In New Program, Mexican Students Learn Basic Spanish Before English in New York

“A problem emerged not long after the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island opened its English as a Second Language program: Its Mexican students in many cases needed to be taught the basics of Spanish before they could even start to learn English.

“If you don’t know how to conjugate a verb in Spanish, it’s almost impossible to learn a second language,” the director of education and vocational training, Rose Shargo, said. Six weeks ago, with donated materials from the Mexican government, the JCC started a new tactic: Its Spanish-speaking students now have the opportunity to learn to read in Spanish before being taught English. The increase in interest, Ms. Shargo said, has been “tremendous.” Students have been dressing up for class and arriving early, she said.”

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