NYPL Blogs: Facing the Page

Free Websites to Practice English at Home

Hilary Schenker — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:33:36 -0400

Adults work on their English speaking, reading, and writing skills at The New York Public Library

At The New York Public Library's Adult English Language and Literacy Program, where adults work on basic English and literacy skills, we're often asked for recommendations of websites for adults to practice English at home. Below you'll find online resources—some with a focus on listening, some on vocabulary, others on grammar, and some with a range of activities. Happy learning!

ABCYa
This is a website for kids, but who says adults can't use it, too? The site includes educational games organized by grade level, from 1st to 5th, and is particularly good for spelling and phonics. There are games to practice vowels, uppercase and lowercase letters, Dolch sight words, synonyms and antonyms and more.

Activities for ESL Students
Grammar and vocabulary practice for all levels, including many bilingual quizzes for beginners. Also includes a link for teachers, with conversation questions, games, and many other ideas to put to use in the classroom.

BBC Learning English
An array of wonderful activities for practice, some relating to current events. Includes videos, quizzes, vocabulary practice, idioms, crosswords, and much more, though all with British accents.

Dave's ESL Cafe
A forum for both ESL teachers and students around the world. Includes quizzes, grammar explanations, and discussion forums for students. For teachers, includes classroom ideas on all subjects as well as discussion forums.

Duolingo
Free English courses for speakers of Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, German, Greek, Hindi,Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish,Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. Start at the basic level or take tests to move to higher levels. Practice vocabulary and grammar with short lessons that are like playing a game. You will need to sign up with an email address or a Facebook account.

Easy World of English
An attractive, user-friendly website including grammar, pronunciation, reading and listening practice and an interactive picture dictionary.

ESL Bits
Audiobooks, news stories, short stories, songs and radio dramas. Choose between faster or slower listening speeds and read along with the texts of the stories and songs. For intermediate and advanced learners.

GCF Learn Free
A well-designed site with interactive tutorials for everything from operating an ATM machine to reading food labels. This link will take you to the section on reading which has resources for English language learners as well, including stories to listen to and read along, and picture dictionaries.

Language Guide
This is an online picture dictionary, with everything from the alphabet to parts of the body to farm animals.

Learning Chocolate
Vocabulary exercises organized by theme.

Many Things
This website includes matching quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, a random-sentence generator and other computer-assisted language learning activities. The site also includes a special page on pronunciation, including practice with minimal pairs. Not the fanciest or most beautiful website, but with lots to see and use and no advertising.

Oxford University Press
This site from Oxford University Press has activities to practice spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and listening. A bit difficult to navigate, so more suitable for advanced learners and savvy internet users.

TV 411
This site includes videos with native speakers explaining key reading concepts like critical reading, summarizing and scanning, and key life skills like signing a lease and reading a medicine label. Following each video is a comprehension quiz. Click on the blue tabs across the top lead for lessons on reading, writing, vocabulary and finance.

Ventures Arcade
An online supplemental tool to the Ventures textbook series to practice vocabulary and grammar in theme-based contexts.

VOA English
Multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide.

WeSpeak NYC
We Speak NYC (formerly We Are New York) is the City’s English Language Learning program. It provides civic-focused instruction through videos, web and print materials, and free community classes in all five boroughs.

Also, for NYPL cardholders, remember that Mango Languages is available to you through the Library. It features ESL lessons for Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese speakers. (First time users must create a profile in order to access Mango Languages.)

Have a favorite website for practicing English to recommend? Let us know in the comments. If you have questions about accessing our online resources, please reach out to Ask NYPL.

You can read this blog post in Spanish or Chinese.

Learning to Read at Age 41

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 15:33:15 -0500

Image ID: 1269898

It was June, 2006. The place was the Adult Learning Center at the Aguilar branch of the NYPL on 110^th Street near Lexington, where more than a hundred students and twenty-five volunteers met regularly to study together. Around a table, small groups of students met with one or two volunteers for four hours each week, and built their reading and writing skills together in a relaxed, informal setting.

Awa* was 41 years old. She had five children aged 4-13, and she was born in Gambia, in West Africa. She walked into the Aguilar Adult Learning Center and said to the Site Advisor, “Can you help me? I want to learn to read.”

Awa’s spoken English was poor, but her desire to learn was clear. She had had only a few months of education in Gambia before coming to the US to start a new life here. Catholic Charities had helped her with housing, food, and schools for her kids, and then sent her to the library so she could learn how to read. They knew that her low literacy put a ceiling on her prospects to survive in NYC.

At Aguilar then, learning to read using computer software was the first step for new students, so after learning how to use a mouse, Awa worked independently listening to sounds, clicking on pictures, and repeating words. She was frustrated. Often she couldn’t understand what the computer was asking her to do. She didn’t even know the alphabet. Holding a pencil was difficult, writing with it was even harder. She was “in a hurry,” and she wasn’t happy trying to do what she couldn’t do. She was ready to give up.

Feeling a similar frustration, was one of Aguilar’s volunteers, Elizabeth, who wanted to help adults learn how to read. Elizabeth had been trained in the 1990s by Esther Sands, Phyllis Bertin and Linda Brown (all experts in the field of reading), and later she took courses offered by the Reading Reform Foundation, which uses proven, phonic-based methods, to teach reading, writing, spelling and comprehension.

Elizabeth was spending time working with a small group of beginning readers at Aguilar, but was frustrated when students were absent, because a linear phonics program required students to be present for the daily lesson, and when students missed a day, they would fall behind in their skills’ practice. Elizabeth was not happy leading a group of learners, and she felt it just wasn’t working for her. She was ready to give up.

So what does the Site Manager do with a student and tutor both ready to give up? Match them together, of course: a volunteer who understood the importance of a step-by-step process in teaching phonics, and a bright middle-aged woman motivated to read on her own!

A match made in heaven.

And so began a seven-year long relationship, learning together for four hours every week at the Aguilar Library!

Every week for the next seven years, Awa and Elizabeth met at Aguilar twice each week (and sometimes three times each week) for two hour sessions to study together. Awa worked from lesson to lesson, from book to book, from 0 level of reading to grade 5, and even higher! With Elizabeth’s help, she plowed through all the phonics readers, using the skills she was learning each week.

At home, she started encouraging her children to read. When the youngest was in pre-school, she read the books to him at home, after she practiced reading them over and over with her tutor. Later she began helping them with their homework, and then she began picking up AM New York and reading headlines! As that got easier, she began reading more and more of the stories below those headlines.

