October 2019
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Volume 7, Issue 10
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The Insider
The Insider, the monthly newsletter of LVA, Essex & Passaic Counties, will keep you in the loop on all of the organization’s upcoming events.
Student Martha Diaz (right), shown with her tutor, Mary O’Connor, had her short story published in the NJALL magazine “Insight 2019”. Congrats, Martha! Photo courtesy of NJALL.
Literacy Volunteers of America Essex & Passaic Counties90 Broad Street, 2nd Floor, Bloomfield, NJ 07003
(973) 566-6200, ext. 217 or 225 195 Gregory Avenue, 2nd Floor, Passaic, NJ 07055 (973) 470-0039 Cristhian Barcelos -Executive Director
cbarcelos@lvaep.org Jorge Chavez -Data Processing Coordinator jchavez@lvaep.org Debbie Graham -Education Coordinator dgraham@lvaep.org Ellen Rooney Martin -Recruitment & Training Coordinator emartin@lvaep.org Mary O’Connor -Trainer & Tutor Support Specialist moconnor@lvaep.org Marisol Ramirez -Student Coordinator mramirez@lvaep.org |
Greetings LVA Family,
Hot off the press is “Insight 2019”, the latest edition of the NJALL magazine that publishes the works of all winners of the New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning Learner Writing Contest. We’re proud of all the authors, including our own Sara Chekouh, who earned a second-place award in poetry for “My Kitchen, My Home”, Martha Diaz, the second-place fiction winner for her short story “A Man and His Violin”, and Clifford Henry, who has won several writing contest awards in past years and this year received an honorable mention for his fictional story “A Young Boy’s Dream”. You can view their work here, in the Insight 2019 magazine: https://bit.ly/2LSjwxK Speaking of student writers, “The Change Agent”, NJALL’s biannual newsletter for and by adult learners that focuses on different topics each time, is looking for writers. The deadline is November 1 for articles on the upcoming census and the 2020 election. More info can be found here: https://bit.ly/31Xak0w We regret the cancellation of last month’s tutor support, “Teaching Struggling Readers”, which was due to circumstances beyond our control. But the good news is that we’re working hard to get the session back on the calendar and bring about plenty additional workshops that attract your interest. Hope you plan to attend this month’s workshop, “Teaching Non-Fiction Reading” by Erik Jacobson. He never disappoints. Details can be found on the following page of this newsletter. Remember, workshops are open to all in the adult literacy community, not just to LVA members. In the News
To view the following stories, copy and paste the highlighted website into an internet search bar.
‘Train your brain to think in English’, Voice of America https://bit.ly/2k3W4T6 ‘How do we measure language literacy?’ BBC News https://bbc.in/2lAFdaL ‘The “Friends Effect” on learning the English language’ Mental Floss https://bit.ly/2nXfOJO ‘Eight Words With Double Meanings That Show How Odd The English Language Can Be’, 2Oceans Vibe News https://bit.ly/2lQQRyc |
Milton, a student from Jamaica, is a skilled barber who wants to improve his literacy skills, attend college, study business, and open his own barbershop.
Tutor Training Workshops
Maplewood Memorial Library, Hilton Branch
- by Carolyn Van Doren 1688 Springfield Ave, Maplewood, NJ 07040 Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 am-12:00 pm Oct. 15, 17, 22, 24, 29, & 31, 2019 Bloomfield Public Library -by Mary O’Connor 90 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ, 07003 Tuesdays, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm November 5, 12, 19, 26, & December 3, & 10, 2019 Tutor Support Workshops
“Understanding Students’ Barriers,”
with Cristhian Barcelos with Erik Jacobson Bloomfield Public Library 90 Broad Street Bloomfield, NJ 07003 Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 1:00-2:30 pm “Easy Guide for Working with Small Groups,” with Barbara Hathaway and Nancy Lama Bloomfield Public Library 90 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003 Thursday, November 14, 2019, 1:00-2:30 pm |
Getting to Know Us
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“Juan Soto is a very quick learner. Just listen to his English.”
