BOLD: tutoring in English to make a difference
by Allison McNeill
Carrboro Commons Writer
A local organization led by UNC-CH students hopes to assist Carrboro and Chapel Hill Spanish-speaking men but has faced obstacles while trying to achieve its mission.
UNC-CH student J.D. Brannock, center, who has been tutoring with BOLD for a year, tutors Enrique Cadena, left, and Jose Aryza, right, at a BOLD class last week at Carrboro Elementary School.
Eve Greene photo
Co-President Derek Paylor has hope for BOLD, Building Opportunities through Language Development, and if others believe in his “when you find a good thing, you don’t want to keep it to yourself” outlook, BOLD will have no problem reaching its goals.
BOLD began in 2005. It followed in the footsteps of MANO, Mujeres Avanzando hacia Nuevas Oportunidades (Women Working Towards New Opportunities), which is a female-only Spanish-speaking tutoring program.
BOLD holds classes Monday and Wednesday nights from 7 to 8:30 at Carrboro Elementary School. “Because MANO is already established at the school, it made it easier for BOLD to hold its classes there, too,” said Paylor.
The school’s location also makes it more convenient for students. The elementary school is easily accessible by bus. Because both of the organizations’ classes are held at the same place and time, it makes it possible for couples and families to attend classes.
Paylor, a junior International Studies and Asian Studies major from Roxboro, said the idea of BOLD is to provide one-on-one tutoring for students, no matter their current skill level. Tutors and students are matched according to their level of need. The tutors are UNC-CH students, but Paylor hopes to soon open up the volunteer pool to those in the community as well.
Although BOLD typically serves established Spanish-speaking adults, Paylor says it does not turn anyone away. One student was a native of South Korea who wanted to fine-tune his English. In another instance, a BOLD tutor worked with a couple who did not want to be separated.
BOLD hopes to expand and increase the number of students it serves, but it is currently facing many obstacles.
Paylor said the biggest obstacle for the organization is keeping a consistent tutor-to-student ratio. Because the tutors are UNC-CH students, there is typically a large turnout at the beginning of the semester. As the semester progresses, however, students become busier and attend BOLD less frequently.
The number of students attending fluctuates because of work schedules or immigration status, as well as a growing discouragement with the inconsistency of the tutors.
Paylor said there is rarely a consistent turnout for either group.
He also said that there have been problems with publicizing BOLD this semester, which has resulted in very low attendance at the classes. Although BOLD has a Web site, it has not been updated in more than a year because those currently in charge lack the expertise to do so.
An e-mail was sent out to UNC-CH students and fliers have been posted, but little has been done to educate people about what BOLD is and how one can get involved.
However, Paylor has contacted APPLES, a service-learning program, and the Department of Romance Languages & Literatures at UNC-CH in the hopes that these affiliates will help raise awareness of the organization.
Other obstacles include building stronger tutor-student relationships, which will help to hold the tutor and student accountable to one another, and educating people about why MANO is not the only language development organization available.
BOLD has enjoyed some success since its creation, said Paylor. While students report different results, overall they have been very receptive to the service and have provided useful feedback for what could be improved.
For example, Paylor said that Jose, a student of three years, has shown much improvement in speaking English. In the beginning, Paylor described him as shy with little confidence because he spoke “understandable but not conversational English.” Now he speaks more freely and his confidence appears to have grown because he has learned how to speak even if he is unsure of the exact word he is seeking.
BOLD is free and beneficial for both students and tutors. Paylor said the program helps to demystify social stereotypes. Working with other cultures leads to an understanding that promotes not only a tolerance of another culture, but an accepting nature of one another.
