Beginner English

Beginner English classes are running at the Charles L. Durham Library on Mondays and Thursdays, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM, through December 3, 2026. The sessions started back on September 21, so if you're just now hearing about it, there's still plenty of the term left to catch.

The library is at 3320 Haverford Avenue in Philadelphia, and the class is free—no registration required, so you can just show up when you're ready. It's a drop-in setup, which makes it easy to fit into your week without having to commit to every single date upfront.

If you haven't spent much time there, the Charles L. Durham Library has a bit of a story. It opened on July 9, 1979, as part of the Mantua Community Center, and was renamed in 1995 to honor Judge Charles L. Durham. Durham was a Mantua-born resident who sat on City Council from 1967 to 1974, was appointed to the Common Pleas Court, and spent his career as a civil rights advocate and a member of the city's first Black caucus on Council. The branch went through a renovation in 1999 as part of the 'Changing Lives' campaign, and it sits in the Mantua and Powelton neighborhoods—two areas that date back to the 17th century, with the neighborhood name itself coming from Judge Richard Peters in 1809.

So, if you're looking to pick up some English, the classes run Mondays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 2:30 PM, at 3320 Haverford Avenue through December 3. It's free, and you don't need to register.