LEWISTON — This month’s Great Falls Forum, taking place on Friday, May 16, will feature Anne Kemper, coordinator of Lewiston’s Adult Learning Center, and Joyce Walworth, ESOL instructor with Portland Adult Education.
They will present a talk titled, “The Changing Face of Maine: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in Lewiston and Portland.”
This forum lecture will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in Callahan Hall at the Lewiston Public Library.
English language learning is at an all-time high at Lewiston Adult Education’s Adult Learning Center in the Longley School, and Portland, likewise, is experiencing growth in its ESOL classes.
At this Friday’s forum program, two seasoned educators will be talking about the joys and challenges of working with adult learners.
Anne Kemper has been working with English language learners in Lewiston since 1986 and has been recognized for her outstanding work by both the Maine Adult Education Association (2004 Distinguished Service Award) and College for ME — Androscoggin (2008 Advocate Award).
Her Portland colleague, Joyce Walworth, has served for the past six years, teaching English to speakers of other languages, first as a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa and more recently as an instructor at Portland Adult Education, where she works with immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Kemper and Walworth will discuss their respective programs and talk about the personal rewards in working with new Mainers.
In addition, they will include an experiential session, during which forum attendees will learn what it is like to learn a new language in a foreign setting. The program will end with a question-and-answer period.
Admission is free to all forum events, and no reservations are required. This program is a bring-your-own-brown-bag lunch event. Coffee, tea and bottled water will be available at the library.
The Great Falls Forum is co-sponsored by Bates College, Lewiston Public Library and the Sun Journal. The Lewiston Public Library is located downtown at 200 Lisbon St. at the corner of Pine Street.
More information on Thursday’s lecture or other upcoming events in the Great Falls Forum series is available by contacting the Lewiston Public Library at 513-3135 or www.LPLonline.org.
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