English as a Second Language

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ESL Tutoring

English as a Second Language (ESL) tutoring is one-on-one or group specialty tutoring for students who are learning English as a new language so they can function productively in a society that uses it as its primary language. This service is provided to assist those who are acquiring the language itself, and also help them to use it academically. All aspects of language are addressed, including pronunciation, grammar, structure, vocabulary, usage, and style, and at all levels.  

ESL tutoring at the LRC is available in the Reading & Writing Center with any of our certified and formally trained tutors. Tutoring also can be arranged with our ESL Tutoring Specialist Melinda Nicholson on a walk-in or by-appointment basis.

Our ESL Tutoring Specialist

Melinda Nicholson graduated from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Spanish. Many years later, after her children were grown, she studied tutoring with an emphasis in ESL, and in 1986 began to tutor international students in the LRC, which she continues to this day. Her students are all interesting and brilliant, and she thoroughly enjoys learning from them about their homelands, cultures and languages in the process of clarifying some of the mysteries of English for them.

Additional Resources

A number of materials are also located behind the front desk as part of the LRC Library, including a video/transcript set called Connect with English: in several chapters it tells the story of a girl who follows her dream from the East coast to the West coast, in soap-opera style. This material is recommended for listening practice, using the transcript to follow along.

Online Resources

Mango Languages is a self-paced online language learning program that teaches practical conversation and cultural awareness for over 30 languages including English as a Second Language. Each lesson covers all four key-language components—vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and culture. The courses are available in two versions. Mango Basic teaches common, helpful phrases in a short period of time and is designed to appeal to a beginner in a new language. Mango Complete is designed to provide more in-depth understanding of a language and its culture. To access Mango Languages, go to http://libraries.mangolanguages.com/alaska/start and create a user profile on the course site.