DALTON, Ga. -- With no supplies other than a marker and a whiteboard, Jim Baird stands in front a class of mainly Hispanic adults and tells them stories as a way to learn English.
"I de-emphasize grammar. I let them hear and speak English, but I need to be sure they understand it," said the 67-year-old retired social worker, who teaches four times a week to a class of about 10 students.
Since 1997, Mr. Baird, a Boston native who moved to Dalton in 1971, has volunteered and worked to help the growing Hispanic community learn English.
"Life is easier if you learn English," he said recently after a two-hour class in the Dalton Recreation Department building off Civic Drive. "I enjoy the people and want them to succeed."
Besides, he added, he wanted to improve his Spanish and figured what better way to do it than to interact with Spanish speakers on an almost-daily basis.
And his students appreciate his efforts.
"I've been to other English classes, but I don't learn as much as I do with him," said Raquel Zelaya, who has been Mr. Baird's student since 2006.
"He is very patient and likable. You can tell he enjoys doing what he does," she said, speaking Spanish.
Mrs. Zelaya first started attending classes with Mr. Baird when he was teaching out of a small room inside El Huarache Veloz, a Mexican restaurant off Martin Luther King Boulevard.
"He would teach us from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. twice a week," she said.
"With no heat, in freezing temperatures," Mr. Baird added.
To prepare for classes, he said he spends at least an hour every night looking for stories and jokes. He recently used a story about chickens and country people traveling to the city for the first time to introduce new words and to review the past and present tense.
And, almost like a beautician, he said, he has a group of students, or "clients," that follow him wherever he goes.
"For us it is really important to learn English, so wherever he is teaching, we go," said Mrs. Zelaya, who only takes a small break after she gets off from work at 7 a.m. to make it to Mr. Baird's 10 a.m. class.
He divides his teaching time between the Phoenix Center -- part of Dalton State's adult education program where, among other things, English is taught to adults -- a couple of schools and the city recreation center, which provides the space for him to teach at no cost.
"We react, hopefully in a positive way, to the wishes, wants, needs of our citizen base, and we want to provide a positive experience for as many people in our community as we can," said Dalton Parks and Recreation Director Ronnie Nix.