CUNY York College Learning Center
Agency Location:
94-43 160th Street Jamaica, NY 11451
Agency Description:
York College Learning Center - "Personal Change through Foundational Education"
York College Learning Center has been providing free educational and advisement services to the residents of Southeast Queens and its neighboring communities since 1975.
The Learning Center assists over 2,500 students each year through its educational programs, academic counseling, and referral services. The Learning Center serves both students and members of the community who seek information ranging from assistance with the public school system, to completing college applications, to referrals to other community organizations providing services to families, older adults and youth.
York College Learning Center prepares over 100 students annually to earn their High School Equivalency Diploma (formerly GED), helping to open doors to employment, promotion, and higher education.
The Learning Center's instructional offerings include Adult Basic Education (ABE), High School Equivalency (HSE), English as a Second Language (ESL), English Language and Civics Education (ELCE), Employment Readiness, College and Career Knowledge, and Tools for Success.
Make York College Learning Center your first choice on your journey to personal change!
The ALE program provides classes in English as a Second Language (ESL) for students at the beginning levels in the mornings (9:30am - 1:30pm) and evenings (6:00pm - 9:00pm). The ALE program serves a minimum of 160 students per year. Registration for classes is available during specific time periods in the mornings and evenings three times per year. Please call 718-262-3861 for information regarding the dates and times for the next upcoming registration session.
Agency Highlight:
York College Learning Center is committed to developing a community of learners. This is especially relevant in the ALE funded beginning level English as a Second Language (ESL) classes where the majority of students are hesitant to speak in class. To overcome this challenge, teachers utilize a variety of strategies. Teachers recognize the knowledge and skills learners bring into the classroom and create a non-threatening learning environment to encourage risk-taking in the English language. Teachers develop lessons that use content relevant to the lives of the participants, target skills appropriate to the students’ levels, and employ activities that address different learning styles. Language and literacy skills are taught in the context of content areas, such as employment, healthcare, financial literacy, and survival skills. Teachers construct communicative task-based activities that actively engage students to learn the language by using it to do something meaningful.
Performance-based learning exemplifies this approach and role-playing is an effective means of achieving it. Role-playing provides opportunities for beginning speakers to actually use the language in a controlled setting in an authentic manner. Students are engaged and learning as they are immersed in language and are taking risks using it. The classroom environment is alive, fun, and enjoyable, as students take on the identities of their given roles. The classroom buzzes with activity as students perform skits, speak, listen, and respond to each other in English, make mistakes, teach one another, and learn valuable skills as they develop communicative competence.
The ESL teachers excel at creating the atmosphere and setting the scenes for students to participate in role-plays. One teacher, Susanna Stefanovich, wrote about a successful class, At the Bank Role Play.
The unit began by introducing relevant vocabulary regarding banking, including the various services bank offer and the different transactions we as clients can do at the bank.…… Before the students participated in this role lay, I divided the class into two groups: bank tellers and bank customers. There were 6 bank tellers and each was assigned 3 clients at random. The bank tellers were provided with a Teller Activity Sheet and fake currency. The bank clients were each given a Bank Client Activity Sheet, a fake debit card, a fake Photo ID, two checks, and three bills (gas, electricity, and telephone). The bank clients had to line up behind their assigned teller, ready to use the sample dialogue on their activity sheet to conduct a bank transaction with the teller. They were required to greet the teller, answer the questions asked, provide the necessary documents/paperwork and thank the teller for their assistance, as well as wish them a great day on their way out. When the client was finished, they went to the back of the shortest line and did another transaction with another teller. All in all, the clients were required to conduct at least 3 different banking transactions from the following- pay a bill, cash a check, withdraw money or deposit money. The tellers, on the other hand, had to be polite and offer good customer service; they had to keep track of the names of their clients and the kind of transactions they did for their customers. Although students could use the conversation on their activity sheet as a guide, they were encouraged to be creative and "create” challenges for the bank teller.
The activity lasted a good 30 minutes. The students were engaged and energized. They were able to successfully use the bank-relevant vocabulary and follow the scripted framework of the dialogue. ....... Overall, it was a great success!
The role play was followed by a discussion on who they thought was the most courteous bank teller and how comfortable they felt doing these transactions in English. Many students enjoyed the activity; they felt confident using the new vocabulary and expressed having expanded their knowledge of information regarding banking transactions.
The benefits of this activity are manifold. The students are engaged, they are communicating in English on a topic relevant to their lives, and are applying new vocabulary to a real-life situation. It is also a physically active, not passive, as students are on their feet and moving around, and what is more important, it involved the whole class. Students of all levels were participating and they were doing so at their own pace.
Registration Information:
Registration for classes is available during specific time periods in the mornings and evenings three times per year.
Please call 718-262-3861 for information regarding the dates and times for the next upcoming registration session.
Individuals are welcomed to visit the Learning Center at 94-43 160th Street, Jamaica, NY 11451, and should come to room CL-104 for more information.
The Learning Center is open to walk-ins Monday through Thursday, from 9:30am - 7:30pm, and Fridays, from 9:30am - 4:30pm. Appointments with the academic counseling/case management team are also available.
Click here to visit the CUNY York College Learning Center Website!
