Author: US Adult Literacy

We offer free 10-month long ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Language) classes in Lower East Side of Manhattan. We help immigrant New Yorkers by providing them with intensive English language classes, and counseling. We're located at 175 Eldridge, Street, New York, NY. This is a blog for our students so they can get more practice in English language, and learn about life in New York City.

Secret Gardens of the Lower East Side

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Vocabulary

Oasis – n.,  something or some place that provides refreshing relief

Wander – v., to move about with no plan

Stillness – n., quiet, absence of sound 

Burial ground – n., a place where people are buried when they die

Lush – adj., growing thick and healthy

Enchant – v., to charm and delight, to put under a magic spell

Contemplate – v., to look at something for a long time, to think about deeply

Dazzling – adj., amazing, impressive

Perennials – n., plants that bloom every year

Abundantly – adv., large in amount or number; more than enough.

Neglected – adj., not taken proper care of

Decline – v., to go downward

Guerillas – n., a group of soldiers who do not work as part of an official army.

Rubble-strewn – adj., covered with rocks and debris, messy

Din – n., loud noise

Wonder – v., to feel admiration, surprise, or amazement

In these last few weeks of summer, what better way to spend an hour (or two!) than discovering a green oasis in the middle of New York City?  If you need a break from concrete and steel, we recommend a visit to one of these special and precious places… to wander in or just to sit and savor the stillness of the late-season beauty.

M’finda Kalunga Garden 

The name of this garden means “Garden at the Edge of the Other Side of the World” in the Kikongo language.¹   It is named in memory of the African American burial ground that was located on nearby Chrystie Street between Rivington and Stanton Streets. There is dense and lush growth everywhere, with little paths winding through the trees and shrubs. Flowers bloom, chickens roam, and the fish pond will enchant you as you take a bench and contemplate the peacefulness.

Open:
Thursday: 5-7pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12-4pm
179 Chrystie St, New York, NY 

Relax under the trees in the M’finda Kalunga Garden.

LaGuardia Corner Garden

LaGuardia Corner Garden is an award-winning community garden in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village.  It is a place of natural beauty, where the visitor can find an oasis of calm in urban surroundings.  During the growing season visitors can enjoy a dazzling display of daffodils, tulips, irises, peonies, roses, and other perennials, as well as shrubs and fruit trees.

Open:
Saturday & Sunday: 2-6 pm
Weekdays: 6-8 pm
511 LaGuardia Place (bet. Bleecker & Houston Streets)

The gates may be open at other times when the weather is fair. You can go in whenever you see the garden open!

Lilac blooms abundantly in the LaGuardia Corner Garden.

Liz Christy Bowery-Houston Garden

This was the first Community Garden in New York City, founded in 1973; it is located on the northeast corner of Bowery and Houston Streets in Manhattan.

In the 17th century, this site was part of a large farm owned by Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Amsterdam.  Hundreds of years later, in the 1970s, this “bouwerie”  (the Dutch word for ‘farm’) was neglected and filled with abandoned buildings; a neighborhood in complete decline.

In 1973 a local resident named Liz Christy and a group of gardening activists known as the Green Guerillas were planting window boxes and vacant lots with ‘seed bombs.²  They saw the large rubble-strewn lot as a potential garden and in December went to the City to find a way to gain official use of the land. Volunteers hauled the garbage and rubble out, spread donated topsoil, installed a fence and began planting.

In 2002, it became one of the protected community gardens by law.   The garden feels like a private place despite the din of traffic. Two ponds are home to fish and turtles, there is a perennial lotus, a native plant habitat, vegetables, herbs, and many flowering plants. The tallest Dawn Redwood tree in the city is located in the garden.  

