In High Demand at the Local Library, Spanish for Beginners

Richard Perry/The New York Times Benjamin Lothson teaching a Spanish class at the Muhlenberg library in Chelsea.

Richard Perry/The New York Times Philip Curcuru, a student in the class, says he wants to be more fluent in Spanish because he owns a home in Costa Rica.

“Hola! Como estas?” Benjamin Lothson, a Spanish teacher, said to his students as his classroom at the Muhlenberg library in Chelsea slowly filled up.

Among the group of students were Sun Ae Song, 65, and her husband, Harry Song, 76, a Korean couple who moved to the United States over 40 years ago and have wanted to learn Spanish for a long time. When the Songs learned that the library was offering a free class for beginners, they jumped at the chance to enroll.

“There are so many Spanish-speaking people in the city, and we want to understand what they’re saying,” said Ms. Song.

The Muhlenberg library, a branch of the New York Public Library, started offering free Spanish classes for beginners in September. The initial idea was to offer just one class, but so many people wanted to enroll that a second class was added. Eighteen of the 20 spots in one class were claimed 15 minutes after the library started allowing people to enroll over the Internet, said Ashley Curran, the Muhlenberg library branch manager. “By noon we already had 15 people on the waiting list and had to stop the registration.”

Although the class is approaching its end, people still want to enroll. “We got calls every day. I got people to walk in and ask about it all the time, because the information is still on the Web site,” said Mr. Lothson, who works as an information assistant at the branch. “I tell them to come back at the end of October when there’ll be another session rolling.”

Ms. Curran took over the job of the branch’s manager three years ago, eager to increase adult programming. She knew there was a great interest in foreign languages because people would often ask if the library was offering such courses. There were none.

But an opportunity arose in March when there was an opening for an information assistant at the library. As Ms. Curran was sifting through résumés, her eyes fell on Mr. Lothson’s application - he was qualified for the position and had experience as a Spanish teacher. “I thought right there and then: We have Spanish classes,” Ms. Curran said.

The New York Public Library has a long tradition of providing free English classes, for which demand continues to grow. But it was not until recently that some branches started offering foreign language classes, in part because of limited financial resources. “The library offers free programs based on community need and available resources,” said Jonathan Pace, a spokesman for the New York Public Library.

The Mid-Manhattan branch offers a class in basic Chinese conversation, and the Jefferson Market branch in the West Village offered French and Italian classes, which ended earlier this year, that proved quite popular. “It was really satisfying because someone who took the course could actually check out a book in Italian and read it,” said Frank Collerius, the branch’s manager.

During a recent class in Chelsea, Mr. Lothson encouraged his students to practice their language skills by asking them, “Qué te gusta?” which means, “What do you like?”

Keysha Griffith, a law enforcement officer, eagerly raised her hand to answer the question. She said she had always wanted to brush up on her high school Spanish, a skill that would be useful on the job, as well. “I found the class to be very helpful because I deal with a lot of Spanish-speaking clients,” said Ms. Griffith, 41, who asked that the agency she worked for not to be identified. “I want to be able to rely on myself instead of having my field partner translate for me or having an interpreter translating for me. I want to be fluent in the language.”

Mr. Lothson’s main goal is to teach his students practical Spanish. “People here who are adults in their 50s, 60s even in their 70s,” he said, “they’re not necessarily doing it to learn how to read and write. They want to be able to talk to the cashier or a cabby.”

Across the room, Philip Curcuru was practicing with a classmate. Dressed in a suit, he came to the class straight from his office on Wall Street, where he works as an accountant for a brokerage firm.

In 2006 he bought a house in Costa Rica, and he visits several times a year. While he knows rudimentary Spanish, he wants to be able to talk more fluently to his neighbors and friends.

“Last time I was there my refrigerator broke,” he said, “and trying to communicate in Spanish and have someone come over to fix it was difficult.”