Literacy for Life Workshops

Everyday Writing
Presenter: Marilyn Bellis, Literacy NJ 

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers

Explore opportunities to teach writing skills through relevant everyday tasks that your students can put to use immediately. Examples include completing job applications and medical forms, communicating with teachers, coworkers or family, making lists, using social media, and writing for personal pleasure, expression or stress relief. By incorporating regular everyday writing activities into your curriculum, students will gain confidence in and improve upon their writing skills, and will more willingly identify as writers. This workshop will include techniques for integrating writing activities throughout multiple components of the ESL lesson. This workshop is best-suited for working with  Beginner or  Intermediate students.

 

High School Equivalency (HSE) Tutor Discussion Panel: Experiences in Tutoring GED and Beyond
Presenters: Nancy Lama & Barbara Bagger, Literacy NJ
Panelists: Rob Mustard, Leesa Nash, Sherry Shuster, Michelle Obermeier

Target Audience: Basic Literacy Tutors, Teachers & Trainers, Staff/Program Administrators/Board Members

We invite you to participate in a panel discussion with Literacy New Jersey HSE volunteer tutors as they describe their experiences, techniques, and share stories about tutoring adult HSE students. This is an opportunity to ask questions and learn from experienced tutors working with HSE students.

 

Recruiting, Teaching, and Retaining English-Speaking Students Reading Below Fourth Grade Levels
Presenter: Janet Sodell, The READ Center  

Target Audience: Basic Literacy Tutors, Teachers & Trainers, Staff/Program Administrators/Board Members

They are out there. We know they are. Potential Basic Literacy students who read below the fourth-grade equivalent exist in great numbers. They typically don’t read well enough to succeed in workforce development programs or to obtain the GED. How do you recruit native English-speakers who don’t read well, if at all? Once they do enroll, do you have a plan to serve them where they are?  

The READ Center in Richmond, Virginia serves over 200 Basic Literacy students reading below the GED level, with almost 70% of them reading below the fourth-grade equivalent. Join one of their teachers with over 25 years of experience working with low-level ABE literacy students to learn how we: recruit our students: assess reading level and evaluate progress; adapt instruction for this student population; choose appropriate materials; and retain our students.

 

ESL Tutor Roundtable Discussion
Presenters: Christina McCrea and Rae Esmores, Literacy NJ
Panelists: Carson Turner, Karen Peretz, Ivette Martinez, John Gagliano

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers, Staff/Program Administrators/Board Members

Engage with your fellow ESL tutors and colleagues for a lively discussion on the rewards, benefits and challenges of tutoring English as a Second Language to adult students. The panelists have a wealth of experience and will share their insights on topics such as student retention, student communication, and measuring student progress in the classroom. A question and answer period will also be included.

 

Dos and Don’ts of Lesson Planning
Presenters: Jo Krish and Barb Hathaway, Literacy NJ

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers

Effective lesson planning is the cornerstone of impactful ESL instruction for adult learners. This workshop will guide tutors through the essential Do’s and Don’ts of Lesson Planning to streamline the process and improve the choice of materials and activities.Discover practical strategies for choosing lesson topics, setting clear objectives, designing a lesson that incorporates listening, speaking, reading and writing skills, and choosing materials and activities that support all segments of a lesson plan. Whether you’re a new instructor or looking to refresh your approach, this session will provide you with tips for more effective lesson planning.

 

Getting Started With Writing Prompts
Presenter: Erik Jacobson, Montclair State University

Target Audience: Tutors, Teachers & Trainers, Adult Learners

Students often say that they don’t know how to get started when it comes to writing. Rather than looking forward to expressing themselves or enjoying being creative, many students feel anxious when facing opportunities to write. Of course, they are not alone in this. Many adults struggle to tap into the joy of writing they might have had when they were younger. To counter this, tutors/teachers have long used writing prompts as a way to warm up and explore ideas in a more manageable format. In this workshop, participants will be provided with sample prompts and time to write. We will then discuss what makes for a good prompt. All are welcome to come and write!

