The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program offers
functional English language instruction to non-native English speakers.

Students: We serve around 200-300 students each year. The majority of our students are from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, but we also serve students from Asia and Africa. The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program offers functional English language instruction to non-native English speakers.

Classes: Students attend class two to four times per week, for a total of 4-8 hours of weekly instruction. Our core classes are held at Lakewood Baptist Church, where we offer Beginning Literacy, Low Beginning, High Beginning, Intermediate, and Conversation classes hour evening per week (Mon-Thu, 6:30-8:30pm). Other class locations include Durham county Library (Main Library, Southwest and East Regional Branch) and the Family Center of Northern Durham.

Curriculum: The curriculum for the core classes is organized thematically around survival skills such as obtaining employment, participating in children's education, obtaining adequate housing, shopping, learning basic computer skills, and more. Other classes target specific language needs, such as English for food-service workers or English for pre-literate refugees.

Volunteers: Nearly all our instructors are volunteers, who complete 12 hours of training and commit to teaching two hours per week for at least one semester.