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Hailey Public Library offers 'Conversacion de Ingles' class for Spanish speakers

Posted at 5:26 PM, Jan 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-26 14:56:21-05

HAILEY, Idaho — The Hailey Public Library is offering free English conversation classes for Spanish speakers.

Conversacion de Ingles is a six-week class taught by tutor Leonardo Padilla Sacha on Fridays from 4-5:30 p.m.

Padilla Sacha said he wants to reach and help as many people as he can learn English.

“I know it’s hard and it takes time, and that’s why I’m meaning to help this person, and the Latino people like me,” Padilla Sacha said. “The students at the end, they end up talking and trying to have a casual conversation.”

The class is arranged in two parts. First, students learn about grammar. Then they learn how to apply the grammar into a basic conversation.

RELATED: Hailey Public Library serving Hispanic community through literacy

Programs and Engagement Manager Kristin Fletcher and the Hispanic Advisory board listened to the needs and ideas from the Hailey Hispanic community. This brainstorming led to changes in the programs provided by the library.

“We are trying to do this kind of step by step and gradually reach out into the community that way,” Fletcher said.

Upcoming programs include a bilingual story time, where Hispanic community leaders will read to children at the library, Spanish movie nights and the opportunity for people to gather in a comfortable space.

“It’s called tertulia,” Fletcher explained. “It’s a Peruvian word and it means to gather together in community and talk about something. So it can be talking about politics, it could be talking about something you read in the paper, or something that happened at work!”

The Conversacion de Ingles class will end on Feb. 25.

Drop-ins are welcome, but people are encouraged to RSVP to Kristin.Fletcher@haileypubliclibrary.org

To visit the Hailey Public Library website click here.