Juana Reyes went through hard times when she relocated from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Oceanside.
In Mexico, Juana only finished secondary school, the equivalent of junior high in the United States. In 2006, knowing only a handful of English words, she moved to California hoping to find a good job to support herself and her family, who remained in Mexico.
"I looked for jobs when I arrived in the U.S., but my options were very limited, especially because I did not know the language or the culture," said Juana.
For a while, Juana settled on working as a dishwasher for a restaurant, though she knew she needed and deserved something better. Thankfully, her brother, who was taking classes at MiraCosta's Community Learning Center, told her about the college's free noncredit English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.
Juana enrolled right away and finished the program in 18 months. She then enrolled in the college's Adult High School Diploma Program, from which she graduated in spring 2013. Today, she is enrolled as a full-time college student at MiraCosta College.
Juana is one of thousands of students who have taken MiraCosta's free ESL classes since the program started in the 1970s. Though students in the program speak a range of languages and hail from a number of different countries, including Mexico, Afghanistan, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Iraq, they all desire the same thing?to communicate in English more effectively.
"Our program definitely appeals to a lot of people," said Ruth Gay, noncredit program chair. "A lot of our students want to improve their English to communicate more effectively and hopefully earn a degree to acquire a better career. They are very hardworking people."
The noncredit ESL program, which consists of seven, eight-week levels, teaches and prepares students to enroll in the college's Adult High School Diploma Program; transfer to MiraCosta College as a credit student; or take one of the college's Community Services certificate programs. This summer's session begins in June and students can register in May.
MiraCosta also offers credit ESL classes, which are designed for students who want to improve their English language skills to earn a degree, certificate or enroll in other credit classes.
Businesses looking to teach their employees vocational English can take advantage of the college's Community Services Program, which offers multi-level Vocational English-as-a-Second Language (VESL) courses designed for students whose first language is other than English.
These courses are tailored to specific industries, such as healthcare, automotive or horticulture, and students learn vocabulary development related to equipment, supplies, common tasks, and safety procedures in specific industries.
For additional information at MiraCosta College's English as a Second Language programs, call the college at 760-757-2121 or visit our website at www.miracosta.edu.
In Mexico, Juana only finished secondary school, the equivalent of junior high in the United States. In 2006, knowing only a handful of English words, she moved to California hoping to find a good job to support herself and her family, who remained in Mexico.
"I looked for jobs when I arrived in the U.S., but my options were very limited, especially because I did not know the language or the culture," said Juana.
For a while, Juana settled on working as a dishwasher for a restaurant, though she knew she needed and deserved something better. Thankfully, her brother, who was taking classes at MiraCosta's Community Learning Center, told her about the college's free noncredit English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.
Juana enrolled right away and finished the program in 18 months. She then enrolled in the college's Adult High School Diploma Program, from which she graduated in spring 2013. Today, she is enrolled as a full-time college student at MiraCosta College.
Juana is one of thousands of students who have taken MiraCosta's free ESL classes since the program started in the 1970s. Though students in the program speak a range of languages and hail from a number of different countries, including Mexico, Afghanistan, South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Iraq, they all desire the same thing?to communicate in English more effectively.
"Our program definitely appeals to a lot of people," said Ruth Gay, noncredit program chair. "A lot of our students want to improve their English to communicate more effectively and hopefully earn a degree to acquire a better career. They are very hardworking people."
The noncredit ESL program, which consists of seven, eight-week levels, teaches and prepares students to enroll in the college's Adult High School Diploma Program; transfer to MiraCosta College as a credit student; or take one of the college's Community Services certificate programs. This summer's session begins in June and students can register in May.
MiraCosta also offers credit ESL classes, which are designed for students who want to improve their English language skills to earn a degree, certificate or enroll in other credit classes.
Businesses looking to teach their employees vocational English can take advantage of the college's Community Services Program, which offers multi-level Vocational English-as-a-Second Language (VESL) courses designed for students whose first language is other than English.
These courses are tailored to specific industries, such as healthcare, automotive or horticulture, and students learn vocabulary development related to equipment, supplies, common tasks, and safety procedures in specific industries.
For additional information at MiraCosta College's English as a Second Language programs, call the college at 760-757-2121 or visit our website at www.miracosta.edu.