Refugees coming to Iowa take big steps to learn English

HIAWATHA - Bala Adhikari, 61, came to the United States from the southern Asia country of Bhutan six years ago and couldn't speak or read any English. Today, his teachers say his spelling is better than theirs and his handwriting is prettier.

Adhikari, who has lived in Arizona and Illinois, arrived in Cedar Rapids two years ago. His full-time job is becoming a U.S. citizen and he plans to take the exam Thursday.

His quest to be an American citizen is reflected in his walks twice a week to the Hiawatha Public Library to learn English - walks that take an hour each way.

'I like class because I like learning about America,” Adhikari said.

His native country of Bhutan is sandwiched between India and China. Its people speak Nepali, derived from Bhutan's neighboring country of Nepal.

During the 1990s, the Bhutanese government deported thousands of people of Nepali ethnicity in an attempt to propagate a national cultural identity. The deportations sent more than 100,000 Bhutanese citizens to live in refugee camps in Nepal. In 2007, the United Nations stepped in and sent the refugees to countries around the world including Canada, Australia and the Unites States.

According to the Iowa Department of Human Rights in 2015, about 3,000 Bhutanese people have came to the state since 2008.

For the refugees who have settled here, the Hiawatha classes began because the Catherine McAuley Center, which provides one-on-one tutoring for adult learners, found a lot of them didn't have a means for transportation to the center's downtown Cedar Rapids location. And the center itself couldn't hold so many people - there are more than 20 to accommodate.

'(We) reached out saying we wanted English lessons, but were restrained with space at the center - we were bursting at the seams,” said Katie Lanius, the teacher of the class and the curriculum specialist at the center.

The Hiawatha Public Library, which is closer to many of the refugees, answered the call.

Since August, the students have been meeting twice a week at the library, going over the alphabet, numbers and colors for two hours at a time with Lanius and volunteers. Although she doesn't speak their native tongue of Nepali, she finds the interactions encouraging.

'I have an English to Nepali dictionary, and I use my cellphone to translate,” Lanius said about her teaching method when she wants to explain a word or phrase. 'I try to attempt saying the words, and it usually humors them because I usually am wrong. But it shows them it is OK to make mistakes when you are learning something new.”

At Monday's class, most of the students were split off into a novice learning group where they were quizzed on their listening comprehension on similar sounding numbers and letters such as 15 and 50 and 'p” and 'v.” Then the class practiced writing and saying ages and home addresses to one another as Lanius and volunteers walked around the room and helped.

In the back of the room were citizenship seekers like Adhikari, who use the class time to prepare for their U.S. citizenship test.

'I am excited ... and I am ready,” Adhikari said while studying the duties of the U.S. Secretary of Energy.

The library issued the students free library cards, held a warm clothing drive and ordered dual language books in their native tongue of Nepali.

'We have been just delighted having them here,” library Director Jeaneal Weeks said. 'They are always polite and good patrons.”

The library is in the planning process for a $4.7 million addition to its 8,500-square-foot facility that would double it in size.

Weeks said the extra space would allow the library to have more privacy for patrons and community events and programs like the classes for Bhutanese students.