The Schuylkill Intermediate Unit’s Lifelong Learning Center will offer free English as a second language (ESL) classes from the Lehigh Carbon Community College in Tamaqua.

It will be the first time that the center is holding the course in Tamaqua. An orientation session will be held from 5-7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the 234 High St. college.

“The courses normally run 10 weeks, with hopes that students progress from introduction to intermediate to advanced,” according to a Lifelong Learning Center program coordinator. “It’s kind of up to the student to choose how far they will go.”

Attendees might be studying because of their jobs, while others want to better integrate into the community.

“Some of them have postsecondary degrees in their home countries,” the program coordinator noted.

The classes are free and held in the evening to accommodate students’ work schedules.

When they become more fluent in English, attendees often see advancement at their jobs or are able to get better employment, the program coordinator said.

Attendees don’t have to be Tamaqua residents, and they shouldn’t be enrolled in public school.

Before people enroll, they’re asked where they need the most help, whether it be filling out forms, reading informational nonfiction or learning terms for their jobs.

For more information, or to register, contact Laura Hoppes at the Lifelong Learning Center at 570-628-5761 or hoppl@iu29.org. The center also offers the ESL courses from Mahanoy City and Pottsville.