English as a second language: Toward a bilingualism that strengthens the Latino identity

This project was started between January through May of 2000, in the Presbyterian Church of Astoria. I began with a church volunteer group teaching English as a second language in which the core theme was "the Latino cultural identity", identity that in many people begins to be lost due to the process of acculturation in which they live.; This work is a narrative of the program that we had in the church. I present the different stages of the project and the theoretical foundation of it, based in Christian principles and the conviction that the church, which exists in a context of different social groups, can't remain indifferent to its reality, because it would be out of context and its missionary reason would be meaningless.; This final document is divided in six chapters as follows:; The first chapter presents the initial idea of the project and the different stages as to its development.; The second chapter presents a study of the denominational reality in New York and an analysis of the Latino Presbyterian Church in New York City and a study of the Presbyterian Church of Astoria.; The third chapter presents a demographic study of Astoria's community and other demographic data of New York City. It also offers general information about the social profile of the Astoria's community.; The fourth chapter contains the biblical foundations and the Presbyterian concepts of social justice, theological social reflections about immigration and a sustentation about the possibility of maintaining the Latino identity with a language it learned in a cultural setting that isn't its own.; The fifth chapter presents the stages of the project development, and makes a detailed description of all activities carried out for the design and implementation of the program: "English as a second language, toward a bilingualism that strengthens the Latino identity".; The sixth chapter presents project evaluation process where we can see the program's results, thanks to the systematization of the evaluation's instruments applied. Finally, conclusions are presented, the product of the program's development, appendixes and the bibliography.