 

Refugee and Immigrant Adult Learners: Creating Community through English Engagement
Presenter: Wendy Jager, Interfaith RISE 

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers, Staff/Program Administrators/Board Members

Learn about the current refugee and immigrant demographic in New Jersey and the cultural considerations relevant to engaging immigrant learners effectively and building community in the classroom. Participants will be guided through small group activities creating and adapting basic ESL materials for the classroom with a focus on fostering community while learning English.

Improving Math Skills through Mental Math Activities
Presenter: Robert Rowlett, Club Z Tutoring  

Target Audience: Tutors, Teachers & Trainers

This workshop will teach you ways to help your students build mathematical skills through innovative, hands-on activities. We will target the basic fundamental skills used in all levels of mathematics, which will improve students’ speed and accuracy on tests and exams. Techniques will include peer and group teaching activities, including counting circles,12×12 multiplication sheets, and dice. Participants will engage in team games that will require speed and accurate comparison of numbers to achieve a game’s objective.

 

Strategies and Resources for Multi-Level ESL Classrooms
Presenter: Greg Stultz, New Readers Press 

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers

Do you find managing a multi-level ESL classroom challenging?  Are you looking for suitable resources that work well with multi-level instruction? Would you like to try some fresh ideas and activities? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you won’t want to miss this session! This interactive workshop will cover key concepts for teaching English in multi-level classrooms. You will participate in a simulated multi-level class lesson, using whole-class activities throughout, including the warm-up, vocabulary-building, a game using realia, and the closing activity. Lastly, we will brainstorm a multi-level activity using resources from author Ann Gianola. Every participant will walk away with some fresh ideas and a free book!

 

Book Club Discussion with Andrea Stein
Facilitated by Barbara Bagger and Christina McCrea

General Audience

Meet with Keynote Speaker and author Andrea Stein to discuss her latest book, Dear Eliza. The discussion will follow a book club format and will include the opportunity to ask the author questions about her books and writing.

 

Student Panel: Challenges for New Americans
Facilitators: Jhanna Even and Joseph Pegues, Literacy New Jersey
Panelists: Charina Alvarez (Dominican Republic), Monica Jeannette Castillo Lang (Guatemala), Beata Mystkowski (Poland), Goga Tsutskiridze (Georgia), Airam Zarate (Peru)

General Audience

A panel of students will share their experience as immigrants in the US, including what challenges they have faced and what surprises they have encountered. They will share what they like most about living here and what they miss most about their home countries. Come hear students’ stories and learn directly from them what it is like to be a New American.

 

Research-Driven Vocabulary Instruction for Community-Based ESOL
Presenter: William Linn, Literacy Assistance Center

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers

This session provides participants with engaging, research-based strategies for vocabulary instruction. Participants will learn how to apply these principles in curriculum design, classroom routines, when choosing vocabulary to teach, and when creating materials with AI. Participants will analyze how a typical curriculum does and does not align with the brain-based teaching principle of spaced retrieval and will adapt vocabulary teaching strategies for their contexts. With guidance, participants will formulate best practices for vocabulary selection and explore related resources.

 

A Potpourri of Activities for Beginning ESOL Learners
Presenter: Connie Schwein, Literacy NJ Gloucester

Target Audience: ESL Tutors, Teachers & Trainers

It takes a bold volunteer to leap from the comfort of tutor training into the unknown of actual tutoring. How do you find out what your students really understand when all they can manage in class is to say “Good morning?” And how do you teach them the English they need and want? This workshop will present a variety of activities to provide practice for beginner ESOL students using everyday items such as calendars, money, and photos. We will create activities including repetition, substitution and response drills and will demonstrate working with dialogue. Join us to learn new skills and to share your great ideas with others.

 

Support for Reading Comprehension
Presenter: Erik Jacobson, Montclair State University

Target Audience: Tutors, Teachers & Trainers, Adult Learners

This presentation will review research and professional wisdom that helps us understand and support students’ reading comprehension. The session will cover different aspects of comprehension (e.g., literal readings, making inferences, etc.) and how we have different goals for different types of materials. We will review a range of teaching strategies. This includes what can be done before, during and after reading to enrich meaning making. We will utilize hands-on activities to aid discussion.

