A mother-daughter duo, Teri Piccozzi and Lila Piccozzi-Kneeland, have joined forces with the Shelter Island Library have joined forces to offer a new program for adult members of the Shelter Island community interested in improving their conversational skills in English.

The classes will begin on Saturday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m., before the library opens to the public, and continue every Saturday morning at the same time.

Library Director Denise DiPaolo said last week that English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs are very often sponsored by public libraries or, if not, this service is provided by other local community groups. On Shelter Island, ESL in the past has been a part of the school’s adult education program, which has not been offered here for several years.

Teri Piccozzi, an accredited ESL instructor with a master’s degree in the specialty from Columbia University’s Teachers College, has been teaching ESL to children at the Shelter Island School since 1987. It runs in the family; her daughter Lila, certified by New York University, currently teaches ESL at all skill levels at Southampton High School. Both are teachers of Spanish as well.

Together they plan to assess the needs of the group and divide the classes into basic, intermediate and advanced skill levels. The goal, as Lila put it, is to help “learners develop their English skills and confidence … in order to use English effectively in daily life, in the community, at work, and to achieve their hopes and dreams …”

With the involvement  and support of Ms. DiPaolo, the two teachers have compiled a mailing to Island businesses whose employees might be potential clients of this new program. A poster has been created to publicize the program’s start-up, and postcard notes have been produced to hand out to those interested.

Because this is an all-volunteer effort and a community service, there is no charge for those who would like to participate — just a phone call (749-0042) or visit to the library to sign up.

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