Open: 
Saturdays, all year: 12 – 4 pm
Sundays, May to October: 12 – 4 pm
Tuesday, Thursdays, May to October: 6 pm till dusk.
East Houston Street between Second Avenue and Bowery

Perfect for a bit of wonder, a little relaxing meditation, a moment of peace…bring a snack, a sun hat, and yourself to a garden before the warm weather ends!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Christy_Garden

¹ Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Angola.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kongo_language?variant=zh-tw

²seed bombs: 

Seed bombs are little clay-covered mounds of seeds and growing soil. They’re often used to help reseed natural plants to wild areas, and they were first made popular by guerilla gardeners, people who use public space to grow things.  

Source: www.slownorth.com

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Chimpanzees Use Medicinal Plants

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Vocabulary –

Medicine –  something used for the treatment or prevention of disease

Uganda – a country in East Africa

fern – a flowerless plant with feathery or leafy fronds 

antibacterial – substances that kill bacteria or prevent them from growing

consume – eat, drink, or ingest

Read the Article –

Humans have used plants as medicine since prehistory. Scientists have now found that chimpanzees use plants to heal themselves. Researchers conducted a study of chimpanzee behavior in a forest in Uganda. The researchers observed a male chimp with an injured hand looking for a fern. The fern may have reduced the swelling in its hand. Another chimp with an infection ate the bark of a tree. This may have helped to cure the animal.

The researchers say there is a correlation between the chimpanzees’ ills and the healing properties in plants. The researchers tested the plants the chimpanzees ate. They found that 88 percent of them had antibacterial properties. A researcher said: “Results suggest that Budongo chimpanzees consume several [plants] with potent medicinal properties.” She said the research may lead to a greater use of medicinal plants in our lives.

Phrase Match –

Source – https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2406/240624-medicinal-plants-4.html

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A ‘Towering’ Triumph!

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Vocabulary:

Nave – n., the large central part of a church

Towering – adj., very tall or very high

Funds – n., money 

Ongoing – adj., something that always happens

Daring – adj., very brave

Illicit – adj., against the law

Disorderly conduct –  n., behavior that is not peaceful

Trespass – v., to go onto private property without permission

Fondly – adv., with warm feelings

Close – n., the enclosed part of a cathedral

High-wire artist Philippe Petit will walk a tightrope across the nave of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in New York City, on Wednesday, August 7th, and again on the 8th. Grammy Award-winning musician Sting, a friend of Petit, will perform original music for the event.  The performance is called “Towering” and will raise funds for the Cathedral’s ongoing programs.

Petit, well-known for his daring high-wire walks around the world, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

Even though Petit was arrested for what came to be known as “the art crime of the century,” he has never stopped walking on wires. “If I see two towers, I have to walk,” he told The New York Times. Later he added, “Anything that is giant and man-made strikes me in an awesome way and calls me.”

The illicit walk took 45 minutes and Petit, who turns 75 next week, was arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, but today his act is remembered fondly, including as part of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

He has walked high wires all over the world, from the Sydney Harbor bridge in Australia, to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and now, at 75 years old, he will celebrate the anniversary of this daring stunt in a place that holds great meaning for him – and is his spiritual home in New York.  It was the Reverend James Parks Morton, at the Cathedral in 1974, who requested Petit’s release from his arrest.  His daughter’s ashes are also at the Cathedral. When Morton retired at the end of 1996, Petit performed “Crescendo,” an aerial tribute on the cathedral’s close.

Photo source: https://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.com/

Here is a video of another of Petit’s performances at the magnificent cathedral, his high-wire “Ribbon Walk” in February of 2024:

A visit to the cathedral is an amazing experience:

https://www.stjohndivine.org/visit

sources:

https://episcopalnewsservice.org/2024/08/07

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/06/opinion/philippe-petit-twin-towers.html?searchResultPosition=2

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Parts of Speech in Grammar

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Word class, also known as parts of speech, just means the type of word (noun, verb, adjective, etc.). Some words represent things, others represent actions, and some are just for description. It’s important to know parts of speech in grammar because different word classes have different rules.

