By: Irma Jaime, AmeriCorps Tutor, Literacy Action of Central Arkansas

When Theva was 18 years old, she came to the United States from Laos, a country in the midst of war and political change. When Theva arrived, she didn’t know any English. Soon, she learned how to speak English. For many years, Theva wanted to learn how to read and write English, but never had the time. Making a life in her new country and then raising a family took priority. Now that Theva’s family is grown up, she finally has time to accomplish her goal. Theva is eager to finally realize her goal of learning how to read and write English.

As a young girl in Laos, she remembers how daily life was affected by the Vietnam War and the changes in the government. She remembers bombings in Laos. As a young girl, she was scared and did not understand what was happening. Then when the government changed hands, people were being arrested for minor non-compliance. She recalls when her father was tied up and arrested. Eventually, he was released.

After Theva’s father was arrested and released, her family knew they had to leave Laos for their safety. The journey for Theva from Laos to the United States included a couple of years at a camp, waiting for sponsorship, and then finally Little Rock. Even though life in Laos was affected by war, Theva was sad to leave her home. But at 16 years old, she left Laos with her family. Theva and her family spent two years in a camp in the Philippines, waiting for sponsorship. Each family member needed to be sponsored. Because of the size of Theva’s family, Theva was split up from her family. Theva went to Little Rock, where she had an uncle. The rest of her family (her father, mother, and sisters) went to Oregon. At 18 years old, Theva arrived in Little Rock, not knowing English. A few months after arriving in Little Rock, she met and then married her husband. They made a life for themselves, worked jobs, built their house, had children, and raised their family.

Theva had an English tutor once, when her daughter was young. But then her young daughter needed her attention. So, Theva stopped being tutored and concentrated on her family. Now, with her family grown up, Theva has the time to finally realize her goal of reading and writing English. Theva and I have been working together for just a few months. Since her first language does not use the English alphabet, we started with writing the alphabet. She is learning quickly and is motivated and eager to learn. She is always early to class. It’s amazing to see learning from the very basics, the alphabet!

Cara, Tutor (left) and Sam, Student (right)

By: Cara Gieringer, Volunteer Tutor at Literacy Action

Sam Park moved to the United States in February 2017. Before that, he lived in Busan, the second largest city in South Korea. Sam worked at the headquarters for Kiswire, a global manufacturer of high carbon steel wire found in materials like tires and bridges. He now works in the Pine Bluff office for Kiswire in the accounting department. Sam found out about Literacy Action when he was looking for English tutors for him and his wife. They both started meeting with tutors at the beginning of September. “I have to use English for conversation with my coworkers who are American and wanted to improve my ability. When I came to the USA, I couldn’t speak English. I just knew some words. So I needed help.”

We meet Tuesday and Thursday nights at the Dee Brown library for tutoring. After one of our first meetings, Sam signed up for a library card so he could borrow books and CDs. “I usually listen to a CD book in my car when going to work and home. It is very useful for me. I love it.”

I admire Sam for his bravery and dedication to learn English. I think a person has to be really brave to move to a new country where people speak a different language. But he’s been very smart about it. He looked for help and has invested his time in improving his conversational skills. And he’s done great. Sam says the lessons are helpful, especially the opportunity to talk freely and not just about work.

When he’s not working or coming to tutoring, Sam enjoys traveling with his wife and two daughters. Locally, they have spent time at Pinnacle Mountain and Hot Springs, but they have also had vacations in St. Louis, Missouri, Houston and Dallas, Texas, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois. He told me, “I am the tour guide for my family.” He also likes to play golf and is trying to grow a vegetable garden in the Arkansas heat.

I was a writing tutor in graduate school back in 2014 and 2015 and I really like helping people learn to communicate better. Wanting to work with a nonprofit organization after I graduated, I signed up to volunteer with Literacy Action in the spring of 2017. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with Sam and for the patience and perseverance I have learned from him. I am also constantly reminded of how challenging the English language is and am inspired by Sam and the other students who take time out of their full schedules every week to improve their speaking and comprehension skills.

Thank you for reading Cara’s story about tutoring Sam! If you would like to make a donation to support students like Sam, please consider joining the Ghostwriters, Literacy Action’s new monthly giving program! For as little as $5 per month, you can support a student for an entire year of tutoring!

Allen, Eric, and Felicia stand together at GAIN to celebrate Eric’s progress.

When Eric enrolled as a student at Literacy Action last fall, he set two goals: go back to school and get his driver’s license. Despite having his high school diploma, Eric tested below a first grade reading level. “They just stopped trying to teach me how to read,” Eric explained as he needed help to fill out his basic contact information. Now Eric and his tutor, Felicia Mayfield, an AmeriCorps member, frequently meet at GAIN in downtown Little Rock for literacy tutoring. GAIN is a drug and rehab program that focuses on mental health services.

When Eric came to GAIN he had anger issues, but he thinks the tutoring has helped him control it better. Eric says that he “enjoys tutoring, believes it’s important, and it makes him feel better.” Since he started working with Felicia, Eric has started to see substantial progress. He’s completed the first book in the Laubach curriculum and logged over 50 hours of tutoring. His hard work and dedication to learning isn’t going unnoticed.

Eric has been encouraging others at GAIN to get a tutor, too. Eric’s caseworker, Allen Cooper, can testify to that. Allen describes Eric’s progress since he has been attending regular tutoring sessions with Felicia. He says, “Eric’s improvement has given him so much confidence that other clients at GAIN are taking notice and asking how they can get a tutor.” Allen continues to say that clients will often start programs, but not finish them.” Eric is eager to learn and it’s motivating others,” Allen acknowledges. Since Eric’s enrolled as a student at Literacy Action, there have been four other clients from GAIN sign up to receive tutoring services.

Allen also sings the praises of Felicia, “she’s very good, and very patient with him, I think he counts down the minutes until she gets here.” Felicia is aware of Eric’s previous anger issues, but she smiles and says, “I’ve never seen any anger from him or had any issues. He’s always ready to learn.” Felicia knows that it can be challenging for Eric at times because progress can be slow for someone who is learning to read for the first time, but she applauds his commitment and feels confident that a break is coming soon!

By: Liz Hall, AmeriCorps VISTA, Literacy Action of Central Arkansas

Echoing through the halls of the former schoolhouse at St. Edward Catholic Church are laughter, worldly accents, and joyful sounds that are certainly intriguing. Those sounds come from a typical class of students from Literacy Action of Central Arkansas learning English as a second language. St. Edward in downtown Little Rock has become a hotspot for newcomers to Central Arkansas, with classes available on different days and at different times to tutor students who want to improve or learn to speak English. It has also become something even more important – a way to build confidence and friendships in a safe place at a time when you may feel you are on an island by yourself.  Language barriers affect work life, personal life, and social life and can leave a person feeling isolated from the rest of the community.

According to The Pew Research Center, as of 2015 there were more than 40 million immigrants residing in the U.S., and by 2065 that number is projected to be 78 million. People from all over the world come to U.S. looking for a better opportunity. Being able to speak, read, and write English is fundamental to having a successful career and social life. ESL classes are being taught throughout the US in school classrooms. But what about the adults who come to the U.S. without English skills? These issues are being addressed throughout the US by nonprofit organizations like Literacy Action of Central Arkansas, which serves around 400 ESL students a year.

The U.S. Census reports that in Arkansas between 2012-2016, 4.7% of the overall population were foreign-born residents. In Pulaski County alone, 8.11% of the population speaks a non-English language in their home. Students at Literacy Action have expressed the frustration that goes along with having a language barrier and the need for ESL classes.

Throughout the week, you will find Céline an ESL student at Literacy Action, attending classes at St. Edwards Catholic Church or St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. Her English is quite good, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t had her share of struggles while trying to find employment. During a tutor training class, Céline spoke candidly about how in France “she was someone, she mattered, and here she is no one.” In France, Céline has the equivalent of a Bachelor degree in Public Relations, Journalism and Communications. However, as for many immigrants, that degree doesn’t translate in the U.S.

