Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs Announce Launch of We Speak NYC with New Season of English Language Learning Programs

Previously known as We Are New York, We Speak NYC Builds on Emmy Award-Winning Educational Videos with Seven New Episodes

New Independent Evaluation of We Speak NYC Shows Learners Achieving Increased English Proficiency and Familiarity with City Services

  Today, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs announced the new season of We Speak NYC, the City’s Emmy Award-winning free English language learning program helping immigrant New Yorkers build language skills and become more familiar with City services. The de Blasio Administration invested over $3 million in the launch of new videos and learning tools for We Speak NYC’s second season, previously known as the We Are New York program. This season will tackle important issues facing New Yorkers, including mental health, workers’ rights, and early childhood education.

MOIA also released a new independent evaluation of We Speak NYC, which demonstrates that the program is effectively offering instruction to English language learners, not only on improving their English proficiency but also helping them to navigate the City’s resources and opportunities. Providing New Yorkers learning English with more educational and civic tools for success is part of the City’s continued drive to make New York City the fairest big city in the country.

“Effective English learning programs like We Speak NYC open new doors for New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Though we are a city that proudly speaks over 150 languages, many residents want to improve their English language skills, and we want to meet them with the tools to do it. Empowering immigrant communities with the skills and knowledge to take advantage of more opportunities is how we make the ultimate city of immigrants an even better place for all of our residents.”

“Providing educational resources for all New Yorkers, at all stages of life, opens more opportunity across our city,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Phil Thompson. “We Speak NYC builds on the City’s strong track record of delivering proven curriculum to English language learners with new episodes, innovative study materials, and more. With We Speak NYC, the City is bringing New Yorkers with limited English proficiency more tools for success. ”

“We Speak NYC is here to support our city’s community of English language learners. Creating high-quality episodes focused on issues critical to immigrant New Yorkers, like mental health and early childhood education, for independent study or classes facilitated by trained volunteers makes language learning more approachable,” said Commissioner Bitta Mostofi of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “Many We Speak NYC facilitators are graduates of the program, creating leadership opportunities within immigrant communities and helping spread the word about important City programs available to all New Yorkers. Our new independent evaluation is evidence of We Speak NYC’s effectiveness, showing that 85 percent of students obtained a stronger vocabulary after only 20 hours of instruction. The new season will help us reach even more English language learners on their journey, both through new classes and by bringing We Speak NYC into the homes of more New Yorkers.”