Language Training Center Highlighted

The Language Training Center in Indianapolis, which offers language and culture training, interpretation and translation services, was featured in the Indianapolis Business Journal. It's owned by Martin George, a former director of the English as a Second Language program at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis.

He has, according to the IBJ "found himself in high demand among some of the world’s biggest athletes and sports properties, from basketball star Yao Ming and IndyCar Series drivers to the NCAA and LPGA."

Read more here.

.

Spanish Courses & Cursos de Inglés

If you're an English-speaker looking for a Spanish class, or a Spanish-speaker looking for instruction in English, Language School and Services, part of Latino Advocacy in Community Affairs (LACA) at the Urban League, 777 Indiana Avenue, Indianapolis, may have what you seek. Registration for winter classes ends 11 December, and classes begin 4 January 2010.

LACA uses Total Physical Response (TPR). Students learn Spanish through interactive lessons that replicate real situations. Focus is given to comprehension and conversation, supplemented by grammar, reading, and writing. Home study and personal improvement are encouraged, but no homework or tests are required. LACA offers five intermediate and five advanced level classes at $175.

Classes require a minimum of five students and are held once a week only, most in the evenings from 6-8 p.m., for 10 weeks. The winter term is January-March, the spring term is March-May, the summer term is June-August and the fall term is September-November. Most classes are in the Urban League offices.

.

ESL Program in Indy's Pike Township Expands

When school begins Tuesday (11 August) in Marion County's Pike Township, "Students who don't speak English fluently will get a language boost," writes Gretchen Becker in The Indianapolis Star's NorthIndy section on 8 August 2009. The district will be using the "Newcomer's Program" to target students with low English language skills. Several Pike teachers involved in the program are multi-lingual, including Mieke Kendrick-Lambrecht, a native of Belgium, who speaks English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Finnish. Last year, 17% of the district's students (some 1,854) were non-native speakers of English.

.

Become a Volunteer ESL Tutor!

An immigrant's need to learn English is exceeded only by the dearth of opportunities to learn the language. Become part of the solution by learning how to be an effective ESL (English as a Second Language) tutor during a 9 a.m.-noon workshop on 10 November. It's free. For information and to register, email or call 317:274-2555.

Presented by the Indiana Center for Intercultural Communication and Catholic Charities of Indianapolis for the Spirit & Place Festival, it's hosted by Dr. Ulla Connor, Dr. Bill Rozycki and Chuck Fischer. It'll be held in room 508 of Cavanaugh Hall, 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis (on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis).