PASCACK VALLEY AREA—Montvale resident Arlene Fultenberg watched her grandfather work to become a citizen and take care of his family once moving to the United States from Poland. With his legacy in mind, she was inspired to help others do the same.
“When [my grandparents] came here at the turn of the century, people went to school because they wanted to be American citizens, and my grandpa decided immediately that he had to become one,” said Fultenberg, who has tutored 18 students in Literacy Volunteers of Pascack Valley program over the past 25 years.
“Now, I do still hear from a few of my students and the relationship you can have with some of them is amazing.”
LVPV, a non-profit literacy program dedicated to assisting community members learn English as a second language, runs through the 10 Pascack Valley public libraries and offers free individual and group tutoring. The program seeks students and volunteers.
“The program is student-centered — there’s not a set syllabus,” program coordinator Maureen Lostumbo said. “The question that our tutors ask is ‘What do you need help with?’ It’s pronunciation, conversation and sometimes survival skills.”
To qualify for LVPV, tutors must be over 18 years old and agree to work in Dumont, Emerson, Hillsdale, Mahwah, Montvale, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, River Vale or Westwood. Program registration can be found on literacyvolunteerspv.org or via literacyvolunteerspv@gmail.com.
For the upcoming year, one training workshop will be held with four sessions — Sept. 14, 21, and 28, and Oct. 5 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. — via Zoom.
“There are very few opportunities for students to come here and learn to speak English,” Lostumbo said. “Other than the library, where can a person learn to speak English for free? When there used to be a class in person, it gave students a chance to make friends and contacts. It’s difficult to move to a new neighborhood, much less a strange country and make connections with people.”
The LVPV formed in 1980 after a church asked if someone from a local library could help teach English to a family from Cambodia following the Vietnam War.
In 1984, the volunteers officially joined the Literacy Volunteers of America, and since then, the program has achieved accreditation status by ProLiteracy and has been reaccredited several times.
Approximately 100 tutors and 300 students participate in the program every year, according to Lostumbo, and most have one-on-one sessions usually once a week.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, assistant coordinator Marilyn Katz said the program had to switch to virtual learning, relying on Zoom, WhatsApp, FaceTime and other virtual methods.
“A lot of our tutors we’re not comfortable with tutoring online and are waiting until they can go in person to connect with their students,” Katz said. “We’re at a point where some libraries are opening up and enabling people to come back in person, depending on the library’s policies.”
Montvale Public Library reference librarian and LVPV coordinator Lorissa Lightman, who matches tutors and students with one another, said many inspiring moments in the program have still persisted despite the remote format.
“I had a pair where they were working in person before the pandemic, and the goal was for the student to become an American citizen,” Lightman said. “Once the pandemic hit, they still met twice a week virtually to prepare for the exam, and the student ended up passing and becoming a citizen during the pandemic. Another ESL student in the program, [Sri Deepti], became very good at English and decided it was time to give back to the community, so she became a tutor.”
Deepti, a Montvale resident and LVPV student of two years, said that the program has changed her life since arriving in the United States from India by giving her courage and confidence to speak English.
“When I first came here, other people couldn’t understand my language,” Deepti said. “They would say ‘what,’ and that simple word hurt me a lot, feeling like I didn’t know anything. The program treated me as a friend and has given me a lot of opportunities, and so I want to give back what I have gained as a tutor.”
Westwood resident Dilek Ülger, who became a student two years ago after coming to the United States from Turkey, also feels more comfortable with talking to others and making friends. During her tutoring sessions, she has learned about English idioms and grammar to how to return Amazon packages.
“When I talk with somebody, I feel very comfortable compared to before, and when I meet a new friend, I can express myself,” Ülger said. “It’s because of my teachers, tutors and libraries. When you come to a different country, it’s difficult. But when you meet nice people, you feel very comfortable.”
Outside of teaching English literacy, Katz and Lostumbo hope to hold the program’s third naturalization ceremony in 2022 once it is safe to gather.
The LVPV also awards one student and teacher of the year and holds tutor roundtables where around 20 tutors talk about their experiences and support one another, in addition to the help provided by library managers, Katz and Lostumbo.
“We generally hold an international awards dinner at the community center in Westwood with anywhere from 170 to 180 people,” Lostumbo said. “We ask the tutors to ask their students if they could bring either an appetizer or dessert from their country, and they’re very proud to do that. It’s an important night because it gives people an opportunity to see the scope of the program and it is encouraging in naming students and tutors of the year.”
Westwood resident Rashida Tewarson, who became a tutor in 2014, said she wanted to get involved in the program to give back to those coming from overseas.
She emphasized that it is important to ensure that they are comfortable and feel like they are a part of the community.
“I was always interested in different cultures, different people and different languages,” Rashida said. “This is such a great way for me to keep in touch with people from all over the world. It has been a learning experience for me, too.”