English is Uwizeyimana Judith's fifth language. And she's been working with ABLE - the Adult Basic Literacy Education program - to learn how to read better in her newest tongue.
Judith, now 39, grew up in Rwanda, in central Africa, and learned to speak and read her native language.
"My high school-level education I took in French - the official language in my country," she said recently.
War forced her to flee when she was 18, first to to the Republic of Congo "for a few months. After that, I went to Tanzania - and stayed for 17 years, in a refugees' camp."
There, she learned Swahili.
Her husband is from Burundi, "so I know his language," she reported. And five years ago, they emigrated to the United States, where she's learned English.
She agrees with others who have said English may be the most difficult language to learn, because there often are more exceptions to the basic rules than there are rules.
"That's a big problem," Judith said. "It's different."
Many languages - including French and her native Kinyarwanda - have nouns with genders. For example, the French word "livre" can be translated two different ways - as "book" if it's the masculine word, or as "pound" if it's the feminine word.
For people used to that structure, the lack of gender in English can be a problem.
"And pronunciations give me trouble," Judith said.
That's because - as most Americans acknowledge - different people will say the same word in different ways.
Consider, for instance, the name of the state. Is it "MissourEE?" Or "MissourAH?" Then imagine how one is supposed to learn the "correct" way, if learning the entire English language at the same time.
"I started with ESL (English as a Second Language class), and I was studying for my GED," Judith explained. "ESL referred me to the ABLE program, so I could be with somebody to help me.
"Most of the time, they were helping me because of my reading comprehension."
Judith likes ABLE's one-on-one approach, with one teacher and one reader, "so I have time to ask a question," she said. "I have time to express my feelings.
"With one-by-one, my teacher knows my capacity and my lowest ability, also."
She and her husband both work in area nursing homes - Judith said her ABLE training is helping her work better, too.
They have seven children, who range in age from college down to day care.
All of them began using the ESL and ABLE programs, but - as she's taking on college-level nursing classes - Judith is the only one still at ABLE.
"People need to remember how ABLE helps people," Judith said. "You have special attention to you.
"If you have trouble reading, they will help you."
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