CONVERSATION ALL-STARS (Clockwise, from top l.) Internet specialist Joe Salamon demonstrates the Living Language online language-learning resource to a customer at Cuyahoga Cty. PL’s Parma-Snow Branch. A Plaza program facilitator works with immigrants, refugees, and asylees at Denver PL’s Ross-Barnum Branch. Participants in Denver’s English Conversation program are surrounded by portraits of other immigrants who have shared their stories of coming to this country
At the start of 2014, Eric Soriano found inspiration in several of his friends’ New Year’s resolutions to learn a new language. Soriano, an e-services librarian with the Jacksonville Public Library (JPL), FL, recognized an opportunity to spread the word about JPL’s subscription to the online language-learning resource Transparent. A year later, JPL received the Urban Libraries Council’s Top Innovator Award for Customer Experience for the system’s new language-learning programs, which use Transparent as the backbone of a class curriculum.
Transparent, distributed by Recorded Books, is one of several online language-learning resources available to libraries; other such products include Duolingo, Mango Languages, Pronunciator, Rosetta Stone, Living Language, and Rocket Languages from Library Ideas. (For more information on these, see “Library Linguistics,” LJ 8/14, p. 35ff.) Libraries can leverage these tools whether they have fluent speakers on staff or not by finding ways to support online learning with in-person meet-ups, conversation groups, or fully developed classes.
The appeal of immersion
After his New Year’s brainstorm, Soriano developed an instructional class that focused on how to use Transparent: creating an account, navigating the site, and briefly exploring a handful of the languages offered. This approach garnered one well-attended class, but Soriano saw a quick drop in attendance for successive sessions. Feedback from the first group of attendees indicated that customers wanted classes specifically on the language in which they had an interest. “Class pacing [in Transparent] depends on the language,” Soriano says. “We needed to specialize…in order to get something more targeted.”
So Jacksonville’s e-services librarian team planned “a three-part French course and a similarly structured Spanish course.” The programming was so popular that customers were turned away owing to lack of space, despite the addition of extra laptops to the computer lab where the classes were held. Soriano sees this success as the result of incorporating an immersive-type experience; not only do attendees learn the ins and outs of the tool, they discover more about the cultures in which the languages are spoken, such as regional cuisine and travel tips. The Spanish students even learned some dance steps.
Some patrons were surprised to find this type of programming offered free of charge; others expected a sales pitch for Transparent during the class, Soriano tells LJ. Several registrants were first-time library users, and these visitors “validated [our] belief that if we offer a program that is really relevant to the customer, they will find a way to make it to the library.” Indeed, even though JPL’s branches are spread across 30-plus miles, attendees stated in their program evaluations that they will visit libraries in new parts of town just to attend these programs.
Conversation starters
Many librarians have increased the value of their online language-learning resources through conversation groups. Denver Public Library (DPL) approaches services for English-language learners through “integrated, holistic programs” called Plazas, according to Will Chan, program administrator for services to new immigrants with DPL. Plaza programs “provide a dedicated space and access to curated resources for Colorado’s immigrant, refugee, and asylee populations,” says Chan; programming includes conversation groups using Mango Languages and Duolingo. Plaza program facilitators are paid out of grant funding, “are often from the actual [immigrant/asylee/refugee] community, and provide capacity and enhance services provided through the library,” he says. Often the facilitators have gone through Plaza programming themselves and now want to pay their experience forward. Facilitators are trained in the use of the library’s resources to bring to their varied programming. Chan sees the informal conversation groups as an integral part of rounding out the experience for customers who also frequently attend traditional language-learning classes taught by other organizations.
Online resources offer a level of flexibility to new English speakers who may be overscheduled with multiple jobs and family care responsibilities. Finding out about Mango or Duolingo through a Plaza program means attendees are able to learn on their own schedule and without fear of embarrassment. “Mango is great for people who feel nervous” speaking up at conversation groups, says Chan. But while flexible, individual learning is appealing, Chan sees approximately two-thirds of his first-time conversation group attendees returning for additional programs to take advantage of the friendly social setting. Facilitators often help find specific information in language-learning resources that can assist with daily tasks such as banking and grocery shopping. Patrons can work one-on-one with a facilitator to cover language basics and then move on to the conversation group when they feel ready. The potential for social interaction built around library resources is what Chan sees as the future of library programming: “We want to build relationships and be relevant, to be that pillar of the community.”
Connecting English learners
Many libraries see the benefit of incorporating online language-learning resources into programming that focuses on English language learning (ELL) and English as a second language (ESL). Jill D’Amico, adult services librarian, East Brunswick PL, NJ, explains that she purchased Pronunciator for the library system particularly because “I wanted it to help support more advanced ESL learners, who were often left without recourse for building on basic skills.” These customers may “struggle with speaking and casual conversation,” although they have technical skills in reading and writing.
The local public schools host their adult ESL classes at the library, and D’Amico presented Pronunciator to the students this past April. They went through the program’s features together, and the students downloaded the mobile app to their devices. East Brunswick started a new community conversation group in August and will return to ESL programming in the fall. D’Amico sees these partnerships and programs as a way to “offer a supported learning environment, facilitating casual meetings and providing support [with library resources].” While the library/school ESL partnership has existed for at least a decade by D’Amico’s count, she notes that “cooperation has grown more interactive over time, as evidenced by things like the Pronunciator programming and library tours.”