After a few years, Awa had the confidence to look for work as a home attendant. In 2010, she landed her first job, having passed the reading test the agency required. As she studied and learned more skills she could use in her work, she gained additional certification. Her current client, who is 79 years old, writes her notes, writes her shopping lists, and asks her to read letters that come in the mail. Awa reads everything she needs to read.

Motivated each day by her growing skills and her increased confidence and with the help of her (now) grown children, A studied for many months for the citizenship test and then took the test in October 2015. The test included 100 knowledge questions and many sentences of writing and reading. When she got word she passed, she was thrilled! With her passport in hand, she will return to Gambia to visit her family this summer, after an absence of 23 years.

Awa talks about getting a nursing certificate, but she’ll need to enroll in college for at least one year in order to get it. She is looking into the program at Hostos Community College.

And what about Elizabeth? Elizabeth came to the Aguilar Adult Learning Center each week for 2 full days, meeting with Awa 4 hours a week and then other students for the rest of the time: always one on one, because that’s the only way E likes to teach reading—individually! But as time moved on, and traveling became more difficult, at age 87, Elizabeth decided to stop teaching reading, and she retired in March 2014. The other volunteers and staff threw her a party, celebrating her work at Aguilar.

What does Awa remember about those seven years with Elizabeth?

When Awa and Elizabeth met for lunch in December, Awa said, “She changed my life—totally, and I cannot thank her enough. Every time we got together, she would give me presents for my kids for their birthdays, like memberships in museums or book store certificates. I can travel on the subway without asking anybody anything! It’s like magic. I use the GPS on my phone when I have to walk places.

It makes me cry sometimes, just thinking about all the attention she gave me. I get emotional when I think about Elizabeth.”

This summer the two women and the kids celebrated Awa’s 50^th birthday together. Elizabeth gave her a family membership to the Museum of Natural History.

Both women say the same thing: “I am really happy we met that day in June…”

*Names have been changed.

Discussing 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to Learn and Live a Language

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 17:11:34 -0500

A student's copy of To Kill a Mockingbird marked up for reading aloud

Every Wednesday from 10 AM-1 PM, a group of ESOL students who were enrolled in the Upper Manhattan Adult Literacy program, but who for one reason or another could not continue, get together to talk about a book they are reading. This month the book is To Kill a Mockingbird, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee.

They meet with their former NYPL teacher at the Atrium, part of the Lincoln Center Campus, on the Upper West Side. They meet because they love to read and to talk about what they are reading! They meet to see how much they understood in the pages they read at home, and they meet because they love to share their ideas with each other.

They know that talking about literature in English will benefit them in a host of different ways—they get to argue, they get to hear different points of view, they get to talk about new vocabulary and idioms; they get to analyze themes and symbols, and they get to share their ideas in this, their second or third language, which they probably learned years ago, but which is still a challenge to them.

"I really like it when I can reflect on my individual thoughts during the discussion and listen to other opinions. It's great that we have the chance to listen to opinions from all generations,” said a member of the group.

What better way to improve their English skills than to meet and to talk about literature!

In one of the 6 sessions, they even acted out the trial of Tom Robinson, the defendant. They took on the roles of Judge Taylor, Prosecutor Gilmer, Atticus Finch, Bob Ewell, and of course Maybelle, the victim and Tom Robinson, the accused.

What do the students have in common? Certainly not their cultures: They hail from such countries as diverse as Pakistan, Columbia, Spain, Turkey, Syria, Germany, Brazil, and Benin.

Certainly not their ages: They range from 30-something to 70-something, and all decades in between!

And certainly not their professions: Those range from fashion journalist to engineer, from a musician to to a scientist.

But they do it because they are motivated to read… and to read a prize winning American novel… and to learn about American culture through the literature of this, their adopted country.

One student explained, “For me this book group is an opportunity to get together with people of different countries and cultures to read classic literature like "To Kill a Mockingbird" which helps us understand the background, the culture and the human right issues (racism) in the United States, a problem that is still present in our society. It's interesting to see how prejudice about skin color can pervade people’s lives… which is very sad…”

Another said, “I was so happy when I was invited to join this book group. I always loved my classes at NYPL and the way that [Elaine] used to teach us, through wonderful books that I will always remember. I don't have patience for classic ESL classes anymore, but I need to practice my English and this book group is the perfect opportunity to improve my English in a smart way!"

A meeting of the ESOL book discussion group

“I'm my music band spokesman and I need to know how to entertain the audience (during our performances) without losing focus or being boring, so that was actually what brought me to the library… And when we finished the last cycle at the library, I was sad because that was the only opportunity for me to learn about America's history, the lives of black people in old days, and people’s mentality in America (different from our African one),” said a student from Benin. “So,” he continued, “I even didn't check my schedule before saying 'yes' to the new reading group, because I knew that I would make it possible, no matter when it met!”

When thinking about the narrator of this book who is an 8-year-old little girl, one student said, "I like this book because it shows how important education could be when you have a father with a sense of justice."

Students were encouraged to watch the original film with Gregory Peck when it appeared on TV at the end of November. Of course, they wanted to compare the film and the book, which made for another fascinating discussion.

And what about the future? They want to continue, they want to invite a few more students (but keep the group under 10, however), and they want another good book to share. Maybe it will be Go Set a Watchman, the prequel to TKAM. Maybe it will be Beloved by Morrison, or Catcher in the Rye by Salinger. Who knows?

What they do know is that they will continue to meet in this student book group! Thank you, NYPL, for bringing them together in the first place, and inspiring them to continue their learning!

200 Adult Literacy Students See 'Selma'

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 14:01:25 -0500

February is Black History Month, and what better way to celebrate it this year than to bring history to life (well, almost), through a screening of the movie Selma!

Because of the generosity of an Aguilar volunteer tutor, almost 200 Harlem, Aguilar and St. Agnes students, staff and volunteers had the opportunity to see "Selma" on Wednesday and Thursday, February 11 and 12 at the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem.

The film chronicles the 3-month period in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay's Selma tells the story of how Dr. King and his many supporters prompted change that forever altered history.

Waiting in the Lobby of the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem

Many of the students in the audience were not even alive during those years, but most said they had learned at least a little in their schools in many different countries around the world. Others, born here, probably also learned the basics in elementary and high schools, but they, too, were pretty fuzzy about even the most basic facts.

In some post-film discussions, we heard the following comments:

Barbara: "I liked the movie, because it made me feel emotional about the way Dr. King became strong. Early on, he wanted to give up, but John Lewis spoke to him and and he changed his mind. I learned about the way Dr. King convinced people to fight for their rights, no matter who they were."

