Learn English For FREE

Thanks to the American Library Association and Dollar General we are able to offer weekly English as a second language classes. Classes meet every Thursday night from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Don't let a language barrier stop you from pursuing your dreams. If you or know someone that is interested in attending these free classes please tell them to join us. Classes are FREE and NO sign up is required. All languages are welcome to attend. We hope to see you soon!

Culture Day

Every year in Japan on November 3rd, Culture Day (文化の日) is held across the country.

The holiday was originally held to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Meiji from 1868 until 1912. Culture Day eventually evolved from this to celebrate Japanese arts, culture, and scholarly accomplishments.

The different prefectures of Japan often host things like art exhibits, martial arts demonstrations, and parades. Some have certain themes, like traditional clothing or artwork, and others are more generic in nature.

Along with all of the regional festivities, the award ceremony for the Order of Culture is also held in Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. This involves the emperor dolling out an extremely prestigious award to someone who has advanced or contributed to science, the arts, or culture in a significant way, though the recipient does not necessarily have to be Japanese. This is one of the most honored awards that can be bestowed by the Imperial Family.

Do you think the United States should begin celebrating culture with a national holiday? What do you think it would be like?

ESL Classes

We look forward to seeing everyone back at the library for ESL classes! Classes meet every Thursday evening at 6:30pm. All languages are welcome and no sign up is required! The children's library is back open as well! Bring in the kiddos and check out some books!

Saving the World One Language at a Time

Learn a Language here with Visual Link® Languages. You can learn over 1,400 words for free here! There are interactive audio/visual flash cards to help you learn a language. There's also an addictive Lingo Dingo game to help you on your langauge learning journey. As seen above, you can learn words in the language of your choice. You can also learn important phrases like greetings, survival expressions and slang words in the language of your choice. If you want verbs, there are over 350 verbs to learn in each language. To our knowledge, this is the most extensive free website dedicated to help you learn a language on the web. Be sure to use it and pass it on to others.

Young Language Learners

Little Pim is a cute little Panda that teaches your youngster a foreign language. Click on the link below to learn more about this fantastic resource! The Little Pim series uses immersion and interaction techniques to create an engaging and fun-to-watch language learning experience. Pim, an animated panda, is the series' main character who begins each learning section. Each introductory animated skit is followed by live-action footage of children engaged in everyday activities. Pim narrates these sections, and the French vocabulary words are circled as they are spoken, with a graphic overlay of the word for emphasis. The concepts transition well, with later lessons building on previous ones. The focus is on the first words typically acquired by children (e.g., bed, fork, fruit, I'm tired, etc.). Each DVD teaches more than 60 new words and phrases arranged in five-minute episodes. The narration is clear, crisp, and easy-to-understand; the music is cheerful but not overpowering; and the visuals are colorful and vibrant. The parent guide contains general information on pandas and early language instruction. There are optional English subtitles. An entertaining introduction to very basic French vocabulary for preschoolers.

If you are interested in checking out one of these DVD's we can order them in from one of our partnering libraries.
Little Pim

New Languages Coming Soon!

Mango Languages is adding several more languages to their language learning program. Version 2.0 will be introduced later this fall. For more information about this exciting news, click on the link below to see if the language you are looking for is listed.

Mango Languages

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.

The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. On the 2000 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census.

Read more

Mango Languages Open House

Let's Reach Out!!

Many of the students at our local school have parents that do not speak English. Check out this link. It shows how teachers can reach out and increase communication with parents.

ESL @ IPL

Starting in September we are going to welcome the Fall by adding another ESL class! Classes will now be offered on Tuesdays at 10:30am and on Thursday evenings at 6:30pm. If you know anyone that would like to learn English please tell them about this fantastic FREE class! There is no sign up and no registration required. Let us help you reach your goal of learning English! All languages are welcome.

Did You Know???

Over 375 million people speak English. Also, English is known to be the worlds largest language becuase the dictionary contains 500,000 words not including technical and scientific terms.

Facts About Australia

Here is a map of Australia. If you are interested in learned more information at this country click here!

Aussie News

Check out this #1 voted news site. If you ever wanted to know what was going on in the land down under click on the link below. Very cool.

