How Bridges ESL Is Meeting New Haven’s Growing Need for English Education

Dwight Hall member group Bridges ESL matches English language learners with Yale student volunteers trained to serve as English tutors. In the free, small-group classes, tutors focus on specific, real-world needs, with lessons ranging from citizenship tests to basic everyday vocabulary. The classes meet every Saturday from 10 AM–noon for nine to ten weeks per semester in La Casa Cultural House, the Asian American Cultural Center, and the Native American Cultural Center, while also offering a virtual option. There are five levels of classes, according to their website, ranging from “Survival: For learners who know the alphabet and can write some basic words” to “High Advanced: For learners who are able to give full professional presentations and explain abstract views.” 

“Most sessions include the introduction of new grammar or conversation skills in small groups. Depending on the level and interest of the class, lessons may also feature field trips, community meals, or cultural discussions designed to promote practical language use and cultural exchange,” states their website. 

ESL Tutoring 

Co-presidents Yuanyu Chen ’26 and Brian Moore ’26 shared what interested them in working at Bridges ESL. “My parents don’t speak English very fluently, and I was in ESL myself going into kindergarten,” Yuanyu shared. “My parents had a small food court restaurant, so when they first started learning English, they would have a little Mandarin-to-English dictionary and they would test words and practice with all of their customers,” she added. “I also started teaching my grandparents English because, even though they’d been living in the U.S. for 20+ years, their English isn’t the best, so I was teaching them how to navigate around stores and everything. I really wanted to bring this to Yale,” Yuanyu explained. 

Brian shared a similar experience. “My mother is a migrant from Mexico and, growing up, it was a bit dismaying seeing [her] wrestle with a language barrier and not being able to connect with society,” Brian shared. “In high school, I took it upon myself, like Yuanyu, to teach my mother English,” he added. “After school, I would teach her. We started off with these chunky grammar books from Amazon, and I scoured the internet and made a whole unit system with vocabulary, reading, grammar, and so on,” Brian explained. “After doing this for about a year, I started a program at my high school to teach adults from the South Side of Chicago English in my church basement,” he continued. “Coming to college, I was really avid to get involved in some sort of English teaching program, [and so], I emailed Bridges ESL [saying], ‘Can I join please!’” 

“All the students will start coming in at 10 AM and we’ll have bagels and cream cheese… [then] they’ll head to their individual classrooms with their tutors, and the tutors will have a lesson that they planned. We also supplement the tutors’ lesson plans every week,” Yuanyu shared. Although tutors have access to a pre-prepared curriculum with detailed lesson plans, they have significant room to create their own lessons, field trips, and activities according to student interest. 

“A majority of our students are from Latin American countries, but it’s a very slight majority; the rest are from all over the world,” Brian explained. Every Bridges ESL classroom is a microcosm of the diversity that the United States boasts. “We see smiles and laughs in every classroom, and you can just tell that classes are wired not simply for the education but also for the community,” Brian shared. 

To connect students with Yale, Bridges ESL recently hosted their semesterly Bridges Brunch, where Bridges ESL students have brunch at a Yale dining hall. Tutors also often bring their classes to Yale performances and Yale’s museums. “We’re a little bit of everything, even somewhat of a daycare… [since] some of our students bring their children to class,” Brian explained. 

​​ 

Bridges Brunch 

Tutors also gain a valuable new perspective, and they learn from their students as well. Yuanyu shared, “[One of our students] will bring sweets and cookies, and we will even hang out outside of Bridges ESL, and she is now a New Haven friend.” Brian added, “I was talking to one of our students—she’s getting married soon, and she invited her tutor to the wedding.” 

Relationships between tutors and students have become even more meaningful as Bridges ESL navigates an increasingly challenging landscape. Changes in government and the restructuring of local nonprofits have presented Bridges ESL with new hurdles. Recently, another English tutoring nonprofit, Literacy Volunteers, shut down their New Haven operations, leaving Bridges ESL with an influx of new students as one of the very few organizations offering free English tutoring services in Connecticut.  

Reflecting on the values of Bridges ESL, Brian shared: “To me, Bridges ESL is all about the people… [They’re] what makes it special… [so] our tutors are a core pillar of success for Bridges ESL.” The community around Bridges ESL allows Yale students to connect with the city of New Haven, building meaningful relationships that bridge both language barriers and the gap between campus and community. 

“No prior experience of teaching English is necessary [to be a tutor]. You don’t have to have mastery of another language. If you can read and understand English, then you can help,” Brian added. “We’re always taking new tutors,” Yuanyu added. For more information visit the Bridges ESL website or reach out to bridgesesl@gmail.com 

Bridges ESL is emblematic of the Engage pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, forging trusted partnerships with New Haven organizations through community-engaged service.