My Nonprofit Reviews

How Project Literacy has helped me.

One of the times that I had an opportunity to use my spoken English was at the end of this past February. My husband and I went shopping at a Shop Rite in Wallington. We bought some goods, most of which were vegetables, because we want to be healthy and in good shape. When we were sure that we had all the purchases we needed, we went to check out. We put all the products on the counter.

While we were waiting in the line, a Polish man we didn’t know asked us if we could help him translate his words into English. He explained to us that he had a prescription and he did not speak English at all. I asked my husband to help this man, because I didn't feel comfortable when I had to speak English. Since I started learning English with my teacher, Thomas, I can more easily translate from English to Polish. But to me, speaking English still seemed too complicated because of grammar rules. My husband told me that I could do it without a problem. I wasn't happy about this. I was afraid that it would overwhelm me.

In the end, I went with the man to the pharmacist. The pharmacist asked about any allergies he may have. The pharmacist explained where the man would find the syrup that he was looking for. And he asked him to wait 20 minutes for his medicine because he was busy right then. The man didn't understand why he had to wait, because the pharmacies in Poland have medicines ready to use or to fill with water at home according to the instructions. I explained to the man that here in the U.S., pharmacists prepare the medicines when they get the prescription.

The man thanked me for the help. I went back to my husband with a new experience and a nice feeling in my soul. I had helped someone without feeling embarrassed, and I had built sentences in English without thinking about whether they were grammatically correct.

Even though my conversation with this stranger and the pharmacist wasn’t long, it helped me overcome my fear of speaking English.