Library Adds Adult Literacy Tours, Conversation Groups and Software

SYRACUSE — The Literacy Lab at Central Library has seen a surge in activity and new services since the beginning of the year. Adult English language learners may take a tour that orients them to the library’s many resources for ESOL students on the first Wednesday of every month, join an English language conversation group Saturday mornings at 10 a.m., and use award-winning new software to choose their own learning path.

Central Library is located in The Galleries of Syracuse at 447 S. Salina St., downtown. Call the library at 435-1900 for more information, or call 435-1835 to reach the Literacy Line.

Library orientation for ESL students

Special tours of Central Library for adult English language learners are now being given on the first Wednesday of every month. The next tour will take place Wednesday, February 7, at 3 p.m. Meet in the library lobby on Level 2 of The Galleries.

The tour highlights library materials of interest to ESL students, including English learning kits and literacy lab computers. Visitors will also learn where to find books and movies in their native language, magazines, cookbooks, and materials for their children. Tour participants will be helped in getting a library card, searching the library catalog, and using the Onondaga County Public Library Web site from home or work.

English as a Second/Other Language class groups are welcome. Limited Spanish translation is available. To request another time, please call Amy Thorna at 435-1835.

Saturday ESOL conversation groups now meeting

The OCPL Adult Literacy Program began hosting a Saturday morning English language conversation group for ESOL learners in January. The group meets at 10 a.m. every Saturday on the fourth floor of Central Library. Three other conversation groups meet on Mondays and Wednesdays. Newcomers at all skill levels are welcome to register for any of the four groups.

Conversation groups give learners a chance to practice speaking English in a relaxed, small-group setting. The sessions usually last from one to two hours.

Central Library also has a large collection of books, audio kits and computer software for literacy learners and tutors, and a computer lab for literacy patrons. For more information or to register for a conversation class, call Adult Literacy Coordinator Amy Thorna at 435-1835.

Award-winning software “closest thing to a human tutor” available at library

Central Library has a new addition to its Verizon Adult Literacy lab — Auralog’s award-winning software “Tell Me More®” for English language learners. “Tell Me More” has been described as the closest thing to a live human tutor on the market today.
The software allows the learner to choose a learning path according to interest and learning objective:

Guided mode offers a group of lessons and activities suggested in order of increasing difficulty.
Dynamic mode adjusts learning content based on objectives and progress and offers activities best adapted to needs.
Free to Roam mode lets a more advanced learner freely choose activities.

“Tell Me More” is available at three levels in the lab: beginner, intermediate, and intermediate-plus. It allows individuals to track and save progress and begin again, from exactly where they left off, at the next visit to the lab.

Anyone interested in using this or other programs in the Verizon Literacy Lab should attend one of the orientations held Mondays and Fridays at 1 p.m. throughout February on the Level 4 of Central Library, or call 435-1835 to make an appointment for an orientation.