Global Language and Culture Center

Come to the Global Language and Culture Center

Practice the world languages you have been learning.

The GLCC is one of the academic support centers of St John’s University serving students registered for classes in the Department of Languages and Literatures, the Institute of Asian Studies, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and the English Language Institute, as well as any student interested in furthering his or her knowledge of a language.  At the GLCC students can start practicing one or several of the languages currently offered at St John’s University. Through immersion and interaction, under the guidance of trained language assistants they will build on the language skills acquired in the classroom and gain in confidence in the use of the language in a convivial and pressure-free atmosphere.

The Center offers large seating areas in a library-like setting for studying and group gathering. It is equipped with individual language pods, computers, large screen TVs and reference material.

What the GLCC has to offer to supplement language instruction given in class:

• Language practice
• Language tutoring
• Accent reduction and pronunciation enhancement workshops
• Tutoring for grammar and writing
• Test preparation workshops
• Round table conversations
• Cultural orientations for the Discover The World and Semester Abroad Programs in Rome and Paris
• Preparation for internships in Paris
• Foreign movie nights with presentation and follow up discussions
• Language club meetings and events
• Induction ceremonies and events for Language Honor Societies
• Lectures and cultural events
• Video and audio language collections
• Foreign magazines, periodicals and language reference material
• Advisement on studying for languages
• Advisement on language courses at St John’s
• Language placement testing for French, Italian and Spanish
• Assessment of language competencies in French and Italian for students applying for an internship in France or Italy

Weekly Sessions of Practice at the Center

For all language classes offered by St. John’s College Department of Languages and Literatures the former language laboratory requirement has been replaced with ten 30 minute sessions spent regularly at the Center to put into practice what has been learned during the three hours of weekly classroom instruction.

At the Center, students can join a variety of workshops, engage in group activities and round table conversations in the target language under the supervision of a native or near-native speaker of the language - tutor or graduate assistant, attend a language event, receive individual tutoring in Arabic, Chinese, ESL Speech and Writing, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Modern Greek, Russian,  Spanish, Phonetics and Language Acquisition  to improve their grades, practice the language with our tutors towards achieving fluency or simply use the resource material put at their disposal to study.

Language placement testing for the Department of Languages & Literatures is administered at the Center.  This test is only required of students intending to major or minor in French, Italian or Spanish.  For placement at beginning and intermediate levels for these and other languages please refer to the Department of Languages & Literatures placement policy guidelines posted on their webpage.

Come for an individual or a group tutoring session. Come and study for your language classes on your own, or with a study partner.

Become a regular at the Center and increase your proficiency in one or several foreign languages to set the ground for future travel abroad and open windows on your world.

There are two ways of registering for language tutoring sessions: 

1. For group sessions: For a set day and time throughout the semester.  Come to the GLCC the first week of each semester to look at the availability of those sessions and sign up for the ones that suit your schedule. The groups are small - from 2 to 5 students of the same class level.  No need to make subsequent appointments.
2. For individual sessions: Go to the St John’s SignOn portal, click on “Connect”, then on “Resources”, “Global Language” and on the "Make an appointment" link. Create your account to log in and make your appointment.

Please view our Orientation Presentation for further details on GLCC sessions and instructions on how to book an online session with a tutor.

For more information on GLCC services and weekly updates on cultural events, please follow us on Instagram: @sjuglcc 

Center Hours and Location:

Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.): in-person sessions
Fridays (10 a.m. - 4 p.m.): in-person sessions

Wednesdays (10 a.m.-6 p.m.) & Saturdays (10 a.m.-3 p.m.): online sessions only
St. John Hall, Rooms 104, 105, 106

Center Administration:

GLCC Help Desk: St. John Hall Room 104, Tel. 718-990-6293
Michele H. Jones, Ph.D., Director, St. John Hall, Room 106A, 718-990-6041

Additional Information

Feedback

The GLCC continues to do a great job. I was amazed by the graph showing the linear increase in attendance since 2010.

-Dr.Jeffrey Fagen, Former Dean of St John’s College

I want to thank [the whole French tutor team] for the important role you play for our students in these difficult times. Your support has been amazing since students turn first to you for support as you supplement our online academic work in a caring and efficient way.

-Dr. Zoe Petropoulou, Assistant Provost for Global Initiatives and Associate Professor of French [sent April 2 during the COVID-19 lockdown]

You and they, the GLCC tutors, have done an admirable job...bravi ! We are grateful.

- Dr. Florence Russo, Italian Coordinator, Dept of Languages & Literatures

My gratitude to all of the tutors for a job well done.

-Dr. Nicolás Toscano, Former Spanish Coordinator, Dept of Languages & Literatures

Being an ESL tutor has provided me with great opportunities to interact with English language learners from different language and cultural backgrounds. As an ELL myself, I’ve been through whatever they are going through, therefore I share the same feeling with them when they try to step out of their comfort zone and adapt to a new culture. I believe empathy and patience in a tutor mean a lot to help build up a friendly and relaxing environment so that students enjoy speaking and sharing without anxiety. It has been a real pleasure to have a chance of walking with them along the way and help them get over the language barrier and culture shock to achieve academic success.

-Lily Liu (Head tutor for ESL, TESOL graduate student)

I strongly recommend the GLCC to international and even native students, because it is an excellent place to learn a new language and gain confidence, which is crucial for communication  anywhere, and also for personal growth, due to group interaction, knowing other cultures, learning new lifestyles, and improving on one of the most important values we have: Respect. Respect the equal, and mainly respect the different.

Thank you St.John’s for everything, and thank you, GLCC!

-Wembley Rodrigues Vilela, student