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Community-Based Language Learning

Community-Based Language Learning

Literacy Network and Goodman South Madison Library Team Up to Help English-Language Learners
Literacy Network at Madison Public Library 2024

Student-Led and Flexible

Goodman South Madison Library has been working with and supporting Literacy Network for nearly 10 years to help improve language learning in the Madison community. Literacy Network helps adults in Dane County build skills, reach goals, and connect communities. One class offered by Literacy Network is called Community English and takes place three times per year in-person. The goal of the class is to help students reach their language-learning goals by teaching conversational English for different skill levels that allows students to interact more easily with others in their community, as well as access resources at the library and beyond.

“One reason that I love this program is because students tell US what is important to them when it comes to learning English and communicating in English in their everyday life,” said Bex Fabrizio, Director of ESL Instruction at Literacy Network. “It’s very student-centered – we use customized English instruction to make their dreams a reality.”

Literacy Network at Goodman South Madison Library Fall 2023

Community Engagement Librarian Jenna Assmus (left) and Literacy Network Director of ESL Instruction Bex Fabrizio (right) at Goodman South Madison Library

Much More than Books

Bex has seen so many students come through the class over the years and their goals range from family-centered aspirations like being able to attend and navigate a parent-teacher conference to work or job-related goals around applying for jobs or school. Accessing community resources is another frequent need from students who are attending the class, and the library is happy to help share and provide many of those resources.

“A lot of people don’t know that the library has so much more than books. We always make that one of our learning objectives for the class and everyone is always excited by all the things the library offers -  it’s new information to a lot of them,” said Fabrizio.

In addition to providing space for Community English class, a librarian from Goodman South Madison Library takes over at least one class during the semester to share library resources and help people who are learning English navigate the library - from checking out a book to using a language-learning database with their library card. In 2024, Goodman South Madison's Community Engagement Librarian Jenna Assmus has been leading the class:

"It is always a pleasure working with the Literacy Network's Community English class. I truly look forward to the days I get to join them and share resources, and welcome them to the library," said Assmus. "Not all students are familiar with libraries or the way they operate here, because in other countries libraries sometimes charge for services or don't exist at all. I like sharing about the wide range of opportunities available for free at Madison Public Library, and students are usually amazed by everything we offer."

Some of the activities that Assmus does with students include a scavenger hunt exploring different areas of the library collection, discussing how to get a library card, going over common library vocabulary, practicing interacting with staff, and sharing about popular resources that are most-often used by Literacy Network students like Madison Writing Assistance's writing and application help, Transparent Language Online, and job search resources available in English and other languages.

Literacy Network at Goodman South Madison Library Fall 2023

How It Started...

The Community English class has grown and changed since its inception in 2012, according to Fabrizio. The original format was to hold one Community English class per year and those classes took place in-person at Goodman South Madison Library with a big variety in skill levels for the students. This way of providing the class continued for many years until Fabrizio found data that suggested they could produce better outcomes for learners if they offered two differentiated classes based on English level, and if they offered those classes more frequently. In 2018, the class began to be offered twice a year and it is currently available year-round.

“That is one thing I attribute to the growth we’ve seen lately in terms of retention, outcomes for learners, etc. because it’s more consistent. They have lofty goals and it’s hard to make progress in just a single semester,” said Fabrizio. “Earlier in the partnership, students would do one semester and that would be it. Research shows that it takes 100 hours of study to move up one level in English, so we discovered that one semester is really not enough regardless of where you start.”

Literacy Network Students Share Their Experience

Adult Learners' Literacy Journey - Building Confidence and Pursuing Dreams

 

Literacy Network Attendance Stats 2017-2024 Goodman South Madison Library

...How It's Going

Literacy Network made additional changes that started out as necessity from the pandemic, but soon became their standard practice. For instance, pre-pandemic, the class was multi-level, but Literacy Network determined it would be too difficult to offer high-quality instruction via Zoom to students starting out at different skill levels. In 2024, they continue to offer a beginner and intermediate class for each semester. The classes are also longer now, moving from one hour per week up to 90 minutes or 2 hours. These changes have resulted in some great outcomes - student engagement has more than doubled when compared to classes offered prior to the pandemic, and the library served more students in summer 2024 than any other semester by supporting two classes (one at Goodman South Madison Library and one at Meadowridge Library) for the first time!

Madison Public Library supports the class by providing $1,200/semester per class to help cover the cost of instruction, which allows Literacy Network to offer classes for free to their students. The investment given by the library each year also helps to fund experienced English Second Language (ESL) teachers for each level of the class. In addition to funds and space, the library also helps market the class, which has continued to grow in popularity over the past five years. This year, for the first time ever, classes have filled to capacity several times requiring some students to be put on a wait list until a spot is available.

“We’ve loved seeing the way in which our recruitment has evolved with the Library providing marketing support. We’ve gone from having a physical paper flyer at the library to using so many modes to recruit learners,” said Fabrizio. “For example, this past semester Tana Elias, Madison Public Library's new Library Director, attended Literacy Network’s 50th Anniversary Block Party to talk to students about Community English classes, library resources and services, and steps for obtaining a library card.”

Fabrizio says the current marketing strategies have resulted in a perfect combination of 50-60% of their students being returning students, while the other half are new. “That creates a really nice classroom environment, since half of them are already comfortable with each other and the teacher and they welcome new people into that environment.”

Literacy Network at Goodman South Madison Library 2024

Keeping Community at the Heart

The environment at Goodman South Madison Library is an important piece of the partnership, as well, and it has been from the beginning for Literacy Network. The organization is deeply centered in community.

“It’s a pillar of our mission to support learners in participating with their community in a way that is meaningful to them and the library has always been a really important part of that community,” said Fabrizio. “It’s a place that naturally fosters literacy skills in a way that is accessible to everyone, including our target population given that so many resources are free. Really it’s like the other side of the literacy coin – our teaching method is one that is based in ‘real world’, everyday kinds of conversation. They can apply that everyday conversation that we’re teaching them as soon as they leave the classroom - the library is such a great fit for that!”

The Community English class runs for ten or more weeks during the Spring, Summer and Fall. Registration for the next class will be announced online here.

Additional Language Resources from the Library

  • World Languages CollectionTransparent Language: A language learning database accessible via Library Card with over 100 languages to choose from, including English for speakers of over 26 languages.
  • Madison Writing Assistance: Free, one-to-one writing support for community members at library branches throughout the city provided by experienced instructors from UW-Madison’s Writing Center.
  • World Language Collection: All Madison Public Library locations, with the exception of the Monroe Street Library, have growing collections of fiction and nonfiction in Spanish for adults and children, including books originally in Spanish by Latin American and Spanish authors and translations of popular English works.
  • Spanish Art of the Picture Book Collection: A collection of picture books written and illustrated by native Spanish speakers that is available for checkout from any Madison Public Library location, including the Dream Bus.
Posted
9/21/24
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