Resources for Tutors

Here are some resources to support your efforts as a Literacy DuPage tutor.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • In volunteer-driven programs, especially with beginners or low-literacy learners, it’s important to prioritize:

    • Comprehension (understanding spoken English)

    • Basic speaking skills (getting needs met, asking/answering questions)

    • Pronunciation is addressed in the service of being understood, not perfection. Too much focus on “perfect” pronunciation can be discouraging.

    Volunteer tutors should aim to support intelligibility and build learner confidence.

  • In partnership with Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley, we recently presented the workshop "Enhancing Lesson Planning with AI Tools." A recording of the session is available here for those who missed it or would like to revisit the content.

    A password is required. You can find the password in our March Keeping in Touch eNewsletter Volume 90.

  • Literacy DuPage and its staff do not provide citizenship assistance to learners due to the legal implications involved. Fortunately, several neighboring libraries and community programs offer free citizenship classes.

    Our volunteer tutors can still play a valuable role in supporting learners by:

    • Practicing the 100 Civics Questions for the naturalization test.

    • Conducting mock interviews to build confidence in answering interview questions.

    • Improving English language skills — speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

    • Enhancing understanding of U.S. history and government concepts related to the naturalization test.

    However, it’s important to remember that tutors should not:

    • Assist with completing the N-400 application.

    • Provide legal advice or guidance on immigration status or processes.

    For official citizenship assistance, we encourage learners to seek support from accredited immigration organizations or legal professionals.

    View additional resources here.

  • Volunteers and staff should not assist anyone with this process, instead refer them to an immigration lawyer. It is important that trained experts in the fields of immigration law and policy handle our students’ technical questions about immigration and citizenship.

    It is important that you do not ask the status of your learner. As an organization, we do not ask status during the intake process, and it is at their discretion if they share this information with you.

    • Tutor/Learner pairs must meet in a public location. Meetings in private residences are not allowed. 

    • If your learner has expressed concern over continuing with in-person tutoring, offer them other options such as Zoom, What’s App, FaceTime. Respect their decision to discontinue tutoring in-person and inform Laurie Hoffman, Program Manager, [email protected], of any changes. Although our libraries have guidelines in place to protect our community members, we cannot guarantee safety. 

    • If your learner has additional questions, please refer them to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights at 1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY (1-855-435-7693) or World Relief Immigration Legal Services: Aurora (630) 906-9546, Chicago (773) 583-9191, Carol Stream (630) 462-7660.

    Thank you again for all you do to ensure a supportive tutoring environment for you and your learner. 

For effective instruction:

  1. Develop a lesson plan each week.

  2. Ground your lessons in your learner’s real-life goals.

  3. Emphasize speaking and listening, plus include reading and writing in each lesson.

  4. Design your lessons to build on those from previous sessions.

  5. Review key topics and lessons from the previous week.

  6. Address what the learner should do for the following week.

  7. Take notes on what worked well, what needs improvement, and what challenges came to light.

  8. Encourage your learner to generate useful materials, such as sight word lists, picture cards, post-its, and experience stories that can be used for study and review.

  9. Revisit instructional videos frequently for direction and inspiration.

  10. Keep in touch with other tutors and trainers at Literacy DuPage to share ideas and ask questions.

Lesson Plans

Video Lessons

Real Tutors, Real Learners is a set of videos created by Literacy DuPage. The videos may be viewed on the Literacy DuPage YouTube channel.

Resource Agencies

There are many community agencies and resources that provide a range of services that may be of value to Literacy DuPage learners.

To put your learner in touch with food pantries, domestic abuse assistance, medical resources, shelter options, and more, please refer to this list of resource agencies.

Activity & Professional Development Websites

Activities for ESL Students offers a wide variety of interactive quizzes, tests, exercises, and puzzles for ESL learners.

Adult Education and Literacy Resource Collection is the LINCS (Literacy Information and Communication System of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)) site for ESL teachers and students with articles and links to numerous other useful ESL sites.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association provides a list of free, multilingual picture dictionaries designed for beginning English language learners of all ages.

Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults offers First Steps for Teachers, developed by the National Institute for Literacy for Basic Literacy learners.

Bridging Refugee Youth & Children’s Services offers a booklet titled, Raising Children in a New Country: An Illustrated Handbook. This resource can help foreign-born parents adjust to the different laws, norms, and practices related to raising children in the United States.

CATESOL ESL Games is a collection of online, educational, English learning, grammar, and vocabulary games.

Center For Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) has a collection of articles based on research called digests on many diverse topics for ESL and BL tutors.

Dave’s ESL Cafe is an excellent resource that includes many links, activities, teacher tips, and lesson plans. This is a great starting point for teachers.

EL/Civics Online is an online professional development resource created through the Adult Learning Resource Center (ALRC) and the U.S. government.

EnglishPage.com provides free English lessons and exercises. It also offers links to a variety of ESL reading and listening resources.

GCFLearnFree.org provides step-by-step instructions on a variety of math skills and computer topics. This site requires a good amount of reading, yet it is a good resource for higher-level students and their tutors.

Internet Essentials from Comcast offers low-cost Internet service, discounted computer equipment, and free digital literacy training to families with at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program.

Safe Kids Worldwide offers easy-to-read materials about an assortment of safety topics.

Understanding What Reading Is All About is a PDF that provides teaching materials and lessons for Adult Basic Education Learners from the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL).

Tutors can find all volumes of our “Keeping in Touch” newsletter.

KIT includes resources compiled by our Tutor Support Specialist.