Language Discovery @ Selangor Public Library - the lemonade of lockdown life

Abstract

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If you can’t travel to other countries during lockdown to explore the diverse cultures, then what better way to reclaim the lost opportunity by having it come to you within the safety and comfort of your home? Language is the gateway to another culture. At Selangor Public Library, we managed to reconnect the gateway—between a confined life at home and the outside world—virtually. Our latest online programme offering 12 options of language was launched in July 2021, called Language Discovery @ Selangor Public Library. This 12-week basic language course was introduced at the reasonably low fee, both to encourage the addition of a new language proficiency to existing skillsets and to allow more to afford it—especially people from the low-income bracket. The programme has been well received not only among the language learners; it’s a win-win situation for the language tutors, too. The economic impact of the pandemic also spread to unrelated industries, and our remuneration package for the tutors has given them much needed economic aid and relief. At the end of year 2021, the programme had connected 68 language tutors with 4,575 participants spread over 311 online classes which were handled by 49 library staff members, and 2,979 of the participants managed to complete the course.