Literacy Live!

Learning More than English

At the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia we believe that literacy is a survival skill.  We frame our English classes with this belief in mind, teaching English in the context of life skills and everyday language our learners will frequently encounter.  Though our aim is for students to acquire English language skills in speaking, reading, writing, and reading and for them to feel empowered by this knowledge – I have noticed that our students have an added advantage that is unique to our geographic area – their fellow classmates.

In Northern Virginia, we are all so fortunate to be a part of a community that is rich in cultural diversity.  We have the benefit of being exposed to many different languages, cultures, religions, and customs which allows us to expand our knowledge base and  worldview.  While our students are learning English, they are also learning about each other as they work together towards a common goal.

In just one of my classes I have fifteen students who represent twelve different countries and seven different languages.  Last week this class was learning words of frequency; always, sometimes and never.  We went around the room and each student provided a sentence in the context of daily routines for something they always, sometimes, or never do.

One student, a man from Mexico, answered that he sometimes goes to church because he only goes to church on Sundays.

The next student, a woman from Afghanistan, answered that she always prays because she prays five times a day.

The student from Mexico asked her to repeat.

So the woman repeated, “I always pray.  I pray five times a day.”

The man asked again, “Five? I don’t understand.”

The woman then explained when she prays during the day and told the student that she is Muslim.  This opened a discussion in the class about religious customs, what religions the students practiced and how they were different and how they were the same.  The students used the words of frequency, expressed understanding of the concepts different and same, and posed Wh- questions to each other all in English – an entirely student led discussion that began from a desire to understand a culture different from their own.

As the teacher I can provide the English words and structures – but the students are each other’s greatest resource in their education. There is a vast collective knowledge in all of our classrooms and our students are so fortunate to have the opportunity to communicate with each other and learn so much more than English during their classroom experience with the Literacy Council.

Rachel Conn Martin
AmeriCorps Instructor
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church, VA 22042
www.lcnv.org

Please include LCNV in your Cyber Monday shopping!

If you haven’t kicked off your holiday season by signing up to gift wrap for LCNV, please consider a gift to our students today as you check out Cyber Monday deals! LCNV makes it easy for you by letting you know exactly what we need for our students on our Amazon Wish List. After you finish shopping for yourself your friends and family on Amazon.com, click on this link, or on Amazon.com, click on the Wish List link in the top right corner of the webpage. Then, search for “Literacy Council of Northern Virginia” to see items that we currently need to serve our students. Our address is preset in the system so that you can easily have Amazon.com send the item directly to us. Many of the items are the children’s books that are used by LCNV’s Family Learning Program, which provides English literacy instruction for children (ages 2 – 12) and their low-income, immigrant parents in a supportive classroom environment, emphasizing the goal of parents increasing involvement in their children’s educational activities. The books are used for instruction within the curriculum, then given to the parents to take home to start their own at-home libraries!

Another easy way to support LCNV while searching for Cyber Monday deals is to search using GoodSearch.com, which donates a penny to your non-profit of choice every time you search! Click “Choose a Cause” on their homepage to easily start donating to LCNV today! The site even allows you to track your impact and how much you have raised for our learners. While you’re there, check out GoodShop.com, which allows you to shop at 2500+ retailers like Amazon, Target or Staples and up to 30% will be donated to your cause. You get to give back while doing the Cyber Monday shopping you need to do and save with over 100,000 coupons on the site!

Thank you for thinking of LCNV during the holidays. We hope you can take a break from all the busy-ness and join us for a potluck meal next week, on Tuesday, December 4, from 6 – 8 pm.  You can find more details here: http://www.lcnv.org/events/annual-holiday-potluck.

Suzie Eaton
Senior Director of Development
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church, VA 22042
www.lcnv.org

Sign Up for LCNV’s Holiday Gift Wrap!

Do you love books…or wandering around bookstores?

Do you like getting in the holiday spirit…and chatting with other happy holiday shoppers?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might like to volunteer for LCNV’s gift wrapping events at local Barnes & Noble Booksellers.  We have arrangements with five of the local stores to wrap gift items purchased at those stores, while at the same time talking with folks about all the good things that LCNV does.  These gift wrapping events are viewed as a fundraiser for LCNV.  As people learn about the importance of our mission, they may be more inclined to make a contribution to LCNV via the donation jar.

One of the volunteer gift wrappers from last year shared: “It was heartwarming to see the generosity of the customers. It also made me feel good about doing this for a worthwhile cause.”  Another volunteer said she liked the “opportunity to help LCNV and spread the word about the organization,” and added “I also appreciated the opportunity to expose a young man I’m mentoring to community service.  It was nice to see people’s reaction to the whole experience.”

We would love to have you join our gift wrapping volunteers this year!  Each gift wrap shift generally lasts three hours but a few shifts are a little longer (but no more than four hours). The Barnes & Noble stores where we will be doing gift wrapping this year include Clarendon, Fairfax, Potomac Yard, Seven Corners, and Tysons. Dates begin as early as November 23^rd and go through December 24^th. Click on this link to see a listing of the gift wrap schedule.  To volunteer for a specific shift, please send an e-mail to lcnvgiftwrap@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Mary Tack, Development Assistant
Literacy Council of Northern Virginia
2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church, VA 22042
(703) 237-0866 x 108
www.lcnv.org