Mayte Enriquez hates math, and she struggles with the complicated tangle of rules that govern the English language. But the Pescadero resident is determined to master both subjects so she can move on from being a dishwasher and a cashier. “I’ve never been good at math. But I remember that when I was younger, one of my teachers told me that if there was a subject I didn’t like or I didn’t understand, if I worked hard to master the material, then I could achieve other things in life,” says Enriquez, whose name has been changed because she was not born in the U.S. For the last several years, Enriquez turned to Puente for free ESL classes that helped her build basic conversational skills. Eventually she progressed through all three ESL levels. Last semester, she was one of eight adults who enrolled in a beginner’s ESL class at Cañada College, a Redwood City-based community college with a satellite program in Half Moon Bay. There she learned “proper” English: grammar and punctuation, tenses and spelling. For Enriquez, who is 28, it’s not just about wanting to be understood and to converse with the people around her – although it’s plenty embarrassing when she is working at her cash register and customers ask her a question she can’t answer. It’s not simply … Continue reading Puente helps write new chapter in Coastside adult education