  • Noun—represents people, places, things, and concepts
  • Verb—represents actions
  • Adjective—describes nouns
  • Adverb—describes verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs
  • Pronoun—represents other nouns to save time
  • Auxiliary verb (helper verb)—a special type of verb used in supportive roles like conjugation
  • Preposition—shows relationships of direction, time, location, and space
  • Determiner—identifies characteristics of a noun and is necessary in certain grammar situations
  • Conjunction—joins together other words, phrases, or clauses
  • Interjection—expresses sudden feelings to mimic speech in writing (used informally)

Example: Wow, he has quickly grown into a beautiful and healthy cat!

InterjectionWow,
Pronounhe
Auxiliary verbhas
Adverbquickly
Verbgrown
Prepositioninto
Determinera
Adjectivebeautiful
Conjunctionand
Adjectivehealthy
Nouncat!

Source – https://www.grammarly.com/blog/test-grammar-prep/

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PARIS MAYOR TAKES A DIP IN THE SEINE

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Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to swim in the Parisian river before the Olympic Games.  On Wednesday, July 17, she proved that the city had cleaned up the river enough for the athletes to compete in the once-dirty water.

Her swim was rescheduled twice because of high bacteria1 levels, but, on Wednesday, just nine days before the opening ceremony, the mayor jumped in, wearing a wetsuit and goggles2, and swam rapidly downstream.

Ms. Hidalgo, a socialist politician3 who has made many changes to the city, has been criticized for the high cost of cleaning the river.

Swimming was banned4 in the Seine in 1923. Ms. Hidalgo’s plan is for the river to be used not only for a handful of Olympic events but also, from next year, for public swimming at a few locations.

Next up for the Seine, on Friday, the 26th: the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games 2024!

  1. bacteria (plural noun of bacterium): any one of a group of very small living things that often cause disease — usually plural ↩︎
  2. wetsuit and googles (nouns): click here for a photo example ↩︎
  3. socialist politician (adjective noun phrase): an active person in government who is a member of the Socialist Party ↩︎
  4. banned (past tense verb; adjective): to forbid people from using (something) ↩︎

Ask the reader: Do you know where the public pools are in your area? Is public swimming allowed in the rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water where you grew up?

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ATTENTION STUDENTS and TEACHERS!

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Of course you know about our terrifically useful resource pages, don’t you?

In case you don’t, they comprise a collection of wonderful and fun ESL learning ideas.  These links range from interactive pronunciation help to interesting reading comprehension aides to AI-enhanced writing assistance. That’s right – AI as in Artificial Intelligence!

You’ll find them enjoyable, informative, and easy to access and use.

We have carefully curated this collection, and added a few new tools to your toolbox.  Among them:

ESL Literacy Readers  Well-done, diverse reading texts with audio for all levels.

Punctuation Guide   An extremely handy and comprehensive guide to – you guessed it!  Enlightening examples of the most-used punctuation marks in the English language.

Happy English Podcast  Conjunctions, idioms, and phrasal verbs – oh my!  Fun and accessible Listening practice for all levels.

Better at Speaking Podcast  Thought-provoking and entertaining; these podcasts are frequently accompanied by video to enrich comprehension and engagement.

The above links have been selected for BOTH teachers and students.  We hope you find them helpful.

Our Resource Pages

For teachers: For Teachers – US Adult Literacy
And for students: For Students – US Adult Literacy

Or you can navigate to the resource pages on the top of our blog.

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Join Our Free English Classes!

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Our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class registration is now open for the 2024-25 school year!

REQUIREMENTS:

  • Must be at least 18 years old
  • Must be a NYC resident and provide proof of address
  • Must be able to attend in-person classes for 10 months

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

  • Students will be given a placement test to determine English level.
  • Classes will start in September 2024 and end in June 2025.
  • Classes are free and the program will provide textbooks.
  • Classes are not bilingual, and students are encouraged to speak English only.
  • Evening and Weekend classes are open for the students who have jobs only and the seats are limited.

Please check the information about our classes in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, or French. 

To complete the interest form, click on one of the images above to scan the QR code or click here.

After completing the interest form, our staff will contact you via email to invite you to an information session. Please check your inbox and spam/junk folder.

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