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Getting to Know Us
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Sussex Educational Foundation, Berkeley College &
LVA Essex and Passaic Counties Adult Education Program
The first shock wave Juan felt upon his arrival from Quito, Ecuador came from Mother Nature, the first of many struggles to come. “I arrived in the in the winter and it was so cold that day,” he recalled. “I only had $20 in my pocket. I had borrowed money so that I could pay for my plane ticket to come here. Everything was so new to me it was very shocking." But Juan stuck it out and, after seven years of hard work, in which he took on every job he could find, from restaurant dishwasher to bakery bread deliverer to warehouse fork lift operator, his plight as well as his English have improved. He has a girlfriend, they have a child, and he can vote, having aced his U.S. citizenship test last year.
For 10 weeks, Juan joined dozens of other students in ESOL classes at Berkeley College in Newark, in a joint pilot program run by the school, the Sussex Educational Foundation, and Literacy Volunteers of America, Essex & Passaic Counties. The students completed classes in three levels – beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
"Learning English has helped me in so many ways,” said Juan, a student in Tiffany Brown’s advanced class. “It has given me better opportunities, the ability to become a citizen and a better life for myself and my family.”
His struggles with the weather, jobs, and life in a new country are common stories shared among immigrant students in the Berkeley program. But, by far, their greatest struggle is learning English. Vanessa, a young student from Haiti who also completed the advanced class, had no problem learning English grammar but struggled with pronunciation, particularly in her entry level job at Dunkin’ Donuts where impatient customers threatened to call her manager when she didn’t fully understand their orders. "The first two weeks were very difficult for me,” she said. “I realized that everyone has different accents and pronunciations so it was very tough for me to understand.” Vanessa eventually found a better paying job and hopes to become a doctor.
Pamela, who was a banker in Sao Paolo, Brazil, gave a presentation to her class on the lives of immigrants. “I wanted to talk about the challenges of being an immigrant but I also wanted to encourage everyone to keep working hard and never give up on your goals,” she said.
For 10 weeks, Juan joined dozens of other students in ESOL classes at Berkeley College in Newark, in a joint pilot program run by the school, the Sussex Educational Foundation, and Literacy Volunteers of America, Essex & Passaic Counties. The students completed classes in three levels – beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
"Learning English has helped me in so many ways,” said Juan, a student in Tiffany Brown’s advanced class. “It has given me better opportunities, the ability to become a citizen and a better life for myself and my family.”
His struggles with the weather, jobs, and life in a new country are common stories shared among immigrant students in the Berkeley program. But, by far, their greatest struggle is learning English. Vanessa, a young student from Haiti who also completed the advanced class, had no problem learning English grammar but struggled with pronunciation, particularly in her entry level job at Dunkin’ Donuts where impatient customers threatened to call her manager when she didn’t fully understand their orders. "The first two weeks were very difficult for me,” she said. “I realized that everyone has different accents and pronunciations so it was very tough for me to understand.” Vanessa eventually found a better paying job and hopes to become a doctor.
Pamela, who was a banker in Sao Paolo, Brazil, gave a presentation to her class on the lives of immigrants. “I wanted to talk about the challenges of being an immigrant but I also wanted to encourage everyone to keep working hard and never give up on your goals,” she said.
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Adult Literacy & Community Library Partnership Pilot Program
Hilton Branch, Maplewood Memorial Library
The campaign to learn English is easier for some adult students than for others. Esra, for example, an ESL student at the Hilton Branch of the Maplewood Memorial Library, has no problem conversing in English on her job as a babysitter.
“Thanks to my English classes it’s been easy for her to communicate with the kids and their parents as well as with the people in her community,” said Eidy Urena, Esra’s teacher in an intermediate ESL class at the Hilton Branch of the Maplewood Memorial Library.
