Everybody can be from New York

People always say that it is best to learn from the most authentic environments. However, as we discussed before, it is always hard to overcomes the difficulties, both financial and time related, to create such environments for all learners. 'We Are New York' provides such excellent environments to aid language learners. 


As the project says on the website, 'We Are New York' is an Emmy Award-winning half hour TV show created to help people practice English. Each story highlights important and realistic situations, like go seeing to the doctor or talking with a professor. The stories capture the spirit of people who have come from all over the world that have made the Big Apple their home. The characters speak every day English, but at a slower pace. They also provide subtitles to help facilitate understanding of sentence formation and context. 


The project, 'We Are New York' uses conversation groups throughout the five boroughs to help immigrant New Yorkers practice English and learn about helpful City services. These groups are led by volunteers who are trained by the We Are New York staff. 


Besides all these TV shows people can watch, this project also provides opportunities for ESL learner to practice speaking English with volunteers from New York City for free. Detailed schedules can be found on their website. If ESL learners are able to make full use of all these features of this project, I am sure that they will benefit a lot during the process.