Brighter Days Story: Niru and Marie from English Language + Literacy Program
When Niru was 12 years old, she and her family left their home in India, and moved to the United States. Both of her parents were educators, and Niru had been raised multilingual, so she fortunately had a solid foundation in English when she arrived. She went on to study optometry and practiced as an […]
Virtual Event! Could You Repeat That Please? Learning English in the time of COVID
Join us on Thursday, October 15 at 12 p.m.
Do you want to learn more about how New Mainers are being impacted by the pandemic? Are you interested to know how your community is helping? Please join the staff of LearningWorks and our special guest speakers to learn how Southern Maine nonprofits are leveraging technology to help adult New Mainers learn English and stay on track with their goals during this time of remote learning.
Billie + Dave Kull
Billie and Dave Kull are a retired couple who are in their second year of teaching in the English Language + Literacy Program (EL+LP) at LearningWorks. When they moved to Portland from Arizona a few years ago, they began looking for volunteer opportunities. They had a long history of collaborating on projects, so they wanted to do something together and were interested in serving their community utilizing their areas of expertise. They found LearningWorks.
Julia Ridge and Francina Jordan
Julia Ridge has been tutoring LearningWorks student Francina Jordan through our English Language + Literacy program since 2011. Francina came to LearningWorks after her son encouraged her to find a tutoring program. He said, “You’re never too old to learn.” Francina, who has dyslexia, says, “I worked all my life not knowing how to read, […]
Teyonda Hall
Teyonda was our English Language + Literacy Director from 2011-2017. She was equally at home in the board room presenting, in the classroom teaching adult English Language Learners, and in the elementary school hallways, where students referred to her affectionately as “Miss T.”
Constant Kabuyenge
Constant Kabuyenge, an immigrant from Burundi, began working with other new Mainers by volunteering as an assistant teacher, and then lead teacher, in LearningWorks’ English Language + Literacy program. He was inspired by how courageously students were fighting to learn English without complaining about their similar fates.
Arnaud-Davy Mambanza
Arnaud arrived from Congo after being forced to separate from his wife and children due to political unrest. Despite having degrees in both chemistry and petroleum engineering, Arnaud is currently unable to work in Maine. Through our English Language + Literacy Program, he is gaining proficiency in hopes of reuniting his family and re-establishing his career.
Othniel Emelo
Othniel became a student in our English Language & Literacy Program in September 2016, shortly after arriving in Portland from the Democratic Republic of Congo. His uncle told him that there was a place nearby where he could learn English for free, and since then, Othniel has dedicated himself to becoming proficient in speaking and comprehending English.