Adult English Literacy in Montgomery County

A presentation of FY21 (July 2020 – June 2021) MCAEL network data

MCAEL and Montgomery Planning

February 2, 2022

Introduction

MCAEL is dedicated to enabling all Montgomery County residents to achieve their full potential by improving their English language skills. As the hub of a coalition of organizations, we bring together adult ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs to learn, share, and improve. The value of MCAEL’s community coalition model was highlighted when adult ESOL programs across the county had to move quickly from in-person to online instruction after mid-March 2020, due to the pandemic. MCAEL stepped up to provide assistance and support, and opportunities for programs to learn from each other during this transition.

Every year, MCAEL collects data related to adult English language learners and ESOL classes in Montgomery County and analyzes it in relation to the latest available American Community Survey data to identify where additional adult English language classes are needed and to measure the impact of these classes in the community.

We offer this collection of maps and charts as a community resource to organizations that offer adult ESOL classes, as well as to others working with Montgomery County's diverse population.

Visit the MCAEL Website

Where do residents with limited English skills live in Montgomery County?

An estimated 129,000 adults in Montgomery County report that they speak English “less than very well.” Zoom in and click around on this census tract map to see where the Limited English Proficient (LEP) population is concentrated. Areas in dark orange have the most residents who say they speak English less than "very well." The map legend is available in the bottom left-hand corner.

Note: We normally include class sites on this map, but since almost all classes were held online in FY21, we do not include them here.

Data source: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates by Census Tract, Table B16004, unreliable data suppressed.

What languages are spoken most?

Zoom in and click on the map to see the most frequently spoken language (other than English) spoken at home among LEP residents by geographic area.

Note that the Census only reports for a select group of languages at the neighborhood level. "Other Indo-European Languages," for instance, is a grouping of European and Indian languages other than French, German, Russian, Polish, and Spanish - and includes such diverse languages as Greek, Italian, Hindi, Gujarati, and Yiddish. "Other and Unspecified languages" groups such diverse languages as Amharic, Somali, and Hebrew. This is a limitation of the data available.

Data source: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates by Census Tract, Table C16001, unreliable data suppressed.

Learner Info

How well is the MCAEL network serving the LEP population?

Mapping FY21 learner data from the major providers in the MCAEL coalition network* enables us to see how many learners there are compared to the total Limited English Proficient population in each zip code. The darker the zip code area on the map, the higher the percentage of FY21 learners, or the more learners reached. Zoom in and click on the map to see information on number of learners enrolled as share of the LEP population in each zip code.

*including Montgomery College, Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center and 22 organizations with programs funded by MCAEL.

Data source: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates by Zip Code Tabulation Area, Table B16004, unreliable data suppressed; MCAEL network organizations.

What do we know about English learners in community-based adult ESOL programs in 2020-21? What parts of the county do they live in? What languages do they speak?

This analysis of learner demographic data shows the number and percentage of learners served out of the adult LEP population by language and fiscal year for the last four years. Hover over each bar to see the number of learners. For example, in FY21, 8.76% of all adult Spanish speakers who self-identified as Limited English Proficient attended English classes.

Note that these are U.S. Census language categories. In the chart, “Indo-European Languages” is short for “Other Indo-European Languages” and includes a wide range of languages, such as French, Russian, Greek, Hindi, Urdu, and (Persian)/Dari. “Other Languages" groups together such diverse languages as Amharic, other African languages, Arabic, and Hebrew. “Asian and Pacific Island Languages" includes Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.

This chart shows the learners served by Montgomery County region (Regional Service Center regions) over the past four fiscal years (FY2018-2021).

Learners by Age and Gender

The charts below show the number of learners served by both age and gender. Nearly 75% of learners in FY21 were female, a significant increase from 67% the previous year. Online classes seem to have been more convenient for women to attend classes, whether it was because they did not have to arrange for childcare, did not have to worry about transportation, or did not have to factor in the time to travel to and from an in-person class. As in FY20, over half of adult learners were between the ages of 25 and 44, with 20% in the 45-59 age range.

Outcomes

Thanks to funding from the Montgomery County government, MCAEL has provided capacity building grants to providers of adult ESOL classes since 2009. In FY21, MCAEL provided $1,285,000 in grant funding to 22 organizations for 30 programs. These programs included both managed enrollment classes, which offered learners 120 hours of instruction over a year, as well as less formal open entry/drop-in and conversation classes.

This chart shows enrollment for MCAEL-funded programs over the last five years. Unduplicated enrollment is the number of unique individuals who enrolled over the year. Duplicated enrollment is the number of class seats filled over the year; this may include a single learner more than once if they enrolled in more than one session over the year. The closure of in-person classes in March 2020 due to the pandemic contributed to a decrease in the number of learners served in FY20 and FY21.

MCAEL-funded programs have identified five goal areas along which learner progress can be measured during the course of a session. Each year, a subset of grant partners (including those that offer managed enrollment classes) report on progress against these goals. Click on/hover over on the bars for more information.

(Click on the upper right button to open this interactive table in a separate tab.)

Within in each goal, there are many learning objectives, shown here. Click on/hover over the bars for more information.

(Click on the upper right button to open this interactive table in a separate tab.)

Program Improvement Outcomes

A large part of MCAEL’s core work is focused on helping providers strengthen their adult ESOL programs through professional development for program administrators and instructors, peer learning, and technical assistance. Research shows that improved program management and instruction leads to greater learner gains. Each year, MCAEL grant recipients choose 1-3 TESOL Standards* upon which to improve, and report on their progress over the year. Below are selected examples of program progress in FY21, from a range of programs of different sizes and levels of development.