Click Here to Read More Agency Highlights
94-43 160th Street Jamaica, NY 11451
Agency Description:
York College Learning Center - "Personal Change through Foundational Education"
York College Learning Center has been providing free educational and advisement services to the residents of Southeast Queens and its neighboring communities since 1975.
The Learning Center assists over 2,500 students each year through its educational programs, academic counseling, and referral services. The Learning Center serves both students and members of the community who seek information ranging from assistance with the public school system, to completing college applications, to referrals to other community organizations providing services to families, older adults and youth.
York College Learning Center prepares over 100 students annually to earn their High School Equivalency Diploma (formerly GED), helping to open doors to employment, promotion, and higher education.
The Learning Center's instructional offerings include Adult Basic Education (ABE), High School Equivalency (HSE), English as a Second Language (ESL), English Language and Civics Education (ELCE), Employment Readiness, College and Career Knowledge, and Tools for Success.
Make York College Learning Center your first choice on your journey to personal change!
The ALE program provides classes in English as a Second Language (ESL) for students at the beginning levels in the mornings (9:30am - 1:30pm) and evenings (6:00pm - 9:00pm). The ALE program serves a minimum of 160 students per year. Registration for classes is available during specific time periods in the mornings and evenings three times per year. Please call 718-262-3861 for information regarding the dates and times for the next upcoming registration session.
Agency Highlight:
York College Learning Center is committed to developing a community of learners. This is especially relevant in the ALE funded beginning level English as a Second Language (ESL) classes where the majority of students are hesitant to speak in class. To overcome this challenge, teachers utilize a variety of strategies. Teachers recognize the knowledge and skills learners bring into the classroom and create a non-threatening learning environment to encourage risk-taking in the English language. Teachers develop lessons that use content relevant to the lives of the participants, target skills appropriate to the students’ levels, and employ activities that address different learning styles. Language and literacy skills are taught in the context of content areas, such as employment, healthcare, financial literacy, and survival skills. Teachers construct communicative task-based activities that actively engage students to learn the language by using it to do something meaningful.
Performance-based learning exemplifies this approach and role-playing is an effective means of achieving it. Role-playing provides opportunities for beginning speakers to actually use the language in a controlled setting in an authentic manner. Students are engaged and learning as they are immersed in language and are taking risks using it. The classroom environment is alive, fun, and enjoyable, as students take on the identities of their given roles. The classroom buzzes with activity as students perform skits, speak, listen, and respond to each other in English, make mistakes, teach one another, and learn valuable skills as they develop communicative competence.
The ESL teachers excel at creating the atmosphere and setting the scenes for students to participate in role-plays. One teacher, Susanna Stefanovich, wrote about a successful class, At the Bank Role Play.
The unit began by introducing relevant vocabulary regarding banking, including the various services bank offer and the different transactions we as clients can do at the bank.…… Before the students participated in this role lay, I divided the class into two groups: bank tellers and bank customers. There were 6 bank tellers and each was assigned 3 clients at random. The bank tellers were provided with a Teller Activity Sheet and fake currency. The bank clients were each given a Bank Client Activity Sheet, a fake debit card, a fake Photo ID, two checks, and three bills (gas, electricity, and telephone). The bank clients had to line up behind their assigned teller, ready to use the sample dialogue on their activity sheet to conduct a bank transaction with the teller. They were required to greet the teller, answer the questions asked, provide the necessary documents/paperwork and thank the teller for their assistance, as well as wish them a great day on their way out. When the client was finished, they went to the back of the shortest line and did another transaction with another teller. All in all, the clients were required to conduct at least 3 different banking transactions from the following- pay a bill, cash a check, withdraw money or deposit money. The tellers, on the other hand, had to be polite and offer good customer service; they had to keep track of the names of their clients and the kind of transactions they did for their customers. Although students could use the conversation on their activity sheet as a guide, they were encouraged to be creative and "create” challenges for the bank teller.
The activity lasted a good 30 minutes. The students were engaged and energized. They were able to successfully use the bank-relevant vocabulary and follow the scripted framework of the dialogue. ....... Overall, it was a great success!
The role play was followed by a discussion on who they thought was the most courteous bank teller and how comfortable they felt doing these transactions in English. Many students enjoyed the activity; they felt confident using the new vocabulary and expressed having expanded their knowledge of information regarding banking transactions.
The benefits of this activity are manifold. The students are engaged, they are communicating in English on a topic relevant to their lives, and are applying new vocabulary to a real-life situation. It is also a physically active, not passive, as students are on their feet and moving around, and what is more important, it involved the whole class. Students of all levels were participating and they were doing so at their own pace.
Registration Information:
Registration for classes is available during specific time periods in the mornings and evenings three times per year.
Please call 718-262-3861 for information regarding the dates and times for the next upcoming registration session.
Individuals are welcomed to visit the Learning Center at 94-43 160th Street, Jamaica, NY 11451, and should come to room CL-104 for more information.
The Learning Center is open to walk-ins Monday through Thursday, from 9:30am - 7:30pm, and Fridays, from 9:30am - 4:30pm. Appointments with the academic counseling/case management team are also available.
Click here to visit the CUNY York College Learning Center Website!
Click Here to Read More Agency Highlights