LEWISTON – Teacher Mary Schneckenburger stood in front of the board with a marker.

She asked her students: “So today is?”

“Monday,” they answered correctly.

“What is the date?” she asked.

“Aug. 13.”

“Good,” Schneckenburger said.

“It’s 2007,” one Somali man volunteered.

“Yes, right.”

After talking about the day’s weather, the class of five adult immigrant students began chatting about what they did Sunday. Then they listened to a fictitious story with picture images, followed by questions and answers.

The class is beginner English for those who don’t speak the language.

On this day, Schneckenburger’s students were one woman and two men from Somalia, Amina Adan, Haji Haji and Aliyo Mohamed, all of Lewiston; Lan Le from Vietnam and Ingrid Cabellero from El Salvador, both now of Auburn.

Like others in Literacy Volunteers, Schneckenburger has taught conversational English one-on-one. She decided to boost learning opportunities by offering a class “for people who didn’t have many English words.” In her class, she holds up pictures of objects – an elephant, a table, a bookshelf, a reporter and photographer – and repeats what the object is in the picture.

As she does that, she tells fictional stories starring her students. She then asks questions to ensure they understand. The style isn’t too different, she said, than how everyone first learns language.

“As a baby you learn language by listening,” Schneckenburger said. “Parents say something to you, like ‘smile for mommy.’ We listen to language before we speak it.” Her class is copying that learning style, she said, “recognizing listening comes first, speaking second, and reading and writing later.”

Holding up pictures and repeating the word helps students learn. “You want to hear it 70 times before you can reproduce the word on your own,” Schneckenburger said. “The idea is to try to get a lot of repetition.”

Her method isn’t the same one used at Lewiston Adult Education, but is an expansion of how students learn through conversations, said Anne Kemper, counselor coordinator at the adult education’s Learning Center at the Multi-Purpose Center.

She called Schneckenburger, who has worked for the adult education program, “one of the most skilled teachers I’ve ever known,” Kemper said.

“A lot of beginning students work closely with tutors developing and practicing their oral skills. We try to have every student matched with a tutor to practice English.” Immigrants want to learn English to be able to talk with their childrens’ teachers, health care providers, “and everybody wants to get a job,” Kemper said.

Story of a table, a bookshelf

In class Schneckenburger started her story.

She held up a picture of a table and said the word. The five students repeated, “table.”

She began her story saying Haji wants to make a table using his saw. She then asked, “OK, who wants to make a table?”

“Haji,” students answered.

“Does Haji want to make a chair” she asked while touching a chair, “or a table?” she asked, touching a table.

“A table,” students answered.

“Does Lan want to make a table?”

“No,” students answered. “Haji wants to make a table.”

The story continued about Aliyo building a bookshelf using a drill. As Schneckenburger spoke, she held up pictures of a bookshelf and a drill. Students repeated the words.

After a few sentences came more questions. Schneckenburger was pleased with the answers. “Excellent,” she said as she smiled.

Why they came to America

Lan Le, the woman from Vietnam, said she’s lived in Lewiston for four years and has two young children. She came to the country with her husband.

Through an interpreter, Ingrid Cabellero said she left El Salvador, where she was a teacher, to learn English and a new culture.

Aliyo Mohamed has lived in Lewiston for two years. He came from Middle Jubba, Somalia.

He left because of war, he said through interpreter Ibrahim Bashir.

Haji Haji left Lower Jubba, Somali, because of “problems, problems, big problems.” War meant no one was safe, he said. There was shooting and killing. “You sleep. Your wife, children, father, mother, they start shooting.”

Amina Adan also left Middle Jubba because of “war and killing.”

They’ve been in the class since June. They said it’s helping.

Amina, who also attends classes at the Multi-Purpose Center, said she’s noticed improvement in her English. She likes how Schneckenburger uses flash cards with pictures. It helps her remember the words, she said.

“Yes, yes, yes, too much,” Haji answered enthusiastically when asked if the class is helping him. By saying “too much” he means “a lot,” Schneckenburger said.

The class “is teaching me good,” Aliyo said through an interpreter. He’s also studying at Lewiston Adult Education. He wants to learn English “to communicate with everybody and get a job.” He said he doesn’t care what kind of job, “any job.”

Ingrid, who cleans at Best Buy, said she’s learning English to improve her employment. Her goal is to be a teacher like she was in El Salvador. Coming to a new country, not knowing the language has been difficult, she said. “But I’ve had a lot of help.”