Immigrant Writing Festival is a writing class designed with Houston's 8,000 immigrant students in mind. Most of
the students come from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia. "They have lost their neighborhoods,
their friends, part of their family, and their country," said Maria Rustomji, who helped start the writing class more
than a decade ago. The students are encouraged to write in their native languages as well as in English. The goal
is to help them gain a stronger vocabulary in both languages. Rustomji thinks that a writing class is just what
these students need. She believes writing is a good way for people to express themselves. It allows the students
to process their unique experiences.
The writing class is
A competitive
B traditional
C unnecessary
D specialized
