TUTOR Success Stories
LCBC Tutor Ben Breen
Tutoring a student learning English as a second language can be challenging at times, but when faced with interruptions in schedules, it is amazing that tutors and students continue to persevere.
Literacy Council of Benton County tutor Ben Breen was assigned to work with his student, Hien, June of 2021, and they met at the office until Ben had to leave for Tulane University in the fall. The two planned to work online. “Working online went well,” Ben says, “and then Hurricane Ida evacuated the Tulane campus.”
Breen was sent home and he was able to meet and work face-to-face with his student again until Tulane made repairs to their campus and re-opened, and he was called back to school. “We were again working online and then I had to spend a semester in Singapore. It was all right though, because Hien was pregnant and about to have her second child, so we decided to take a break while I got situated.” Singapore has the most “western” feel of the Asian nations and Breen says establishing a study routine online there was not a problem.
“We used ‘Quizlet’”, an online learning tool that lets you study anything, “to help Hien with my absence and during that time, she expressed an interest in getting her citizenship,” Breen says. “We’ve been spending time on that and reviewing the citizenship questions, practicing the interview, making sure she is understood.”
Ben is back in the US permanently and says arriving back home has been something of a shock. “There is no public transportation here! It’s hard getting used to driving myself everywhere again and I know I’m home, and glad to be back home, but it’s hard adjusting.”
Breen has an internship lined up for the summer at Sam’s Club in Bentonville and has a minor in design, which he hopes to use. When applying to work at the literacy council, Ben wrote becoming an English teacher was a dream of his, but he decided to pursue other aspirations in college. “Working at the literacy council is an opportunity to teach others reading and writing in a relaxed, but still academic, environment.”
Tutoring a student learning English as a second language can be challenging at times, but when faced with interruptions in schedules, it is amazing that tutors and students continue to persevere.
Literacy Council of Benton County tutor Ben Breen was assigned to work with his student, Hien, June of 2021, and they met at the office until Ben had to leave for Tulane University in the fall. The two planned to work online. “Working online went well,” Ben says, “and then Hurricane Ida evacuated the Tulane campus.”
Breen was sent home and he was able to meet and work face-to-face with his student again until Tulane made repairs to their campus and re-opened, and he was called back to school. “We were again working online and then I had to spend a semester in Singapore. It was all right though, because Hien was pregnant and about to have her second child, so we decided to take a break while I got situated.” Singapore has the most “western” feel of the Asian nations and Breen says establishing a study routine online there was not a problem.
“We used ‘Quizlet’”, an online learning tool that lets you study anything, “to help Hien with my absence and during that time, she expressed an interest in getting her citizenship,” Breen says. “We’ve been spending time on that and reviewing the citizenship questions, practicing the interview, making sure she is understood.”
Ben is back in the US permanently and says arriving back home has been something of a shock. “There is no public transportation here! It’s hard getting used to driving myself everywhere again and I know I’m home, and glad to be back home, but it’s hard adjusting.”
Breen has an internship lined up for the summer at Sam’s Club in Bentonville and has a minor in design, which he hopes to use. When applying to work at the literacy council, Ben wrote becoming an English teacher was a dream of his, but he decided to pursue other aspirations in college. “Working at the literacy council is an opportunity to teach others reading and writing in a relaxed, but still academic, environment.”