Rosa is a young mother in an ESL class in a family literacy program. She has three small children, whom she brings to the child care program. Rosa has been in the country for one year. Her ESL class has been running for a month, and the students are progressing slowly. Rosa wants to learn, but she attends class infrequently. She does not drive and so depends on family members for a ride, and she often is not able to bring one or more of the children because of illness. She understands no English, and another student translates for her. She has mentioned several times that she has no time to do any of the exercises outside of class.

Mohammed is 17 years old and has been in the country for six months. He is not enrolled in high school, because he needs to help his mother support their family of five, and he has two jobs. He finished elementary school in Iraq and can read and write in his native Arabic. He is learning to understand and speak a little English on the job, but he can read next to nothing in English.

Ibrahim is 60 years old and has come to the United States from Somalia, where he was a businessman and a tribal leader. He can read and write in his native language and in Italian. His refugee benefits have run out, and he has to work to help support his family. He is embarrassed about being in a beginning-level class, and he does not like to work in groups with women. When he speaks, he wants the teacher to correct everything he says.