Population Served:
10,227 Project Contact: Dwayne Nelson Project Title: Learning English As Your Second Language Starts @ Your Library Project Description: The Town and Country Public Library District will establish a framework for non-English speaking patrons to increase their knowledge of English. Funding from this grant will:
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There is a small, but growing non-English speaking population in our Library District. Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans comprise most of the target audience who would take the courses offered and use the ESL resources.
The Library will collaborate with Waubonsee Community College to offer two 45-hour ESL courses at no charge to adult students. The courses will be taught by certified ESL instructors.
The Library Project Coordinator will purchase and integrate all ESL materials – print, audio and video – into the Library’s adult collection.
Notable accomplishment, promising practices, or human interest stories: Coordinated with the ESL staff of Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois, to offer two English as a Second Language courses at Town and Country Public Library in Elburn, Illinois. Each ESL course offers adult students forty-five hours of English language instruction over the course of two months. The first course started on September 3 and ended on October 22, 2008. We have decided that it would be best to offer the second ESL course beginning in January 2009, since the holidays in November and December would interfere with our patrons’ ability to attend the course on a regular basis during these two months.
Secured the services of a certified child care provider to offer free child care services for the children of parents who are taking the course. The child care center is on the premises of our Library.
Each of the students completed a brief survey of the ESL course. The results will help us determine how the second ESL class that starts in January can better meet the students’ needs.
Between now and December I plan to complete my selection and acquisition of ESL resources to add to our Library’s English learning resources section.
Key lessons learned: It is vitally important to promote your programs to make the public aware of them. Our Library has shared American Dream information with the following:
- Library staff – All staff members have been briefed on the American Dream Starts @ Your Library Grant. They are also well aware of the ESL courses the library is offering.
- Library Trustees – Our Director and I shared information about the American Dream Starts @ Your Library Grant with our board members.
- Local elected officials – I am currently drafting a letter to send to our elected officials.
- Community literacy organizations – I had a meeting with a member of the Literacy Volunteers Fox Valley to determine how we can best promote the ESL course to the intended target market.
- Local media – We shared information about this grant and the ESL courses we are offering with the Elburn Herald, Kane County Chronicle, Daily Herald, Beacon News, and www.TribLocal.com.
- Libraries in your region – Communications through the DuPage Library System.
- Library Line (our Library’s newsletter) – Our Director and I each wrote articles for our newsletter. These articles included information about the American Dream Starts @ Your Library Grant and the ESL courses that would be offered at our Library.
- On Library Premises – We hung up posters announcing the ESL courses throughout the Library.
- Schools in our library district – We coordinated with the schools to send home fliers announcing the ESL courses to parents of students who might benefit from the English language instruction.
- Waubonsee Community College – The college promoted this and other ESL courses it offers through its normal media outlets.
Advice for
other libraries serving adult English language learners: This is a long-term project for both the library and its patrons who desire to learn English. It is very important to have not only a good core collection of ESL resources available for the English language learners, but also courses, workshops and programs for this target market.