 

Immigration Update
Presenters: Make the Road NJ Staff

General Audience

Make the Road New Jersey will provide an update on immigration policies and the impact on adult education programs. Additionally, participants will learn suggestions and tools to support their students during this time. This workshop will also include skits that demonstrate putting Know Your Rights policies into practice.

Ray Agliata, Mercer County Community College

Ray Agliata is a dedicated educator, author, and entrepreneur passionate about empowering others through soft skills development. Currently serving as Manager of Community Education and Training at Mercer County Community College, Ray has decades of leadership experience across multiple industries. He authored the book Skillful Living Now: A Soft Skills Handbook and is actively developing courses and resources to support the professional growth of both adult learners and educators. Ray’s next book on soft skills is set to release in 2025.

 

Barbara Bagger, Literacy NJ

Barbara is the Regional Program Director for Union and Middlesex Counties for Literacy New Jersey.  She has been with the organization since 2016 and began as a volunteer ESL tutor. Soon after joining the staff as the ESL Coordinator, she transitioned to Program Director for Literacy NJ/Union County in 2020. She has taught both ESL and GED classes and assisted in the development of the GED curriculum that is now used in Literacy NJ/Union County. Before joining Literacy NJ, she practiced law with both private firms and banking institutions specializing in bankruptcy and commercial law.

 

Marilyn Bellis, Literacy NJ 

Marilyn Bellis is a consultant, coach, professional developer, and ESL tutor through her relationship with NJPSA/FEA, Benchmark Education, and Literacy NJ. Throughout her tenure in K-12 education as a former K-12 Humanities and ESL Supervisor, Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Literacy Coach, Interventionist, and Social Science teacher, she advocated for equitable access to engaging, challenging, and inquiry-driven opportunities for all learners. Marilyn holds a B.A. in Sociology from Montclair State University, and a M.A. in Psychology from Seton Hall University. She brings 23 years of experience in public education to her current consulting relationships.

 

Alisa Belzer, Rutgers University

Alisa Belzer is a Professor and Program Coordinator of the master’s and certificate programs in Adult and Continuing Education at Rutgers University. She conducts research and provides technical assistance in adult literacy education on a broad range of topics including professional development, assessment, policy analysis, and learners’ experiences.

 

Rae Esmores, Literacy NJ

Rae Esmores is an ESL Coordinator for LiteracyNJ-Union County. Rae holds a Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language. Prior to being an ESL Coordinator, she was an ESL professor in South Korea for 5 years.

 

Jhanna Even, Literacy NJ

Jhanna Even has been the Program Director for Literacy NJ Monmouth since 2019. Born in Latvia, Jhanna emigrated to the United States at the age of 6.  Prior to Literacy NJ, Jhanna worked at many NJ nonprofits in the areas of program planning, fundraising and volunteer management. Jhanna holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from American University, speaks Russian and Spanish, and loves meeting and interacting with people from different countries and cultures.

 

Phyllis Frakt, Literacy NJ Mercer

Before becoming a volunteer tutor, Phyllis Frakt worked in faculty and administrative positions at Rider University. She has been an ESL tutor since 2007. She has given one-on-one lessons, taught conversation and citizenship classes, and provided tutor training and workshops. She has prepared innovative lesson plans to meet her students’ needs, a series of “true stories” from the news, and simplified versions of American and British classics. She has also volunteered for educational associations, boards of nonprofit organizations, and committees and services in her community. 

 

Barb Hathaway, Literacy NJ

Barb Hathaway is a former mathematician who developed a passion for adult literacy after becoming a volunteer tutor for Literacy NJ in 2009. She went on to become a Literacy Specialist, Program Director, and tutor trainer in Union County and is now  the Program Services Director and Master Trainer for Literacy New Jersey.