Jason: "The film brought the past into the present, and I learned how we got the right to vote."

Ousman: "My favorite part was when the white supporters joined in the final march across the bridge."

Dave mentioned how much he learned about the different philosophies of Dr. King and Malcolm X. Several non-US-native students also said that they really appreciate all that has happened in this country before they arrived here—especially the fact that people lost their lives to make life possible for them today.

Yolanda Rodriguez, Literacy Assistant at Harlem put it very well:

"Martin Luther King, Jr. taught us that achieving true freedom requires not only planting the seed of freedom, but also nurturing it, so that we may rejoice with an abundant harvest. That's what our students are doing—nurturing their newfound freedom through working on their English reading, writing, and speaking skills. This is our bridge, our Selma, a bridge to communication."

In one class blog, Ghislaine wrote:

"Selma is a powerful movie that taught me a lot about the civil rights movement. I knew that Martin Luther King and his partisans were pro non-violence, but I was really wondering how a non-violent movement could achieve its goal without using force. I thought it was impossible, but at the end of the movie I realized IT IS possible : the movie described how non-violence was the best weapon at that time against injustice. Selma makes you realize that sometimes, we tend to forget that if we are able to peacefully live all together, it’s because some people somehow fought for it in the past and even died for it. We all should keep that in mind and avoid repeating the same mistakes. Thanks so much to the NYPL and the tutor who gave us the opportunity to learn more about American history through this amazing movie. We are very lucky to be part of this program."

Associate Director of Adult Learning Centers, Ken English, commented,

"The issues raised continue to resonate in the headlines and daily lives of our students. How literacy, language, and education relate to the issues of segregation, exclusion from opportunity, racism, and the further expansion of the socio-economic divide, so obviously validates the work we do."

Thanks again to our generous donor! You have given our students such an important and worthwhile experience that they will long remember!

Adult Learning Center Readers and Writers Inspired by Winter Storm Juno

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Wed, 28 Jan 2015 11:20:07 -0500

Jan. 26, 2015 - the start of a new cycle for the Adult Learning Center and ESOL classes throughout the 3 boroughs....

Jan. 27, 2015 - predicted to be perhaps the most snow ever to fall on New York in at least 100 years.

What's a teacher to do?! You know the old adage about "You only have one chance to make a first impression." Somehow, just canceling class did not seem ideal. But the NYPL is nothing if not with it when it comes to technology and the internet, and as their English teacher, I wrote to them all, expressing my disappointment that the first day of classes on Tuesday would be canceled due to snow... AND gave them a writing assignment. Why not?

A video posted by The New York Public Library (@nypl) on Jan 26, 2015 at 3:12pm PST

In my classes in the past , we have encouraged writing by blogging! So up on the internet went: NYCSnowDay.wordpress.com! I notified the students in my two classes, and crossed my fingers that they would

Get my email and read it; and
Would find a way to post their snowday story, or email me a story, or use Facebook to communicate their experiences and photos.

AND THEY DID! They ranged—as our students' skill level ranges—from a sentence or two, to a couple of beautiful essays! They referenced many of the things that we all know characterize a snowstorm (big or small)—long lines at supermarkets and bodegas, children oh so excited by a school day at home, bingeing on TV, etc.

Students from Brazil and Africa, from Germany and the Ukraine—all responded differently to our "historical snowstorm"! For some, this was "just another snowy day," while for a few... it was SNOWMAGEDDON!

A.D.A. Visits Adult Learning Center to Discuss American Jury System

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:57:04 -0400

The Adult Learning Center classes of the NYPL are places where adult students study four hours each week under the guidance of professional staff and volunteers and work on their reading and writing skills at many different levels.

One of the upper level classes at the Aguilar ALC is currently reading the 1954 play Twelve Angry Men in connection with the civics theme this month. Many of the students in this class were not born in this country and have a keen interest in the American judicial system.

A.D.A. Ortner speaks to ALC students about the jury system.

In order to expand their knowledge and understanding of the judicial system, Site Advisor, Elaine Sohn and her volunteer tutors invited Assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner to visit the class and talk about the American judicial system, especially as it pertains to types of crimes in NYC, the roles of defense lawyers and prosecution lawyers, trials, the selection of jurors, and evidence in the jury room, among many other topics.

Students submitted questions in advance to the attorney, and in his presentation, he answered many of them. He even drew a comparison of the jury deliberation then and now, in a list he titled: “12 Problems in 12 Angry Men” when compared to jury deliberations today.

Twelve Angry Men, the 1954 drama by Reginald Rose, focused on a jury trial in NYC, when12 men deliberated in the jury room about the guilt or innocence of a young man accused of killing his father with a knife. The play appeared on the CBS Studio One television series, was later made into a movie starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, and Jack Klugman, and was produced on Broadway in 2004.

At the beginning of the deliberations, there is a single dissenter of not-guilty, who throughout the play sows a seed of reasonable doubt among his fellow jurors. Throughout their deliberations, not a single juror calls another by his name since the names are unknown by the jurors, several of the jurors have different reasons for discriminating against the witness, and they almost come to blows with each other as they analyze the evidence and the testimonies.

Students listen attentively to A.D.A. Ortner

Some of the questions students submitted in advance to ADA Ortner were:

What is the definition of reasonable doubt?
Should lawyers be allowed to be on juries? If not, why not?
How does the American legal system differ from the European or Asian legal systems?
Since the death penalty is unconstitutional in New York State, do you think there are more crimes?
Does a defense attorney defend someone if he or she believes the client to be guilty? Is it hard to do that?
In your opinion, is the jury system a strength or a weakness of the US judicial system? Why?
What is the role of the judge in a trial?
What does the US justice system think about the case of somebody who was found not-guilty (because of lack of evidence) but revealed later to be guilty?
Can you tell us about the most remarkable case you have ever tried?
What do you find most challenging about being an attorney?

A Writing Prompt

For the entire session, students listened attentively, raised additional questions, commented on their understanding and engaged in an animated dialogue. Students expressed such an interest in jury trials that Mr. Ortner explained that trials are open to the public and it is easy to sit in on a trial by going to 110 Centre St and checking the board to determine which trials are going on that day. Students seemed interested in actually visiting a courtroom!

Upper Manhattan Hub Manager, Elke Stappert and Upper Manhattan Intake Advisor Richard Buckley also visited the class. The volunteers who devote 4 hours each week working with these students include Matthew Finston, Kathy Legg, Mimi McDermott and Mike Silverman.

