“Free English tutoring at Largo Public Library is popular” plus 1 more

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Free English tutoring at Largo Public Library is popular Posted: 28 Dec 2010 10:46 AM PST By Dominick Tao, Times Staff Writer In Print: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 LARGO — The Largo Public Library is a repository of knowledge, to be sure. But for those who have come to the city from other countries for work, family or school, the library provides a resource as simple as water and nearly as essential: the ability to communicate. Since October, the library has offered free private English tutoring and English language conversation classes to anyone interested. According to the program's coordinator, Britney Hord, the classes and tutoring have been not only popular, but a runaway success. People from more than a dozen countries have come, and many have left — not for lack of interest, but because they have grown more confident in their skills. For Gustavo Patino, who has lived and worked in Florida for 10 years, and his twin daughters, Kelly and Carolina, both 18 and recent transplants to Largo on student visas from Colombia, the lessons with tutor Ann Lawlor have proved invaluable. For the father, the lessons are a way to learn a language he has been surrounded by for years, but never mastered. For his daughters, they are a chance to get ahead before they start at St. Petersburg College next year. For Kelly and Carolina Patino, the learning curve has been steep. They only arrived in May. "Difficult, yes," Kelly said after a session this month in one breath — in English. Then in the next: "I love it. It's fun." The opportunity the library provides, they say, is a great way to get ahead in the English as a Second Language classes they attend at the Clearwater Adult Education Center. "It's necessary, very important for university," Carolina said. The three attend weekly lessons with Lawlor at space provided by the library. The lessons, which use workbooks and other exercises thought up by the tutors, who each were required to take a teaching English as a second language training course taught by a St. Petersburg College professor, show students not only new words, but hone skills that could give them more confidence in everyday interactions: "Bocabulary," Gustavo said during a lesson, with that soft "b" common in most Spanish dialects. "Vee," Lawlor corrected. "Put your top teeth into your lower lip." "Vocabulary," Gustavo said. "Good!" Lawlor responded. In more advanced classes, like the one Largo Parks Department employee Robert Amon teaches on his own time, students come to him for homework help. He said not only do they learn, but he also comes away with a greater cultural understanding. "It's one on one, and a chance for me to learn about other cultures," Amon said. One example: When going over idioms, he discovered the Venezuelan equivalent to "It's raining cats and dogs." "Se está vertiendo lanzadores," he said. "It's pouring pitchers." Since the program is mostly volunteer-based, it operates on a shoestring budget, said Hord, the librarian responsible for organizing the lessons. But in a city with a growing population of Hispanic residents and people from around the world, she said the community needed additional language resources — something previously unavailable outside schools. "We had a lot of need for it," Hord said. "You see it even in the library. We had situations with patrons who returned something late because they didn't speak English. "A lot of countries don't have a public library system and don't know how they work. It had been brewing for a long time." • • • Advertising for the program began with simple fliers posted at local food banks, health clinics, resource centers and Dixie Hollins Adult Education Center. But word of mouth quickly spread, leading to full rosters for each available tutor — all 37, who work at least 150 hours combined each month. "Now I don't even advertise," Hord said. Many tutors are retired teachers, some are college students who want to teach when they graduate, and even Largo Vice Mayor Robert Murray has a student he tutors. The other component of the library's language offering, the English conversation hour, began with just four students during its first meeting last year, but has gained a following of more than 20 regulars. The weekly sessions, which are less formal than the tutoring and revolve around games and exercises — like making mock phone calls — are on hiatus for the holidays, but will return early next year. Hord said the map she set up in the classroom is a testament to the diversity of cultures that are settling in around Tampa Bay. "On the map, we have Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, India, Turkey, Romania, Algeria, Hungary, Cameroon, Bali, several from pretty much everywhere in South America, and Mexico, of course," Hord said. "Oh, and we had one from Madagascar, too." Dominick Tao can be reached at dtao@sptimes.com or (727) 580-2951. . Fast facts To learn more Do you or someone you know need help speaking English? The Largo Public Library provides free English language learning tutoring, conversation groups and family activities. All services are free to the public and all skill levels are welcome. Visit largo.com and click on the Largo Public Library, then English skills, or call (727) 587-6715. Language events Conversation hour: Monday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Jenkins Wing of the library. This free service is open to anyone over the age of 18 looking to improve his or her English. Tutor training orientation and workshop: The tutor training workshop will be held quarterly. Register online at largo.com (click on Largo Public Library, then English skills) or by calling Britney Hord at (727) 587-6715, ext. 2501. [Last modified: Dec 28, 2010 01:56 PM] Click here for reuse options! Copyright 2010 St. Petersburg Times This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

