Dongyuan Ji and Pei Hong Li
From the priority area Training & Education for Jobs

Can you imagine going to the supermarket and not being able to read the labels? Or being afraid to make a phone call? That’s what happened to Dongyuan Ji and his wife, Pei Lie. When they arrived in Connecticut they felt they were fortunate to get jobs in housekeeping, but they knew they could accomplish more. Pei Li knew a little English, enough to get by, but she wanted to do more than simply that.

At their workplace, Dongyuan and Pei heard about Literacy Volunteers at the Otis Library and decided it was time to learn the English language. “We were discouraged at first,” Pei Li says, “but there are so many positive people here.”

With their tutor Susan, the couple spent five hours a week learning to speak and read English. “They spent more than the normal amount of time than is required,” Susan says. “But they wanted to learn so badly. Their desire to learn is tremendous.”

Since attending Literacy Volunteers, the couple have moved “up the ladder” at work, going from jobs where they barely spoke a word to anyone to jobs that constantly require customer contact. They continue to visit Literacy Volunteers to use the agency’s software programs that will further enhance their English-speaking skills. “We can go to the supermarket now and read the names,” Pei Li says. “We do the simple things that others might take for granted. We can make phone calls and hold a conversation with someone.”