The Dominican Literacy Center, an ESL (English as a Second Language) program for women in Aurora, Illinois, is a community-based literacy program sponsored by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois. The program, which was developed in 1993, is for women who cannot speak, read, and/or write English. All tutoring is done on a one-to-one basis by volunteer tutors. The Center, located on the eastern edge of Aurora's poorest neighborhood, seeks to help break the cycle of illiteracy by providing intensive, one-to-one tutoring to women who are deficient in basic English skills. Students in the program come from a wide variety of educational backgounds; some students are illiterate in two languages, able to speak but not read or write in their native language, usually Spanish. Other women come to the Center with a good education in their native land, but no ability to speak, read, or write English.

The program is essentially a "springboard" program, preparing women with little or no confidence or skills for further educational experiences in group ESL, GED, or workplace literacy programs. In addition to basic literacy skills, the program at the Center has grown to include an increased focus on job skills: workplace vocabulary, interview skills, and appropriate workplace customs. The Center also offers a basic computer program, a Spanish GED program, and computer-assisted ESL instruction. Citizenship instruction is also provided. In September, 2002, a social work program was added to the curriculum to assist the women and their families. A licensed clinical social worker assists in referrals to other agencies and offers counseling services.

The goals of the Dominican Literacy Center of Aurora are: To provide adult ESL instruction for immigrant women in the Aurora, IL area. To recruit, train, and retain volunteer tutors to work with ESL students. To offer social work and referral services to the women who are students at the Center. To promote the use of community resources and services available to Dominican Literacy Center students in the Aurora, IL area. To focus on the acquisition of oral language (conversation) skills for all levels of students. To provide a wide range of materials (books, magazines, tapes, maps, etc.) for student use; to provide computer-assisted instruction at the Center.

Dominican Literacy Center    260 Vermont Ave, Aurora, IL 60505-3100   (630)898-4636   domlitctr@sbcglobal.net