Category: Education

Need financial aid for online college, online college grants, fafsa assistance, student loan counseling or assistance finding financial aid, this is your source! Nevertheless, free college is one of the most frequent requests we see at Low Income Relief. Most people want to improve their situation but it can be difficult to figure out the financial side of continuing education. Even if you get financial aid for college, you still need to grapple with the loss of income that comes from dedicating more of your time to education and less time to your employment. We have resources that can help! Check our map to find the college resources you need. We also include information about other education programs, such as early childhood education, secondary education, special education, job skills training, apprenticeships, workshops and other educational opportunities. After all, education is a lifelong pursuit and not everyone can afford to attend college!

Adult Basic Education

Adult basic education classes are often available in communities and at local Community Colleges. These classes cater to adults and older teens (ages 16+) who need assistance with basic reading, writing, math, speaking or other skills. These classes are often very helpful for people who want to pursue employment, training or college. Often, adult basic education classes focus on helping the student prepare for an exam like the GED. In 2010, the US Census showed that more than 39 million people over the age of 16 who lacked a high school credential were not enrolled in an educational program. That’s 18% of American adults! Approximately 10% of those people tested in one or more areas of the GED test. Even adults with high school diplomas often have only basic literacy skills. The US consistently ranks near the bottom of recent assessments of adult literacy. Unfortunately, most of the people who have basic literacy skills are employed in jobs that do not pay well. Over 63% of adults with low academic skills are employed but often in work that does not earn much. Since over 3 million teens drop out of school every year, this number will surely continue to grow. Don’t be trapped in these sad statistics! Join an Adult Basic Education class today. We’ll show you where to find FREE adult basic education classes or courses that are very cheap.

Early Childhood Education

Early childhood education programs provide formal and informal instruction to children who are under age 8. This category includes infant and toddler education, preschool and kindergarten courses. Child care services may also be included here, as are services designed to help young children with special needs. Early childhood education programs typically focus on learning through play, although a shift toward more serious academics has been taking place. Learning through play allows children to explore, encourages curiosity and improves cognitive development. Children also learn essential social skills by learning to share, cooperate and play with others. When you search for early childhood education programs on our map, you’ll discover many different programs. Some will be child care services. Some will be Head Start locations. Some will be preschools, kindergartens or special organizations dedicated to helping young children learn specific things (such as library story times for kids or agencies that organize play groups).

English as a Second Language (ESL)

If you need ESL or English as a Second Language courses, we’ve found them for free or cheap near you! Check our map for more details. The classes we’ve included are usually taught by local agencies, Churches, libraries or community colleges. We’ll include whatever local ESL resources we’ve found on the map. In addition to on-site ESL courses, there are numerous other online resources you can use. The following is an excerpt from our blog at LowIncomeRelief.com. Learning English isn’t easy but it’s so worth it! To help you master this new language, we’ve compiled this list of helpful resources. From ESL online classes to games to learn English, these resources can help you learn how to communicate effectively in English! 1) Get a FREE Mango Languages {or similar} subscription from your local library 2) Learn English in easy 5 minute lessons with the DuoLingo smartphone app! 3) Use the USA Learns website’s online ESL courses! 4) Visit Elllo.org for over 2,500+ FREE ESL online classes! 5) Join the English Club for helpful information, including slang and conversational English. 6) Check out the many ESL lessons available at ManyThings.com! Not quite what you’re looking for? Here are even more Online ESL Resources! MangoLanguages.com – You may be able to get a FREE MangoLanguages.com subscription from your local library! Many libraries offer these services for FREE and some even offer on-site ESL courses and conversation times. Click here and find your local library for more information. 5 Minute English – These lessons are divided into short, easy segments to help you practice the English language in short, manageable amounts of time. English, Baby! – This site is free to use but requires you to register. Every day, you’ll have access to a new English lesson. You’ll also have access to English chat rooms, forums, vocabulary lessons, quizzes and downloadable audio files. ESL Student Lounge has hundreds of lessons divided into different learning levels. You can visit their website or download their app to start learning today. Pumarosa provides detailed lessons for beginners, intermediate learners and more! Learn 4 Good provides helpful online ESL courses for those learning English as a second language. Check out their exercises here! 20 Minute ESL Lessons encourage you to study a little every day. Lessons include audio playback, quizzes and follow up exercises. Games Fun, interactive games to learn English will help you practice what you’ve learned. These are way more fun than studying textbooks and tests! Apples 4 the Teacher helps you learn common words with this list of online games. These games focus on common words including weather, food, family, clothing, anatomy and more. The Internet TESL Journal  has another great way to master English vocabulary. Check out these games! Verb Busters provides an interactive game for conjugating verbs. As you solve problems quickly,  you’ll earn more points and move up the ranks. You can adjust the difficult and use the ‘hint’ feature! Cram helps you create and study thousands of flash cards. Use sets that other people have already made or make your own! Over 178 million flash cards already exist, with nearly a million added every week. Vocabulary Can Be Fun uses games to encourage mastery of new words. These basic games include unscramble, matching, word building, slang games, and more. Video & Audio Videos and audio files are an important resource when you’re learning English as a second language online. These resources help you learn the proper pronunciation of the new words you’re learning. ManyThings.org invites you to practice English pronounciation with these helpful Youtube videos and these songs and read-along story podcasts.  Antimoon offers audio clips designed to help you learn pronunciation and intonation. English Leap provides helpful pronunciation instruction, especially for difficult letter combinations. They also have an app. Coaching & Tutoring LearnThat.org teaches you exactly what you need to learn with adaptive, interactive coaching. It’s fast, fun and free! Their multimedia lessons often focus on vocabulary and spelling. WyzAnt.com has experienced tutors that provide detailed guides to help you better understand the parts of speech in the English language. English Forums, the largest “Learn English” community online, invites you to ask questions and discuss ideas. Questions are usually answered in about 30 minutes. Lesson Guides & Quizzes Dave’s ESL Cafe provides hundreds of lessons on grammar, idioms, phrases, slang and more! MansionIngles.com has vocabulary, exercises and listening activities. Some features are available free and others require a paid subscription. Internet4Classrooms.com has 35 linked quizzes, practice exercises and more. The Internet TESL Journal features vocabulary quizzes that will help you learn words related to everything from food to health care and Chinese horoscopes! Learn hundreds of new words on this site alone! They also offer grammar quizzes to can help you learn important aspects of grammar, such as word order (syntax), prepositions, pronouns and more. ESLNotes.com uses popular movies to teach English lessons in their English Learner Movie Guides. The lessons are based on popular movies and use plot summaries, characters, vocabulary and more to help you learn the English language. Breaking News English is a similar site that uses breaking news stories to teach English! This website organizes breaking news into seven learning levels. ShipOrSheep.com provides practice with minimal sound-alike pairs, such as ship or sheep. Aardvark’s English Forum improves your understanding of written English by providing daily quotes and interactive language exercises. English Club invites you to test your knowledge of elementary, intermediate, advanced and specific English terms with their vocabulary quizzes. Advanced English Grammar Exercises are designed for those who are already very familiar with English but want to improve the accuracy of their written and spoken grammar. ESL Resource Center includes lessons, quizzes, activities and helpful tips designed for those who teach ESL courses. Check out what they offer. Maybe it’ll help you, too! Need help with a specific word? Try the Spanish-English Dictionary at SpanishDict.com.