Serving practical needs

Oleeis Vazquez is glad his mother is taking English classes at Belmont Baptist Church.

"It helps her out so she can speak better English to people, and I don’t have to translate," he said.

Belmont has had English as a Second Language and citizenship classes for the past 10 years, and Dolores Vazquez takes a weekly class both at Belmont and another course at Odessa College to learn English.

She said she likes the teacher and has a goal for learning to speak English more fluently.

"I want to get a GED and become a nurse. That’s my dream," Dolores Vazquez said.

John McLemore, a pastor at Belmont, said the courses aren’t meant to bring in money or add members to the church, but to serve the community. He said the chief benefit for the church is to help members learn how to serve others. All teachers are volunteers, and the classes are free as well.

"This is an outreach. We want people to know we care about them, and we are called to serve," he said.

He said people who teach the courses are learning to build relationships across cultural and other barriers to fulfill that calling to serve others in the name of Jesus Christ.

Class director Steve Overton took over the program this year. He said the English courses are mostly in conjunction with a citizenship class also offered.

The class involves people of many different backgrounds, not only those with a Hispanic origin.

"We’ve had Pakistani and Mandarin Chinese. We reach a wider group than most people think," he said.

He said many people join the classes because as time goes on, language within the family causes barriers with the younger members of the family.

"Sometimes it gets to the point that people can’t talk to their own family anymore, with only one generation that’s fully bilingual. Imagine what that does to a family," Overton said.

The class teaches people to speak better English, but Overton said the impact can extend beyond just learning the language.

"It’s a lot of bang for no bucks. You don’t just get to speak English. It can lead to a better job or communicating in public more strongly," he said.

The program is flexible in keeping its schedule the same as the school calendar and being understanding about when students can take the class. The church fully supports the class.

"They’ve been great and are 100 percent behind this. We’re really giving a service that’s needed," Overton said.

IF YOU GO

>> What: ESL and citizenship classes.

>> Who: Volunteer teachers.

>> When: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

>> Where: Belmont Baptist Church, 806 N. Belmont Ave.

>> Cost: Free.

>> Call: 332-0248 for information.