 

Erik Jacobson, Montclair State University

Erik Jacobson is a Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Montclair State University. Over his career in adult basic education, he has worked as a teacher, a researcher, and a consultant. He is on the board of the New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning and a volunteer English teacher at Make the Road New Jersey. He is particularly interested in how students and teachers make connections between their classrooms and their own social justice work. He is also interested in the use of popular culture in the classroom (e.g., graphic novels, music, etc.).

 

Wendy Jager, Interfaith RISE 

Wendy Jager is the founding director of the English Language Program at Interfaith RISE, a refugee resettlement agency in Highland Park, NJ. She has been with the agency since its inception in 2016. She holds an undergraduate degree in education and an MA in TESOL. Wendy has been in the classroom for many years, both as a regular education teacher and as an ESL teacher.  She has taught ESL at the primary, middle grades, and adult levels and got her start in NJ as a Literacy NJ volunteer and teacher. Her teaching focus is on English for pre-literate and beginner adults who have recently arrived in the U.S and just recently she has taken on teaching ESL in the local middle school. When not teaching, Wendy enjoys traveling, reading, drawing and gardening.

 

Steve Johnson, LV-Somerset County

Steve Johnson is a Project Team member and volunteer with LVSC since 2021, tutoring students one-on-one. Steve, now retired, spent his work career in the pharmaceutical industry. He had the opportunity to travel extensively in North America, Europe and Japan as a Sales and Business Development executive as well as a stint as an expatriate in France. Building and maintaining relationships across different cultures in the international business community was critical to success. Steve has a BS in Microbiology from the University of Illinois and an MBA from James Madison University.

 

Jo Krish, Literacy NJ

Jo Krish is the Program Director for Literacy New Jersey, Mercer Programs. She has been involved with LNJ for over 14 years, from volunteer tutor to instructor to tutor trainer to program coordinator. Jo became a practitioner in this field to help build rewarding learning opportunities for adult learners, many of whom are immigrants like herself.

 

Aimee Lam, LV-Somerset

Aimee Lam, LVSC’s executive director, is the Cultural Connections Project Manager. Aimee’s experience includes five years in corporate product management and 20+ years in nonprofit management. Aimee has been involved with LVSC since 1999. She is a trained tutor, former board member, and executive director since 2016. Aimee graduated from Dickinson College with a BA in French Literature and an MBA from Virginia Tech’s Pamplin School of Business. Aimee spent her junior year living and studying in Toulouse, France, where she experienced first-hand cultural acclimation, culture shock, and the importance of language and communication in a foreign culture.

 

Nancy Lama, Literacy NJ  

Nancy Lama is a former Literacy NJ staff member and Literacy Specialist tutoring basic literacy students. She has been associated with Literacy NJ for more than 10 years. Nancy transitioned to tutoring pre-HSE students for Literacy NJ/Union County and has been instrumental in developing and improving the pre-HSE curriculum used by Literacy New Jersey. Her focus for her students has always been on reading and language arts. Nancy is also a trainer with Literacy New Jersey’s tutor training team, and she is currently serving as an AmeriCorps member.

 

William Linn, Literacy Assistance Center

William Linn is the ESOL Specialist & Coordinator of ESOL Certificate Programs at the Literacy Assistance Center in New York, NY. In courses, workshops, and one-on-one coaching, Will’s focus is on practical and theoretical insights that can make ESOL teaching and learning easier. In keeping with this goal, Will has brought an experiential approach to several of the LAC’s courses as a course designer and facilitator of Teaching English as a Second Language to Adults (TESLA), Teaching English to Adults with Limited Literacy (TEALL), and Foundations of Adult Education (FAE). He received his MATESOL from the School for International Training in 2011.

 

Ellen Locker, LV-Somerset County

Ellen Locker is a Project Team member and long-time LVSC supporter. She worked at Merck for 35 years, retiring as Executive Director of Strategic Alliances. Her career included an expatriate assignment in France as well as focus on collaborating with international subsidiaries and strategic scientific partners. These experiences sensitized her to the importance culture plays in successful communication and relationship building. Ellen graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in Biology and from The College of William and Mary with an MBA.

