MCAEL’s First-Ever Learner Celebration
May 14, 2025
One hundred and sixty-five people came out for food, performances, resources, and inspiring stories at MCAEL’s first-ever Celebration of English Learners last month. Attendees may have hailed from across the globe, but they shared common experiences as immigrants and English language learners. At the event, they had access to organizations offering services ranging from healthcare to legal advice – and all enjoyed an abundance of international food, and a lively program featuring the personal stories of learners and dance performances by Grupo Folklorico Internacional and CCACC Evergreen Martial Arts Health Dance Class.
Representatives from the offices of Councilmembers Jawando and Mink presented a special citation, signed by the Council Education Committee, to Sonia Peñate, long-time volunteer (and former learner) from the Seneca Creek Community Church ESOL program.
Kanidiengue Kone, who moved to the US from the Ivory Coast three years ago and currently serves as a member of MCAEL’s Learner Leadership Group, had these words for the crowd: “Today, I want to encourage you: keep going with your classes, even when it feels hard. Growth happens when we step outside of our comfort zone.”
As a child, I felt helpless watching my parents struggle to communicate in a language that was foreign to them. As I grew older, I took on the responsibility of helping them navigate those barriers — becoming a bridge between two languages and cultures. While doing so, I grew more comfortable in a world that was sometimes less familiar to them. I’m now a student at the University of Maryland, and this past summer, I found myself revisiting this experience from a new perspective. As a Digital Futures Institute Fellow with Montgomery Community Media, I had the amazing opportunity to learn and connect with local Montgomery County leaders and organizations focused on adult English language learning . What started as a news package became a chance for my team to explore how the county can help their residents overcome language barriers, an issue that was so deeply personal to me. Through this project, I connected with MCAEL. Learning about their efforts helped me better understand the network of dedicated people and community organizations working behind the scenes to make language education accessible to as many learners as possible. For me, this story is about more than learning to speak English. It is about the challenges that come with navigating an unfamiliar environment and the importance of feeling connected to your community. It is a story about belonging. I hope you enjoy watching it! Dariana Guzman, Montgomery Community Media Digital Futures Institute Fellow and current MCAEL Digital Media Intern Posted with permission of Montgomery Community Media
Like many immigrant families, we arrived in this country with many dreams, hopes, and goals for a better future. However, one of the first and most significant barriers I encountered was language. I began volunteering at my son’s school, where I met other women who were facing the same challenges I was — difficulties communicating, limited job opportunities, and a deep fear of speaking with their children’s teachers. Many of us were also afraid to visit the doctor because we could not fully understand what was being said. We felt frustrated, isolated, and, at times, invisible. These shared experiences inspired me to take action. I decided to create a safe space where Latina women could feel heard, supported, and empowered. In 2010, I had the opportunity to volunteer with GBCI, where I coordinated conversational English classes for a group of mothers. Then, in 2011, we began a partnership with Epworth United Methodist Church, offering morning English classes and expanding our work in collaboration with AABF. For more than 17 years, I have dedicated my life to motivating women to follow their dreams, to believe in themselves, and to recognize their own strength. Today, Mujer Fuerza y Coraje is a nonprofit organization committed to supporting women and their families through a variety of programs and resources. These include Welcome Baby, designed for pregnant women; Los Años Dorados, created for Spanish-speaking seniors; summer arts programs for children and youth; and English classes during the summer. In addition, we provide training sessions, educational and mental health programs, workshops on child abuse prevention, substance abuse prevention for youth, food distribution, and assistance in connecting families with essential community resources. Our mission is to continue expanding our programs supporting more families by providing tools like English as a Second Language classes, helping them access better job opportunities, and strengthening communication within their communities and their own families. We are working together for a better future. Milagro Flores is the CEO, Founder, and Director of Mujer, Fuerza y Coraje. She’s lived in Montgomery County for 20 years.
I don’t remember my first day of high school very well, or even my first day in college, but I will never forget my first day of 8th grade or how I felt. My family and I had just arrived in the U.S. in late July, and while I had taken a year of English in the French school system, the only sentence I could say with a degree of confidence was “I don’t speak English”! I was enrolled at St. Michael’s in Silver Spring (a K-8 school that closed in 2012), and on that first day, I went up to the teacher before class started and told him, “I don’t speak English.” He said something back to me, but I didn’t understand what he said, and I went to sit back down. For the rest of that day, and many days after that, I did my best to figure out what to do, where to be, and how to navigate my day-to-day. To do my homework, I first had to use an English-French dictionary to translate it, then switch to a French-English dictionary to translate my thoughts to English. As difficult as that experience was, I realize that I was very lucky—I was young, I had a strong academic foundation, no financial responsibilities, no one to take care of, and I was immersed in English every day, all of which allowed me to learn the language relatively quickly. The situation for adults is very different. Many, if not most, have families to support, bills to pay, multiple responsibilities to manage, and have limited time to devote to taking English classes, all while navigating an increasingly challenging climate of immigration enforcement and economic uncertainty. Despite these challenges, thousands of adults across Montgomery County have the courage, perseverance, and determination to take classes year after year. They choose to invest in themselves even when doing so means fitting English around work schedules, childcare, transportation, and everything else life demands of them. I had the incredible advantage of being immersed in English every day and having most of my day devoted to learning. Most adults don’t have that luxury. As children go back to school this fall, it is worth remembering that thousands of adults are also heading to the classroom to improve their English, often after a full day of work or caring for their families. Their determination is remarkable and inspiring. We have the responsibility to make sure that every adult who wants to learn English has the opportunity, support, and access to do so.
