Mailing a package at the local post office or interacting with your children’s teachers are common activities that native English-speaking people may take for granted.
But for those whom English comes as a second language, such everyday tasks can be daunting.
That’s why literacy councils and similar programs are developed to help non-native English speakers sharpen their conversational skills.
Take Hyunjin Choi of Bryant, originally from South Korea. She and her family moved to Arkansas so her husband, Kyungjin Park, could serve as minister of music for First Korean Presbyterian Church in Little Rock.
Their sons, 13-year-old Sejin and 9-year-old Seyun, attend Bryant schools.
As many children do in other countries, Choi learned English at an early age. And as many people can relate, the art of speaking a second language can be lost when it’s not practiced often.
Living here and performing everyday tasks made Choi want to perfect her English skills.
She found that help in the Saline County Literacy Council.
“Choi wanted to be able to participate in the community and converse with the school,” said Connie Olson, a volunteer tutor.
Olson, who lives in Bryant, is a retired teacher from Iowa. Now she enjoys volunteering for the Central Arkansas Library System and the Saline County Literacy Council.
“Last summer I read in the Benton Courier that the Saline County Literacy Council was being revitalized,” she said. “I called Denice Griffin, the volunteer coordinator, and told her that I would like to become a tutor. As a retired teacher, I had both the time and desire to help someone with their English reading, writing and speaking skills.”
Olson began tutoring Choi last fall. “I have enjoyed every minute of our work together,” she said.
The two meet at the Bryant Library once a week. Choi laughed when asked if the two have fun. “We have a good time,” she said.
Olson added, “We laugh sometimes.”
“Choi has made great gains because she is such a hard worker,” Olson said, noting “the whole family are hard workers.” Olson tutors the boys once a week as well; however, that tutoring is not through the Literacy Council.
Choi recently completed an English as a Second Language lifeskills series for adults, “Discovering Your Community,” and now she is working in an ESL series that emphasizes vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and writing skills.
“Because Choi wants to improve her communication skills, we reserve a portion of each session for conversation,” Olson said.
Olson also helps Choi and her husband understand correspondence they’ve received in the mail as well as communications from their children’s teachers. “It’s been fun to help them with their questions because they are so appreciative and they are willing to work very hard to become acclimated to life in the United States.”
Olson said tutoring has been a rewarding experience. “I would recommend tutoring to anyone,” she said. “I look forward to each session. I’ve learned so much from Choi, and I have gained a great deal of empathy and respect for anyone who’s attempting to learn a new language while adjusting to a different culture.”
Olson said she’s surprised herself for helping someone learn English, even though she doesn’t speak Choi’s native language. But during the training process, she said she was “pleasantly surprised to discover a wide variety of excellent curriculum to use with ESL students. Some are designed for use with students who have no English skills, but there are curriculums for every ability level.”
Olson noted that the Saline County Adult Education Center has provided the materials she’s used with Choi. “The staff there has been extremely helpful in the selection of appropriate curriculum,” she said.
The Saline County Literacy Council was first formed in 1982 and became incorporated as a nonprofit in 1991, Griffin said. In 1997, the SCLC lost its director and dissolved under good standing with 105 students.
Last spring, with the help of the Arkansas Literacy Council, Saline County Adult Education Center, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services and volunteers who stepped up to create a new board of directors, the SCLC was re-established, she said.
Tutor training consists of two consecutive Saturdays for a total of 11 hours of training, Griffin said. The classes are free, and tutoring usually is an 18-month commitment requiring one and a half to three hours per week of preparation and student instruction.
Griffin said there are now three active tutors in the county. Two are ESL tutors and one is basic English. Five tutors are ready to tutor, but Griffin said they are not paired with students at this time.
The SCLC requires at least a high school education for tutor candidates, Griffin said.
Anyone at least 18 may enroll to be tutored, Griffin said. She noted that the program is available to anyone who wants to learn to read and write or feels that he or she needs to improve his or her reading and writing skills. The program also enrolls immigrants who want to learn English.
“Generally, we tutor people who read below a fourth-grade level,” Griffin said. “If they read above a fourth-grade level, we refer them to the Saline County Adult Education Center.”
Griffin said the need for the program is based on statistics that reveal that 12.4 percent of the people living in the county live below the poverty level. Sixteen percent of the population in 2006 were high school dropouts and the unemployment rate was 3.1 percent.
“Furthermore, Saline County has an ever-growing immigrant population moving to Saline County,” Griffin said. “It is essential to our community that we provide non-English residents the opportunity to learn English because it willhelp them to adapt to another culture.
“It will also provide them some needed language skills for getting and retaining a job. This will decrease the burden of our local and state government while also helping to keep poverty and crime levels down.”
A goal for the SCLC is to reach more individuals this year, Griffin said. The organization also hopes to garner more donations and an office location to operate the council, facilitate tutor training workshops and a place for volunteers to tutor their students.
Prospective students or tutors should contact Griffin at 258-6375 or e-mail her at
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for further information.
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