Community Corner

Group To Hold Free Sessions To Help Non-English Speakers

The group - headed up by volunteers from Sunset Bible Church - hope to begin the "Talk Time" sessions every week at the University Place library.

A University Place church and the community’s library wants to help non-English speakers pick up the social ins and outs of the language.

And they’re looking for people who want to help.

On Saturday, the group out of will host an informational meeting for English-language learners and volunteers who would like to meet once a week to practice English conversation.

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The meeting begins 10 a.m. at the University Place library.

Karen Pease, one of the organizers, says the meetings will begin in October.

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“We believe this program will be of great significance to English-language learners in our community,” she said. “Though there are resources for learning English in a formal classroom setting (Tacoma Community College, Tacoma Community House), we are offering the opportunity for English learners to connect on a social level through conversation.”

“Any language learner knows the value of having opportunities to practice speaking and listening in a more informal environment,” she added. “We want to offer that resource free of charge to those who are looking for it.”

The first meeting, Pease said, will help the group determine the level of interest in the community, as well as the schedule of volunteers and students. From there, the group will establish a meeting schedule.

The goal is for the “Talk Time” group to meet for an hour and a half every week at the UP Library. The local branch of the Pierce County Library System is the only one signed up for the ESL program, but “if someone else was interested in heading something like that up, we’d certainly be happy to share resources,” Pease said.

If you have more questions, or would like to stay up to date with the latest Talk Time happenings, please send an e-mail to universityplaceesl@gmail.com.

You can also visit their Facebook site, or visit the library's website to register as a volunteer for the Talk Time program.

Dates of upcoming Talk Times will be posted on the library's site will be posted here.


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