An Overview of Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Inc.
Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio VaIley (LVMOV) is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that has served adults in Wood, Ritchie, and Wirt Counties of West Virginia by providing free, confidential, one-to-one tutoring for the past twenty years. LVMOV's services are available to both native and foreign-born adults. Our mission is to assist adults who do not read and adults who seek to improve their basic literacy skills in English. Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley works to raise public awareness about the problems associated with adult literacy issues. We are a United Way sponsored agency, an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy America, Inc. and a member of the statewide organization, Literacy West Virginia.
LVMOV specifically focuses its efforts in two main areas: Basic Reading for Adults, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Both of these programs are tailored by a trained volunteer tutor to meet the specific needs of an adult learner. Each year, LVMOV enables students in their efforts to achieve personal goals such as obtaining a GED, a driver's license, or US citizenship. Our adult learners benefit in areas related to family, community, and employment.
The Adult Basic Read Program assists adults who cannot read and write, or whose reading and writing skills are limited in ways that present problems in everyday living. Some students did not profit from their school experiences or never had the opportunity to attend school regularly. Others find their reading and writing skills insufficient for the demands of this changing world. Often, the students who come to LVMOV have experienced some life-altering event. They may have a medical problem and want to be able to read instruction sheets and directions given to them by their doctor, or they may have become parents and want to be able to read to their child. Some have joined a church and want to read the Bible; others have lost their reading spouse, either to death or divorce. Whatever the reason, the tutors at Literacy Volunteers are prepared to meet the diverse goals the students set for themselves, not only with reading and writing, but also with vocabulary, comprehension, computer skills, background knowledge about basic subjects, and other basic life skills. Tutors validate the literacy events their students engage in daily.
English as a Second Language, or ESL, means the study of English by those who grew up speaking a language other than English. For them, English is a foreign, or second, language. The main goal of the ESL student is obviously to understand and speak English, but they may also have personal goals related to what they hope to accomplish with their English. Some ESL students are highly educated in their native language, while others have no formal education in any language; they are learning English and basic skills at the same time. Some ESL students can speak reasonably well, but can't read or write. Others can actually read better than they can speak. Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley addresses each of these individual situations. Most ESL tutors don't speak their students' native languages. All of the instruction for these students is in English in an immersion environment that experts say is the fastest way to learn a new language. ESL tutors heip their students not only to speak and understand English but also to read and write English and understand the American culture as weil.
For those who wish to become a tutor for Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley, the organization offers a self-paced individual tutor training module guided by an expert trainer and supplemented by written materials. Group training and a variety of literacy-related workshops and learning opportunities are offered to our volunteer tutors as the need arises. Each new tutor who enters the program is provided with a "master tutor mentor" whom they can rely on when questions arise. The role of the trained volunteer is to provide confidential, individualized one-to-one and/or small group tutoring. Each tutoring session includes a multi-disciplinary approach to meet the individual family, jobrelated, and personal needs of the learner. Individual tutoring sessions provide for flexible scheduling of time and location for both the volunteer and the student. Tutors often say that they gained from tutoring as much as their students did, not only in terms of new knowledge and skills, but also in terms of the satisfaction of seeing their efforts magnified into gifts of learning that made a real difference in someone's life.
Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio VaIley (LVMOV) is a community-based, not-for-profit organization that has served adults in Wood, Ritchie, and Wirt Counties of West Virginia by providing free, confidential, one-to-one tutoring for the past twenty years. LVMOV's services are available to both native and foreign-born adults. Our mission is to assist adults who do not read and adults who seek to improve their basic literacy skills in English. Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley works to raise public awareness about the problems associated with adult literacy issues. We are a United Way sponsored agency, an accredited affiliate of ProLiteracy America, Inc. and a member of the statewide organization, Literacy West Virginia.
LVMOV specifically focuses its efforts in two main areas: Basic Reading for Adults, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Both of these programs are tailored by a trained volunteer tutor to meet the specific needs of an adult learner. Each year, LVMOV enables students in their efforts to achieve personal goals such as obtaining a GED, a driver's license, or US citizenship. Our adult learners benefit in areas related to family, community, and employment.
The Adult Basic Read Program assists adults who cannot read and write, or whose reading and writing skills are limited in ways that present problems in everyday living. Some students did not profit from their school experiences or never had the opportunity to attend school regularly. Others find their reading and writing skills insufficient for the demands of this changing world. Often, the students who come to LVMOV have experienced some life-altering event. They may have a medical problem and want to be able to read instruction sheets and directions given to them by their doctor, or they may have become parents and want to be able to read to their child. Some have joined a church and want to read the Bible; others have lost their reading spouse, either to death or divorce. Whatever the reason, the tutors at Literacy Volunteers are prepared to meet the diverse goals the students set for themselves, not only with reading and writing, but also with vocabulary, comprehension, computer skills, background knowledge about basic subjects, and other basic life skills. Tutors validate the literacy events their students engage in daily.
English as a Second Language, or ESL, means the study of English by those who grew up speaking a language other than English. For them, English is a foreign, or second, language. The main goal of the ESL student is obviously to understand and speak English, but they may also have personal goals related to what they hope to accomplish with their English. Some ESL students are highly educated in their native language, while others have no formal education in any language; they are learning English and basic skills at the same time. Some ESL students can speak reasonably well, but can't read or write. Others can actually read better than they can speak. Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley addresses each of these individual situations. Most ESL tutors don't speak their students' native languages. All of the instruction for these students is in English in an immersion environment that experts say is the fastest way to learn a new language. ESL tutors heip their students not only to speak and understand English but also to read and write English and understand the American culture as weil.
For those who wish to become a tutor for Literacy Volunteers of the Mid-Ohio Valley, the organization offers a self-paced individual tutor training module guided by an expert trainer and supplemented by written materials. Group training and a variety of literacy-related workshops and learning opportunities are offered to our volunteer tutors as the need arises. Each new tutor who enters the program is provided with a "master tutor mentor" whom they can rely on when questions arise. The role of the trained volunteer is to provide confidential, individualized one-to-one and/or small group tutoring. Each tutoring session includes a multi-disciplinary approach to meet the individual family, jobrelated, and personal needs of the learner. Individual tutoring sessions provide for flexible scheduling of time and location for both the volunteer and the student. Tutors often say that they gained from tutoring as much as their students did, not only in terms of new knowledge and skills, but also in terms of the satisfaction of seeing their efforts magnified into gifts of learning that made a real difference in someone's life.