Sandy Irwin, library director at the Durango Public Library, CO, also works with a local ESL class run through the Durango Education Center (DEC). The partnership evolved after the ESL coordinator contacted Irwin about bringing ESL classes to the library for a tour. DEC had already been using Mango Languages through the library’s website, and the coordinator was ready to strengthen the connection. Irwin prepared a presentation that would inform not only the students but also DEC’s ESL teaching staff on how the resource works. This partnership also resulted in a conversation between DEC and the library’s collection development team on creating a more robust Spanish-language print collection. Irwin notes that since Durango is “a small library with limited staff, we rely on local experts to use the products we invested in to help their organizations be successful. If we can facilitate that process, then we are all in. [The DEC is] also a small organization with limited staff and funds, so the library’s subscription to Mango truly helps them with their mission.”
Community partnerships have been crucial to the ESL program at Poughkeepsie Public Library (PPL), NY. Thanks to an American Dream grant, funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and administered through the American Library Association, PPL purchased Rosetta Stone in April to supplement its existing Mango Languages subscription. Literacy Connections, a local organization, teaches weekly ESL classes at the library using the online software, bringing in volunteer tutors and local nonprofits—such as Planned Parenthood, the domestic violence center, and community health organizations—to speak about available resources. “The community component is really important,” says Peggy Sisselman, PPL adult services librarian. “It helps us…to keep the program going, because it establishes us as a place where Latino Americans can get help, and as a member of the community…. We’ve made a lot of great contacts.”
Volunteer value
While many language courses are taught by staff members with fluency in that language, other systems have found a wealth of experience in their volunteer pool. Shortly after purchasing a library subscription to Pronunciator just over a year ago, Carol Ghattas, branch librarian with the Linebaugh Public Library System (LPLS), TN, was approached by a volunteer, a native of France, about starting a French conversation group—which now meets twice a month. Ghattas notes that “French shows the highest usage for quizzes taken” in that resource. The volunteer, Alain Courcoux, says that while LPLS doesn’t use the tool directly in the group meetings, his members are aware of and use the resource, and he promotes it during their time together.
JPL’s Soriano also sees the potential for community partners as a way to extend the reach of its language courses. Members of the Jacksonville French Alliance have been attending the classes, and Soriano plans to reach out to them to serve as a resource for promoting the library’s language programming. He also hopes to tap them in the future to identify potential course instructors and to act as local experts for those looking to increase their knowledge of French language and culture.
At the Tualatin Public Library, OR, community librarian Lauren Furnish oversees two different kinds of language-learning programs: a conversation group called Intercambio, which is an English/Spanish meet-up, and one-on-one language tutoring. Both programs are run by volunteers. Tualatin subscribes to Mango Languages, and all volunteers receive training in the resource in order to bring it to their conversation group attendees and tutoring students.
A fantastic idea
Not all conversational events are strictly utilitarian. Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), OH, has partnered with Random House to offer a number of different resources connected to the publisher’s Living Language course series, a 65-year-old technique originally developed for the State Department and now revamped into an online solution. These include integrating Living Language displays into its seven-day-a-week passport services. But library staff and patrons alike are especially excited about an upcoming event with David Peterson, creator of Dothraki, one of the languages featured in HBO’s popular series Game of Thrones—Living Language offers Dothraki instruction alongside its more traditional languages. While customers may not soon be using Dothraki on vacation or a business trip, it provides yet another access point for language learners at the library. As Cheryl Herman, marketing director at Penguin Random House, points out, “Connecting patrons with engaging, in-person events raises the profile of the library’s language offerings and makes learning interactive and fun.”
Boost your signal
Curious about how to get started leveraging your own library’s online language-learning resources? Soriano recommends starting with what your system may already have in place. “You don’t need anything new,” he says. “[Instead,] look at what you have and [find ways] to present it in a more relevant way.” Prior to instituting the language courses at JPL in late 2014, Soriano tells LJ, 251 people had used Transparent that year. After the immersive programming pilot, “usage more than doubled, with 600 people using [the resource.]” JPL has since recorded a further 80 percent average increase in usage.
Soriano credits part of the program’s success to a cross-departmental team effort that includes the marketing department, which designs attractive promotional materials and runs strong social media campaigns for the courses. Finding instructors within the JPL staff was part of this team effort. “We couldn’t hire external language instructors,” says Soriano, who goes on to note that implementing this staffing model for the language courses was integral to the program. Libraries should do some community analysis in order to find out what its language-learning needs may be, he adds. At the same time, he says, “You never know until you try!”
New ESL/ELL programming may involve specific obstacles that require consideration. Yang Pang, community services coordinator at the St. Paul Public Library, notes that in some languages “there are no such words as computer or Internet access.” This can make it difficult to “navigate learners to websites that will help them learn English.” Native speakers, either from library staff or the community, will then be key to promoting and implementing successful language-learning programs.
Libraries can reach out to conversation groups or meet-ups that already exist in their area; a quick search on the site Meetup.com shows a multitude of conversation groups, depending on location. Colleges may run conversation circles through their language departments; adult education programming through local parks and recreation organizations or community colleges could also be a great way to start a community partnership with the library around language learning.
In the end, the key to boosting the signal of a library’s language resources is the social connection. Identifying the resources that will have the most impact in a given community, and repackaging them into fun, relevant programming with help from volunteers and in-house instructors, could be just what is needed to get the full value from a language-learning program—and to pass that value on to library customers.
April Witteveen is a Community Librarian with the Deschutes Public Library system in Central Oregon. She is chairing the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award committee for the American Library Association
For more information on how to replicate or adapt programs like these in your library, sign up for the free webcast Speak Up: Supporting Online Language Learning with In-Person Programs, to be held September 17 at 3 p.m., at libraryjournal.com/speakup.