Introduction

Stories in this book were written by students in the Level 4/5 ESOL classes taught by Amal Mahmoud in spring quarter 2024. In these stories, students shared memorable trips they’ve taken, life experiences, and details about their lives as they practiced English writing skills.

I am pleased to introduce this book, In Our Own Words: Stories from Immigrant and Refugee Students written by my ESL students at Highline College. This collection of stories and essays showcases their development in English writing over the years. Some of these students arrived in the United States without knowing any English. Their stories and essays are a testament to their resilience and determination to succeed in their new home country. I am most proud of their courage and willingness to share their personal experiences. I am confident that everyone who reads these stories will feel the same way.

The book is unique because it is one of the few publications where novice writers bravely share authentic stories, experiences, and perspectives in their own words. There is minimal interference on my part as their instructor. I have always found the stories my students share orally in class to be fascinating: walking through deserts for weeks, climbing mountains, enduring extreme weather, and escaping dictatorial regimes to reach the USA. These moving and powerful stories are presented through narrative writing assignments in my classes. When our reference librarian, Karen Fernandez, suggested collecting these stories into a book, I immediately agreed. My students were also enthusiastic about sharing their stories in writing.

I hope you enjoy reading this unique book. I also hope you share it with your students to motivate them to work hard, improve, and achieve their dreams.

Happy reading!
Amal Mahmoud, Ph.D.
ESL Instructor
Highline College, Des Moines, Washington, USA

The model for this collection is Stories from Our Lives: LWTech English Language Students in Words and Images. We were 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 April 2024 and June 2025. 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 our hope that more volumes will follow.

Deborah Moore, Librarian
Karen Fernandez, Librarian