Find out more information about classes in the Adult Learning Centers, or visit the Aguilar Adult Learning Center's Facebook page.

Diary of a Volunteer at the Aguilar Adult Learning Center

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 11:45:28 -0500

A guest post by Leslie Gilstrap.

Some people are surprised to learn that adults don't know how to read. "How can this be?", they ask. How is it possible that someone can hold down a job or take care of a family if he or she doesn't know how to read? How does he travel on subways and buses, shop for groceries or visit a doctor's office without knowing what all of the signs, advertisements and paper forms mean?

I am a one-on-one tutor at the Aguilar Adult Learning Center where I spend 40-minute sessions with the same students each week. My students' ages, abilities and backgrounds vary greatly and but they are each extremely motivated to learn. In the morning, these students work with their teacher and other students for 2 hours. I see them in the afternoon, when they schedule time with me, to work specifically on reading that interests them and at the level they need.

Tommy is a middle-aged man who grew up in a rural part of the country, dropped out of school at a young age and began hustling the streets. He didn't see the point of staying in school, he told me, when he could make money. Eventually, many years and several cities later, his hustle got him into trouble. Today, he is mandatorily living at a facility for drug rehabilitation, with a community of people struggling to get along and remain drug-free. He tells me that his time at school is his best part of the week! Over time it has become clear that Tommy is indeed a good reader, but he sometimes lacks the self-confidence that he can succeed at reading.

When he and I first met, he made a point of showing me that he didn't know the phonetic sounds of letters. He wanted me to know that we were starting at the beginning. We first created an alphabet book with cut out pictures representing the sounds of each letter. Soon it became clear that he was able to read whole words. We would work on different worksheets together, starting with 3-letter words, rhyming words, and words with blended sounds.

The Adult Learning Center at the Aguilar Library has wonderful beginner reading materials that are geared to adults. We have read biographies of famous people, short stories on proper health care, and non-fiction books on the manufacture of ice cream and the production of ketchup. Most recently, we read a novel written on a 2^nd grade level about a husband and wife who are having marital problems. Tommy proudly told me that this was the first chapter book he had ever read!

Miriam is a young woman who has been studying at Aguilar for a few years. She has a learning difficulty that probably never got diagnosed when she was a child in school. She has trouble with longer words, mixes up b's and d's, and sometimes guesses at the word before giving herself time to decipher it. Though she doesn't say this, I believe that she is intimidated by long words, so we work on breaking down the word into 3-letter sections, which are easier for her to read. It is important for any student to have success with deciphering a word, so I try not to tell help her too much. Miriam became friends with another classmate, and told her she needed to meet her tutor. So now the three of us work together and the ladies take turns reading a chapter book and we discuss comprehension elements of the story. Sometimes we will do worksheet packets and writing exercises to help solidify reading concepts.

Andrew is a middle age man who comes to tutoring directly after his physical therapy sessions. He is paralyzed from a gun-shot wound that happened when he was 19. He too has a learning disability and tries to read too fast and not carefully enough, sometimes guessing at the word. We laugh often as I tell him he is an impatient man and needs to slow down. Indeed, he is very motivated to improve his reading abilities, and he never leaves Aguilar without checking out another book to take home and practice on his own. He tells me that he has discovered the joy of reading and learning about famous people and historic events.

My students take great pleasure in their reading and I am happy to help them build confidence in their abilities!

Leslie Gilstrap has been at the Aguilar Adult Learning Center since January 2013.

Winter registration for all students interested in Reading and Writing classes in Upper Manhattan will take place at the Harlem Library on Wednesday, January 15 at 1 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. The program information will be explained and each student will be invited to make an appointment for an interview and testing following the presentation.

Back to Basics: Letter Writing at the Aguilar Adult Learning Center

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 02:02:54 -0400

At the Aguilar Adult Learning Center, ESOL students are getting to know other students from around the city! They are pen pals with students in one ESOL evening class at CUNY's City Tech Adult Learning Center in Brooklyn.

Our ESOL students introduced themselves to Jay Klokker's students at City Tech in short handwritten letters and within a few days, City Tech's students had their replies out in the mail back to Aguilar!

More than 20 pairs of pen pals look forward to their "mail," which is hand delivered by their teachers each week. Some topics discussed include: stories and poems which both classes heard performed on stage at Symphony Space in January, the struggles of learning a new language, the challenges of living in New York, the Oscar winning movies, the latest soccer game in Barcelona, beautiful women of Brazil, the first snowstorm, the drudgery of a boring job, Helen Keller's biography, bringing up children, and cooking Mexican food.

In one correspondence, a young Japanese student writes to a Mexican mother of two:

"Today we read "The Red Fox Fur Coat" in our class together. When I read it at first, I was impressed by the expression. I thought this story's theme is human desire and desire is emphasized by the vivid red colors: red fur, blood, lips, scarlet nails, and roast beef. However I was not interested in the whole story at first because if wasn't clear for me. Later, I changed my mind. I understood what was going on and then I enjoyed it more…"

One French IT salesman writes to a Mexican college-bound student:

"You write that you want to go to college, but what do you want to learn? Do you have a dream? Do you want to travel? Do you want to meet someone?"

One 28-year-old Nicaraguan woman writes about Lucille Clifton's "Homage to My Hips" in her letter to her Dominican pen pal:

"I liked this poem because I am interested in issues related to the female body, gender roles and women's rights. I learned that Lucille Clifton wrote many poems related to these topics and I plan to read more about her. Are you interested in these?"

And the response said,

"…The actor's performances were excellent, especially Sonia Monzano's performance. I agree with you when you say that the stories and poems were full of emotion. I will try to find out more about Lucille Clifton, too…"

Making new friends in NYC is always a challenge for our students, so having pen pals seemed to be a good way to begin a friendship, and it helps students develop their writing skills as well! Discussing the published stories and poems which students heard at Symphony Space was a way to get the project off the ground. But as time went on, the topics became more personal:

"Can we get together on Valentines' Day? Your letter encouraged me to study harder…Here's my email address! How are your kids doing in school? Follow my advice: make your relationship last!"

On March 20, the Aguilar students are crossing the Brooklyn Bridge to visit their new Brooklyn friends — and adding a tour of the Brooklyn waterfront along the way.

What better way to put their newly acquired language skills to good use than to write letters and make new friends doing it?

