Listen: Hmong influx has resulted in long waiting lists for adult ESL programs
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All Things Considered’s Tom Crann interviews Eric Nesheim, executive director of the Minnesota Literacy Council, about social service agencies struggling to keep up with the demand for services in an era of budget shortfalls.

Refugees from a Hmong refugee camp in Thailand continue to arrive in Minnesota. One of the first and most pressing needs refugees have is learning English. The St. Paul Community Literacy Consortium estimates there are 400 names on waiting lists for adult English classes...and almost all of those names on those lists are Hmong. The Minnesota Literacy Council is one of dozens of agencies that provide english literacy classes to adults.

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