By Monica Carrillo
Just last week, a native Spanish speaker and newcomer to the Wood River Valley stopped by the Hailey Public Library for the weekly Conversational English class.
And by the end of the class he was able to answer almost all of the questions for that night’s lesson.
“He had a great accent. I was like, ‘You studied English,’ but no, he said no. I really doubted him, because he’s a linguist,” said Elizabeth Jeffery, tutor and leader of the Climate Action Coalition.
For the past three years, the Hailey Public Library has been offering weekly free English tutoring classes, or Tutoria in Spanish, alongside Conversational English classes back-to-back for the Hispanic/Latino community who want to improve their English skills.
Kristin Fletcher, the library’s programs and engagement manager, said the first year, on average, they saw 10 to 12 people attending the classes and had help from tutors, like Jeffery, to steer the class.
However, the amount of people soon grew after that.
“The second and third years were the years that there were so many people coming into our community. I mean, you know, almost by the hundreds,” Fletcher said. “I heard one time, and like, in a period of a week or two, there were 200 or 300 people who had arrived in our community, and that’s when our numbers really swelled.”
Fletcher said that most people that attend are newcomers, although there are some who sporadically attend who have lived in the Valley 10 to 30 years who still struggle to speak English.
She also said they don’t test the students weekly to track progress due to the varying levels of English comprehension in the class. However, she has observed that, regardless of their initial understanding—whether strong or limited—each student leaves with an improved grasp of the language.
“That’s kind of the niche that we serve, that people can come and go as it fits,” Fletcher said. “Our classes start at six and sometimes people work until seven in the summer because they’re in construction or landscaping, they just can’t come, and so it just opens a little wider door for people to learn.”
According to the latest Census Bureau by Sun Valley Economic Development, Hispanic residents now make up 23.4% of Blaine County’s population—up from 10.7% in 2000.
And in the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs’ latest data profile book, it reports at least 34% of that population speaks little to no English, making this program a crucial step in bridging the language barrier gap.
In addition, Fletcher said that someone who avidly would check out books in the library, went up to her about a year and a half ago about doing an English/Spanish language exchange—also known as an intercambio, in Spanish.
“She had taken some Spanish, she was doing online Spanish, and one of the things they offered was this intercambio,” Fletcher said. “And so she was doing intercambio with somebody in Colombia or someplace, and she said it’s wonderful, but she’d like to do it in person.
“So she asked if the library would be interested and I’m like, ‘Sure.’”
Fletcher said although it was a rough start they usually have about six native Spanish and English speakers who attend the weekly sessions to practice language skills with each other.
“It gives both the native Spanish speakers a chance to practice English in a real conversational setting, and it gives English language speakers a chance to practice their Spanish in a conversational setting,” Fletcher said.
The Hailey Public Library has officially started up the classes again after pausing briefly for the summer and will have multiple events for the Hispanic community as Hispanic Heritage Month begins.
Intercambio is from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, while the conversational English class is taught by tutor Leonardo Padilla Sacha from 6 to 7 p.m. on Fridays. The English tutoring classes are from 5 to 6 p.m. on Fridays, as well.
“Many are just coming directly from working to two and a half hours of English,” Jeffery said. “It’s commitment; it’s really impressive.”
