TLC Teacher Finalist for Adult Educator of the Year
TLC Teacher Lorie Adams was one of the five finalists for the 2024 Adult Educator of the Year, an annual award given by the Nashville Public Library Adult Education Community
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TLC Receives $7,500 Grant
The Tennessee Language Center received a $7,500 grant from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The grant will be used to fund hiring graduates of TLC’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) course to teach English for TLC.
TLC Working with Afghan Refugees in Middle TN
TLC Partner Catholic Charities, Diocese of Nashville, has welcomed 332 Afghan refugees to Middle Tennessee. The Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE), another TLC partner, has settled over 200 Afghan refugees and is expecting up to 100 more. These refugees were displaced by the largest evacuation in 50 years of people from their home country to the U.S.
In the first quarter of 2021, TLC has tested 289 of these refugees to ascertain their English proficiency and either placed them in a TLC English as a Second Language (ESL) class at the appropriate level or referred them to other agencies for assistance. TLC will be testing and referring all the adult refugees in the Nashville area. So far, 108 Afghans have attended a TLC ESL class with more expected to enroll over the coming months.
In addition, TLC was able to offer an Afghan interpreter a scholarship to attend our legal interpreter training, and we hope to be able to offer additional scholarships in the future.
First Online TESL Class Graduates
Prior to the pandemic, the Tennessee Language Center’s Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) teacher certification course offered 150 hours of instruction, far beyond the standard 100 hours, and included a 30-hour, in-person teaching practicum. Graduates who completed the program had an advantage obtaining jobs in the field because of this teaching experience. Because of the in-person practicum, the certification training had always been limited to students in the Middle Tennessee area.
This year, TLC made the decision to pilot a completely virtual TESL certification program. On Sept. 11, the first cohort of graduates from the all online TESL certification program graduated. This class is now available to anyone in Tennessee that wishes to get certified to teach English as a Second Language.
Back to School Event is a Big Success
TLC was proud to participate in the Annual Back to School event at Plaza Mariachi that helps local families in the community with the essential school utensils and backpacks. We handed out pencil pouches and toys to the 1,000+ children who attended and talked to the parents about our English and World Language classes.
ESL to Go receives $10,000 grant from Dollar General Literacy Foundation
ESL to Go, a grant-funded program that is part of the Tennessee Language Center (TLC), has been able to provide free English classes to over 1,700 students in the Nashville area with the help of generous funders including the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. ESL to Go was recently awarded another year of funding from Dollar General.
ESL to Go was founded in hopes of helping refugees overcome barriers to attending classes, with transportation being at the top of the list. ESL to Go uses a “classroom on wheels” in the form of a Ford F-650 truck equipped to be a fully functioning classroom to take English classes to the areas where refugees live. ESL to Go also works closely with local refugee resettlement agencies, community organizations, apartment complexes, and churches who allow ESL to Go to use free classroom space, so TLC-trained teachers are able to meet with refugee students close to their homes.
Recently, ESL to Go has expanded class offerings to include virtual classes in order to continue helping students access classes during the time of social distancing.