Poetry Fest at the Aguilar Center for Reading and Writing

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:30:02 -0400

If you think of poems as flowers, then the Aguilar Poetry Fest was an exercise in charming cross-pollination. Sharing was the thing. Students were seated in groups of about 6, where they read their chosen poems to each other and then intermixed with other tables to multiply the fun. Poets included Langston Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Maya Angelou, Naomi Shihab Nye, Shel Silverstein, Douglas Florian (on Silverstein’s wavelength), Billy Collins, some haiku poets, and a smattering of others.

Students and tutors clearly enjoyed their double role of takers and givers — listening carefully to a wide variety of poems, commenting on them, and reading their own out loud. For students, the experience of reading the same poem to group after group built confidence and made for an experience that was public but still somewhat intimate.

The value of this poetry celebration started weeks before the actual event. Staff displayed a tableful of poems (xeroxed sheets and books) which were chosen for a range of reading skills and themes — and also for visual appeal, which is important for newcomers to poetry. Tutors began by scheduling class time around the poetry display table; with their help, students discussed poets and themes, chose a poem or two, and then prepared for their public reading.

Preparation involved delving into a poem's meaning, writing it out by hand, and learning to read it fluently and with expression. By the end of this process, students genuinely felt that a chosen poem was "theirs."

The Poetry Fest is just one more way Aguilar students are building their reading skills, but more importantly, their enjoyment of reading!

The Library is Helping Him Move Up

Beth Hays, Editor, Creative Services — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:13:30 -0400

Haw King Cheng and Theresa Sheehan at Seward Park Library.For more than two decades, Haw King Cheng has wanted to learn English so that he could get ahead in his new country.

Finally, thanks to The New York Public Library, he is getting that chance.

Cheng, who moved to New York City from Hong Kong in 1985, is now learning to read, write, and speak English at the Seward Park Library on the Lower East Side with the help of NYPL literacy specialist Theresa Sheehan.

“The Library is helping me learn English so I can move up,” says Cheng, a father of three who works in a tour-boat restaurant cleaning tables but dreams of becoming a waiter.

“Simple English is OK for a busboy,” he says. “But a waiter needs to speak fluently.”

Free English classes for immigrants and other essential Library services could be dramatically cut back due to a proposed $43 million reduction in funding for The New York Public Library. Please do your part to protect your branch and the countless patrons who rely on it. Sign a letter of support for NYPL today!

For Cheng’s first 20 years in New York City, he worked in restaurants in Chinatown six or seven days a week to provide for his family, which left little time or opportunity to learn English. But now that he has two days off a week at his current job, he arranges his schedule so he can spend them honing his skills at Seward Park’s Adult Learning Center.

“Before, I could not read the simple letters that come to my house from the government or advertisements from companies,” Cheng recently wrote for a class project. “Now I can read the letters. Some vocabulary I check in the dictionary, but now I can understand the whole letter.”

Sheehan, who oversees the Center where Cheng attends classes, says the Library’s free English instruction gives immigrant students the tools and confidence they need to find their way in their new home.

“All of our students say these programs are essential to living here,” says Sheehan, who has worked with the program for more than 20 years. “It helps them navigate every part of their lives, from speaking to a neighbor or asking a question at a child’s school to applying for a job or reading important documents.”

Please join Haw King Cheng and other Library users who depend on NYPL’s services in speaking out against the proposed cuts. If they are not reversed, up to 12 neighborhood libraries could close and the remaining branches could be open just four days a week. It takes just a few clicks to send a letter to your elected officials urging them to restore funding.

The Library Is His Toolbox

Beth Hays — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:01:00 -0400

Geniene Monterrosa and Tommy Foday at St. George Library Center.

After everything he has been through, Tommy Foday wasn’t going to let a snowstorm keep him from finally learning to read and write.

Nearly 10 years ago, Foday, a torture survivor and refugee from Sierra Leone, was set to have his first adult literacy class at the St. George Library Center on Staten Island on the day of a major snowfall. Though the Library was nearly empty and all the other students stayed home, Foday still made it in — and has remained a dedicated student ever since.

“I came to the Library because I wanted to learn something and do something for myself,” says Foday, a former government driver who had both arms cut off in 1999 during a brutal civil war that ravaged his country. “The Library is the most important tool I have.”

Since that day, Foday, who came to the U.S. in 2000, has been steadily fulfilling his dream thanks to the help of literacy assistant Monterrosa and other staff members at the Library on the North Shore of Staten Island.

Adult literacy classes and other essential Library services could be dramatically cut back due to a proposed $43 million reduction in funding for The New York Public Library. Please do your part to protect your branch! Sign a letter of support for NYPL today.

Foday is also learning to use the computer at the Library for the first time and is grateful that Library staff ordered a special computer mouse that will make it easier for him to work with his prosthetic. He also recently passed his citizenship test thanks to skills he learned at the Library.

“My parents were poor people. They didn’t put me in school,” says Foday, who now works for a local printing company. “The Library has helped me a lot. It helps me understand how to live in this country.”

Monterrosa, who has worked at the St. George literacy center for 10 years, still remembers Foday’s first day and his first goal: to be able to write a letter to his wife, Theresa, who was still back home in Sierra Leone. “He is so devoted to learning,” says Monterrosa. “The Library has given him so much.”

Please join Tommy Foday and other Library users who depend on NYPL’s services in speaking out against these cuts. If they are not reversed, up to 12 neighborhood libraries could close and the remaining branches could be open just four days a week. It takes just a few clicks to send a letter to your elected officials urging them to restore funding.

Poetry Writing With Adult New Readers, Strategy 1: The List Poem

Hilary Schenker — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:18:07 -0400

You have not crossed the bridges I have crossed.
You have not listened to the music I have listened to.
You have not been in the top of the World Trade Center the way I have been there.
You have not seen the waves I have seen.
You have not fallen from horses the way I have fallen.
You have not felt the guns on your neck the way I have felt them.
You have not been in the sea with a big storm in a little boat the way I have been.

—Excerpt from "Don’t Give Me Advice," by Luis Marin, Tompkins Square CRW

This month is National Poetry Month, and here at the Center for Reading and Writing (CRW) some students are experiencing poetry for the first time. Writing a poem for the first time can be intimidating, but there are many possible ways to get started. In this post I’ll talk about just one of them, which is a list poem.

Defining a Poem

The first step when introducing poetry to students is to define poetry. Show what a poem looks like on a page. Explain that a poem is usually short, and that each line has a fixed length. It uses carefully-chosen language to express a feeling, and sometimes uses rhythm, rhyme, or repetition. One CRW student defined a poem as "few words, big meaning."

