Emerald Garden and ESL

After eating lunch one day at the Emerald Garden Chinese Restaurant & Sushi Bar in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania, Marion Reesey decided she absolutely had to speak to the proprietor. The food had been delicious and the service excellent, but she couldn’t let go of the idea that the servers could possibly benefit from her services . . . as a teacher.

That was in August of 2000. Now, with ten English as a Second Language (ESL) students, Reesey is kept busy individually tutoring students two hours each week. For some ESL students, the only time to be tutored is early in the morning before a long day of work. Reesey leaves her house as early as seven forty-five some mornings to pick up her students and drive them to Mason Dixon Baptist Church where they start ESL lessons by eight.

I met Reesey to discuss her ESL “ministry” over lunch at the Emerald Garden. The restaurant lives up to its name. We settled ourselves in a green booth; potted plants lined a long row on top of booth dividers, while the garden theme continued to the Asian prints and ink paintings on the wall. One of her students, Jimmy, took our order and we began our conversation over tea in those cute handle-less teacups.

Teaching comes naturally to Reesey, who taught for thirty years in the Baltimore County Public School System. But it wasn’t until she left the United States that she started teaching English as a second language. “I worked in American Samoa, as a volunteer elementary school teacher for one school year, from 1998 to 1999, through the North American Mission Board. While I was there, I felt the need for someone to teach English to many of the children’s parents as well. So I ended up teaching ESL to six Korean women in that area.” After coming back to the states and eating at the Emerald Garden several times, she again felt the need to teach ESL, but this time to the employees of the restaurant and possibly others in the area. “I just couldn’t let go of the idea, so I approached the owners, Allen and Alice Kok. They were enthusiastic! They had been wanting someone to help teach their employees English.”

Before she started teaching her new students Reesey took some classes through the York Literacy Council to enhance her ability to teach ESL and familiarize herself with the resources provided by the Council. A representative from the Council came to the Emerald Garden to interview the employees for placement. Although Reesey started her ESL program by teaching group classes, she soon realized this did not work. Individual tutoring tailored to each student’s specific abilities and knowledge works best for Reesey and her particular students. Emphasis is placed on conversational English and using language to function with others. “The hardest thing is discerning what they need most—to use the time wisely,” Reesey said. “All of the students have a strong work ethic, and strong desire to learn to read.”

Jimmy, our server, finds reading especially challenging. Jimmy knew no English before arriving in the United States six years ago. Learning English for Jimmy required him to learn a whole new alphabet and sounds not native to his original language. He left the rest of his family in China and came to the United States because of “problems with the government.” He studied ESL at the College of William and Mary in Virginia for a year and a half before coming to work at the Emerald Garden. “Pronunciation, spelling, and grammar is hard [sic],” Jimmy said, who I thought had very good pronunciation. He watches TV, listens to the radio, and tries to read the newspaper to further his English skills.

Linda, another student, finds reading easy, but conversational English more difficult. Linda, who is Indonesian, attended a Christian Catholic school during her junior and senior years of high school, which provided her with academic knowledge of English before she arrived in the United States over a year ago. She loves using the computer, e-mailing her teenaged children back in Indonesia, and reading the Indonesian news off of the Internet. Reesey incorporates these activities into Linda’s tutoring.

Emerald Garden owner Allen Kok is pleased over the progress his employees have made since Ressey’s tutoring. “Once I only used to hear them speak Chinese in the kitchen. Now a few English words pop out,” says Kok, who was born in Malaysia, raised in Singapore, educated in Australia, and has always known English.

“It takes several of years to be comfortable speaking,” Reesey said when I asked how long she intends on teaching ESL. “This is a long-term commitment for me, I want to be available [to the students] as long as they need me,” she said smiling, her eyes wrinkling at the corners. However long-term the commitment ends up becoming, it is one that is rewarding to her. “It’s always a joy to watch someone learn. To see the moments of insight.”

For those who wish to become involved with tutoring ESL students in the York, Pennsylvanna area, prior teaching experience is not necessary. The only prerequisite besides being able to speak, read, and write English, is to take a seminar through the York Literacy Council which will familiarize you with the curriculum and prepare you to effectively tutor your students. For more information contact the York Literacy Council at 717-845-8719.

(First published: Today’s York Woman Magazine – March/April 2002)