Bantu tutoring center helping refugees learn English Posted: 27 Dec 2010 04:34 PM PST In the living room of a ground floor apartment on Elizabeth Street, Somali Bantu refugee Omar Awes, 29, stands in front of a white board with a marker in his hand. "Begin with the basics" is written at the top of the board. His students, a dozen women wearing colorful headscarves, sit in tight rows of padded metal chairs, notebooks and pencils in hand. They repeat after him as he points to words on the board: "Hello, my name is Fatuma. Why are you here today? Because I have appointment with my doctor." The five-bedroom apartment is home to the newly opened Somali Bantu Tutoring Center, an effort of the Mohawk Valley Somali Bantu Community Association. The goal of the center is to give the Bantu refugees a start on English education so they can succeed in public English as a Second Language courses. "Begin with the basics" could be the motto for the entire organization. "We don't have chairs; we don't have desks," said Sidi Mwalimu, 28, the center's executive director. "We don't have any supplies." Mwalimu said the center has been in the works for the past five years, but gained traction in the spring when it became a 501c3 charitable organization. In November, the group gathered enough money, $650, to pay for the first month's rent. 'A chance' On a tour of the center, Mwalimu opens the first bedroom door. Inside, Karai Mukoma sits minding about 10 toddlers. There are toys inside, but no furniture. Everyone is on the carpeted floor. One child throws a plush Elmo doll, which bonks another in the head. Mwalimu explained that parents who attend morning sessions babysit the children of parents in the afternoon sessions in one of the five empty bedrooms. "We try to do this to give parents a chance to access the education," Mwalimu said. In another room, a middle schooler teaches the ABCs and basic numbers to a group of elementary school aged kids. In the kitchen, rows of teens – the boys in baseball caps and sweatshirts, the girls in headscarves – are learning Maymay and Swahili. "We teach them cultural things like language and how to behave in public school," Mwalimu said. The children of refugees, some brought here when they were very young, speak English as their primary language and have trouble communicating with their own parents, let alone translating for them – a common task. There's also homework assistance. Mwalimu said he hopes to work with the Utica City School District with teens who are failing high school and need extra help. English equals access Avbai Majeni, 26, like all the other teachers at the center, is a volunteer. She learned English during the 14 years she spent in a United Nations refugee camp in Kenya. She speaks five languages — Kizigua, Maymay, Somali, Kiswahili and English. She's a human Rosetta Stone for the center and an example to other Bantu women – many of whom were denied an education in Somalia and can't read or write in any language. There are very practical reasons to learn English, Majeni said. Without a translator or a child who can interpret, women have trouble with access to basic services, such as doctor's visits. But there are loftier reasons to embrace English and American culture. "When we came here, the women are free," she said. "We are here to encourage them to be free." The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees helped place 250 Bantu in the area between 2003 and 2005. That population since has grown to about 600. Peter Vogelaar, executive director of the refugee center, helped seed the original Bantu community, which fled from the war-torn African nation of Somalia. The center has provided some incubator space to Bantu community organizers but had little to do with the tutoring center. "To me, it's amazing to watch how communities adapt to their new environment," he said. "We as a community in Utica, whenever we can, try to support that; it's critical." Center 'needs help' In just three weeks since the center opened, Mwalimu said 250 people have registered to take classes – that's a third of the estimated Somali Bantu population in Utica. What's happening in the apartment is important, Mwalimu said, because many Bantu can't get jobs without knowing English. "We have a lot of people who are on public assistance," he said. "We want to improve. These people are unable to do this because of the language barrier." He's hoping the larger community will see the value of the center and donate money, books or other supplies. That's started happening, Mwalimu said, but the center needs at least $2,500 a month to pay the bills.  "We're really happy to do this," he said. "(But) to keep this place running we need help." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

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