Teen Talk Time begins at Richmond Beach Library

Richmond Beach Library. Photo by Steven H. Robinson

From Aarene Storms, RB Youth Services Librarian

Why doesn't the Richmond Beach Library offer a Talk Time program for teens?

The middle school near the Richmond Beach Library estimates that their students speak more than 26 languages in addition to English. At the local high school, even more "home" languages are spoken. The library's adult Talk Time group has been active for more than a decade, and the twice-weekly ESL classes have been very successful.

Why doesn't the Richmond Beach Library offer a Talk Time program for teens?

Nobody at the library had ever heard of such a thing--and everyone agreed that it was the perfect program for our community.

Teen leaders drawn from the Shoreline Parks Youth Ambassador program attended leadership training in December 2010, and, with help from KCLS staff members and Richmond Beach manager Anina Sill (who coordinated the funding requests to the Friends of the Library), the very first Teen Talk Time launched at Richmond Beach on January 5th, 2011.

Why doesn't the Richmond Beach Library offer a Talk Time program for teens?

It does!

• Teen Talk Time: Informal English conversation practice for middle school and high school students meets every Wednesday afternoon from 4 to 6pm at the Richmond Beach Library. Coffee and pizza are provided to participants by the Friends of the Richmond Beach Library. No registration required.

• Talk Time: English conversation practice for adults, meets every Tuesday afternoon from 4 to 6pm. No registration required.

• English as a Second Language Classes for adults, Guided practice in reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, meets Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30pm and Saturdays, 10am to noon. Please register for this program.

For information about these and other library programs, please call the Richmond Beach Library: 206-546-3522.