English Language Learning (ELL)
Adult immigrants and refugees work with tutors one-to-one or in small groups to gain greater proficiency in the English language. Students work toward goals that enable them to engage more fully in our local community and in society. These include:
- Learning to speak English for a variety of purposes
- Reading and writing in English
- Communication with their children’s teachers
- Health literacy
- Learning to fill out forms and use online portals
- Applying for jobs
- Employment-related English skills
- Reading and responding to mail and email
- Reading to children or grandchildren
- Volunteering in the community
Our ELL students come from 30 different countries and often find Tompkins Learning Partners by word of mouth. Sometimes they are enrolled in formal English classes and seek the additional support of a tutor. Often, family and job commitments make a traditional class schedule difficult, and one-to-one tutoring provides the flexibility that they need.
Frequently, ELL students go on to prepare for citizenship, study for the GED, or return to TLP for job-related or other specialized English instruction.
Tompkins Learning Partners uses the term English Language Learning to best describe our program. Our students are English Language Learners who may come to us with proficiency or fluency in more than one language. In these cases, English as a Second Language (ESL) doesn’t adequately respect their life experience. Learning a new language in adulthood is often a long process; therefore, English as a New Language isn’t always a fit, either.