 

Christina McCrea, Literacy NJ Union

Christina (Tina) McCrea has been an ESL tutor since 2019. When Tina retired, a colleague (who also tutors,  suggested that she would like tutoring. Most of her career was training adult professionals, so helping adults learn came naturally. Her struggles to learn a foreign language in high school made her hesitate, but the Literacy NJ staff was patient and encouraging. Her colleague was correct: she likes tutoring ESL!

 

Joseph Pegues, Literacy NJ

Joe is a retired English teacher and current BOE member from the Woodbury City Public Schools.  He currently serves as a Support Coordinator for Avenues to Independent Living, writing service plans for disabled adults, and he  joined Literacy NJ – Gloucester in the Fall of 2023. Joe has Masters Degrees from UVA, and Rutgers Camden and is a father to three adult children and a grandfather of two. He and his wife Nancy live in Woodbury, and in their spare time they hike, travel and coach swimming together.

 

Karen Peretz, Literacy NJ Union 

Karen Peretz holds a BA in Political Science from Douglass College of Rutgers University. She currently works for Cranford (NJ) Public Schools. Karen has volunteered for many NJ nonprofits over the years and began tutoring beginner ESL classes for Literacy NJ – Union County in January 2023. After realizing her keen interest in teaching adults, she went back to Rutgers Graduate School of Education and obtained an Adult ESL and Literacy Education graduate certificate. Karen lives in Union County, NJ with her family and two rescue dogs.

 

Lauren Randolph, LV-Somerset

Lauren Randolph, LVSC’s tutor trainer, served as the Humanities Scholar on the Cultural Connections project. Lauren has worked in international education for nearly 25 years as an English language instructor, administrator, and study abroad director on the college level. She has been affiliated with Literacy Volunteers for decades and has been training LVSC’s tutors since 2016. Lauren is also an adjunct professor in ESL and World Languages. She has an Ed.M. in Language Education from Rutgers University. Lauren lived and studied abroad and is proficient in Italian.

 

Robert Rowlett, Club Z Tutoring

Robert Rowlett began his teaching career in public schools in 1984, where he taught math and social studies. He spent 20 years teaching all parts of the GED test to adult learners, but he specialized in Mathematics. He also taught students preparing for the TABE test at Atlantic City Community College. Robert is currently an online math tutor, working with students from 3rd grade math through Calculus. Robert’s goal is to make math more understandable to all levels of learners and to help math instructors learn creative ways to help students improve their understanding of math concepts.

 

Connie Schwein, Literacy NJ Gloucester

Connie Schwein was an elementary school teacher who became a literacy tutor in 1979 and has volunteered and worked in the field of adult literacy for the past 45 years. In 2009 she adapted the tutor training of LVNJ to use in Africa where it is now being used in local churches in 15 countries. Connie is on the board of the New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning (NJALL) and tutors beginner ESOL students in a walk-in center in Glassboro.

 

Janet Sodell, The READ Center  

Janet Sodell has been teaching low-literacy ABE students to read better for over 25 years. While teaching in Connecticut she was also a tutor trainer, and she serves in the same role with The READ Center in Richmond, VA. Through The READ Center, Janet teaches a virtual multi-level class. In 2019, she was awarded the Joan E.D. Kushnir Teacher of the Year award by the Virginia Association for Adult and Continuing Education (VAACE).  In 2024, she received the Dollar General’s Literacy Innovator Award at the ProLiteracy conference. Always striving to have engaging, active classes, she also meets the needs of her students.

 

Greg Stultz, New Readers Press 

Greg Stultz loves to serve. He served as an aircrewman in the U.S. Navy. He served as a teacher trainer and English language instructor in Japan for 8 years. Over the last 27 years, Greg has served at the Syracuse Christian and Missionary Alliance as a Sunday school teacher, deacon, and elder. Since 2008, he has served as an Educational Sales Consultant and the Training Coordinator for New Readers Press. Lastly, let it go on record that for the past 33 years, he has been serving himself second and third helpings whenever his wife wasn’t paying attention.