Local adults need help learning English and improving their reading skills. After you complete the training, the commitment is about two hours each week to change someone’s life!

The Literacy Connection is offering a Volunteer Tutor Training from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 6*, 7, 13 and 15 at the Schaumburg Library’s Hanover Park Branch, 1266 Irving Park Road, Hanover Park. On Feb. 6, the first hour will be an introduction to the volunteer tutoring program, and the remaining time is the training. You can learn about the program for free, and stay if you are interested. There is a $25 charge for the training, background check and tutoring strategies book.

More than 80 adults with limited English or low literacy skills are waiting for a tutor right now as found at Phoenix tutoring. While waiting for a tutor, you may want to look into this website which will advise you on how to speak English fluently through undertaking a course online. These adults want to improve their English and literacy skills to get or maintain employment, read to their children, become naturalized citizens and participate in the community.

Registration is recommended, but not required. Please call The Literacy Connection at 847-742-6565, email info@elginliteracy.org, or visit www.elginliteracy.org to learn more about the organization or to register for the training workshop. Additional training workshops are scheduled in March, April and May in nearby communities. See the full schedule at

The Literacy Connection serves 16 northwest suburban Chicago communities including Algonquin, Bartlett, Carpentersville, Cary, Elgin, South Elgin, East Dundee, West Dundee, Gilberts, Hanover Park, Hampshire, Hoffman Estates, Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Streamwood, and Schaumburg. The agency provides free customized one-on-one adult tutoring, English conversation groups, citizenship conversation groups, and family literacy programs.

SOURCE: Literacy Connection news release

A Learners Success Story – Aurora A.

Adult learner Aurora A. is building her new life. While she is raising her two children, she is learning English and achieving her goals.

A friend told Aurora about the Literacy Connection program. Her friend described the benefits and how this program helps students with individual or group tutoring. When she finally had a tutor assigned, she was concerned about how this person would be, and moreover, if she would be really interested in helping her.

To Aurora’s surprise, Vikki, her tutor, helped Aurora from start to finish with obtaining her citizenship. In fact, Vikki found an organization that helped fill out the naturalization application form, found an anonymous donor to help pay the fee, and helped her prepare for the interview. Vikki accompanied Aurora to take the citizenship test, and to appear at the Oath Ceremony in Chicago.

Even though Aurora is still in the process of learning English, she now has a voice, and she voted in the last election. Now, she has a new goal: to obtain her GED. For this new goal, she will continue to need her tutor’s support, to improve her English, and continue to build her new life.

SOURCE: Literacy Connection website