Mei Ying: I came to the United States from China in 2014. I had very little English in school in China. I grew up in a poor village. I came to the US with very little ability to communicate. I wanted to come to the US for a better way of life.
I lived in an Apartment building in State College that housed many people from China. My first job here was in a Chinese market where most people spoke Chinese. I then got a job as a delivery person for a Chinese Restaurant. I needed more English, but could do my job with the little I knew.
I went to the Mid-State Literacy Council for help. My first tutor was Tracey. She helped me learn some basic words, but it was hard. I had trouble remembering them. I talked too slow, “I old”. The tutor talked too fast at first. I did learn many new words, but never used them except when I was tutored. Tracy left the Literacy council, Covid lockdown started and I then had a new tutor on Zoom.
At first the new tutor talked too fast also, but she learned to slow down. I was shy at first, and didn’t ask questions. Now I ask many questions. Donna told me I needed to talk more in English, watch some TV shows, read easy books. She helped me understand my lease and words you need when you rent an apartment. My English improved.
My son moved to the US his senior year in High School. When he was in China his school was much better than mine. They taught him English. I now could practice English with him. He is now a sophomore at Penn State and a US citizen.
I moved to Reading PA for a better job. Teacher and I continue to meet twice a week. My English has improved enough that I train new wait staff at my job. I want to learn more things now. I want to learn how to plan a vacation and make reservations. Learning English is getting easier, especially since I use English daily and ask questions.
Using Zoom is perfect for our tutoring. Teacher shares articles to read and we investigate the internet. It is great since we both don’t live in State College anymore. We get on two times a week in the morning and we both have our mugs filled with coffee.
Donna: During COVID-19 a friend mentioned to me that I could tutor for Mid-State Literacy Council via Zoom. I was not sure about this, since I have never tutored English to those who didn’t speak English fluently. I have degrees in teaching Elementary Education, Special Education and Private Preschool. I had been tutoring K-12 in person when COVID shut us down. After some conversations with the staff at MSLC I decided to try something new. The staff was very supportive.
A week later I was introduced to Mei Ying, in March 2020. Our first meeting was a bit awkward for both of us. Mei Ying was very tentative with her speaking. I was a bit nervous. I am sure I made many mistakes the first few sessions. The first thing I really needed to learn was to talk slower. Mei Ying had learned some basic English before I started working with her. Now I needed to expand her Vocabulary to be more functional.
As we proceeded, I realized that the Chinese language does not use all the phonetic sounds English does. For example, “v”. We worked hard for her to be able to say “vaccine”, zoom was helpful because I could get close to the camera and show her the way the mouth forms the sounds. By now Mei Ying and I had grown to be friends. As friends we laughed every time the “v” sound was used.
Her English was expanding, and Mei Ying was less shy about using her English at work. She has worked at a few Chinese restaurants. I encouraged her to try talking more to customers. Through these last few years we have studied the Citizenship 100 questions, we have worked on her reading, we have talked about US culture and government, cooking, raising college age children, and whatever pops up in her life.
For me the very best thing about tutoring Mei Ying is that I enjoy our time together. I have learned so much about China, their customs, her family, and the processes for Immigrants to come to the US and work here. I also learned that I could teach English to people new to the language. I have now added teaching English classes via Zoom for the Mid-State Literacy Council and find it a rewarding experience.
Hopefully, Mei Ying and I will be able to continue meeting via Zoom for many more years. I started out four years ago with Mei Ying to teach her English fluency and things she might need to learn to have a successful life in America. Mei Ying has taught me so much about the way people live in other countries. She has helped build my confidence in tutoring. I believe I may have learned as much from her as she has from me.
Author: Mei Ying and Donna Preston
