From Our Staff Reports: Letter Home

Learner T. asked his tutor to teach him cursive writing. He wanted to send his parents a hand-written letter, thanking them for their support and love over the years. He wrote the first draft at a tutoring session where he and his tutor edited it together. T.'s parents called the tutor to express their heartfelt appreciation, and to say that his note meant the world to them. It is proudly displayed on their fridge.

English Language Learners Pilot Class at Birchwood

An English Language Learners (ELL)
pilot class began at Birchwood Presbyterian Church in the spring of
2017. Tom and Sher Ross were 
observing Maureen Cooley from
Whatcom Literacy Council as a refresher course of TESOL training. The program has grown thanks to the resources on loan from Whatcom Literacy Council to the volunteers from BPC, El Dorado Condos, and Cordata communities.

In the fall, the program tripled in size and teaching responsibilities were shared between Maureen, Tom, and Sher. Again, many volunteers were available to work one-on-one and in small table groups with learners. The students and teachers became friends and looked forward to seeing each other each week. A highlight was a field trip to the Bellingham Public Library where students learned about a lot of free resources available to them and everyone went home with a library card.

Come winter term the program doubled in size again! All of the previous students returned and some brought friends. Others learned about the program through flyers, word of mouth, or referrals from other programs. Currently, there are students from Cambodia, China, Korea, Iraq, Mexico, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Tom and Sher do short lessons including an illustrated children’s book and a grammar lesson. Table volunteers work with small groups to increase conversation skills, a primary goal of the program.

The current spring term runs from April 17 through June 5, Tuesday mornings from 10-11:30 at Birchwood Presbyterian Church, 400 Meadowbrook Court, Bellingham. At the request of some of the students, an optional 9:00 Bible Study that will also help people to practice their English is also offered. It has been great to see the program grow!

Contact Maureen at sgc.whatcomliteracy.org to join the program as a student volunteer or if you have any questions.

Answers appear at the bottom of the newsletter.

 

 PHOTO:  Chris Simpson and Sandy Sallee of the Chrysalis Inn & Spa present a check for $2,100 to Katherine Freimund, executive director of the Whatcom Literacy Council.