Aussie News

Meet Me In Australia

We have an amazing program scheduled for Thursday, September 2nd. Meet Me In Australia will be presented by Aussie native Michele Shannon. She will share pictures and information about the Australian culture. An authentic snack will be served. We look forward to seeing you there!

Mango Languages

Did you know that you can learn a foreign language from any computer that has an internet connection if you have a library card? Don't let anything stop you from learning a new language. You can even learn English! Tell your friends! This is an amazing opportunity that you do not want to pass up. Also, if you know of anyone that is interested in learning English, please tell them about our FREE classes on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. These classes are open to ALL languages and no registration is required!

All Languages Welcome!

This last week we added more students to our ESL class! We now have students from Burma, Iraq, Mexico, Columbia, India and Puerto Rico. Our teacher teach lessons on the computer as well as out of workbooks. Don't be left behind! Come to IPL and learn ENGLISH!

ESL on Tuesday's

Due to HIGH DEMAND we have added a 2nd ESL class each week! Classes are on Tuesday morning from 10:30am to Noon and on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. All languages are welcome and no sign-up is required. If you or someone you know wants to learn English please let them know about this fantastic opportunity. The classes are FREE!

IPL Embraces Diversity

Last Thursday we had a program "Meet Me In Mexico". It was a huge success. We had a total of 16 in attendance. Individuals that participated talked about what life is like where they came from and the differences here in the United States. They talked about what they missed most as well as what they could go a lifetime without experiencing again. We are so fortunate and take many things for granted. I challenge everyone to take that extra step and embrace diversity in our community!

Students Using Mango Languages

Mango Languages has been a huge asset in our ESL Classes. The students find it very user friendly. They are even able to log in to Mango Languages at home by accessing the link on our homepage.

Meet Me In Mexico!

Thursday, July 1st we will be having Meet Me In Mexico. Come learn about the Mexican culture. Students from our weekly ESL class will be here to talk about their homeland and answer any questions you may have. Authentic treats will be served. Come embrace diversity with us at IPL! Program starts at 7pm.

Kid Zone

When the parents come to the ESL classes, they can bring their children and take them to the children's library. Mr. Blinn the Children's Librarian has fun activities to keep them entertained. Last night they played games, put puzzles together, had a puppet show, watched a movie and played computer games. The kids really had a blast. Thank you Mr. Blinn for the fun evening!

Terrific Teachers

We have two volunteer teachers that have been devoting their time to help others. Corky and Bev are two ladies that are making a huge difference in our community. The pictures above are of Corky teaching last nights class. Thank you ladies! You are the best!

Presenting Denisse!

Publish Post

We are so lucky to have Denise as part of our team. She volunteers her time and translates to open the lines of communication between the students and the teacher. Thank you Denisse.

Thursday Night ESL CLass

Here is a picture of our ESL class in action. Last night we had 11 students! We have individuals from India, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Columbia. Our class is continuing to grow and we love it!

English Club

You aren't alone! Join the English club and communicate with others that are going through the same things you are! This site has videos to watch, lessons to learn, games to play, as well as an online chat so that you can communicate with other members! Join today! It's FREE!

Learn English Online

Check out this link. It offers more options for learning English! Learn how to speak in conversations, amongst friends and MORE!

GAMES....GAMES....GAMES!

Check out this website that has games to help improve your vocabulary. Hangman, crossword puzzles, matching games and more! Click on the link and let the FUN begin!

Citizenship Resource

Here is a valuable resource to help you answer questions you may have about the naturalization process. This site will give you information on the testing process and how you can better prepare.

First Step To Citizenship

MANGO LANGUAGES

Did you know that you can learn a foreign language as well as ESL for FREE? Besides offering FREE ESL classes every Thursday night from 6:30 to 8:00 we also have Mango Languages. Mango Languages is a language learning program that can be accessed through our website (http://www.iplks.org/) and signing in using your library card. By logging in you will have access to a multitude of tutorials that will have you speaking a new language in no time! If you are interested, we are offering an information session on Mango Languages on Thursday, June 10th @ 7pm.

FREE ESL CLASSES @ IPL

The Independence Public Library will begin offering free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes beginning Thursday, June 3, 2010. The classes will be every Thursday evening 6:30-8:00pm. Children five and older can go up to the children's library while the parents/guardians are in class.