Learner's FAQs

Nothing. Tutoring is provided free of charge by Loyola University Chicago, which supports the Literacy Center as a gift to our adult neighbors in Chicago.

Any adult who wants to study English or literacy skills is welcome to come to the LCLC. In a typical semester we have learners who come from 15- 20 different countries; we also work with native speakers of English who are improving their reading or writing skills, working for a GED, preparing for college, etc. 

We are not permitted to serve students enrolled at Loyola University because they are able to ask the Tutoring and Writing Centers of the university for help.  Our mission is to the neighborhood adults.

No. We teach adults of all ages, from age 17 or 18 +. We do not have facilities to work with children and we do not offer child-care service.  We suggest that women with children visit Madonna Mission during the daytime.  They provide excellent services for women and offer childcare as well as programs for children and women.  They are located at 1706 W. Morse Ave in Chicago.  Their website:  madonnamission.org.

There is no testing at the LCLC.

We do not have "classes." Our learners work with a tutor (that is, a teacher) usually in a small group with one or two other learners. If we have very few learners on a particular evening, a learner may work one-on-one with a tutor, that is, one tutor paired with one learner. 

When we are tutoring in person, the LCLC's tutoring services are located on the Lake Shore Campus of Loyola University Chicago in the second floor conference room of Loyola Hall, located at 1110 W Loyola Avenue, which is across Sheridan from the Loyola Red Line El stop and one-half block east (toward the lake) on Loyola Ave.

We also tutor online. Please check our web page for current information.  

We tutor when the university classes are in session during the fall and spring.  We are closed for all Loyola University Chicago holidays.

When we are in person, our tutoring hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, from 7:00-9:30 p.m. 

Online, our hours for adult learners are 7:20-9 pm, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings.

The LCLC opens shortly after Loyola University Chicago starts the semester—that is, in the middle of September in Fall and the end of January for the Spring semester. We close in late November for Christmas vacation, and at the end of April for the summer. 

When we are open for in-person tutoring, our main tutoring room is the second floor conference room in Loyola Hall at 1110 W. Loyola Avenue. 

We also tutor online.

Please check our web page to see current information.

If we are tutoring in person, you should arrive between 6:45 and 6:50 p.m.  If you are new to the Center, you may want to come around 6:30 so that you can register for tutoring.  Tutoring begins promptly at 7 pm.

If we are tutoring online, you should sign into Zoom at 7:20 to join the learner community session and hear any announcements that may be made.  At 7:30, you will be placed in a breakout room with your tutor.

Our staff will talk to you about your needs and interests and we will match you with a tutor who can help you study or improve your English. If you would like to work on English for a special purpose, e.g., nursing or business, please tell us and we will find a tutor for you.  If you are interested in studying for citizenship, we can help you.  If you are working toward your GED, we can also help you.  And if you are preparing for the TOEFL or IELTS exam, we can have a tutor work with you.  You are welcome to bring books that you need to study, if you have them. We are happy to work with native and non-native speakers of English.

Most of our tutors (our teachers, that is) are volunteers, but we ask them to come on a regular schedule, and usually they come one night each week. We do everything we can to make sure that you work with the same tutor, but we cannot promise that you always will.  There may be a time when you will work with another tutor.

We will do our best to make sure that you have the same tutor every week. If your regular tutor cannot come and you have another tutor, please note that our tutors work together; they will work on the same kinds of lessons with you. The staff encourages tutors to talk to each other about their work and we keep a record of each one of your tutoring sessions so that your tutors will see what you have been studying and continue the lessons and use the materials with which you have been working.

If your tutor does not come, we will try our best to match you up with another tutor. On a very busy night, however, we might not be able to find one, and it might take some time and cause you to wait.

If you miss an evening and do not tell us why, your tutor will be assigned to another learner who may be waiting for help but will work with you when you return.  If you miss two evenings in a row, your tutor will probably be assigned to another learner and you will be taken off our schedule.  

Be sure to tell us by email if you are not able to come.  Then your place will be saved for you.

If you are sick, please email to cancel as soon as you can at literacy@luc.edu.

If you know you will be late, please email us and tell us so that we will know you are coming.  Otherwise, your tutor may be asked to work with another learner. 

Your tutor will make notes in a file about your work together. The file never leaves the LCLC. These notes are reviewed by LCLC staff every week and by your tutors and they discuss your progress with the Literacy Center Director.