Literacy Connection

Causes: Education, Educational Services, Literacy, Remedial Reading & Encouragement

Mission: The literacy connection is a community-based organization helping adults learners in elgin and the surrounding northwest suburban area acquire fundamental literacy skills.

Programs: In this free program, we train volunteer literacy tutors to work one-on-one with basic literacy learners or english as a second language (esl) learners. Our learners are adult men and women of all ages, nationalities, economic and social backgrounds, living in northwest suburban chicago. Theyre neighbors all around us, trying to fit in, communicate better, get jobs, or improve their work and family lives.

in our work-place program, english as a second language classes teach spanish-speaking adult learners basic english. Classes are taught by paid instructors.

in this fee-based program, the literacy connection develops a curriculum based on the communication needs of the company and industry, including the use of the companys own terminology, procedures and documents. Our instructors create lessons of immediate use to employees. We begin by determining the communication needs of a workforce through discussions with supervisors and managers. Then we assess the general english skill level of employees and determine their communication goals. Based on the results of these assessments, we develop a curriculum with competency objectives specific to the companys work-related communications. The companys printed materials and documents become the framework of our lessons. At the end of the course, we test employees and evaluate their progress toward the communication objectives set forth. We provide employers with a written report detailing the tangible progress in workers skills.