Immigrants learn, one syllable at a time

This very intensive English class is teaching immigrants some of the finer points of English; accent, intonation, nuance. They need this knowledge to get good jobs, like they had in their home country. - - Donna Poisl

By Matt O'Brien, Staff writer

OAKLAND — "How are you?" Marianna Matthews asks her class. "How are you?"
Identical words, slightly different questions. The teacher asks her adult students if they understand the difference.

"It's called intonation," she said, diagramming the flow from one syllable to another. "It's the music of English. Whether your voice goes up or down."

The mysteries of English are, in part, about words and how to pronounce and write them.
But the students at The English Center in Jack London Square, hailing from the Ivory Coast, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, China, Bhutan, Myanmar, Latin America and elsewhere, want more than words and grammar. They are looking to understand the nuances.

"I want to find the same job here that I had in Lithuania," said student Pavel Sedliar, of Walnut Creek. "But I must have perfect English."
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.