Immigrants practice English at Urbana Regional Library

This group, with a volunteer teacher, meet in a library to learn English. They are very informal, talking together, practicing and learning. - - Donna Poisl

Informal group allows people to learn the language without judgment, pressure

by Christian Brown | Staff Writer

It's Thursday night at Urbana Regional Library, and eight people are sitting around a table describing pictures in magazines, using their best English.

One man is fascinated by a picture of a car from the 1950s, and reaches for words to describe that era. "It's classic," he said.

He said he reads English well, but speaking it is another matter. As he speaks with other members of the English as a Second Language Conversation Group that meets weekly at the library, he occasionally uses "pero," the Spanish word for "but."

Heather Richie of Frederick, who leads the informal group, corrects him.
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