We are a community of adult learners, advocates, staff, and volunteers.
Free English classes are offered in the morning and evening, online and in-person, for adults 18 and up.
Students from around the world, learning together
Our students come from around the world and have a wide range of educational backgrounds. Some come to us for their first formal education; others have advanced degrees.
Our learners are neighbors, with busy lives full of family and friends, work and needs, goals and dreams.
Classes are taught by around 20 volunteers each day, with support from ELC staff members, which provides learners with a wide variety of voices and life experiences to enhance their lessons.
By the Numbers
Education. Opportunity. Community.
We provide free, culturally sensitive English language education.
We offer high-quality classes at multiple levels, times, and modalities, so learners can find a class that meets them where they are.
We provide flexibility: learners can start classes anytime, and can switch between AM and PM, online and in-person classes whenever they need to.
Our work is built on relationships. We recognize each person's needs, aspirations, language, and culture, and we treat everyone with dignity and respect.
Register for classesLanguage opens doors
Access to language and literacy touches everything: healthcare, banking, transportation, shopping, and employment. Learning another language while adjusting to a new place, culture, and climate is hard enough, harder still when systems create barriers and people are expected to succeed on their own.
No one should have to navigate life in a new country alone, especially after years, often decades, of trauma and loss.
Our immigrant and refugee neighbors are community members who support each other, and us.
Three ways to be part of the ELC
News and Stories
Read more about ELC and OSCS programs and participants. Be inspired by their stories of hope and resilience.
Read Stories →Volunteer
Become a volunteer teacher and share your students' joy as they meet goals and pursue dreams.
Learn More →Help a student reach their goals.
Your gift helps the English Learning Center continually adapt and innovate to support today's students, and tomorrow's.