Immigrant Students Reenact Their Drama

Immigrant high school students who have just learned English will show off their new linguistic skills today and Friday at Cal State Northridge in a play titled “Life in the New World.”

The students, newly arrived from Mexico and Central America, have been attending bilingual courses at CSUN since Nov. 5 as part of the Emergency Immigrant Education Program.

“Theater is a good way to learn a new language and in six weeks’ time, it’s been amazing how they’ve been able to learn difficult lines in English,” said Lila Silvern, coordinator of the program, which is sponsored by the Language Acquisition and Bilingual Development branch of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“This is a play about their experiences coming to America and how they feel about it,” she said. The play was written and is directed by Doug Kaback, CSUN professor of theater.

Twenty-one immigrant students from Jefferson High School in Los Angeles make up the cast, who, in addition to learning English, are given the opportunity to experience a different academic environment at CSUN, Silvern said.

Performances are scheduled at 10 and 11:30 a.m. today and Friday at the speech drama building’s Studio Theater, located on the south side of the Northridge campus.

The public is also invited free of charge.

For more information, contact the LAUSD at (310) 471-1301.