Esra’s class was offered through the Adult Literacy and Community Library Partnership, a state pilot grant program that aims to create direct partnerships between local libraries and adult literacy service providers. Together, libraries and literacy organizations provide training or language instruction that help New Jersey residents increase their Adult Basic Education and language proficiency skills in order to earn a nationally recognized certification, ServeSafe, which in turn can help enhance their chances of finding employment. Funds were granted to libraries throughout NJ, including the Maplewood Memorial Library, which works with LVA to offer intensive ESL classes at its Hilton Branch.
Another student in the Maplewood program is Yue, who arrived in the U.S. from China two years ago, and doesn’t see much improvement in her own ability to speak English. “My English is bad,” she states simply. But where Yue sees little or no progress, Glenda Wills, her beginner level ESL teacher, sees the glass as half-full.
“The shock and joy in her face when she received her first 100% on her English weekly skill checkup test was a moment to remember,” said Glenda.
“Thanks to my English classes it’s been easy for her to communicate with the kids and their parents as well as with the people in her community,” said Eidy Urena, Esra’s teacher in an intermediate ESL class at the Hilton Branch of the Maplewood Memorial Library.
Esra’s class was offered through the Adult Literacy and Community Library Partnership, a state pilot grant program that aims to create direct partnerships between local libraries and adult literacy service providers. Together, libraries and literacy organizations provide training or language instruction that help New Jersey residents increase their Adult Basic Education and language proficiency skills in order to earn a nationally recognized certification, ServeSafe, which in turn can help enhance their chances of finding employment. Funds were granted to libraries throughout NJ, including the Maplewood Memorial Library, which works with LVA to offer intensive ESL classes at its Hilton Branch.
Another student in the Maplewood program is Yue, who arrived in the U.S. from China two years ago, and doesn’t see much improvement in her own ability to speak English. “My English is bad,” she states simply. But where Yue sees little or no progress, Glenda Wills, her beginner level ESL teacher, sees the glass as half-full.
“The shock and joy in her face when she received her first 100% on her English weekly skill checkup test was a moment to remember,” said Glenda.
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Passaic Public Library and LVA Partnership
Through a partnership with the Passaic Public Library, ESL classes are taught to students like Patty, who was a teacher in Lima, Peru, but works a warehouse assembly line job in the states. The job’s a challenge; Patty recently arrived in class with a bandaged upper arm, the result of a warehouse work accident. When asked about her work by Jalaire Craver, her ESL teacher at the Reid Memorial Branch of the Passaic Public Library, Patty simply lifts her shirt to show the lumbar back brace she sports.
Like Patty, most of the students in the program share goals of finding safer and better paying jobs and helping their children in school. Altagracia, a single mother from the Dominican Republic, would love to guide her teenage son through his school assignments but her level of English language fluency is a barrier. That, along with a job change, was her motivation for enrolling in classes at the Passaic Public Library.
“Her determination and willingness to learn will help her to accomplish her goals in very little time,” said her teacher, Grizzly Matias. “She is a perfect example that when someone wants something and works hard for it, they can achieve it.”
Many of the students left behind families, or some family members, in their native countries, another part of the struggle to adapt to their new lives. “It was a big change because, on the one hand, I left one part of my family in Mexico, such as my brothers and my parents,” said Arias, an ESL student who traveled to the U.S. with only his wife and daughter. “But on the other hand, I realized that this country is great. It gives you the tools to success.”
Like Patty, most of the students in the program share goals of finding safer and better paying jobs and helping their children in school. Altagracia, a single mother from the Dominican Republic, would love to guide her teenage son through his school assignments but her level of English language fluency is a barrier. That, along with a job change, was her motivation for enrolling in classes at the Passaic Public Library.
“Her determination and willingness to learn will help her to accomplish her goals in very little time,” said her teacher, Grizzly Matias. “She is a perfect example that when someone wants something and works hard for it, they can achieve it.”
Many of the students left behind families, or some family members, in their native countries, another part of the struggle to adapt to their new lives. “It was a big change because, on the one hand, I left one part of my family in Mexico, such as my brothers and my parents,” said Arias, an ESL student who traveled to the U.S. with only his wife and daughter. “But on the other hand, I realized that this country is great. It gives you the tools to success.”
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