ESL PROGRAM TEACHES JOYOUS HOLIDAY LESSON.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Somehow, a rendition of ``The Twelve Days of Christmas'' during a holiday program Thursday for English language students at Conejo Valley Adult Education School turned into a comedy routine.

Most of the 12 staff members who took part in the song during the English as a Second Language students' annual Winter Holiday Program - whether doing eight maids a milking or seven swans a swimming - couldn't just sing their parts. They had to act them out.

June Moore, coordinator of special projects at the school, did a little leap out of her chair when it came her turn to do the 10 lords a leaping, getting a big laugh out of the 125 or so students representing up to 25 nationalities gathered in the auditorium for the annual Christmas show.

``It's a great day, a wonderful group to be with,'' said Moore as she talked about her leap. ``We do this every year: it's traditional.

``We all got in on the act,'' she said.

And so did the students who got on stage to sing a range of Holiday songs from ``Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'' to ``Jingle Bell Rock'' - all in English inflected with a melodious cross-section of accents.

It was about the only place one was likely to see Chalor Timsuren singing Christmas songs. Timsuren, who came to the United States from Thailand about 20 years ago, admitted it wasn't easy singing ``Winter Wonderland.''

``It's a little difficult,'' she said. ``It's a little hard, for me - the words, the grammar.''

The annual event isn't just intended as a fun time for the students, ESL coordinator Debbie Hamer said. It's an integral part of the English language program because students put the show together themselves, working in groups and speaking in English throughout.

``In fact, we really try to stress that this is an instructional day,'' Hamer said. ``It's just a different kind of instructional day.''

The only way this year's program differed from previous years was that students didn't bring dishes from their home countries for an international smorgasbord.

Instead, they brought food and toy contributions for the food bank Manna and Toys for Tots.

``That's why we didn't have them bring dishes,'' Hamer said. ``We felt they were already bringing things for other people.''

Hamer herself performed in the show and, at the end, surprised the audience with her lilting voice during her rendition of ``A Christmas Song.''

``It's beautiful - I love how she sings,'' said Ming Zhu, who came to the United States from China three years ago. ``It's so beautiful.''

Zhu, 28, said she learned about the American Christmas tradition as a schoolgirl in China, when she and other students would sometimes exchange Christmas cards.

Ironically, she learned even more about it when she worked for a Japanese company in Beijing in the 1980s. Other than the Conejo Valley Adult School holiday program, Zhu hasn't celebrated Christmas - she has yet to get her first Christmas tree.

``But I will celebrate it next year, because my in-laws are coming,'' she said.

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4 Photos

Photo: (1--ran in CONEJO edition only--color) Huiyang Chen from Taiwan laughs during a yuletide show at the Conejo Valley Adult Education School on Thursday.

(2--ran in CONEJO edition only) Margarita Mellein, left, of El Salvador and her classmate Cristina Castillo from the Dominican Republic enjoy their instructors' comedic rendition of ``The Twelve Days of Christmas.''

(3--ran in SIMI and CONEJO editions--4--ran in CONEJO edition only) Four-year-old Shabnama Karimyan of Thousand Oaks and Kevin Towne, 4, above, join a cast of ESL students' children in singing Christmas carols before ESL coordinator Debbie Hamer, left, shares her holiday wish list with Santa Claus.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News