"My friend told me about the Adult Literacy Program. He said I could learn more English over there. I went there to ask about it. I got a test. After a couple of months I got a teacher to teach me English. Now I can speak English much better than before. I really appreciate their help. My friend and teacher and everybody who has helped me."

The Nashville Adult Literacy Council (NALC) is a non-profit 501©(3) organization that teaches reading to U.S.-born adults and English skills to adult immigrants. Our vision is for all to learn and for all to help build a community of adults empowered through literacy. We are the non-profit arm of the Nashville Volunteer Literacy Program, a Community Education Alliance program.

Volunteer tutors are recruited and trained to teach either reading to a U.S-born adult or English to an adult immigrant. The tutor is then matched with an adult learner based on schedule and location preference. Tutors and learners meet for at least 3 hours per week in public places all across the Nashville community. This includes schools, community centers, libraries and churches. Several choose to meet at Cohn Adult Learning Center, where they have the extra benefit of additional learning equipment and face-to-face support from program staff.

Instruction is tailored to the needs of the individual learners, whether they are learning to read or to improve their English skills. Tutors are asked to focus on things that are important or of interest to the learners. Learners do not pay for tutoring sessions.

NALC has been in operation since 1982. Over the years, we have trained thousands of volunteers to teach reading, who, in turn, have taught thousands of adults to read. More recently, we have helped immigrants to improve their English skills. We always have a need for volunteers, so please refer your friends and co-workers to us.

NALC has received eight national awards and two regional awards for outstanding program, staff dedication and student achievement over the past few years. However, it is the efforts of the volunteer tutors that provide the backbone of the program.

The program is a part of the Community Education Alliance, with office space provided by the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. Major funders include the United Way, Memorial Foundation, HCA Foundation, Metro Government, Dollar General, and others. Please consider us for your charitable giving. All donations are tax-exempt.