Faced with the need to recruit new learners without traditional in-person methods and to support them to ensure a successful online experience, almost half of the 30 FY21 MCAEL-funded programs focused on “Learner Recruitment, Intake and Orientation,” working to improve their online outreach, registration and placement test processes, and orientations.

*as laid out in Standards for Adult Education ESL Programs, published by the TESOL International Association, Inc. (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages)

Covenant Life Church initiated social media channels to reach out to new students and encourage them to enroll in classes and created a new trilingual webpage for learners to access information on their program. These efforts were helpful and as the year progressed, they were able to recruit a larger number of students for the spring term.

Similarly, the Thriving Germantown Hub ESOL Program (TG) run by Sheppard Pratt found that learner recruitment was a challenge for the fall and winter sessions due to many participants lacking the necessary computer skills to be successful in class. More extensive outreach and advertising for the spring sessions resulted in a very successful recruitment of new learners. Orientation was modified to make it more learner friendly: it focused on getting students logged into the virtual classroom, providing the schedule for the session, and meeting the instructor. As a result, more learners who attended orientation attended the first day of class and stayed in the class.

To identify learners' personal goals and assess their progress toward these goals, the English Literacy Program for Linkages to Learning Program, implemented by Sheppard Pratt, created easy-to-use surveys for learners; learners were asked to identify their goals prior to starting the semester. These goals were integrated into the curriculum for each level. A second survey was given at the end of the term to identify improvements made towards reaching their goals. Approximately 85% of the learners in the fall and 95% in the spring reported they improved in an area previously reported as a goal. The surveys were made using Microsoft Forms and permitted learners to answer a few brief questions using their smart phones; results were tallied automatically. Instructors created standardized tests which was another way to check learner's progress.

Mill Creek Parish United Methodist Church found that one of the greatest learnings of this year was the importance of having a dedicated Program Administrator for their ESOL program. With MCAEL funding, they were able to pay a part-time Program Administrator who provided regular, on-going support for their teachers and students. The Program Administrator worked to ensure that teachers were equipped with information and tools sent from MCAEL as well as tricks of the trade and other resources that helped both students and teachers have a better learning experience.

Effects of the Pandemic

The pandemic that began in March 2020 has undoubtedly had a number of effects on adult ESOL programs, including:

Despite many programs having recalibrated enrollment projections downward, both the overall unduplicated and duplicated enrollment fell significantly short of targets.
A number of programs reported fewer learners at the literacy and beginner levels due to their relative inability to overcome technological barriers to attending online classes (namely lack of digital literacy skills, reliable access to Wi-Fi and/or lack of appropriate device with which to learn). While the total number of learners decreased for all class levels compared to last year, the greatest decline was seen in the Beginning Literacy level (over 40% fewer learners).
Not all programs were adversely affected; some found that online classes attracted new learners who did not have the time, reliable childcare or good transportation options to attend in-person classes.
While learners decreased in FY21, the number of classes increased – from 537 in FY20 to 577 in FY21. Some programs reduced the maximum number of learners per class in order to have better instructor/learner engagement. At the same time, some did away with having a minimum number of learners to start a class, since there is less cost incurred (no classroom rent) to hold online classes.
A number of programs have found that that there is real value in continuing some online classes, even if they plan to go back to mainly in-person classes, which can reduce some barriers for learners and can draw new learners from farther afield.

Conclusion

Increasing Access to English Instruction

Adult ESOL programs in the MCAEL coalition work with immigrants and English language learners from communities hit hardest by the pandemic and the resulting recession, helping them to acquire new skills to find new/better jobs in the changing economic landscape, understand COVID-19 public health mandates, access healthcare more effectively and become more civically engaged. MCAEL supports these programs and helps build the countywide adult ESOL system by identifying program challenges and gaps in service through coalition meetings and data collection/analysis, bringing together resources to address these. To fill some of these gaps, MCAEL has developed new models of ESOL delivery, including Community Learning Groups -- 9-week introductory classes that helping learners build confidence and identify a pathway to improve their English language skills.

Despite the hard work of the MCAEL coalition of providers and the steady increase of learners served over the years, there are still thousands of adults with limited English skills in Montgomery County who could benefit from ESOL instruction. MCAEL is committed to ensuring equitable access to English learning opportunities and equitable distribution of resources that make these gateways to learner success possible.

We hope that you find this data presentation informative as well as useful. We welcome your feedback and questions, which can be sent to program@mcael.org .

County Data Appendix

The following appendix provides additional information related to language proficiency in Montgomery County for you to explore.

Explore and adjust the graphs to see how English skill level varies across age and language. Out of the nearly 129,000 adults who report they speak English less than “very well,” about 69,000 (54%) say they speak English “well,” 44,000 (34%) “not well,” and 15,800 (12%) “not at all.”

Data source: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates by Census Tract, Table C16001.

This map shows where public schools as well as colleges and universities are located relative to the population of LEP residents. Many coalition partners consider school locations when assessing where to hold adult ESOL classes, and some regularly partner with Montgomery County Public Schools on the use of school facilities as ESOL class sites.

Data source: 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table C16001, unreliable data suppressed.

Our sincerest thanks to the Research & Strategic Projects Division at the Montgomery County Planning Department for its assistance in creating this presentation, and to the organizations that provided the learner data that makes this analysis possible!