Alva Review-Courier -

Kathleen Lourde

1. Speech pathologist Konya Martin gives a lesson on words commonly used in education. 2. Louis Garcia lists the day's spelling and reading comprehension words on the white board as his ESL students copy them down into their notebooks. Later in the class the words would reappear in readings and discussions. 3. The ESL students take a reading comprehension quiz. 4. Letitia Miguel slowly reads aloud, carefully pronouncing each word. 5. Emma Gomez laughs as she describes some of the everyday difficulties that come with not speaking English well. "The fast food -- I ask for french fries and they always give me a Sprite!" she says. 6. Erica Rios, who works at Beadles, says learning English is important for her work, because she needs to be able to communicate with her boss, coworkers and residents. 7. Francisca Cruz smiles even though she's talking about how much she misses her home in Mexico. 8. Nena Rios reads aloud a lesson about Benjamin Franklin.