Volunteer tutors to teach adults to read, write, speak, and understand English are needed in Lee County, and especially in Lehigh Acres where Tess Murphy, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Lee County, says that 54 adults are waiting for tutors.

Adults (age 18 and over) who are willing to commit a minimum of two hours tutoring time per week are encouraged to attend upcoming ESL tutor training on Saturday, November 20, 9 a.m. 5 p.m., at Literacy Volunteers of Lee County, 9 Beth Stacey Blvd., Unit 202, in Lehigh.

The training is free; $30 is requested to cover the cost of materials. To learn more or to register for the training in Lehigh, contact LVLC at (239) 415-3621 or programdirectorlvlc@gmail.com.

About 90 percent of LVLC students are speakers of other languages and require ESL (English as a second language) tutoring. The remaining students are English speakers who want to learn to read, and require basic reading and writing tutoring, Murphy said.

The inability to read or speak English impacts the entire community and economy in such areas as safety, productivity, health and social interaction, Murphy said.

She noted that it is not necessary to speak the student’s language to teach them English. All students are adults over the age of 18 and are matched with a tutor living in the same area of Lee County. All matches meet in public places.