Literacy Council of Western Arkansas

April Conner

When I first came to the Literacy Council of Western Arkansas in February, 2008, I had been crying to my counselor about my reading level.  I had a third grade reading level and I felt terrible about that.  My counselor told me she would send me to the Literacy Council.  She knew that’s what they were for – to help me learn to read.

I went to the Adult Education Office to take the test.  The test I took was a TABE 10 Level D.  My grade level was 3.1.  They sent me to the Literacy Council.  At first I was working on the computer only using the Rosetta Stone software.   In July of 2008 they set me up with my present tutor.  That’s really when I started  progressing.  I come to the Literacy Council two days/week.  One day I work on the computer and the other day I meet with my tutor.  I usually attend about 10 hours/month.

Now I’m at a fifth grade level and still progressing.  The Literacy Council is helping me reach my goal of obtaining my GED.

E. Martinez

I came to the United States in 1979.  I started to go to the Literacy Council of Western Arkansas in September of 2003 because I needed help to learn to read, speak and write English better.   I started out with a reading level of 2.6.  After all these years of study my reading level is now 6.6 and  I continue to progress.  I meet with my tutor twice a week for a total of 3 hours/week.  The Literacy Council also helped me with math lessons.   Because of  the irregular hours I worked on my job, they said they could accommodate me.  So I stayed here until now because of the people – teachers, administrators, etc.

Everybody there makes me feel good and I trust them.  I am still here.  It helps me very much in my job because I can understand better and what other people are talking about.

I understand it wasn’t easy for them to help me, but they did.  It makes me feel good because they gave me a tutor for my self.  That makes me happy because I learn better.

My goal is to obtain my GED.  I also want to help my family reach their goals.  I think that one day I will become a volunteer and be able to help others in my community.

Boun Leing

Except for his orange robes and shaved head, Boun Leing Sychoumphonh (Boon Lay-eng Seek-oom-fon) is like our other Basic Literacy students at the Literacy Council of Western Arkansas (LCWA). 

Like the others, he sometimes spends time at a keyboard in the LCWA computer lab. Like them, he occasionally takes calls on his cell phone or consults his electronic pocket dictionary. And like virtually everyone else these days, he carries a wallet with money in it, along with his driver’s license and his ATM card. 

None of this would be unusual, of course, except for the fact that until he came to the U.S., Boon Leing had never touched a computer, used a cell phone, driven a car, had a bank account (or any money to put in one), or, for that matter, any use for money in the first place. 

In fact, Boun Leing had spent the previous 17 years utterly penniless, living in a cave in Laos that had no electricity, plumbing, or source of heat. He lived in a cave high on a hillside, far out in the country, with a rocky floor crawling with scorpions and poisonous snakes, which Boun Leing had to be very careful not to hurt. 

As you’ve probably surmised, Boun Leing is a Buddhist monk—quite a senior one, in fact. He was sent to the U.S. to help establish Laotian Buddhist temples (wats). In Laos, he also has the distinction of being one of the two Buddhist monks selected from each county in Southeast Asia to serve as delegates to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). UNESCAP is a United Nations-sponsored effort to combat drug addiction and the spread of AIDS. Because Buddhist monks are almost universally revered in Southeast Asia, they are especially effective at gaining the confidence of local peoples. 

As part of his U.N. duties, Boun Leing visits villages and prisons throughout Laos, counseling people as to how to live worthwhile lives and avoid dangerous lifestyles. Occasionally, he is also required to travel to Vientiane or other Asian capitals to confer with his colleagues in UNESCAP. These meetings are conducted in English, which is one reason why he is committed to using his time in America to master the language—even though that requires him to learn a completely new alphabet and new phonetics. He has been at it for less than a year now and his progress has been absolutely remarkable. 

When he arrived at LCWA eight months ago, he tested at the 1.7 grade level. He is scheduled to take his next TABE test in two weeks and his proud tutor predicts that he will have gained at least three grade levels. Perhaps four. Maybe even five. 

Salvador Parga

My name is Salvador Parga. I am 36 years old, married and have two children. I have lived in Fort Smith for six years. Before that I lived in Zacatecas, Mexico. I am writing this because I want to invite everyone to study and prepare yourself to learn English so that you can write, read and understand people better. 

The best way to learn English is to study in a good place. The Literacy Council of Western Arkansas (LCWA) has been a good place for me. I have been studying there over a year and I have improved myself very much. We need English language skills because they will help us learn and meet our goals. The English class is on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the library on Rogers Avenue. 

They have good teachers that help everyone come to the classes. They also have pay attention to their students and help them improve in their studies. I applied for my citizenship because the laws are changing day by day and who knows what they will be tomorrow. I applied for citizenship last December and I passed the test on March 28. I will become a citizen on April 20, 2007 after I have taken the oath. 

Basic Literacy Student and Tutor

My family was poor when I was growing up. I had to work in the cotton fields, so I didn’t have a chance to go to school. There were six children in my family, and none of my brothers and sisters had a chance to go to school either. 

The Literacy Council of Western Arkansas helped me to read, write and spell. They have also helped me with math. The people at the Literacy Council are so wonderful; they have helped me a lot. The tutor I have has helped me so much I thank her so much for what she has done. 

In 1999 I learned about the Council from a commercial on television. I have improved my reading level which was zero to a 6^th grade level. One of the greatest things to come from this is being able to read to my granddaughter.

Jose Mendez

My decision to move to a new country was difficult. One of my goals was to find a new job. It is hard to find a job in a new country. Being a newcomer, I had to face new challenges like speaking a new language and exploring a new culture. I had to find a new church, and I had to get used to the new kind of food. When I left my country, I promised my mother that I would prepare a new home for her. My mother was very sad when I left my country. She told me you are my only son and she probably would die from missing me. My mother also told me that a new country would have a different legal system, so she told me always be a good man. Well, after all the struggle I finally made my decision and I left my country. Twelve years later I arrived in the United States, and my mother came to join me.