Introduction
This project showcases the writing of students from the English Language, Career and Academic Prep (ELCAP) program at Highline College. Despite the ongoing need for authentic stories told by and for adult English learners, there are very few publications that share these perspectives in students’ own words. For years, I found this dearth of material to be in stark contrast with the moving, insightful, and powerful stories I was privileged to read as my own students reflected on their lived experiences and personal journeys through narrative writing assignments in my classes. So when Deb Moore suggested collecting students’ stories in a published textbook, I jumped at the opportunity.
In these pages, my students’ stories depict the moments that have shaped their lives and identities as immigrants and refugees. These stories are at times painful and at other times filled with joy, inflected with visceral details such as the memory of smelling food cooking after a long and harrowing journey or the sense of pride and exuberance that comes with achieving a long-held (and seemingly impossible) goal. My hope is that this book is one of many to come that will continue to elevate these voices in a way that both includes ESOL students’ experiences in their learning materials and allows them a space to reframe and retell their stories to new audiences through their use of English.
Angel Steadman, ELCAP Instructor
The model for this collection is Stories from Our Lives: LWTech English Language Students in Words and Images. I was impressed by LWTech’s desire to increase the collection of readers for the adult population of English language learners available to libraries, and wanted to duplicate their project at Highline College. As LWTech Librarian Sue Wozniak notes “Much of the easy reading books available have content more suitable for children. They also tend not to represent the diverse populations on our campus.”
Student work in this volume was produced between January and June 2023. Print copies of this book will be available in the Highline College Library, while the ebook version will available to anyone as an open source publication. It is my hope that more volumes will follow.
Deborah Moore, Librarian
