Believing That You Can Believing That You Can
How Literacy Tutoring Has Changed My Life
Before I met Jessica, I went to English class. In the
class, we learned grammar, vocabulary, reading, and
writing. The experience in English class was great and my
English really improved. But I always felt something was
missing from the class. What’s missing? Well, I was still
too shy to talk with neighbors and I still had trouble
shopping at stores. I bought a pair of Little Kitten shoes for
my daughter which were really cute. When we walked
down the street, a mom with a little girl from behind asked
me where I bought those shoes. I told her they were from
Wal-mart. “Which store again?" She asked gently. I began
to sweat. I knew she didn't get me. Maybe I should have
told her Marshalls, which I can perfectly pronounce. I asked
a saleswoman in Macy's where I could find Levi’s (le-vis),
my favorite brand of jeans. “Levis , ah, never heard of it."
She whispered. The next thing I knew, I was trying to
escape from the store as soon as possible. Jessica is my first
tutor.
If Jessica finds something interesting from a magazine,
newspaper, or an article she wrote, or thinks it may be
helpful for me, she brings it to our class. If I have some
phrases or words that I do not understand from TV shows or
the news, I let Jessica explain it to me. We also read from
the textbook and we finished a quiz after reading it. When I
watched the Weather Channel, the short phrase “small craft
advisory" caught my eye. After Jessica explained to me, I
understood much better. She taught me the correct
pronunciations of the words Dunedin, Levis, and Wal-Mart.
I’ve heard those lots of times. But when I said the words,
people didn't understand me.
Time flies when I am with Jessica. She showed me her
vacation pictures, her party pictures, and the "deviled eggs"
Mark (her husband) made. From those things, I can see
some aspect of American culture and how American people
live. She said I could email her and ask questions even if
she was on vacation. I feel she is opening a brand new
world. Yes, what I learned from Jessica is very practical and