A group of students and their teacher gather weekly to learn English in the basement of St. Rita's Church in Long Island City, Queens.

Charito Tubera has been teaching English to immigrants for almost two decades.

"They mean so much to me. Why? Because I know what it's like having to learn a new language, and it's very difficult," Tubera said. "I can relate to them exactly how they feel."

Tubera moved from the Philippines to the United States at the age of 18. She says she knows how difficult it is to adapt to a new lifestyle and new language.

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens hired her last year to employ her skills teaching immigrants English. The free English for Speakers of Other Languages program is offered in six locations across Queens and Brooklyn.

She says her classes are a safe space for her students to practice speaking English.

"I try to encourage my students to speak a lot more even when they ask simple questions," she said. "They will say to me, 'Teacher, I don't know what that means, no comprende.'"

Her students are Spanish speakers, but she admits she doesn't speak much Spanish at all. She uses her native Filipino language, Tagalog, to communicate with her students, since her language is similar to Spanish.

"It's amazing that I can understand them, but because I have words and phrases that I can pick up because I am not very fluent in Spanish," she said. "'Habla español?' 'Muy poquito.'"

It's a job for Tubera, but she says it's her Filipino culture that inspires her teaching.

"I bring with my students what my ethnicity background is and where I come from," she said.

She says she's using her Southeast Asian roots to help new arrivals from Latin America assimilate to their new surroundings.

"Share - share your culture, share your food, share your thoughts, you know, because you're different, and being different is a gift," she said.