CHINATOWN LITERACY PROJECT

唐人街英語掃盲項目

What is Chinatown Literacy Project?

Chinatown Literacy Project (CLP) is a weekend adult English as a Second Language (ESL) program that offers Chinese-speaking English language learners individual, personalized instruction and the opportunity to practice conversation with youth volunteers free of charge. CLP is a school year project of Chinatown Youth Initiatives (CYI).

Check out this video filmed by Mos Neammanee (@9x16.nyc) featuring Jennelle Ohene-Agyei, one of our teachers for CLP '21-'22 and '22-'23.

What began as a small idea in 2004...

...by various officers and participants of the Summer Leadership Institute, CLP has quickly expanded into a tight-knit community of volunteers and participants.

Since its first year, CLP has worked with various community organizations such as Project REACH, the Abrons Arts Center at the historically-renowned Henry Street Settlement, and the University Settlement.

Featured here are our coordinators (Riley Applebaum, Corinna Chen, Sarah Tabak, Taryn Chung, and Sydney Gordon) and youth volunteers for CLP '21-'22.

What are Chinatown Literacy Project's values?

CLP was founded on the beliefs that English language skills are essential for integration into an American society and its ideals of citizenship, that English proficiency should be accessible to all regardless of economic status or class, and that language exchange fosters interaction and communication across cultures and generations.

In addition to language classes, CLP also holds workshops on community, immigration history, and civic issues for our youth volunteers, fostering a civic-minded approach to community and a greater awareness of broader social issues, including topics related to immigration and the immigrant community.

Chinatown Literacy Project is in its 20th year of operation, now in cooperation with the Lower East Side Preparatory High School. With new volunteers and coordinators to add to what has begun to feel like a family operation, the CLP community will continue to try and build on its original philosophy that literacy should be accessible and available to ALL, and language is only the beginning of the cross-cultural exchange that can exist for people of different backgrounds.

Today...

Our Program Coordinators for the CLP '22-'23 School Year,

Nicole Chang (The Brearley School '23), Sarah Tabak (Trinity School '23), Corinna Chen (Brooklyn Technical High School '23), and Eason Zhu (Brooklyn Technical High School '23)