Suze Mika Domond speaks several languages, but says her English needs some work. She’s from Haiti and is part of an intermediate English class that meets every Wednesday at the International Institute of New England. She said taking classes with teacher Caroline Edwards helped her confidence in her speaking abilities.
“I know in my head I got everything in English,” Domond said. “But when I speak, it's a different thing.”
Several of the other students said they felt the same way about the hybrid English class. They said English was useful for their day-to-day activities, and they’ve put a lot of work into improving their skills.
Domond is one of more than 350 students enrolled in English classes across the city. However, as more people are looking to enroll in English classes, it’s getting harder to land a spot in a class.
Some programs face funding and staffing challenges, contributing to months long-waitlists for people who are eager to learn English. Providers say that English is an essential part of living in the U.S. and the long waitlists make it harder for people who don’t speak English to become part of their communities.
For instance, Manchester Associate Director Joe Gilbert said the International Institute of New England served about 300 students last year, but they’ve had about 200 people waiting for a spot for the past few months.
“Lately, it's been just skyrocketing demand that we cannot keep up with in terms of our capacity,” he said.
He says the International Institute's first priority is resettling refugees, which requires enrolling them in an English class. Because of this, the International Institute gives priority spots for refugee students, while community members who want to learn English have to get in line.
Demand is likely to keep going up in Manchester. The number of foreign-born residents in New Hampshire has more than doubled in the past decade, especially in cities like Manchester.
There were about 87,000 foreign-born residents of New Hampshire, according to census estimates. This is up from 40,000 in 2012, or more than double. In Manchester, this grew to about 1,800 people in the same time period.
These classes, Gilbert said, are essential to help students get a job and become involved in their new city.
“I think our students are people who want to work. They want to learn. They want to become engaged in the communities,” he said
The institute is part of a new group of ESOL providers in Manchester who meet monthly at the Center for New Americans at Southern New Hampshire University. The group is trying to shorten waitlists, share resources and better serve their clients.
“Navigating the options that students have right now is really difficult,” said Courtney Perron who leads the coalition. “What classes are available? What do they cost? Where are they? Are they going to fit in? My, you know, second and third first shift job schedule.”
To help people sort that out, the coalition is building out a website that will show potential students which programs might have openings or shorter wait times and encourage more students to enroll.
The coalition is hoping to launch their website in February. With a centralized list of resources, they’re hoping they can help more students get into English classes.
“The value that a new American brings into this community specifically is so broad and so impactful,” she said. “All we have to do is unlock that language door."
