City of Fort Worth, TX
10/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/01/2024 14:08
Sessions help English learners practice their speaking, reading skills
Sessions help English learners practice their speaking, reading skills
Published on October 01, 2024
Learning to read and speak English can be difficult when it's your second language, but the Fort Worth Public Library is here to help. One of the newest offerings provides practice reading and speaking in adult ESL Read Out Loud classes.
Myriam Hernandez, senior librarian with the Library's Adult Services, said she has heard English learners struggle with two things: understanding how one word can have many different meanings and also how to say them.
"From personal experience, getting the confidence to speak a second language is very difficult as we (English learners) think we have to speak perfectly right away to be understood by others," Hernandez said. "The main focus of our English Conversation Classes is to create a safe space for students to practice what they know and to help them become confident when speaking English, even when they make mistakes. In fact, we encourage them to make mistakes so we can all learn together."
Three library locations offer in-person sessions, where participants take turns reading from the chosen material:
- 4:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Meadowbrook Branch Library.
- 4 p.m. Wednesdays at La Gran Biblioteca.
- Noon Saturdays at the Riverside Branch Library.
There is a virtual option for people who can't attend one of the in-person sessions, scheduled for 1-2 p.m. Fridays via Zoom.
"This is a great program that complements our English Conversation classes," Hernandez said. "Usually, our advanced students from ESL Conversation Class join this class to keep growing their vocabulary and advance their reading skills. In this class, we review and read together one-page articles every week. We go over vocabulary words found on the article and then do some reading comprehension activities together. Instructors mainly focus on teaching the students word forms - learning the differences between adverbs, adjectives, nouns, and verbs."
The Fort Worth Public Library offers a host of activities to support people learning to speak English, including conversational classes, book clubs and more.
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