The life of a student can be tough; with hectic schedules and many assignments, a bit of help from a tutor is always welcome, even more so when English is not your native tongue. Jesus Chavez, tutor leader in the English as a Second Language Program, is one of these tutors who’s always ready to give a hand to those who need it.
Although he was born in the United States, Chavez grew up in Mexico. He spent most of his life there until high school, when he made the decision to return to the United States. He arrived in Visalia in 2021 with the idea of studying computer science, and emphasizes that this decision was highly influenced by the idea that “[In his] small town, [he] would not expect a lot going on with computers and technology”. Besides giving him the chance to study something that he really liked, COS was the place where he would discover the ESL program.
When asked about how he got his job as a tutor, Chavez would describe this as something that happened organically. He explained that right after his arrival to the United States, he would get enrolled in ESL classes, where, while doing in-class assignments, noticed that the tutor of his class at that time “could not handle too many students”. Because of this, he started to help his classmates, something that he previously did during his time in high school. This, and an unfortunate lack of success finding a job elsewhere, motivated him to ask for a position as an actual tutor in the ESL program here at COS, something that he would achieve in 2022. He also highlighted that several of his family members in Mexico worked as professors and because of that “a lot of people told him that teaching might be in [his] blood”..
When questioned how it was like to be an ESL tutor, he said that although fun, it’s also challenging in the sense that one has to have “a lot of critical thinking”, as the students might come with a lot of questions with different levels of complexity. He also stated that another challenge is the abstract nature of language. Chavez thinks that because the “students’ approach [to] language is very different, and that some of them might have a different background” one has to, unlike math or chemistry and their well-established formulas, come up with more than one option to explain what is wrong with their assignments. However, what he finds more difficult are the simple questions. Chavez explained that although he is not a native speaker, he processes the English language as if he was one. That is why, he said, when someone asks him when to use “for” or “to” he does not have “a technical answer for them”.
Chavez also talked about the importance and impact that his position has over the English learners. “It is not only to help them to pass the class”, he says, but also to make them feel confident and comfortable with what they are doing in their classes. The skills he is teaching is going to help them feel more confident in other situations of their lives. Likewise, other than guidance and feedback, what Chavez likes to do as a tutor is “to give [students] baby steps to get them to walk”, and see how that first step turns into something bigger.
Finally, he closed the interview by saying that what he enjoys the most of his job is “to get to know people from different backgrounds”; Chavez believes that appreciating the different context of every person is something that can provide valuable knowledge in our lives.
Learning a new language can be both intimidating and stressful. That is why COS offers an ESL program with tutors like Jesus Chavez, who will be there to tell you that your effort is worth it, that never is late to do something, but mostly, to make the journey through the English language something bearable.
