Who is New York?

New York Language Center prides itself in providing students with an exceptional Student Life experience by immersing them in American culture and New York City life. Many ideas for our activities are inspired by information provided by TimeOut New York.  

This past Wednesday, TimeOut New York published their weekly magazine in which they explored some of the stories of the immigrants that contribute to our amazing city. We are proud to say that the staff and students of NYLC provided the translations for the cover! 

The title of the issue is "Who is New York". A phrase whose meaning can be challenging to translate into English and completely lost when translated literally into other languages. Nevertheless, we were up for the challenge, and as expected, the issue stirred lots of healthy discussion about language among our staff and students. 

As such, we are so excited to be a part of such an inspiring issue that is so relevant to the events of our day. We strongly believe that New York City is made great in large part by the people who come to live and settle down here. We were, therefore, thrilled to be a part of this project. Thank you to TimeOut NY for letting us help!

Getting To Know Our Students: Meet Camila from Bolivia!

Our latest video is on NYLC Midtown student, Camila who studied with our school in 2015.

Camila tells her story about moving to New York as a young woman who left her family for the first time and how she gained confidence as she learned to navigate the city and eventually makes New York her home away from home. Hear how her friends from NYLC helped her become comfortable in her new environment.

Are you a NIGHT OWL or an EARLY BIRD?

This temporary owl sculpture stood along Broadway in Midtown not too far from NYLC this past winter. Many owls are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day and hunt at night. This is most likely the reason why we call people who are wide awake at night NIGHT OWLS!  :-)  Read about this & learn more vocabulary in the lesson below.   

People usually either love staying up late at night or prefer going to bed early. Those who enjoy staying up late and hitting the sack way past midnight don't enjoy getting up early. On the other hand, those who turn in early also enjoy waking up early.

• HITTING THE SACK - going to bed
• WAY past midnight - so much past midnight (as in 2 or 3 a.m.)
• TURN IN - go to bed

Which one are you?  If you love staying up late and hitting the sack in the wee hours of the morning, you can call yourself a night owl! :-) You probably snooze the alarm several times in the morning before you drag yourself out of bed. Then you move very slowly as you struggle to wake up.

• THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING - very early morning, around 3 or 4 a.m.
• A NIGHT OWL - someone who goes to bed very late
• DRAG yourself or someone - force yourself or someone
• STRUGGLE - try hard

February Student Activities at NYLC

Our Student Activities bring students from all four NYLC schools together, and these activities are a way for our students to apply what they've learned in the classroom into real life situations. The month of February is considered the coldest month, yet it is also quite eventful in NYC, and students who participate get a taste of the excitement. 

Immigrants Dreaming Big

New York City has one of the most diverse immigrant populations in the world. According to nyc.gov, 6 out of 10 New Yorkers are immigrants or children of immigrants. Among these children are young people like Amanda*, who is the daughter of immigrants and an immigrant herself. Her parents migrated to the United States when she was just two years old, and at the age of eight, she was able to join her parents in the United States.

Amanda grew up in the Bronx, the northern borough of New York City. She considers herself a Bronxite and a New Yorker. The Bronx is one of the most diverse boroughs in New York, in her neighborhood, Concourse Village, 41 percent of the population is foreign born. Amanda grew up among immigrants who come from different parts of the world, just like her and her family. Learning English was a challenge for Amanda in the beginning. However, because her dream was to become a doctor, she was determined to learn to speak and write English perfectly so that she can attend college.

The 8th Annual Dance Parade!

Parade On Saturday, May 17th 2014 starting at 1pm 
10,000 dancers from 142 Groups representing 77 Styles of Dance Will Dance Down Broadway in this years Dance Parade Festival 

On Saturday, May 17th 2014 starting at 3pm DanceFest will have 4 Stages: a main stage, a teaching stage, a family stage, a celebration stage as well as site specific performances around Tompkins Square Park. A FREE not to be missed event. 


Official After Party May 17th at 10pm The Official After Party with Erick Morillo at Pacha NYC - See more at: http://danceparade.org/wp/#sthash.JShgsTOA.dpuf

Celebrating Japan Day in Central Park!

Come Celebrate JAPAN DAY 2014 in beautiful Central Park

Sunday, May 11, 2014.

Meet Melinda at 69^th and 5^th Ave at 11:00am.

For additional information please check www.japandaynyc.com.

Sign up at the front desk!

New York Life by Johnny, a NYLC Student & Intern!

    

Hi, My name’s Johnny.  I come from China and have been in New York for 6 months. Time flies. I can still remember how disappointed I was 6 months ago when I couldn't find any graduate school  to enroll in because my English wasn't good enough. However, I decided to come to New York anyway. I had already quit my job, and I had no choice but to move on.  I found New York Language Center (NYLC), and contacted them. Soon after I found myself in Manhattan as an English student. However, my goal was still far from me.

    New York is a big city. There are so many buildings, traffic, tourists, businessmen, students, even homeless people. Sometimes I feel very tiny. New York is a diverse city. The people I have seen in New York are from all over the world. Everyone is different, therefore, no one is different. New York is a great city. A lot of people say New York is a place where dreams come true. For me, I will say New York is a place where the people give so much effort into their jobs or work. So New York is a place where impossibles become possible.

    After 6 months, I’m still here in New York as an English student. But I know some things inside myself have changed, I feel confident about my future, and I’m glad I made the right decision to come here. I met so many ambitious people here, they encourage me to work harder and harder on my English, I didn’t waste my last 6 months, I took TOEFL test three times, and the GRE test twice. In the meantime, I am doing an internship at NYLC; working with native English speakers really helps me improve my English. So far, I have applied to seven graduate schools this year. I think I am walking continually toward my goal. I love this city more and more, as this city gives me more and more passion.

NYLC Group Activities: The High Line

The High Line

& Chelsea Market

The High Line is an elevated park and Chelsea Market is a large mall with unique food and shops.

Thursday, October 17^th

3:00

The High Line is a public park that runs above the streets of Chelsea. It used to be a train track and is a great example of modern New York architecture. Sign up today!

Meet at Midtown NYLC (226 West 37^th Street). From there, we’ll walk to West 30^th Street and 10^th Avenue, where the High Line begins.

3 ways to say "I LIKE it!"

I'M FOND OF the spectacular views that I suddenly notice just walking around
NYC. What about you? What are some things that you ARE FOND OF in this town? 

There are a lot of things to like about New York City. Don't you agree? There's Bryant Park, the High Line, the wide selection of restaurants and the variety of entertainment choices all over the place. In addition, you may enjoy talking to the locals or riding the subway or just exploring our diverse neighborhoods.

With so much to like, it's good to have more ways to express how you feel when you're talking about them. Don't you think? Well, fortunately, there are! Besides using LIKE, you can say LOVE or ADORE. In addition, there are three other ways to say you admire or enjoy something (or someone): you can say you'RE A BIG FAN of it, you ARE FOND OF it, or that IT'S YOUR CUP OF TEA. Now, you just need to know how to use them all in a sentence, and you're all set!

Here are some examples:

1. They love their neighborhood. There's so much to do right outside their doorstep. 
2. I adore that restaurant. The people there are nice; the food is fantastic, and the prices are so reasonable.
3. We'RE so FOND OF that park. It's a great place to take the kids and just have them run around.
4. He'S A BIG FAN of the city's new bike sharing program. He's been using it about twice a week.
5. She enjoys talking to strangers on the subway. It's just HER CUP OF TEA. She says it's a good way to practice her English.