PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For 35 years, the nonprofit Literacy Network has helped adult learners, particularly immigrants, build English and literacy skills, and its new Pittsfield location makes these services more accessible than ever.

 

Last week, Literacy Network, also referred to as LitNet, started expanding into its new space in Crawford Square, located at 137 North St.

 

While LitNet primarily serves Spanish-speaking adults, it also works with learners who speak Portuguese, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Eastern European languages such as Ukrainian and Russian.

 

The organization is maintaining its offices on Park Street in Lee. Executive Director Leigh Doherty said the added 1,500 square feet of space will allow the program to expand upon many of the things it has been doing for years.

 

The space will serve as a public tutoring hub in Central Berkshire, offering rooms for one-on-one tutoring, classes and workshops, and a welcoming area for learners to read and study. The larger, more visible location will also allow for expanded evening and weekend hours, making it easier for learners and tutors to connect and for community members to discover the program. 

 

Popular workshops include an English for business class, an advanced English book club, and an idioms and slang class to learn the nuances of English, Doherty said. "We listen to our learners."

 

The feedback the adult learners provide based on their need has helped shape the programs classes and services, she said. 

 

For some adult learners, their impact continues after going through the program as they return to become tutors themselves, said Miguel Silva, director of tutoring.

 

"Our learners will always tell us that they love the service and everything but I think more than them telling us is what they actually are willing to do for the organization to kind of give back," SIlva said. 

 

"So, that to me means more than any compliment that anybody might give." 

 

Immigrants are helping to strengthen the greater Pittsfield and Berkshire community by opening new businesses, creating jobs, and contributing to local economic growth, particularly in downtown Pittsfield, Silva said. 

 

"You look at Pittsfield and you look at all the businesses that are opening up [and] I would say the large majority of them are like immigrant businesses," he said. 

 

"Not only are immigrants coming in and sharing their culture, but they're also helping the economy and providing jobs and becoming part of the growth of Berkshire County in general." 

 

Since its establishment in 1991 to combat illiteracy, the program has grown significantly and shifted its focus more toward teaching English to non-native speakers, Doherty said. 

 

While it still support American-born learners needing help with reading and literacy, the main need in the community is teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL,) especially with the increase in the local immigrant population since the '90s, she said. 

 

The nonprofit serves about 230 active adult learners, with an additional waitlist of around 30. About 60 percent of its learners are from Pittsfield or the bordering towns that make up Central Berkshire County. 

 

Staff also hope that the new location will help LitNet connect with people who need support in Northern Berkshire County.  

 

As the number of learners grows, so does the need for volunteer tutors, requiring a commitment of just one to two hours a week. 

 

LitNet tutors need no teaching experience or ability to speak a second language, as the organization provides all necessary training, support, and resources.

 

"The idea is that most people want to learn to speak English, so it's actually more beneficial if the [tutor] doesn't actually speak the other person's language, because it really forces that individual who is learning English to struggle to speak and to really put an effort into communicating with [their] tutor," Silva said. 

 

The tutors work on practical goals with the adult learners one-on-one instead of following a set curriculum. 

 

Each session could be drastically different, whether it's talking to a child's teacher, calling a doctor, or learning job-related vocabulary, he said. 

 

The goal is to help adult learners communicate confidently so they can access better opportunities, and fully participate in the Berkshire community, Silva said. 

 

"Everyone who moves to a new area wants to be an active part of the community and I think the language can be a barrier to that," he said.

 

Those interested in volunteering contact Silva at info@litnetsb.org or at 413-358-7626. 

 

The organization also hired a bilingual learner liaison, Leesly Collins, to help the organization better serve the needs of its immigrant English language learners. 

 

"Leesly will be the perfect addition to the LitNet team. She has worked steadily on her own English for years and has participated in LitNet's storytelling project and some of our advanced classes," Doherty said. In the press release. 

 

"She is already well-connected within Pittsfield's immigrant community and will be an effective liaison, helping us to hear more frequently from our learners so we can better understand what is working well or what we can do better to help them become stronger English speakers and more successful community members."

 

Collins is from Colombia and has been learning English with LitNet since 2022. 

 

"To me, LitNet helped me a lot … Anything I need, I just go to ask them, and they give me the right information, and they let me know where I could go to the things I needed," Collins said. 

 

"The organization helped me with my English tutor. [It] is like a great community, and you don't feel alone when you move from another country to come here and learn English."