When Chom Pray came to Port Townsend from Korea 34 years ago, she could only say a few words in English — hi, goodbye, thank you, no thank you.
A newcomer to American culture, she felt separated from her neighbors, self-conscious around strangers and shut off from friendships with women her own age by the invisible wall of language.
“Everything is hard — you cannot speak, you cannot write,” she said.
“You want to say something, but you can’t.”
Pray now speaks fluent English, but is still honing her reading and writing skills with the help of a tutor from the Literacy Council of Jefferson County.
Founded in 1986, the council serves a different type of student than when it began 18 years ago, but continues to work to combat a problem as persistent as ever.
“Jefferson County has an illiteracy rate of 17 percent, one of the highest in the state, according to the latest figures,” Livingston said. “King County has 13 percent.”
Immigration demands
Part of the increased demand is because of immigration.
Of the 28 adult students in the program, more than half are foreign-born and 23 are ESL — English as a Second Language — students, Livingston said.
“The first big influx was the Russians, one of whom I taught,” Livingston said. “I believe the Catholic church is currently sponsoring several Mexicans, eight of whom are our students.”
The majority are from Asian countries — Taiwan, Korea, Thailand. Some are working toward gaining citizenship, while others want to be able to fill out job forms or get a driver’s license.
To meet their needs, the council provides 10 hours of ESL training for its tutors, who are all volunteers.
The depth of the training surprised Pat Todd, a video producer who has teaching experience.
“It made me realize what it feels like to be a beginning student and how difficult it is,” Todd said.
“It taught me all different ways of teaching, and what makes a good tutor.”