After living in the United States for six years, Didier was ready to become a citizen, but he needed help and couldn’t find a citizenship preparation class that would take him. His work schedule prevented him from taking daytime classes, which made it hard to find either English or citizenship classes. He needed help with both.
Didier has worked full-time since moving from Colombia in 2018 and is currently a sanitation worker. For years he’s been struggling to learn English on his own.
“We’d been looking [for a citizenship class] for a long time,” his daughter Anny explained, “but every place has waitlists, and one of the requirements is basic English. And my dad didn’t have basic English, either.”
It was looking bleak, but fortunately for Didier, The ILC ‘s Citizenship Class accepts all students, regardless of their English level.
Didier started the class online in late 2024, and it was immediately clear he was going to need extra help because of his limited English skills.
Citizenship Teacher Kate Atkinson met with Didier and Anny to assess what he would need and tailored his lessons to address his English. This included learning basic vocabulary as well as sentences he could use to answer questions regarding his personal information.
Kate Atkinson (left) and Didier celebrate his citizenship success.
Kate couldn’t focus exclusively on Didier’s English lessons, so she teamed up with longtime volunteer Andy Koppel and a Spanish-speaking former student, Yamille, to work with Didier online multiple times per week. They helped him learn the 100 civics questions and taught him enough basic English to get by in the citizenship interview.
Didier worked incredibly hard and in April, he passed the citizenship interview and was sworn in as a new citizen on the same day!
We understand how challenging it is for new Americans who don’t know much English. The Immigrant Learning Center is here to help those like Didier with the passion and drive to make their dreams come true.