Sharing the joy of language

In a program launched by Wyndemere resident Joanne East, Wyndemere residents are sharing their love of learning by teaching English as a second language to 11 Wyndemere staff members.

Joanne, a former speech therapist and learning disabilities teacher, recruited other residents who are also former teachers to help in the effort. For example, Margaret Pfaffle taught high school German and Latin and is now instructing Wyndemere staff members from Vietnam and Mexico two afternoons a week. “I’ve really enjoying the experience,” said Margaret. “They’re so willing to learn and I find that rewarding.”

Joanne also reached out to the Literacy Volunteers of DuPage County to support the program. “We provided 18 hours of training for Wyndemere resident teachers,” said Lisa Thackeray, Program Manager at Literacy Volunteers. “We also met with each student to discuss his or her goals and aspirations and performed a standardized assessment which we’ll follow up on to test their progress.”

The program has been a big hit with both teachers and students. Formerly a kindergarten, first and second grade teacher, Wyndemere resident Cynthia Silvernail loves interacting with her students in a shared learning experience. “I’m enjoying teaching adults just as much as I did the little ones,” said Cynthia. “The information provided by the Literacy Volunteers included a lot of pointers, such as using oral, written and reading work that I’m able to include in each lesson.”

Wyndemere resident Ann Little finds that teaching English as a second language is really a two-way street. “All of my students are citizens of the United States who are doing well, but who want to do better,” said Ann, a former junior college teacher. “I’m giving them something, but in the end I get a lot more. Teaching is a way to give something of myself to others and that’s something that’s very important as you grow older. You tend to turn inward unless you make an effort to turn outward.”