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Churches have long held classes to teach English to immigrants. This fall, the number of students has jumped. The reason is a change in federal policy that limits funding for some adult education programs based on students' immigration status. To find out more about this trend, the Texas Standard's Sarah Asch sat in on ESL classes at a church in Waco, Texas. She has this report.
UNIDENTIFIED INSTRUCTOR #1: OK, let's practice - James, John.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS #1: James, John.
SARAH ASCH, BYLINE: On a Thursday morning, dozens of people gathered in Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. They were not there to worship but to learn English. Mahyar Hosseini is an engineer from Iran. And today, he's learning the difference between the words wonder and wander. He's here while his wife works towards her Ph.D. in chemistry at Baylor University.
MAHYAR HOSSEINI: It's a good opportunity, especially when you came to the U.S. you don't know how to speak English.
ASCH: He heard about the church program from a friend.
HOSSEINI: I join her, and after that, I'm bring a lot of people after me (laughter).
ASCH: Hosseini and his family are Muslim, but he says that doesn't matter. The church program is open to everyone who wants to learn.
HOSSEINI: So one time we went to the car auction with my car.
UNIDENTIFIED INSTRUCTOR #2: Yeah. That's right.
ASCH: Several church officials told NPR that they have been providing English programs for decades. But after new restrictions limited the students federally funded programs could serve based on immigration status, they've been expanding to help people who used to get this instruction elsewhere. Paula Marshall is the director of the ESL program at the Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.
PAULA MARSHALL: The doors blew off (laughter) on the first day.
ASCH: She said enrollment was at 105 people in early September, compared to 84 at the beginning of last school year. In contrast, McLennan Community College across town saw their ESL enrollment drop from 181 last fall to 40 this year. Margarita Machado-Casas, president of the National Association of Bilingual Education (ph), said this group has seen a drop in enrollment at federally funded ESL programs across the country.
LAYA: I'm Laya (ph), I'm from Chinese. I'm...
UNIDENTIFIED INSTRUCTOR #3: China. China.
LAYA: China.
ASCH: It's unclear how many churches provide ESL programs in Texas, but Matthew Johnston, the executive director of Literacy ConneXus, a nonprofit that helps churches with literacy programs, says attendance is up across the state.
MATTHEW JOHNSTON: I spoke with a ministry partner from a church up in Plano, and they have doubled their enrollment over what they had expected.
ASCH: Literacy ConneXus has tripled the number of teacher trainings they've led since mid-July, when the new Trump administration policy was announced. Jim Witt, an associate pastor at the First Baptist Church in Garland, a suburb of Dallas, said his church has also seen increased enrollment in ESL classes. Witt says although many churches are in traditionally conservative places, which are the support base for Trump's immigration policies, that doesn't influence his ministry work.
JIM WITT: Part of following Jesus is trying to demonstrate his love to people, and one of the ways we demonstrate that love is by ministries like ESL.
UNIDENTIFIED INSTRUCTOR #4: Let me help you with this one. What do you see in the first one? Is that M, or is that...
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS #2: N.
ASCH: At Waco's Columbus Avenue Baptist Church, Phyllis Merritt said they have ESL students from 17 countries this year.
PHYLLIS MERRITT: I enjoy meeting people from all over the world. I enjoy what they have taught me. To me, it is my calling. God said, love your neighbor as yourself.
ASCH: For students, this program offers community and a place to learn. And Marshall said they plan to keep doing so as long as students are showing up.
For NPR News, I'm Sarah Asch in Waco.
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