NEWBERG, Ore. — Portland Community College’s Newberg Center restarted its English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes in fall 2023. That’s when Newberg resident and instructor Amber Bliss Calderón returned to teaching ESOL.

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“It was really nice to come back to PCC, and especially in my hometown,” she said. “We’re teaching students how to navigate life here — how to talk to a cashier at the supermarket, ask their children’s teachers questions, or communicate with clients, bosses and coworkers.”

From 2004 to 2006, Bliss Calderón taught at PCC and has lived in Newberg for 20 years. Before that, she spent time in South Korea and earned her master’s degree from Portland State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in writing and literature from George Fox University and is now in her third year teaching ESOL.

“I wasn’t successful at learning the language when I lived overseas,” she said. “I know how isolating that can be and how you stay in pockets of comfort. It gives me a lot of compassion for my students.”

Although many of the Newberg Center’s ESOL students are native Spanish speakers, others speak Portuguese, Tagalog and Chinese as their first languages. The center offers four levels of ESOL classes focused on practical, everyday communication. Many students are adults with jobs and families.

“When I ask, ‘What’s your goal?’ most say, ‘I want a better job,’ or, ‘I want to help my kids with their homework,’” Bliss Calderón said. “We’re trying to provide a way they can do that.”

According to PCC, many of these students hold essential but often unseen jobs in farming, landscaping, housekeeping, and construction. They are highly skilled but limited by a language barrier that they are working hard to overcome. Some even hold engineering degrees from their home countries.

Bliss Calderón said ESOL classes benefit the broader community by improving communication and connections, leading to smoother parent-teacher conferences and a better understanding of workplace safety.

“You don’t have to have a translator every single time you meet with parents or need to discuss a child’s needs. It helps the whole community,” she said. “They have an end goal — to communicate better or to get paid better — and that benefits everyone. They need a bridge to a new world. Our job is to build it, one class at a time.”

PCC’s approach offers a pathway to future college coursework and more advanced programs, such as those offered at the Sylvania Campus.

“Since we relaunched ESOL classes at Newberg, we’ve seen working adults choose PCC because they know these classes lead to real opportunities for their families and employers,” said Karen Sanders, assistant associate vice president of Academic & Career Pathways at PCC. “The impact is community-wide. Amber’s compassionate, experience-driven teaching has been central to this progress — she meets students where they are and turns language learning into access, dignity and momentum for Newberg.”

Learn more about the PCC Newberg Center at www.pcc.edu/locations/newberg.