The Literacy Council Book Club is organized by Catherine Coundjeris, who volunteers in many roles with the Literacy Council including as an instructor, ESL coordinator, and co-editor of the council’s literary magazine Reflections: Voices of English Learners. The club meets twice a year, in winter and summer. The Winter book club met for four sessions and engaged...
Hello! My name is Tetiana. I moved to the USA from Ukraine two and a half years ago. Naturally, like most people, I faced difficulties related to not knowing English. In Ukraine, I worked as a speech therapist, and speech has always been my strong point. Therefore, when I came to America, I felt like...
Since JinJin, one of our writers in our Reflections magazine, started working with the Literacy Council, her journey has been “a series of beautiful moments” inspired by her children. This is how she describes it: From being shy and unsure of how to express myself to becoming fluent and confident, I take pride in the...
Matthew can speak more than ten languages. They reveal the adventurous journey he has taken through several countries. Born in Benin, a country in West Africa, he learned French and five local languages. He picked up three more languages in the neighboring country of Togo. When he moved to South Africa, he learned Afrikaans and...
Matthew, 52, was a long way from Frederick when he first began a journey that would ultimately bring him through our doors at the Literacy Council. Matthew was born in Benin, a country in West Africa. Jobs aren’t easy to come by in Benin, but Matthew was good at making work for himself. At a...
Although she may stammer sometimes with her English, the dedication that Jhanet has put into achieving her goals for herself and her family speaks loud and clear volumes. Jhanet, a native of Peru, came to the United States six years ago. After learning about the Frederick County Literacy Council’s Parent Literacy Program, she enrolled in...
A native of Venezuela, Magda came to the United States seven years ago. “In my home country I was an insurance broker for 43 years,” she says. It wasn’t long before the retiree was eager to begin fully engaging in her new American life. After hearing about the Literacy Council from a friend who was...
We invite you to meet Patrik, our featured student this month in our “Learner Spotlight”. Patrik came to the Unites States from Cameroon in January 2023. His mother-in-law introduced him to the Literacy Council of Frederick County in March 2023. He was matched with his tutor Cyndi M. and the two developed a special bond. Patrik...
This summer, the book club at the Literacy Council met for three sessions and tackled the heartbreaking story of Christy Lefteri’s The Beekeeper of Aleppo. It was a fictional account of a husband and wife who as refugees from Syria experienced the horrifying circumstances of war, and yet maintained hope though their personal resilience, persistence,...
We invite you to meet Tetiana, our featured student this month in our “Learner Spotlight”. Featured adult learners represent the Literacy Council’s programs, including authors from Reflections: Voices of English Learners, the Literacy Council’s literary magazine, as well as adult learners in other programs. Tetiana contributed her story to the sixth edition. My name is...
