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| December 2009 |
Vol 1, Issue 7 |
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A monthly publication of
Whatcom Literacy Council | |
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| Greetings! |
December is upon us and, like most years, it seems to catch me off guard! I hope each of you enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday. I enjoy the opportunity to set aside projects and "to-do" lists for a few days to enjoy friends, family and food!
Just before the holiday break, I had the opportunity to get together with the WLC Board of Directors for a planning session that will help this organization remain strong and effective for years to come. One goal that we identified was to 'Continue running excellent programs' and I know that our hard-working and dedicated tutors are a big part of what makes our current programs excellent. Thank you so much - you certainly made our list of things to be thankful for this year!
Before I sign off, I do want to remind you that we close the WLC office between December 25th and January 1st, and we will reopen for business on Monday, January 4. Due to that break, we will likely combine our December and January newsletters.
Enjoy the dark and stormy (or cold and sunny) days of December!
Rachel Myers, Executive Director
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Monthly Tutor Primers |
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Tell your friends, colleagues and neighbors! Each month the Whatcom Literacy Council hosts a tutor information primer on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6pm at the Bellingham Public Library. Beginning in 2010, our monthly primers will begin at 5pm.
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| Tutors - We Need Your Reports! |
Just a reminder to all of you wonderful tutors that we need to receive a report from you each month to keep us up to date on how things are going with your learner. Please take a few minutes to click here and send us a report on all of the good work you do!
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| Program Views by Gina Barrieau-Gonzales |
What happens when a social activist in the form of a Christian pastor meets up with a caring church that chooses to partner with a secular organization? Well, in Lynden some may call it a miracle! We are now privileged to serve an ever-increasing amount of people out in the county whose number one need is English language skills.
There is a steady group of 20 -25 learners who join us each Wednesday night for 1 ½ hours of English Language Learning at the First Reformed Church. That number could double by January. We are hoping to expand our volunteer base by recruiting more folks in Lynden to help out with classes and one-to-one tutoring. There will be an orientation/primer set for 6:00pm on January 5th, at F.R.C. for anyone who is interested in tutoring, assisting and/or facilitating English Language Learning or Basic Skills in reading and writing. Lyndenites, come and join us and tell a friend!
Thank you F.R.C. Your dedicated staff and supportive congregation are committed to assisting our learners by providing everything from classroom space, textbooks and free hot meals, to brand new jackets and coats. Thank you also, Pastor Ivan for coordinating everything and getting these classes started.
The Pastor consented to give a short interview as long as I promised not to aggrandize him personally. Here's what he had to say about our English Language Learners out in Lynden.
Question: Ivan please describe the needs of the people you serve and how that relates to ELL classes.
When you are relating on a daily basis or living with everyone, you get close to them. You have to know what their needs/skills are. They have special needs and English is the most important. When I first started out here as pastor, I was paying attention to their spiritual needs. I was considering their need for food. I was paying attention to their legal needs and helping them with family advice. But without English, the other needs cannot be met. English is their most important tool
Question: What are come examples of the challenges they face?
Sometimes they get into problems with their landlord. There was a family I know who was living without hot water for three months because they couldn't talk to the landlord. Check cashing is a serious problem when you don't know hot to open a bank account. They cannot fill their gas tanks because they don't know how to ask for change. Gas attendants get angry when they cannot understand them so often they lose their money if they needed change. Without English, it's like trying to fix something without tools.
Question: I know you mostly work with Spanish speaking people, but have you noticed anyone else whose needs are not being met out there?
In Lynden the African and Asian communities are also in need of help. I think that a lot of churches are missing that piece. They focus on the spiritual and neglect the practical needs of the whole community.
Question: How did you come to know about WLC?
I didn't know about WLC until recently when Pastor Joel from a neighboring church gave me your name. Two years ago in October, I took one week off from my job and knocked on every church door in Lynden. There was some interest to start English classes but I waited 11/2 years and still nothing came from them.
Question: How did you meet up with the group from First Reformed Church?
One night when I was working late, I met the youth pastor next door. Pastor Dan was also helping someone and we had a conversation. He talked about collecting food and going to Guatemala. We joined together to create a food bank and he introduced me to everyone at F.R.C. It was after that, that I presented the idea of having a secular class to the church. Now we are just starting to meet the needs of those people.
Question: Your work is truly inspiring. What advice would you give to other churches thinking about hosting this program?
