"Yesterday Fatima, her daughter and I traveled to USCIS in Fairfax so that Fatima could take the citizenship test. After 45 minutes, Fatima came out beaming from ear to ear, showing us the paper that said “Congratulations! You passed.” etc. This moment was a la American Idol auditions! Fatima could not wipe the grin off her face. It was very gratifying to see her so elated after working so hard at this for a full 18 months. I am very proud of her."
—Carol, ESOL tutor
"I just wanted to say that I really, really enjoyed being a teacher's aide this past term. So exciting, rewarding and such great students. I know you all are going to send out an email about the Fall term later this month, but I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to volunteering again in the autumn."
—Andrew, classroom volunteer
"Boris was able to say “Have a nice trip” before I went on vacation and to explain to me that one weekend he was going to New York City to visit his granddaughter and see a Broadway show. He couldn’t even tell me his name when I began tutoring him nine months ago."
—Jan, ESOL tutor
"Delmy is much more willing to speak in English. When she calls me to schedule our sessions, she engages in a bit of small talk (“Hi, how are you? What are you doing? Are your working?”). This is incredible! She was totally afraid to speak much English when we first met, and now she’s asking me questions and using her subject pronouns! I think she realizes that she’s making progress, and it feeds her desire to learn more. She has started writing down words and phrases that she hears English-speakers using, and she’ll bring them to our lessons so that she can ask me about them."
—Shelly, ESOL tutor
"Oumar is having a positive experience at the bakery where he works. He tells me that when he first began, his brother instructed him orally in Bambera how to do everything. Now he can just hand Oumar a recipe and let him go."
—Rod, ESOL tutor
"Jin Suk surprised me at the end of a recent session by commenting on the effort it must be for me to prepare for our lessons. I was so stunned that it even occurred to her, and I was so touched by it. I told her that it’s so rewarding for me to be helping her that it doesn’t even feel like an effort to prepare. It’s a pleasure to be teaching her, and I am learning a lot as well in the process. Hard to capture in words how I feel about tutoring – it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done." —Marla, ESOL tutor
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