The I. H. M. Literacy Center

929 S. Farragut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19143-3606

(215) 382-0292

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary run this wonderful community resource located in West Philadelphia near the beautiful church of St. Francis de Sales. The center offers instruction in English as a Second Language and high school equivalency (GED) programs. Learners of all faiths and nationalities, at all stages of English acquisition, are welcome at the center, where the mottoes are, "We are all one family," and "We speak one language, love." Sisters and lay volunteers serve a diverse community of adult immigrant learners from dozens of countries in small classes that fit the learners' abilities, from beginning to advanced levels. The courses are free, except for a small fee to defray the cost of educational materials. Interested parties (learners or volunteer tutors) should call Sister Sally at the number above for more information.

Registration for Fall, 2001 classes will be held at the Literacy Center at the times below. Learners should bring their social security card with them.

• Wednesday, September 5, 8:30 to 11:30 AM and 5:30 to 7:30 PM

• Thursday, Septmeber 6, 8:30 to 11:30 AM and 5:30 to 7:30 PM

ESL Resources on the Web

Here are some links that may be useful for students or teachers of English as a Second Language.

• Community College of Philadelphia offers courses in English as a Second Language. You don't need to take TOEFL, or have a GED to take courses here. All students take a placement exam to find the courses appropriate for them. The test and application are free. Find out more by visiting CCP's Welcome Center.
• International House offers classes in spoken English, although their web page doesn't seem to have any information about it right now.
• The University of Pennsylvania has its own English Language Program. Their web site has links to lots of ESL resources for teachers and students.

For several years now, I have greatly enjoyed volunteering as an ESL tutor at the Literacy Center. Below are some pictures of my current class at our Christmas celebration at the end of the Fall '98 semester. Most classes at the Literacy Center are smaller.

From left to right: Cissé Amara (Ivory Coast), Grazyna Czapla (Poland), me (New Jersey), Tsegenesh Reta (Ethiopia), Halina Godek, Krzysztof Orzechowski, Bozena Orzechowski, Aleksander Godek, and Elzbieta Babik (all from Poland)

Our class again, but this time with Sister Sally, the director of the Literacy Center (and I'm taking the picture!).