Solidarity in an English-Learning Community

In my community, “solidarity” is seen in many different ways. My experience is educating English-learning US immigrants, so the issues that the students face vary. Issues within the English learning community can be small, such as bonding over the struggle that comes along with learning English, tricky grammar rules, and troubles with pronunciation. The issues they bond over can be much deeper and more complex, though. This community’s sense of solidarity is most evident in discussions about how they’re perceived in American society since they don’t speak English fluently. Many times in discussion, we’ve talked about going out in public and applying what we learned in conversation, and in these conversations, I’ve heard many students come together and talk about how English has hindered them from reaching the goals they have in this country. The goals can be as simple as being able to hold conversation with the cashier at the grocery store and being able to pass an interview, to as big as starting up a business and studying for a degree. Despite how big or small the issue is, the community has a strong sense of bonding and working to work together to reach their goals together. It’s allowed me to better connect with the people I’m helping and understand their perspectives on these issues.