After arriving in Arkansas a little over two years ago, Céline was excited to get started on her job hunt. She wanted to be a part of her new community. Her first job was for company that closed its doors with no notice and never paid her for her work. Her second attempt to work was with a travel agency. She made it through her third round of interviews, but it turned out that they were “more interested in gaining knowledge from her than hiring her,” and after the third interview the company informed her they didn’t have the money to hire her. Her final job prospect was with a hotel company. She was offered a job but she would be working “crazy hours, and paid low wages” not to mention she is vastly overqualified for the job. Even though she is an advanced English speaker she still feels the language barrier kept her from finding a rewarding job.

Disappointed and discouraged, Céline has not continued her job search; instead she went searching for something else to occupy her time. That’s how she ended up at Literacy Action. The ESL classes offered by Literacy Action have provided her daily socialization with other ESL students in the community while improving her English. She says being able to come to these classes has greatly improved her life here in Arkansas. “I love the classes, the students, the teachers and it’s just a very good life experience. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

Mersey is from Brazil and came to the U.S. in December 2017. She wants to work, but she says she “doesn’t feel confident with her English yet.” She does feel like she’s making progress with her tutor.  Learning English is important to Mersey because “people don’t speak Portuguese everywhere, but English is a universal language and if you know it you can go anywhere and communicate with people.”  Similar to Céline, Mersey’s degree is in Journalism, Radio and TV and she worked at a university in Brazil in the journalism department. She has attended ESL classes at St. Margaret’s every week for the last two months. She feels the classes give her a chance to speak English and learn about American culture. “When I am around other Brazilians I speak Portuguese, but in the classes I have opportunities to practice speaking English with people from all over the world.” Mersey enjoys learning English and would like to tutor people in Portuguese in the future.

Suwanee is from Thailand and has lived in the United States for four years. She has regularly attended classes at Literacy Action for a year and a half. With a degree in science, she was a research engineer while living in Sweden before coming to the states. Due to her visa status, she is unable to work while in the U.S. and, due to a lack of confidence in her English skills, she doesn’t quite feel comfortable working yet. She has been coming to ESL classes regularly and volunteers at a food pantry to practice English. She misses having deep conversations because she doesn’t have enough vocabulary yet to fully express the way she feels. When a person is missing the vocabulary to answer more than basic questions, it’s hard to make real connections with people.

Veronica is a 34-year-old lawyer from Ecuador who has been in the United States for one year. When she arrived in the U.S. she had no English skills, but she has worked extremely hard everyday to improve her English literacy skills. She says “homework is an important part of learning English,” and she works on it daily. She recommends listening to the radio or TV because hearing the language spoken is hard to comprehend. Currently, Veronica is working in a bakery to save for college and improve her English. She has three goals for herself, and she’s patiently chipping away at them one by one. The first goal was to get her driver’s license, which she did the first time she took her test. Her second goal is to pass the TOEFL exam so that she can achieve her third goal of attending college and getting a degree in Human Relations and Business that she can use stateside.

Every student says the same thing: the ESL classes offered by Literacy Action are a necessity. They improve English literacy skills, but they also provide so much more than that. They provide friendship, a sense of self-worth, and an opportunity to be involved in the Little Rock community.

As Céline told me, “I want to be involved in the community in a more efficient way, not only receiving, but giving, too.” Due to her advanced English, Céline recently became a trained tutor for Literacy Action to start giving back to others who are learning English.

Veronica (right) and her classmate, Jose (left), participate in a lesson on synonyms at St. Edward Catholic Church.

When Michael was going to elementary school, it simply wasn’t required for him to attend regularly. “I wanted to be my own person and do what I wanted to do. They didn’t make you go. You went if you wanted, if you didn’t, you didn’t.” At a young age, Michael recalls, he made the decision to spend more time in the streets than in school. As he grew older, Michael explains that he experienced some harsh consequences as a result of that decision. Now, at age 43, he wants to improve his education, so that he can have a better future.

Michael grew up in Columbus, Ohio in the 1970s. He describes his parents as the type that raised him to love and appreciate everybody. “My mom and dad worked real hard for us to have wonderful things and all the stuff they didn’t have.” Michael was popular in school, got along with everybody, but at a young age found himself in a new crowd.

“I started hanging around in the hood. Hanging out with people who were doing what I should not have been doing. I started being a different person. I was gangbanging, selling drugs… I made some real bad choices. I started making my own money. I thought ‘I can’t go to school and do what I’m doing now.’ So, I felt like I had to choose. I chose the streets instead of my education.”

The last grade Michael completed in school was 8^th grade. Since then, he explains that he has been shot, incarcerated, and had a number of different jobs as a construction worker, cook, truck driver, and a warehouse worker. But, he always had education in the back of his mind. “Every time I wanted to start school something else came up. I finally had to stop making excuses.”

Last year, Michael came to Literacy Action of Central Arkansas to pursue his lifelong goal of going to culinary school and becoming a chef. He works with his tutor on reading, writing, spelling, and pronunciation. They spend an hour and a half studying at least once a week. His tutor, Irma, an AmeriCorps Member, says that Michael has the type of dedication that will make him succeed. “He’s making progress, but not quite as quickly as he would like. We’re spending more time going over the foundational skills of phonics. Once he has a stronger foundation, I think he’s really going to take off and see a lot of improvements.”

Michael says that his mom inspires him to learn. “It all cost a lot of heartache and pain for my mom. She was the type of woman that expected a lot from her kids. When I got locked up and I couldn’t pay my respects to her when she passed away… I’m doing it for her and I’m doing it for myself. Even though she’s not here, I feel like she sees what I’m doing. I should have been doing this in the first place.”

In addition to improving his literacy, Michael is active in his community. He provides security for his church’s Bishop and hopes to become a mentor to young men to help prevent them from making the same choices he made when he was younger.

Michael has overcome so much to be where he is today. You can help support Michael’s learning journey or another Literacy Action student by making a donation today. A $25 donation will provide a book for a new student or one who is advancing to a new level!

When Beatriz Chavez came to Literacy Action’s Conway Office in January 2017, she already had a strong foundation of English. But, that hasn’t stopped her from wanting to learn more, practice her speaking skills, and dream big about where her life is headed!

Chavez is from San Louis Potosi, Mexico, a large city in the Colonial Highlands. She and her tutor, Flora Salyers, meet at the Faulkner County Library to practice her English language skills. In just one year, Beatriz has logged nearly 50 hours of tutoring and reached two major goals!

“Beatriz Chavez is a dream student,” said Flora Salyers who has been tutoring Chavez through the Literacy Action Program for several months.  “Beatriz is enthusiastic about learning and enjoys working with the Literacy Action books.  She is persistent about perfecting language skills and continually works to enhance her pronunciation skills whether reading aloud or speaking,” Salyers said.

“Speaking and writing are the skills I have learned most about,” Chavez said.  “I enjoy practicing speaking with my teacher, and the book helps a lot with grammar for writing,” she said, adding that she encourages anyone who wants to learn English skills to try the Literacy Action Program. 

When asked why she thinks so highly of the Literacy Action Program, Chavez commented, “It’s a great benefit for my life.  It’s the opportunity to change and better my life, like with a better job. It’s good to speak English well so you can talk to your community.  If you cannot speak English well, you will feel shy,” she said.

Recently, Beatriz has gotten a new job and her driver’s license. We are so excited about these accomplishments and proud of her hard work and dedication. Flora says that Beatriz is the type of person who will “overcome any obstacle life puts in her way.” And, we have to agree with her! We can’t wait to see where her life takes her!

Thank you Beatriz and Flora for sharing your successes as a student and tutor!