Date: Fri 18-Sep-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

Literacy-Volunteers-Dorenbosch

Full Text:

Friendship Develops Out Of Tutor-Student Relationship

(with photo)

(NOTE: THIS STORY HAS A SIDEBAR; use key word "illiteracy")

BY JAN HOWARD

Imagine what it would be like to be a new resident in a country and have no

way to ask for help for your most basic needs.

Think of what it would be like if you could not read this newspaper -- or a

book, magazine, a restaurant menu or take a driving test, because of lack of

knowledge of English or because you never learned to read.

Ilene Dorenbosch is one of 20 Literacy Volunteers of America tutors in Newtown

and 50,000 in the country who are helping other adults improve their literacy

skills through Basic Literacy or English as a Second Language training.

Mayra Foder of Newtown is one of 68,000 adults who have received help from LVA

volunteers over the past year.

Mrs Foder, who spoke no English when she arrived in the United States about

two years ago from Nicaragua, sought help from Literacy Volunteers about six

months ago after attending a short course in conversational English.

She was paired with Mrs Dorenbosch, who had recently completed training as a

tutor.

It was a good match. Together they have come a long way, and their

relationship, which began as tutor and student, has developed into one of

friendship.

They meet for a minimum of two hours on Saturday mornings, either in the

library or at one of their homes.

Mrs Dorenbosh, a resident of Newtown for over 20 years, said, "Mayra is my

first student. I started with her in February right after my training.

"She knew enough English to hold a conversation but needed help with

pronunciation and grammar," she said.

Mrs Dorenbosch said she first learned about Literacy Volunteers of America

through The News-Times ' volunteer section.

She said tutoring "is just something I always wanted to do. I always loved the

English language.

"The training we get is very basic. You have to devise your own way of

teaching," Mrs Dorenbosch explained.

With individual tutoring, "We probably work a lot differently than in a

group," she said.

Literacy Volunteers supplies teaching materials, such as books and work books,

to help the volunteers, but Mrs Dorenbosch also developed her own teaching

tools.

"Each time I met with her, when I found out what she had trouble with, I made

up my own lesson materials," she said.

Mrs Dorenbosch made up sheets with O, Y, S and J words that Mrs Foder had

difficulty pronouncing. She also provided sheets with synonyms and antonyms

and sentences illustrating tenses, using situations with which Mrs Foder was

familiar.

As things came up in conversation, Mrs Dorenbosch would make up a sheet, such

as words that sound the same but have different meanings.

They begin their sessions by talking about Mrs Foder's family or her home

town.

"She tells me how her week has been," Mrs Dorenbosch said. During the

conversation, she helps Mrs Foder correct her pronunciation or use of tenses.

"She really speaks very well, but she is not familiar with certain words," Mrs

Dorenbosch said. "She's extremely bright. She's had some college, but she is

not aware of how we do things here."

Their tutoring sessions have taken many different paths. They have included

going to the Big Y to read food labels and dyeing Easter eggs.

"It became a lesson about what certain words meant," Mrs Dorenbosch said. "A

lot of what we do is what comes up through conversation or what we're doing."

Some lessons have included working with maps, learning about time zones and

state capitols, writing a letter to Mrs Foder's mother, how to use a telephone

book and reviewing jobs listed in the newspaper.

Mrs Dorenbosh is also teaching Mrs Foder to use a computer. Mrs Foder answers

questions, plays games, such as scrabble, and has started writing her resume

on the computer. She is planning to take a computer course through the town's

continuing education program.

All of this preparation is aimed, eventually, for Mrs Foder to get a better

job.

"The computer is the way to go," Mrs Dorenbosch said.

Future tutoring sessions will include additional lessons in grammar and

pronunciation.

Mrs Dorenbosch said Mrs Foder has progressed to the point that she now

recognizes and corrects herself when she makes a mistake.

Mrs Dorenbosch said her tutoring experience with Mrs Foder is "definitely very

fulfilling.

"We have a good relationship. A lot of times she calls me when she needs help

with something. It's as much a friendship as a student-teacher relationship.

"It's opened up a different world for me. It's gotten me more involved with

her family and what we can do for them back there," she said.

Mrs Foder, who was married to Greg Foder in December, said she has several

goals, among them getting a better job and returning to college.

She said she loves her job as a nanny because she loves children, but she is

looking forward to going back to school next year. She said she is interested

in becoming either a teacher or a journalist.

"I'm a nanny now but I want to have a college education so I can get a better

job. I do not want to be a nanny for my whole life," she said. From Condega,

Mrs Foder attended the National University of Nicaragua for two years.

Of her tutoring experience, Mrs Foder said, "I like it very much. Ilene has

helped me. Now I speak more English, and people understand me more. Now, with

the English class, I read a lot and understand more."

She said speaking English will open up more opportunities, and, because of

that. she wants her sister, who works in Miami in a predominately

Spanish-speaking area, to learn English.

Her English lessons have already helped her to gain new skills and more self

confidence. She recently obtained her driver's license and successfully

navigated her husband during a recent 180-mile road rally.

"It was a beautiful experience for me. I read everything to him," Mrs Foder

said proudly.

Mrs Dorenbosch said, "We'll probably always be working together on something.

There's still a lot to do. Now that she speaks better, we can do more grammar

and writing. If she's going back to school, writing is almost more important

than speaking.

"We spend a lot of time talking. If I didn't know her so well, I wouldn't know

how to direct her," she said.

Mrs Foder said, "Ilene is not my teacher, she's my friend."

Literacy Volunteers is seeking new tutors to meet the needs of its students.

For information about an October 1 open house and the fall training schedule,

call 792-8260.