Writing a List Poem

A list poem is a poem in which each line begins the same way. List poems are wonderful for beginning writers especially, because the start of each line is provided, creating a comfortable way in (at least I have this part that I can write, and know I’m spelling it correctly). A list poem can be simple and powerful. One student, who struggles with depression, wrote a poem in which each line begins, "I love" followed by one thing that makes her feel happy.

5 Tips for Writing a Successful List Poem:

Read poems together as a group, to get students familiar with the sounds and rhythms of it. After reading a poem, ask if there is any line that students like or find interesting. Ask why they like it, what makes it stand out. Keep your ear open for things students say—does something sound like a list poem? "Every morning I..." "I want to read..." "If I had a million dollars I’d..." "I love the way..." The possibilities are endless.

When students are ready to begin writing, here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Be specific

Help students bring their poems to life by including specific details. In other words, show, don’t tell. "I wake up early," becomes, "I wake up at 3:00 am every morning to go to work." Instead of "I cook Chinese food" help the student write, "I cook catfish with spicy sauce."

2. Five senses

Can you see this poem? Can you hear it? Smell it? Feel it? Taste it? Is this poem bringing a world to life? If not, think about describing with the five senses.

3. Order

Pay attention to the order of the list. Does it have a beginning? A middle? An end? Does it need an additional line to bring it to a close?

4. Word Choice

Think about word choice. Could another word be more effective? Sometimes beginning writers want to use the word "beautiful," but write "nice" instead because it is easier to spell. Help the writer actualize the poem in her mind.

5. Edit

Don’t be afraid to edit. 'Make it Messy' is a good mantra for first drafts. They should have crossed out parts and additions. Are any items in the list extraneous? Are there unnecessary repetitions? Help students build the confidence to edit themselves.

Happy poetry writing to all! I’ll leave you with this list poem by Joseph, a student at the Tompkins Square CRW. The title is, "She Is Full of Life:"

When she smiles, life comes out of her.
When she walks down the street, she has a smile on her face,
people all around her look at her and see life.
When she comes into a room, she brightens up the room itself.
When people see her, they are also happy to see her smiling.
She makes the day.

Read for Your Life: Resources for Teaching Health Literacy to Adults

Hilary Schenker — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:01:48 -0400

timsamoff on Flickr

A woman came into the Library's Center for Reading and Writing, where she was enrolled in a basic literacy class. Visibly shaken, she pulled a staff member aside and confided that she wasn’t sure if she would be able to continue in the class. She had felt some pain in her breast, and her doctor had recommended that she have a mammogram. Not having any idea what a mammogram was, she understood it to mean that she had cancer. The staff member showed her how to find information about mammograms in library books and online. After consulting these resources, she went to her next doctor's appointment knowing what to expect and what questions to ask.

Since 2003, the Surgeon General has emphasized the critical importance of basic health literacy. An adult with a chronic condition must take charge of her own health. To begin, this requires researching, reading, and understanding medical information and the complex vocabulary that comprises it. It requires reading other types of materials, such as nutrition labels and medicine bottles. A patient must be able to speak with doctors, ask pertinent questions, navigate hospital maps and signs, fill out complicated forms, and keep track of her own medical history. She may even need to read recipes and learn to cook in a new ways.

Health literacy skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and math are critical. Adults with limited literacy may become passive when interacting with doctors, lacking confidence, losing rights, and ultimately becoming incapacitated by poor health. So what specific skills are needed, and how can we address these needs in the adult literacy setting?

The following is a list of essential health literacy skills we can address in the adult literacy classroom:

Reading and filling out forms.
Speaking with doctors and asking questions.
Reading medicine labels and instructions.
Learning to research important medical information.
Building the confidence necessary to demand medical rights and pursue services and help where needed.
Organizational skills, such as record-keeping, list-making, and writing down questions in advance.

Books for adult literacy learners addressing health issues:

Faine, M (1993). Lan is Sick. This is a basic literacy story, with pictures, about a woman going to the doctor and picking up a prescription. The story promotes discussion on a range of health care issues.

Gould, L. (2000). Stress. This is a picture-based beginning literacy story about one woman dealing with stress.

Kita-Bradley, L. (2008). Fad Diets. This is a picture-based beginning literacy story about a man trying to lose weight.

Reiff, T. (1992). Handle With Care. This engaging fiction book tells the story of a nurse who has trouble reading and the difficulties she encounters working at a nursing home (59 pages).

New Readers Press Health Stories: The three Health Stories student books and workbooks (introductory, low beginning, and high beginning) from New Readers Press offer interesting stories to learn about common illnesses, medical procedures, and the U.S. health care system. Workbooks offer additional practice on vocabulary, listening, and reading comprehension.

What To Do series: A series from the Institute for Healthcare Advancement, written for readers between a third and fourth grade reading level. Texts are organized in a format of question and answer.

Mayer, G., & Kuklieris, A. (2002). What To Do When Your Child Gets Sick. Whittier, CA: Institute for Healthcare Advancement.

Mayer, G., & Kuklieris, A. (2000). What To Do When You’re Having a Baby. Whittier, CA: Institute for Healthcare Advancement.

Online teaching resources for health literacy:

MedlinePlus Interactive Tutorials
From the website: “MedlinePlus presents interactive health tutorials from the Patient Education Institute. Learn about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment for a variety of diseases and conditions. Also learn about surgeries, prevention and wellness. Each tutorial includes animated graphics, audio and easy-to-read language.”

Talking with your Doctor
This resource from MedlinePlus includes links to resources on how to talk with your doctor, including sample questions and videos.

ESL Flow: Lessons for Teaching the Human Body
This is a variety of worksheets and activities for health vocabulary and dialogue. Worksheets are available at different levels. A tab at the top of the page for “Food/Eating” leads to worksheets on nutrition topics.

The Virginia Adult Education Health Literacy Toolkit
From the toolkit: “This toolkit is a resource to help adult education instructors and administrators better understand the problem of health literacy as it affects their learners. It is designed to support creative approaches to help learners increase health literacy as they engage in sound, productive adult literacy instruction.” The toolkit also includes one-page picture based stories on health topics, such as taking the right doses of mediation, depression, stress, talking to doctors, and eating right. A cleaner copy of the picture stories is also available online.

We Are New York
A series of nine engaging half-hour television shows each with accompanying workbooks, produced by the Mayor's office of Adult Education and the City University of New York, Office of Academic Affairs. Five of the episodes deal with health themes: No Smoking, New Life Cafe (diabetes), Asthma: The Soap Opera, Stop Domestic Violence, and The Hospital.

