News

The Department of Language and Literature will offer free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to the community through its Center for English Language and Literacy (CELL). Registration is now open for the courses, which begin Thursday, Sept. 9.

“We are so excited that we are able to offer these ESL classes free of charge to the community thanks to the generous support of the Dollar General Grant Federal Foundation,” said Dr. Chris Blake, director of Lee’s CELL. “This is our 10-year anniversary of offering free ESL classes to the Cleveland community, and we are so inspired by the hundreds of students who have invested their time and energy to learn English in our classes over the past decade.”

CELL’s Thursday Conversation Program offers five levels of classes for all levels of adult learners, ranging from those who have little to no prior English instruction to speakers who are advanced in their knowledge of the English language.

The Tuesday Literacy Program offers three levels of classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students.

In addition to the classes for adults, the Tuesday Literacy Program will offer special literacy classes for the high school and middle school students. Childcare for children ages 2-10 will be provided on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

All classes will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Walker Memorial Building, with signs directing students to the building and room. To protect students against COVID-19, masks are required for all participants.

The program is led by Blake, an associate professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and linguistics; Emma Osko, student director of CELL; and Veronica Hodge, director of the Tuesday night Literacy Center. The English classes are taught by Lee student instructors who have been professionally trained in the TESOL program.

For more information about the Center for English Language and Literacy and to register for classes, visit leecell.org or contact Blake at (423) 614-8223.