Five years ago, my spouse and I landed at Dulles airport on our way to State College. My husband had accepted a postdoc position at Penn State University, and I joined him to start a new chapter in our life. Adjusting to a new place is always exciting yet stressful, especially when the culture, language, and environment is different. In my opinion, fluency in the language spoken in your new country, English in the case of the United States, is a very important skill if you want to live, work, or even travel in the country. For that reason, I started to look up English classes in the area. Mid-State Literacy was one of the organizations I came across during the search.
In my first semester at Mid-State, I took Listening, Academic Writing, and Speaking lessons. I enriched my vocabulary, including common American phrases, and learned a lot about American culture. I met supportive and proficient teachers and wonderful people. It was such a good experience for me that I knew that in case we will stay in the US for a few more years, I’ll register for additional classes. After two years, during which I worked at Penn State’s HR department, I decided to register for the TOEFL class through Mid- State Literacy. I plan to continue my higher education in the US and one of the requirements is the TOEFL exam. Jennifer Walter, the coordinator of English as a Second Language (ESL) at Mid-State, helped me find a tutor who could teach and prepare me for this test during the Summer 2021 semester. Later, she helped me register for the TOEFL program during the Fall 2021 semester. In this program, I had the privilege to meet and learn from very thorough, organized, caring, and professional teachers and tutors.
The program is built in a way that each teacher and session concentrate on a different section of the exam; Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. In addition, the program includes practice sessions and a personal tutor. The teachers and the tutors helped me improve my performance and create an individual learning path suitable to my needs. This program includes materials like books, papers, etc., which allowed me to practice and learn independently outside of the program’s hours. I gained more confidence and knowledge in the English language thanks to these classes, the TOEFL program, and my wonderful tutors. My TOEFL score serves as confirmation of this fact.
I had an excellent learning experience at Mid-State Literacy, from the courtesy of the organization’s coordinator to the great teachers and tutors. Everyone was willing to help you however they can to reach your personal and academic goals. To the teachers and tutors who were assigned to me this past Summer & Fall semester 2021, your kindness, professionalism, and guidance are much appreciated! Thank you very much!
-Nesia D.
Nesia was a student in both the ESL and TOEFL programs at the Mid-State Literacy Council.
