For most students, putting a conscience effort into language isn’t a large part of their everyday lives with the exception of language class, but for the ELL students, it’s one of the main focuses. The ELL or English language learners at Aspen High School have the additional challenge of taking classes in their non-native language, but April Baumgartner, an ELL teacher, is working to ease the transition.

“The goal of ELL is to get students to speak English ultimately, and to learn about culture in the United States, and to be able to succeed in a job or further education,” Baumgartner said.

Most of these students have spent the majority of their lives outside of The United States in places like El Salvador and other Latin American countries. Jennifer Medina, a senior in the ELL program moved to Aspen from El Salvador two years ago, leaving her father and sister behind. While she has enjoyed learning English and meeting new people, she still misses her home and the rest of her family.

“I was living in El Salvador my whole life and I’m just trying to feel comfortable here,” Medina said.

Since moving to The US and participating in this program, her English has improved drastically, and she was able to speak fluently to me in this interview. In addition to learning new things, Medina is very busy balancing school from 8a.m. to 3:20p.m. and working at City Market from 4p.m. until 11pm on most nights. In her very limited free time she has managed to learn to play the guitar.

“I get really tired from studying and working at the same time so I just try to sleep or sometimes I like to play guitar,” Medina said.

Other students like sophomores Monica Lozano and Aldair Guevara have really enjoyed the new friendships they have made in ELL class and the school as a whole. They are both also from El Salvador and although they enjoy their new home, they both miss the food in El Salvador and their families. While Lozano mostly misses her dog, Guevara misses his parents the most.

All of these students have worked incredibly hard to learn more about the American culture and language and have improved a lot. Mastering a confusing new language is no easy task, but they are all currently enrolled in many classes at AHS taught in English and have been able to participate in activities outside of school.

“The most rewarding (moment) is probably when they are able to use their English outside the classrooms,” Baumgartner said. “They are very capable and special kids.”

***Aldair and Monica’s interview was translated by April Baumgartner