English for your Health
The Queens Library offers some resources for adults who speak very little English to learn about health topics.

From Masailand to Tompkins Square Library: A Journey in Literacy

Hilary Schenker — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:45:47 -0500

Last year, Victoria joined a basic reading and writing class at Tompkins Square Library's Center for Reading and Writing. She agreed to speak with me about her experience so far and what brought her here.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Kenya, in the Masailand, in a village with 10 huts.

What other languages do you speak besides English?

I speak the Masai language and Swahili, and other tribal languages: Kikuyu, Luo, and Kamba. I came to America in 1986. I speak English every day, but I haven’t learned everything.

Why did you need to work on your reading and writing?

In 1975, when I was a young girl, the first president of Kenya sent the national guard into the Masai villages to force the children to go to school. All the children hid. I hid in the bushes, and my girlfriend hid under the bed, but they found everyone.

For the first weeks, I went to school in my tribal Masai clothes — that was cowhide decorated with beads. After that we had to buy a uniform. My mom bought me the blouse and skirt, but she didn’t have enough money for the underpants and shoes. The teachers did uniform inspections. They found that I didn't have underpants, and they beat me. After two months I ran away. My mom took me to a Catholic school, but to go there I had to live with my aunt, and she mistreated me. She didn’t give me enough food, so I could not concentrate on school work. I decided to run away back to my village. From then on I never went to school again... until now. Now I study at the Tompkins Square Library.

How did you find the Center for Reading and Writing?

My husband found the program on the Internet. He saw they offer free education at the library. I chose this center because it’s close to where we live. I had never been to the library before. But now I have a library card.

How did you feel when you first came to the Library?

When I came here I did not know how to read or write. I couldn’t read a book. I couldn’t write anything. I knew the alphabet. I could see the letters T, H, and E, but putting them together — I couldn’t. I started with a phonics program on the computer and different teachers helped me. Slowly, slowly I kept learning.

How has your reading and writing changed since you started here?

Since I started coming here, to tell the truth, I’m much better and I feel so good. I just want to continue and continue and continue! I understand more English words. Now I can read books. Before if you told me to read this book, I wouldn’t know what to do. Now I’m on book six of this series An American Family. I’m learning about history.

Also, my spelling is becoming much better. If I continue like this I’ll be a very good writer in the future. So far I’ve been writing my real life story, which makes me feel good. I said at the beginning when I first came here that I wanted to write my life story and that’s what I’m doing. I’m feeding myself with words, with education.

On November 17, 2011, Victoria received the Storylines Award for her story, "In the Center of the Village." Click the picture to read her winning story.

The Holiday Pen Pal Party

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:53:30 -0500

After three months of writing letters back and forth, Aguilar Library students and CUNY's City Tech students met one another at the holiday pen pal party at City Tech on Wednesday, December 14, 2011. Students from both sites were excited to meet each other and find out more about their new friend! Traveling from 110th Street on the East Side, Aguilar Library students and their tutors made their visit a true learning experience by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. They checked out the view, learned about the 130-year-old structure, and explored the Brooklyn Waterfront. And they even made a stop at Jacques Torres Chocolatier and Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Initially the students found it a bit awkward greeting each other for the first time, but after a few moments, they warmed up and became more and more comfortable as they chatted, looked at world maps to see which continent their pen pal was from, and shared the holiday fare.

Writing letters back and forth was an authentic learning activity that took planning, effort, and new English skills. All of the students were struggling with their writing skills, but to have the opportunity to share something about themselves with other students was not only fun, it gave them the opportunity to offer advice to each other. One pair of writers is planning on a visit to one's native country, and another is hoping to meet regularly as they continue their letter writing!

Jay Klokker of City Tech said, "It was wonderful to see my ESL students at New York City Tech finally meeting their pen pals from the Aguilar [Library's] Center [for Reading and Writing] face to face. There were lots of smiles and laughter, heaps of delicious food and many conversations — in English! — about their lives, their cultures and countries, and their plans for the future."

This was a true collaboration between two literacy programs in two different boroughs: CUNY and NYPL, and Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Let's hope it's the beginning of many more!

Pen Pals are Wonderful New Friends!

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:54:10 -0500

Students at Aguilar Library's Center for Reading and Writing are getting to know other students from around the city! They are pen pals with students in one ESOL evening class at CUNY's City Tech Adult Learning Center in Brooklyn.

Jay Klokker's students at City Tech introduced themselves to Aguilar Library's CRW students in short handwritten letters and within a week, Aguilar Library's CRW students had their replies out in the mail back to Brooklyn!

More than 20 pairs of pen pals look forward to their "mail," which is hand delivered by their teachers each week. Some topics discussed include: The Breadwinner, a book about a girl in Afghanistan; how difficult it is to study English; playing soccer; the trials of a difficult engineering job in this country; traveling to Mexico; watching Seinfeld; living with a cat; and having a girlfriend!

In one correspondence, a Japanese student writes to an Albanian student:

"You did an amazing job looking at the map and describing the cities in my country. I cannot tell the details about your country... I lived in Tokyo and sometimes I went to Yokahama. Unfortunately, I have never been to the other areas you discovered on the map. I hope to go one day..."

One student from Thailand writes to a woman from Belarus:

"Do you know that I smile all the time while reading your letter? I am so happy to have a friend like you. You have a beautiful name, too. What is the meaning of your name? Please tell me."

One Chinese student congratulates her new friend on her new job:

"In my opinion, you got the job very easily, How is it being a cashier? Is it easy or difficult? Do you enjoy it? You are lucky that you got a new job... On weekends I go to work to take care of my client. Sometimes we go shopping together and sometimes she goes to church with me. So I love my job very much..."

Making new friends in NYC is always a challenge to our students, so having pen pals seemed to be a good way to begin a friendship, and it helps students develop their writing skills as well!

We are planning a Pen Pal Party for December, where students will meet one another for the first time! How wonderful is that?

The Volunteer Experience at The New York Public Library's Centers for Reading and Writing (CRW)

Decklan Fox — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:15:15 -0400

First — a phone call or an Internet visit to nypl.org. This starts the process for registering to be a volunteer tutor at the Centers for Reading and Writing (CRW) at The New York Public Library. The process continues with a scheduled visit to one of the eight CRW sites located in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. A Site Advisor or Literacy Assistant then conducts a crucial interview that helps determine whether or not one qualifies for volunteer tutor training.

