It's not easy for an adult to learn a new language. If you ever tried, you will connect with the characters in “English” the 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning play for Drama by playwright Sanaz Toossi now presented by Roundabout Theatre Company.

Each of the four Iranian adult students in Marjan’s (Marjan Neshat) ) classroom are studying for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language.) Each is at a different level with a distinctively different goal. Teenage Goli (Ava Lalezarzadeh) is studious and loves English. Elham (Tala Ashe) needs her English-language certificate for medical school in Australia but she’s already failed the test several times. As a result, she’s angry and hates English. Omid (Hadi Tabbal ) the only man, is the most proficient and it really isn’t clear why he’s taking the class. Last is Roya (Pooya Mohseni) an older woman whose son has moved to Canada. She wants to learn English to be able to speak with her young granddaughter Claire. She’s angry that her son gave her a name she can’t pronounce and wishes they could appreciate the beauties of Farsi.

Speaking Farsi in the class becomes a negative. Marjan instructs them to speak English all the time and even puts a hash mark under their names to show that they lapsed into their native language. It’s like getting a demerit.

When the characters speak English, their dialogue is slow and halting, sometimes with errors. When they speak their own “Farsi,” the dialogue is fluent. It’s a technique used in other plays but still takes a moment for the audience to recognize. To vary her teaching methods, Marjan shows American movies and plays recordings. We get the idea but occasionally the videos (“Moonstruck” and “Nottinghill” go on too long.

The personal journey of each character is touched on but never fully explored. The themes are cultural, political and personal. The emotional eruption comes only from Elham who is feisty and rebellious. She’s angry because she is bright enough to go to medical school, but can’t seem to master English. There’s also a bit of tension as a romantic spark develops between Marjan and Omid.

The staging is creative, using a rotating classrom to change scenes. And while each character gets his or her moment, the pacing is slow at times.

Language can bring us together or separate us. Directed by Knud Adams, “English” is a quiet, introspective play that makes one consider the power of language and its connections to history, identity and culture.