Pay it forward

Paying forward
Pay forward
 
Many of our volunteer tutors come to us with a desire to ‘pay forward’ the help and support that they received when living in countries where they didn’t speak the language. Some are themselves immigrants to the US or are the children of immigrants. Click below to hear from Nora, who has volunteered in our ESOL and Youth Literacy programs and is also a member of our Board of Directors, and Svetlana, whose parents immigrated here from Ukraine and learned English with the help of volunteers tutors. 
 
 

 

The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program teaches oral English, reading, and writing to adults who have immigrated to the U.S. from around the world. ESOL is the largest program at Literacy Together, serving approximately 250 students annually. Our students’ most common goals in learning English are to improve their employment prospects, help their children in school, and pass the U.S. Naturalization exam

Each student works with a trained volunteer tutor, either individually or in a small group of ten people. Tutoring takes place for two hours each week at times and locations that are mutually convenient for students and tutors. Tutors may choose to teach one (1) two-hour session or two (2) one-hour sessions each week and may do so online or in person. Read Barbara’s experience tutoring Maryna remotely, or Cecelia’s work from Germany as an ESOL tutor of six students! Read more about volunteering with this program.

The ESOL Program welcomes volunteers from all over the world! We now have tutors in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Texas, the UK, and Germany. Sign up here to volunteer with us!

Enjoy these ESOL success stories!

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Adult Literacy Bible study group

Adult Literacy Bible study group
 
At the request of several Adult Literacy students who initially joined the program so that they could read the Bible (a frequently stated goal for students in this program), Literacy Together has partnered with First Baptist Church of Asheville (FBCA) to develop an Adult Literacy Bible study group designed specifically for our students.  The group is made up of several FBCA members and several Adult Literacy students. The group It’s co-led by one FBCA member and one Adult Literacy student. The Bible study is designed to build community and reinforce literacy skills at the same time, within each Bible lesson.
 
The six-week pilot took off on March 29, and we have had wonderful feedback from both students and congregants. We appreciate the partnership of FBCA as they have created a safe and welcoming atmosphere where our students can learn about the Bible, ask questions when they need to, and practice those literacy skills they are working on with their tutors. 
 

The Adult Literacy Program teaches reading, writing, spelling, and math to adults who read at or below a basic skills level. This program serves approximately 50 students per year. Students come to Literacy Together because they want to improve job prospects, help their children in school, enroll in a High School Equivalency Program, and better navigate the world around them.

Although English is their native language, Adult Literacy students struggle with recognizing individual sounds, written words, and comprehending a sentence or longer passage.  They comprise a diverse group in terms of educational background, socioeconomic status, personal goals, and learning styles. Many are challenged by learning differences such as dyslexia. All Adult Literacy students courageously take the step to give reading another chance. Learn more about volunteering with this program.

Read these Adult Literacy Program success stories!
 

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This is what our ESOL tutors say about volunteering with us!

Many potential volunteers find out about us from Volunteer Match, and the more awesome reviews we have on the site, the better! If you are a tutor and could take a few minutes to submit a review here, you’d be helping us recruit more volunteer tutors, and we’ll be very grateful. Thanks in advance! Below is what some of our ESOL tutors said about us! Read more reviews here.

 

 

ESOL tutorsThe English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program teaches oral English, reading, and writing to adults who have immigrated to the U.S. from around the world. ESOL is the largest program at Literacy Together, serving approximately 250 students annually. Our students’ most common goals in learning English are to improve their employment prospects, help their children in school, and pass the U.S. Naturalization exam.

Each student works with a trained volunteer tutor, either individually or in a small group of ten people. Tutoring takes place for two hours each week at times and locations that are mutually convenient for students and tutors. Tutors may choose to teach one (1) two-hour session or two (2) one-hour sessions each week and may do so online or in-person (read Barbara’s experience tutoring Maryna remotely, or Cecelia’s work from Germany as an ESOL tutor of six students!).

The ESOL Program welcomes volunteers from all over the world! We now have tutors in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Texas, the UK, and Germany. Sign up here to volunteer with us!

Enjoy these ESOL success stories!

 

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Exciting Youth Literacy Program news!

Youth Literacy

 

The Youth Literacy Program recently added fourteen trained volunteers to its amazing team! During the last week of February, these tutors completed the fifteen-hour training course and are now equipped to provide 1:1 tutoring support in reading, writing, and spelling to elementary-aged students. They will begin working with students in March and continue until the end of the school year in June. In addition, this training marked the beginning of a new partnership with the Foster Grandparent Program, which provides a beautiful multigenerational component to our program!

Planning is underway for the 2nd Annual Summer Camp Reading Initiative, an 8-week summer literacy program offered in collaboration with Youth Transformed for Life and the Christine W. Avery Learning Center summer camps. Our goal is to double the number of students participating from 40 to 80 campers and double the number of paid internships from 14 to 30. The interns, primarily young adults of color, will be trained as tutors to work with the campers to combat summer slide by strengthening literacy skills and developing a love for reading!

The Youth Literacy Program improves the academic achievement of children and teens from low-income families who struggle with literacy skills.  The project trains tutors who provide free, one-on-one instruction in reading, writing, and spelling.  This program serves approximately 50 students per year (Read Izzy’s success story!).

Sign up online to volunteer with us!

Youth Literacy tutors work with children from low-income families who read, write, and/or spell below grade level. Tutors in this program complete an initial orientation and a 16-20 hours training, which includes some pre-course work and/or homework (short articles to read, short videos to watch). They then receive follow-up support and the option to attend in-service training throughout their tutoring commitment.

Tutors in this program work with their students twice per week for 50 minutes each session. Youth Literacy tutors commit to working with their students for at least one school year. Literacy Together has identified two afterschool programs to work with their students:  YTL (Youth Transformed for Life) in the North Asheville area (on Merrimon Avenue), and Christine W. Avery students in the Montford area.

Learn more about the Summer Reading Initiative summer reading camp 2021!

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Update on our Afghan students

Afghan students

 
 
 
We’re currently providing one-on-one tutoring (or one-on-two in the case of a few groups of relatives or friends learning together) to 27 Afghan students, with another handful of matchups in the works. We offer a weekly Zoom meeting on Fridays for all the tutors who are working with Afghans, where we share ideas and resources and brainstorm solutions to challenges. There is still a great need for volunteers who want to support the newcomers in various ways, from teaching English to transportation to job- and house-hunting.
 
Contact Erin at Literacy Together  to get involved in English teaching to our Afghan students, and Lutheran Services, or Catholic Charities for anything else! Please read the latest article from the Mountain Xpress about our new Afghan neighbors here.
 

Sign up online to come a volunteer orientation meeting!

 

The English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program teaches oral English, reading, and writing to adults who have immigrated to the U.S. from around the world. ESOL is the largest program at Literacy Together, serving approximately 250 students annually. Our students’ most common goals in learning English are to improve their employment prospects, help their children in school, and pass the U.S. Naturalization exam.

Each student works with a trained volunteer tutor, either individually or in a small group of ten people. Tutoring takes place for two hours each week at times and locations that are mutually convenient for students and tutors. Tutors may choose to teach one (1) two-hour session or two (2) one-hour sessions each week and may do so online or in-person (read Barbara’s experience tutoring Maryna remotely, or Cecelia’s work from Germany as an ESOL tutor of six students!).

The ESOL Program welcomes volunteers from all over the world! We now have tutors in Florida, New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Texas, the UK, and Germany. Sign up here to volunteer with us!

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