Meet Roy and Stephen. Growing up in a poor household in Jamaica, Roy began working at a young age in the construction industry, manually moving concrete and forming buildings’ foundations. Life was hard, and he did not have regular meals. Consequently, due to his family’s need for Roy’s financial contribution, he could not attend school…
A refugee story After fleeing religious persecution and military conscription, Sung and Kap embarked on a harrowing journey to the United States from Myanmar in 2011. Through World Relief’s refugee resettlement program, they were placed in DuPage County. Growing up in Myanmar, Sung was fortunate to experience a formal education, which included learning some foundational…
Marlea is a self-identified “volunteer-aholic.” Growing up in Michigan, Marlea’s father was a devoted member of the Methodist Church, and he made volunteering a priority in his family’s life. Serving others is still engrained in Marlea. When Marlea retired in 2015 from teaching Industrial Tech to junior high school students, she wanted to do something…
Being afraid to speak English is common for many Literacy DuPage students. Adult Basic Education (ABE) student Gosia was troubled when she was told that her spoken English was difficult to understand, even though she had high proficiency in English. She enrolled in English classes, but they didn’t correct her pronunciation or increase her vocabulary.…
Hablemos! Let’s Talk! Hablemos unites the community. Hablemos is a Spanish- and English-language conversation group for DuPage County residents. It’s a community effort with Literacy DuPage facilitating the discussion, and WeGo Together for Kids (a collective impact collaboration of West Chicago Elementary School District 33) providing the Zoom platform for the group to meet. Before…
Poor English-language skills can increase isolation. Not knowing English in America can cause a learner to feel lonely and detached. For Literacy DuPage learner Soyoung, not being able to interact in her community left her with feelings of depression. Then she heard about Literacy DuPage from a friend, and she was excited for the opportunity…
Tutor Laura is all about books and literacy. Literacy DuPage tutor Laura K. is a published poet and short story writer. She’s also energetic, funny, kind, compassionate, and encouraging. Laura is an example of how literacy can improve lives. From an early age, Laura learned that reading and writing were essential components of success. Neither…
For married couple Bob and Carol, volunteerism has always been a passion. When they retired, Bob and Carol Cibic knew they wanted to give back by changing lives and making the community better. Bob found Literacy DuPage and asked Carol to join him in attending an initial Meet & Greet session. Although they did not…
SPARKING conversation at probation. It started with an observant judge and a compassionate probation officer. In 2014, probation officer Randall Wernecke was speaking with Chief Judge Daniel Guerin, of the DuPage County 18th Judicial Circuit Court. Judge Guerin noticed probationers in his courtroom who could not understand, read, or fill out necessary forms. He wondered…
Conversation groups are special, often becoming more than just a group. At Literacy DuPage, our ESL conversation groups are intended to give intermediate and above adult learners from around the world, practice speaking English in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. In 2019, there were 1,023 attendances by learners at one of Literacy DuPage’s drop-in conversation groups!…