Literacy Education Specialist Decklan Fox with Tutor Trainees Fall 2011Volunteer tutors are required to committ to one nine-to-12-month cycle or two 10-week cycles at a CRW site, for two to four hours per week. This commitment involves tutoring adults, who read up to a 6th grade level as determined by The Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), in a small group setting. Oh, how difficult, some may say. But wait, there is a comprehensive two week centralized volunteer tutor training conducted for qualified candidates. The two week centralized tutor training is conducted by the Library's Literacy Education Specialist, Decklan Fox. Trainees meet at a CRW site twice per week, from 1 to 3 p.m. or 6 to 8 p.m., for two weeks of training.

Additionally, volunteers being prepared for assignments with students at the lowest literacy level are given an additional two sessions of low level literacy training. The lower level sessions are conducted by the three CRW Literacy Specialists, Christine Debush; Danica Draper; and Decklan Fox. All of the CRW professional staff are trained and capable of conducting the tutor training. In fact, if volunteer tutor training candidates are available before or after the scheduled centralized training sessions (September and January of each year), they are trained at the site of their successful interview and sent to centralized training when the scheduled dates occur.

“There are just so many aspects to reading that we take for granted when we have learned sequentially at a young age. We really have to re-learn this whole process of learning to read in order to be an effective teacher. I think I will not take for granted the joy of reading any more!”

Words of wisdom from one of our successful volunteer tutors.

The strategies that trainees are taught are proven to lead Adult Basic Education (ABE) students to successfully achieve their goals while improving their reading and writing in a very supportive educational environment.

The most recent centralized tutor training prepared a total of 27 volunteers to lead literacy groups at their chosen center. After the upfront training, successful volunteers return to their centers with a solid knowledge base and added confidence. Site professionals provide support and guidance throughout the volunteer experience. The rewards of volunteerism are immeasurable. The benefits range from increased self confidence to a sense of giving back to one’s community. Why not volunteer at the Library's Centerd for Reading and Writing today?

Digital Photography at Aguilar Library's Center for Reading and Writing!

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:16:21 -0400

Learning to write through photography is one of the goals of Sol Aramendi, a photographer/educator who is currently leading a nine week "Literacy through Photography" class at Aguilar Library's Center for Reading and Writing.

A New York based Argentinean educator and artist who strongly believes in art education as a tool to create a dialogue of understanding and social justice, Aramendi will be working with 15 adult learners who signed up for a series of Friday workshops.

Students will write about their dreams (and will shoot a photo which imagines them), shoot a portrait and a self portrait, learn about the meaning of sequence in photography, travel to an unfamiliar neighborhood and study it through their lens, and find people in action, to name just a few of the weekly themes!

Assisting Aramendi in this effort are Aguilar literacy tutors who are donating their Friday afternoons to help students learn about lighting, shadows, angles, foreground, background, settings, and mood. The class is made possible through the generous donation of an Aguilar literacy tutor who wants nothing more than to see students learning new skills!

Aguilar CRW Opens with a Bang!

Elaine Sohn, Site Advisor, Adult Learning Center, Aguilar Library — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:04:12 -0400

The Fall Cycle started at Aguilar Library's Center for Reading and Writing (CRW) on September 12, 2011! Thirty new students and six new tutors joined the excitement and will spend the next 12 weeks working together — reading, writing, and challenging themselves along the way.

New students spent eight hours in orientation learning the ropes: discussing their goals, learning what makes a good student, learning what makes a good tutor, and sharing their expectations about studying at Aguilar Library. Students discussed why they want to improve their literacy skills. One student said she knows how to get money out of the ATM, but can't figure out how to put money in the ATM. A second student said he wants to help his son with his homework at night. A third student is looking for a promotion at work and needs to be better able to read the manual. And a fourth student wants to read the letters she receives from her family in Senegal. Students join the CRW for these and many other reasons.

New volunteer tutors tried their hand at helping students learn how to use reading software on the Library's laptops. New students learned from continuing students about the importance of excellent attendance. Some of the exciting programming in store for everyone is a digital photography class, a special dance/literacy workshop series, a new book collection. and smartboard activities.

Aguilar Library's CRW is located on 110th Street (between Lexington and Third avenues) and works with students who read below the sixth grade level. Tutors attend a centralized training class in September and work with small groups of students for four hours each week.

Currently there are 125 students and 35 tutors working together at Aguilar Library's CRW.

Learning Piano and Learning to Read: Reflections from a CRW Tutor

Terry Sheehan — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:28:54 -0400

At the Center for Reading and Writing at Seward Park Library, volunteer tutors work with small groups of students improving basic English reading and writing skills. Tutors are encouraged to reflect on their own learning, and to think how they have felt while learning something new. Here is tutor Alexandra (Alex) Steedman’s reflection.

"You’re never too old to learn" the old adage says. Taking this to heart, I decided to finally pursue a long standing dream of learning to play the piano. At the ripe old age of 42, I was ready to take on this new challenge. I rented a worn but trusty old upright, found a local teacher, and began the adventure.

It just so happens that my first few weeks of lessons coincided with another challenge — my first few weeks of tutoring at The New York Public Library. Almost instantly, I saw the parallels between what I was experiencing as a new student, and what my students must be experiencing.

There was the excitement and eagerness of taking those first steps. The bewilderment of looking at a page full of notes and wondering, "Will I ever be able to read that?" The realization that there were a few things I already knew (I played trumpet for a few years in high school) that might help me along the way. There was the need to keep my impatience in check — I wanted to be good right now, right away. But it was going to take time. It was going to require lots of practice, repetition, and perseverance.

One evening I arrived early for my lesson, and had the pleasure of hearing another adult student play. She played beautifully, almost flawlessly. I found myself thinking, "I will never be able to play like that. So what’s the point?" When she finished I said, “Please tell me you’ve been playing for 20 years!” She laughed and said, “Almost 30, actually.” After she left, my teacher said something that I still take to heart. “Don’t keep comparing yourself to others — you are doing yourself a disservice that way. Remember — it’s a personal journey.” And so it is.

Photo of Alex (far right) with her studentsMy piano teacher, funnily enough, is also an adult literacy tutor. And he could not be better suited for it. With me he is consistently encouraging, patient, warm, and understanding. He makes me feel good about my progress, however small. He listens, and we laugh. A sense of humor can not be underrated in any tough endeavor.

And yes there are still times I want to quit piano. It is still mix of great enjoyment and reward, and hitting "walls" and dealing with frustration. But I am not ready to give up. I can actually play some easy songs now — which is a lot more than I could say three months ago, even if I still play the wrong note now and then.

As for my two wonderful students at the Library, I am looking forward to continuing the journey of learning together, for it is a mutual one.