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.