YWCA, Princeton U. To Collaborate On English Language Program

PRINCETON, NJ — Eight students from YWCA Princeton’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Program were selected to receive one-on-one tutoring from Princeton University students, the organization said.

The students from the university are part of the “Second Language Acquisition and Pedagogy” course taught by Prof. Jamie Rankin, of the German Department.

Under the university’s Program in Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES), the course connects Princeton students with ESL learners at the YWCA, who come from seven different countries in Latin America as well as China.

“I think this is an incredible opportunity – for the ESL learners, who will benefit from personalized, one-on-one instruction, and for the Princeton students, who will be able to see first-hand how theories of language learning work out in practice,” Rankin said.

For 10 weeks, university students will integrate their understanding of language acquisition with practical teaching experience as they work with participants of the ESL program. They will create customized digital learning tools to be shared with them in a new web app.

Heledona Katro, YWCA Princeton's Director of ESL and Literacy Programs said the collaboration will be an “incredible” learning opportunity for ESL students. “I'm confident our students will make great progress while contributing to the Princeton students' language acquisition research," Katro said.

The one-on-one tutoring will serve as additional practice for students already enrolled in YWCA Princeton's ESL program, which offers English language courses for all levels of fluency.

“The partnership between the YWCA and the university works because both sets of learners are benefiting,” said Tara Carr-Lemke, the Associate Director of Princeton’s Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship. “All participants are building skills, testing out theories and strategies, and generating knowledge together.”

To learn about the program, visit https://www.ywcaprinceton.org/programs/literacy-programs-esl/esl-2/.