By Whitney Palmeter/ El Nuevo Tennessean
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 9, 2014) -- Every Thursday evening at Cherokee United Methodist Church in Johnson City, Tenn., an exchange takes place as different tongues learn to speak in one common language.
Leading this conversation is Dr. Rosalind Gann, an East Tennessee State University professor and English as a Second Language advocate. The main goal of this gathering is to equip people whose first language is not English to speak it comfortably and correctly.
Gann has worked with English language learners in many countries. It was there that she realized how the English language is becoming more global.
"One thing I've learned is just how important English is—worldwide—and the scope of this language," she said. "It was, originally, a language of conquerors, of oppressors, and now, it's been transformed into a vehicle for universal communication."