I would tell them, remember what Jesus said, that which you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me. Talking about helping isn't enough. The spiritual help is wonderful, but we also must always consider the practical needs of all of our community members.
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| Tutoring Strategies by Jessica Hilburn |
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Last month I had the privilege of working with 15 new volunteers during our Adult Literacy Program tutor training. I am doing my best to match these eager and capable tutors with an adult learner. This process sometimes takes longer than I anticipate. I want to thank our new tutors for their patience and understanding. While waiting I would like to invite tutors to revisit some material that was covered during the ALP training. Below is a video of a tutor working with a beginning reader. You will find that some of the techniques that the tutor incorporates in the session were discussed in the ALP training. Before viewing the video, consider the following: 1)Think about the strategies the tutor is using to teach phonics or what the video refers to as alphabetics. 2) Can you identify the different parts of the lesson? Are they effective? 3) How would you describe the tutor's style? This video was originally posted online by the Literacy Volunteers agency of Maine and used as part of their 2009 tutor training. Click here to watch the video.
Jessica's thoughts:
1) The use of rhyming words to teach phonics should be a familiar activity to WLC tutors and can be an effective strategy. Learning words by seeing word patterns enables the students to notice more readily the relationships between clusters of letters and the sounds they represent. The exercise of drawing a line between pairs of rhyming words shown in the video does not clearly show the learner that relationship. Instead, write a vertical list of rhyming words and point out the pattern using colored pens.
Volunteers will also recognize the Language Experience Approach as the final activity in the video. I liked that the tutor used the learner's own story to discuss a phonics skill.
2) I noticed that the tutor included several parts of a good lesson. She started with a review of previous skills taught, specifically, the short sound of i. There were several opportunities for the learner to read and write using the same skill. Repetition is key for a beginning reader.
In the area of delivering a lesson, I would recommend to this tutor to use more modeling when introducing an activity. For instance, demonstrate underlining the short i sound in given words. The tutor gave a lot of verbal directions. This can be very confusing for a non-auditory learner.
3) I felt this tutor could have been more encouraging. She missed many opportunities to praise the learner. Adult literacy learners are often dealing with low self esteem. It is important that tutors are sensitive to this issue. Also, I would point out to this tutor that she needs to give more wait time when asking for an answer from the learner. Some learners need extra time to process what is being asked. I would like to hear your thoughts and/or questions regarding this video. You can send your comments to jessica@whatcomliteracy.org |
| A New Beginning by WLC Learner, Lea Jones |
In life change is always expected, and in every change there is a new beginning.
My new journey to the United States of America is the biggest change in my life. A new chapter in my life is just beginning. I had many expectations,hopes, fears and a sense of adventure. I anticipated that my life would be different from what it had been, and it is. Everything is different; from the weather,to the the environment and to the people. A lot of things amaze me. The first thing that astounded me was when we were approaching my new home the garage door opened as if by magic,but I didn't say anything at that time. However when I did tell my husband about it, he teased me.... and we're still laughing about it. Another thing that surprised me is I thought the weather would be cooler.I was cold at first, but then it got nice and hot and I found myself sweating. I did not expect that it would be warm here. Now that it's getting cool, I'm surprised that I kind of like it
Regarding the foods, I have eaten lots of different new foods that my husband, and my mother in- law prepare. We also have gone to many restaurants ( Greek,Mexican, Thai and Chinese). I have enjoyed everything that I have tried except for the blue cheese. I also miss the foods at home , especially the fish.
The people I've met while walking on the trails near our home, with my husband have surprised me with their friendliness.
I enjoy it here, but there are moments when I miss the people back home. Things are fine with me right now, but I know it will not always be so. There will be moments for sure that I am going to encounter challenges in my new life here in America. I am preparing myself for it. Life has no thrill without challenges.
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| Meaningful Holiday Giving |
Do you have some 'challenging' people on your holiday gift-giving list who seem to have everything, and always say "I don't need a thing" when you ask them for gift ideas? Well here's an idea you might consider - how about giving a donation to WLC in their honor? It's easy - just go to our website and click on the " Make a Donation" button. The next screen will give you the option of giving in honor of someone - just fill it out and make sure to fill in the recipient's address so we can send them a card to let them know about your generous gift. That's all there is to it! Here's to a Happy Holiday Season for all! | |
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If you have any questions or need help, please contact us at 647-3264 or by email:
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