told the same: the list is long,” he said in Spanish. He’s willing to take any class, either remote or in-person. Zuleta currently works at a restaurant, and relies on American colleagues if he needs help with English.
Waiting isn’t just for immigrants who live in the Boston area. Edith is hoping for a spot to open up in Northampton. All across the state, there are not enough ESOL classes to meet demand.
Laurie Millman is the executive director at the Center for New Americans, a Northampton-based organization that subcontracts for New Bostonians, and has a presence in emergency assistance shelters. The group has program sites in Greenfield, Northampton, Amherst and Springfield, with a combined waitlist of 80-90 people.
“The waitlists are enormous. It’s sad, because without English, people are really locked out,” she said. “It’s harder for them to find jobs when they’re not proficient in English. If they’re Haitians living in shelters, they’re trying desperately to find housing in the community, and they understand that they need English to be able to advocate for themselves.”
“The waitlists are enormous. It’s sad, because without English, people are really locked out.”Laurie Millman, executive director at the Center for New Americans
Frank Ramirez, CEO of the East Boston Community Council, is increasingly concerned that his smaller organization isn’t funded for ESOL services like larger organizations.
“There is a need for funding to make sure that organizations such as [ours] have the capacity and ability to expand in order to provide classes to a larger number of students,” he said.
State ESOL funding per adult with limited English proficiency fell by 25% in a little over 20 years, and federal funding to Massachusetts down 40%, according to the MassINC and UMass Donahue Institute report.
Benjamin Forman, MassINC’s research director and co-author of the report, said Massachusetts would be facing “monumental workforce challenges” without the number of immigrants who have come to the state in the past two decades. But he said increased language support would have significant benefits.
“These newcomers can contribute much more if we help them build the English skills required for most high value-added occupations,” he said.
Among the solutions proposed in the report is a push for a statewide ESOL expansion strategy, identification of which state agency would lead its implementation, and advocacy for more federal funding.
The federal government only provides Massachusetts with about $10 million annually for adult ESOL programs, while the state spends more than $45 million. Authors also recommend shifting state funding to vocational ESOL, so groups like Jewish Vocational Services and English for New Bostonians can connect with employers that rely on immigrant workers, and identify work-related English language needs.
Federal funds could also be used to convert vocational ESOL programs into degree programs at community colleges, like creating an associates degree in English for speakers of other languages. That could be a way to offer more advanced English classes, as Department of Secondary and Elementary Education–funded programs don’t offer those courses.
Green of New Bostonians said she hopes the report brings renewed focus to the issue.
“There will be hopefully some some high-level attention and leadership to really do what’s needed to help amend and reform the system, and expand it,” she said.
The report said that within English learning, there are even fewer courses available for immigrants who are seeking vocational language opportunities.
Boosting English skills by one level of proficiency for people who seek the service would generate $3 billion in additional annual earnings, according to the report, with about half going to Gateway City residents.
“The return on investment here is huge, especially in a time when we face intense worker shortages,” Forman said. “We want to try and meet the need as best we’re able.”
