Matthew’s Story (Part 2): Using Language to Find Opportunity

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 Zulu as well as English. 

Learning languages helped Matthew pursue opportunity: in South Africa, he was able to start two successful businesses. 

But his final move to the United States has been a harder transition. He has recently found himself living and working part-time at a local hotel, wondering how to improve his chances at finding better work. 

That is when he decided to start taking classes here at the Literacy Council. What he needed, he realized, was education.  He knew how to speak in English, but he did not know how to read and write. This truth was limiting his options. “My education level wasn’t what I want to be in life,” Matthew said. “I said to them, if you can give me a teacher that can help me write and read, I’ll be happy.” 

We did just that by connecting Matthew with Ted, one of our volunteer tutors. They have been meeting every Thursday now for over a year. “He is my personal teacher,” Matthew said. “Ted, he made me proud. I can read now, I can write. I’m better than who I was when I first came here.” 

Thanks to Ted’s help, Matthew is progressing steadily through our leveled courses, developing a strong foundation in reading and writing in English.

Matthew is also taking one of our intermediate English conversation classes. He has realized, he said, that there are small, but important, differences in how English is spoken in Africa and here in America. Now he is learning how to negotiate those different conventions. Before, “my friends would say, Matthew, that’s not a good way to speak,” he said. “Now, I know what to say, what not to say to people,” depending on the situation. 

Taking literacy classes has not magically transformed Matthew’s life. He still lives at the hotel. He still misses his daughters, and wonders when they will live in the same country again. But he now has some new tools, and he is beginning to see how he can use them to build more opportunities here in Frederick. If his reading continues to improve, he said, he might even open a new business. 

What would he say to someone thinking of taking classes at the Literacy Council? “I’d tell them to come,” he said. “Everybody I meet here, when they see you, they make sure you’re ok, if there’s anything they can help you with. It’s not easy to find people like that everywhere.” 

If you would like to learn how you can help, sign up for an upcoming Volunteer Information Session at https://www.frederickliteracy.org/volunteer/volunteer-inquiry-registration-form/