Gonzaga ESL Community Outreach (GECO)
In 2012, three students of the Master's of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (MA/TESL) program at Gonzaga University began a free ESL class for the Spokane community for their graduate thesis project. The MA/TESL program has partnered with World Relief, a national organization dedicated to the aiding and integration of immigrants and refugees world wide, several times, and with the starting of GECO, graduate students were given an opportunity to work with immigrants and refugees weekly.
GECO Class January 2015
I was first introduced to GECO the summer before I began the program. I had never formally taught before, let alone to immigrants or refugees. While terrifying at first, I quickly fell in love with the students and the purpose behind the class. Spokane, Washington has more than 70,000 immigrants and refugees in its county, and with World Relief located in the heart of the city, many immigrants and refugees either travel through or end up calling Spokane their home. Learning about the experiences most of them go through with refugee camps, requesting access to the U.S., and even surviving once they arrive, impacted my view of the degree I was aiming to achieve. The plight of immigrants and refugees is a something that should not be ignored, and while I may not be able to help them substantially, I am able to lessen the load they carry by teaching them English. The ability to speak English is a necessity for their survival.
Me teaching GECO Spring 2014
After teaching GECO for a few months, I developed relationships with some of the students and learned more about their personal stories. At the time, the current coordinator was stepping down due to completing the program, and someone needed to fill in. Have a tender heart for this program and its students, I volunteered to be the next coordinator. Over the next academic year, I created schedules and resource materials for MA/TESL students who taught GECO classes, promoted GECO throughout the community, organized teaching materials, updated needs assessments, formalized contact forms, and many other duties. The subpages of this page will direct you to various materials I have created as GECO coordinator. If you or anyone you know of is in the Spokane area and would benefit from this class, we welcome new participants at any time.
Flyer for start of spring 2015