Our ESOL Program

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program

The Literacy Council's English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program has over 200 students and 120 trained volunteer tutors. Right now we have students from Belarus, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Columbia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gambia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Thailand, and Ukraine.

Students have their choice of meeting one-on-one with a volunteer tutor or they can join one of the 15 small groups meeting throughout Buncombe County. Tutoring sessions and small groups are conducted in libraries, churches, schools, businesses, community centers, students' homes, or at the Literacy Council office. The Council strives to make learning English both enjoyable and easily accessible for its students. Our volunteer training is thorough and offers theoretical background along with hands-on practice with teaching strategies and techniques recommended by experts in the field of ESOL instruction.

Our ESOL tutors are asked to meet with their student(s) once a week for two hours, for at least nine months. To become a tutor one must attend a 2-hour Prospective Volunteer Orientation and 13 hours of ESOL training, which includes observation of a tutoring session conducted by an experienced Literacy Council tutor. Also, you must be willing and able to keep track of attendance hours, enjoy working with people from other cultures, and be prepared to make a lifelong friend.

If you are interested in volunteering for this program, please contact us!