By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Northborough – Thanks to a grant received from the Older Americans Act Title III through BayPath Elder Services, Inc., the Northborough Senior Center is now assisting more residents age 60 and over as they overcome a language barrier.
The funding allowed the center to continue and expand its already existing service for Chinese-speaking residents. And new this year, Margie Hurwitz was hired to instruct an intermediate English as a second language (ESL) class, which meets Mondays at 10:30 a.m.
Seniors with any native language who are interested in practicing English are welcomed to join her weekly, one-hour class with a rolling enrollment, she noted.
“In most ESL classes, nobody speaks the same language,” she explained. “There are techniques and resources that help us with that. We have pictures and books, and we can act things out by using body language.”
Resources also help participants who have basic experience speaking English.
“By the time you enter the intermediate level, you know enough English to understand what’s going on,” Hurwitz said. “We use dictionaries and other methods to clarify vocabulary.”
Hurwitz is also offering suggestions for the ongoing group of Chinese-speaking residents.
The need to reach out to non-English speaking residents was brought to the attention of Kelly Burke, director of the Senior Center, by Jocelyn Ehrhardt, outreach coordinator. While visiting the Northborough Food Pantry two years ago, Ehrhardt was specifically asked if the center could somehow help Chinese-speaking seniors communicate their needs to the agency. That’s when meetings began in September 2012 with them and volunteer ESL instructor Jenny Otto at the Housing Authority.
Now, those Chinese-speaking seniors attend one-hour meetings every other Tuesday, at 2:15 p.m., at Algonquin Regional High School led by bilingual students of the Community Action Program (CAP). Burke noticed an immediate bond between the generations at their first meeting in December 2012.
“There’s a camaraderie even though so many years span between them,” she said. “The senior citizens enjoy having people who they can converse with and they’re learning from them.”
While the Chinese-speaking seniors are learning some English, this group’s main mission is to help them communicate daily needs and desires. Guest speakers are invited and the students provide translation.
During a meeting last year, Ehrhardt and students helped them fill out a File of Life card with emergency contact information. At another meeting, Deborah Hersh, reference librarian at the Northborough Free Library, explained how they can borrow Chinese literature and films with interpretation.
This year, bilingual students from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy will share information on topics such as healthy cooking, and medication for diabetes and high blood pressure.
Burke credits the motivated seniors’ consistent participation for much of the group’s success.
“Their attendance at these classes is great,” she said. “They’re always there, always happy and thanking us for doing this. Their children are excited about it, too. It shows that this is a worthwhile program and they’re getting something out of it.”
Likewise, the participating CAP students have proven to be reliable supporters. All juniors, they are Ray Bu, Alex Cui, Henry Liu, Jimmy Sun and Leo Wu.The faculty advisor is Eileen Palmer.
Burke hopes these ESL projects improve communication, leading toward a more inclusive senior community.
“There’s an underserved population and we want to reach out to them,” she said. “There are a lot of people who don’t speak English in Northborough or even know about the Senior Center. We want them to know about the services that they can access and bridge that gap.”
To join either class, call Burke at 508-393-5035. Transportation is available for Northborough residents.