The Basics of Citizenship Class

Ana Sanchez, PVLA student, received her citizenship on February 15, 2023

For many, being able to live in the U.S. is the ultimate dream. There are a variety of things that make this country appealing, including the freedom and the employment and educational opportunities. As an immigrant, the benefits that come with obtaining a U.S. citizenship include the ability to vote, bring family members to the U.S., travel with a U.S. passport (and get help from the U.S. government while abroad), protection from deportation, and being eligible for federal jobs, among others.

To become a citizen, there is a process that must be followed, which involves being able to pass a test. Many immigrants do not possess the knowledge needed to pass the exam, but the information can be learned—and that’s where the Platte Valley Literacy Association comes into play.

Since April of 2022, we have had 22 students enrolled in citizenship classes, with 10 obtaining their citizenship.

PVLA citizenship students in class. 
Lidia - Guatemala, Florine - DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), and Liu - Cuba

Citizenship classes at the PVLA cover civics, N-400 vocabulary, interview preparation, and reading and writing for the U.S. naturalization test. The following civics lessons are taught in order and repeated on a continuous loop, with focused lessons inserted as needed for students with upcoming tests.

1. George Washington	9. Abraham Lincoln
2. Thomas Jefferson/Declaration of Independence	10. Civil War
3. American Symbols & Celebrations	11. U.S. Wars in the 1800s
4. Your Government & You	12. U.S. History Since 1900
5. U.S. Geography	13. Equality & Freedom
6. Thanksgiving	14. Executive Branch
7. Benjamin Franklin/U.S. Constitution	15. Legislative Branch
8. Bill of Rights/Other Amendments	16. Judicial Branch

Classes are available year-round, with two class times available: Mondays from 6:00 to 8:00 pm and Tuesdays from 9:00 to 11:00 am. Students may enter class at any point and continue indefinitely. Students need to understand basic English to get the most out of this class.

If you'd like more information or to sign up for classes, fill out the form on the right-hand side of this blog, send an email to pvlacolumbusne @ yahoo.com (don't forget to remove the spaces!), or call 402 - 562 - 1463. 

Enjoy Some Stories Over the Summer

Photo by Perfecto Capucine on Unsplash

It’s here! It’s finally here!

Summer is in full swing, and the nice weather encourages people to get out and have some fun. Whether you’re headed on vacation to a distant destination or staying around town, you’re sure to find adventure and excitement.

Summer may bring with it a lot of freedom—and you should enjoy it to the utmost—but it’s also a good time to immerse yourself in some stories.

Reading is the easiest way to transport yourself to another time and place, and there are tons of “beach reads” available, but it’s not the only way to invest in stories.

Audiobooks are a great option if you’re driving long distances. You can focus on the road and be entertained along the way. Audiobooks are also a good choice when you’re cleaning the house or are at a child’s sporting event. When listening to a story, you can get things done and learn something new.

In addition to reading or listening to stories, you can also create your own. There’s nothing better than tapping into your own imagination and creating characters and worlds that make you happy. Writing is also a great way to keep your language skills sharp and explore new places that you may never have the chance to see in real life.

The Benefits of Engaging with Stories

Whether you’re reading, listening, or writing, there are tons of benefits when it comes to engaging with stories over the summer. In addition to being entertained and having fun, some of the other benefits include the following:

Increase Your Vocabulary

If you’re looking for a way to learn new words and expand your vocabulary, then you need to engage with stories. You’ll be exposed to words you’ve never seen or heard before, which can help you perform better in other areas in your life where communication is essential, including at your job.

Plus, you can impress your friends and family with the fancy words you’ve learned.

Improve Your Memory

If you’re like most people in the world, you have become dependent on technology to help you remember the important aspects of your life, including phone numbers and your daily schedule. While technology is incredibly beneficial, it can also fail. If your phone dies while you’re stretched out on the beach or hiking a mountain trail, you may not recall what you had planned for the rest of the day.

When you engage with stories, you can improve your memory. That means you can use your brain as a back-up system.

Improve Listening Skills

In addition to improving your memory with stories, you can also boost your listening skills—especially if you listen to audiobooks. To truly understand what’s going on in the story, you’ll have to pay some attention and store what you heard in your brain. You can then use those new-found listening skills to help when it comes to engaging others in conversation.

Increase Empathy

Being empathetic means you have the capacity to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and relate to what they’re going through. Engaging with stories helps you hone this skill because you have to connect and care about the characters to become immersed in the story. You’re also exposed to situations, people, and cultures that you may not be able to experience in real life.

You can than take your increased empathy and apply it to the real people in your life. You may find that you’re more understanding and sympathetic to what they’re going through, and this can drastically improve relationships.

Engage Your Imagination

When it comes to keeping your brain healthy and happy, you need to engage your imagination. Allowing your mind to play gives it a break from the stressors of daily life and gives you an escape—if only for a brief moment. Engaging your imagination could help you be better prepared for when life gets tough, as well as expand your coping abilities.

Find a Favorite Story

You may have a lot going on this summer, but we hope you’ll find the time to enjoy some stories as well. Again, you don’t have to plop yourself into a chair and read for hours on end (although you can if you really want to), there are other ways to engage with stories.

No matter how you choose to indulge, we hope you discover some amazing narratives that make your life a little bit brighter.

What Is Outreach ESL?

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Outreach ESL is an English language class offered by the Platte Valley Literacy Association (PVLA) that helps your employees improve their English-speaking skills.

The sessions run for 12 weeks, and classes are 2 hours long. You get to decide how to schedule that time, whether you want one 2-hour class each week or two 1-hour classes each week—whatever works best for your schedule.

Where Are the Classes Held?

Outreach ESL classes are held on-site, which means our instructor comes to you. Within your business, you designate a class space that is conducive to learning. You then get to determine how many students are allowed to attend.

While having classes during work hours can be disruptive, it is also beneficial. With classes held at your business, students don’t have to rearrange their schedule. Since attendance is a key to success, offering your employees an ESL class on-site increases their chances of showing up, which is beneficial to their learning. Their newly acquired skills can then be applied on the job, which benefits you.

Who Provides the Instructor and How Are They Paid?

You are the expert when it comes to your business, and the PVLA knows what it’s doing when it comes to ESL and literacy. We do the work of finding an instructor with the knowledge and expertise to help improve your employees’ English-speaking skills.

The Outreach ESL instructor is classified as a PVLA contract employee, so their pay comes from us. However, since we are a nonprofit organization, we send you a bill to cover the cost of class instruction and prep hours, as well as a bit extra to cover accounting fees. In addition, you are also charged an administrative fee that covers the cost of supplies, which includes folders, notebooks, worksheets, and pens for the students.

What Can You Expect from an Outreach ESL Class?

There are numerous benefits that come with offering your employees an Outreach ESL class, including increased abilities and confidence when it comes to speaking English. Not only will these skills be useful at work, but they can also help your employees communicate when they are out and about in the community.

The workplace continues to become more diverse, and to make it more inclusive, communication is key. You can improve relationships and foster connections when you offer an ESL class at your business.

In addition to ESL classes, the PVLA also offers Outreach Spanish classes. The layout is the same as listed above, with Spanish being taught instead of English.

For more information about Outreach classes, please use the contact form on the right-hand side of this blog or send an email to pvlacolumbusne @ yahoo.com.