Beyond Words: How English Language Proficiency Helps Families Achieve Stability

English language proficiency varies by family so Horizons has responded with multiple language support options to meet parents where they are. Almost 70% of the families Horizons served in the last year identified a language other than English as their primary language. 

Language proficiency may be an opportunity for growth as parents move forward on the journey toward family and economic stability. Ability to communicate in English can support or impede a parent’s progress in the following areas: 

Employability: “Better English, better job!” says one of our Family Coaching Specialists. Being able to speak English opens a wider range of potential jobs, which can provide stability and income to help them exit homelessness. 

Access to services: Most shelters, healthcare institutions, and government agencies are more difficult to navigate without the ability to communicate in English. Language proficiency can open doors to accessing needed support.  

Benefit to children: Children learn the language they hear at home. Learning English quickly—within the first three years of their education—sets children on a path toward academic success. Parental mastery of the language can help their children learn too. 

Social integration: English proficiency allows for increased interaction with the community, reducing social isolation and stigma associated with homelessness.  

To help make language growth more accessible to the parents Horizons serves, the Family Partnerships Program team has thoughtfully explored and hosted several opportunities with partner organizations to put language learning in parental reach:  

El Centro has been a critical partner since they moved into the Horizons Center two years ago. El Centro offers an intensive program generally requiring four hours a day for 3-4 days a week. Classes are offered to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at proficiency levels one through six. El Centro also offers virtual classes for higher English levels because they believe that new English learners need the in-person experience to increase their language skills.  El Centro also has programs for their higher-level students that connect them to college courses and job training. 

For parents interested in a less intensive option, Boston Community ESOL Center (BCEC) offers level 1 and Level 2 classes at Horizons. BCEC classes are a good way for parents to get started and build up their confidence to do something more intensive.  It’s also a good option for people who are working part-time and can’t yet commit to a more demanding schedule.  

“The BCEC English programs at Horizons offer a welcoming space where learners can develop and practice their language skills at a pace that meets their needs. It’s rewarding to see students of all backgrounds genuinely expressing themselves and freely interacting with each other in English,” shared Lead Language Teacher, Tench Coxe.

These classes are offered and hosted just steps away from Horizons early education classrooms, making morning drop-off time convenient for both parent and child learning.