"This club has given me the courage and confidence that I needed to accomplish my American Dream."

- Diego Calero, club member

What is Los Amigos? Los Amigos Club is a group of adults who meet weekly for 2 ½ hours to practice English and improve their communication skills.  The Club has over 30 members and is organized by Stella Segura, the ESL Services Coordinator for Literacy Volunteers at Plainfield Public Library. Peter Jacobs and other tutors also take part by coordinating the Club’s activities.  Typically, one will find 10 to 20 members at any given meeting.  Its members and guests are native to more than 10 different countries and speak at least 5 different languages. However, it is their desire to improve their English that brings them together.

Watch a video about Los Amigos or read a brochure.

Weekly Activities
These are only some of the typical learning activities that the Club uses to practice English:

1. Games - Members play games such as bingo, tic-tac-toe, alphabet game, role-playing and other games using English language.

2. Listening - Members listen to stories and discuss them in groups.

3. Reading - A variety of articles are read to focus on new words to increase vocabulary. Articles may come from actual newspapers or from magazines specifically designed to provide reading practice.

4. Practicing conversations - Members are divided into pairs or small groups and provided with a topic.  Each group spends several minutes discussing that topic allowing students to practice speaking spontaneously.

5. Structure of sentences - Members are provided with an envelope that contains several note cards with a word written on each one.  The students use these words to form sentences.

6. Tongue twisters – These are a good way to practice hard-to-pronounce English sounds.

7. Movies - Different movies are watched followed by discussion. This is a good way to practice both listening skills and pronunciation skills.

8. Songs - Members sing famous songs in English. This is a very enjoyable way practice the language.

Major Annual Activities

• Picnic Day
• Halloween Party
• Christmas Party
• Role Playing
• Special guests throughout the year come to talk about what they do, for example: real estate, education, and more.

Accomplishments

• Students are more sociable, relaxed, and confident.
• They’re more comfortable voicing their opinions
  and observations about things.
• Practice English for the citizenship test and interview
• Getting a job
• Retaining employment
• Obtaining job advancement
• Involvement in their children’s education
• Getting a license or certification
• Continuing their education

Los Amigos Quotes

I am grateful for being part of the Los Amigos Club. During my time at the Club, I have been promoted to a higher position. Thanks to the skills and confidence that the Club has given me.

-Raul Proveda

As a result of being in the Los Amigos Club, I can communicate better with others, especially at my job with my coworkers and, of course, my boss.

-Irma Anduray

I always wanted to open my own painting business and now being part of Los Amigos Club I can sharpen my English skills so I can make my dream a reality.

-Klever Tiban

I wish we can spend more time together not only as a club but as a family that we are. Here, I have found a great family who is helping me to learn the language. I know I can do it and I will do it.

-Sabre Elmalhe

This is a way for me to practice English, so I can take this knowledge and use it to teach my computer classes.

-Narvis Bent

I like being part of this club because it is a great way to practice and learn English.

-Victor Muñoz

This club has helped me to communicate better with my coworkers and my boss.

-Rafael Santos

I love this club because it's the only place that I have that motivates me to only speak English because at my home not everyone practices with me.

-Narly Sandoval

I have been a student of the Literacy Volunteers program for almost 2 years. This program improved my life in many ways, in my job I got a better position and a raise. This is great because when I start to work there I was the "utility," that means the person who cleans the place. Now the possibility to learn and then speak English changed and grew up my expectations.

Today I want to speak about a branch of the L.V. program, the Los Amigos Club. We are a group of immigrants of different countries, looking for a better future. We understand an ESL means the first skill to get a better job or just doing daily things. I would like to say too, our club represents the chance to know different cultures and their customs, we are sharing our experiences and how everyone is finding the way to face a new life in the United States, keeping our customs and traditions.

As an organization, we have a leader. Her name is Stella Segura. In every meeting she is the host; she spend the whole time with us, and for 3 hours every Wednesday she does the club great place to learn and share. She is the good example of what the L.V. is doing with us.

-Sonia Varilla