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Learning English and other languages

Merri-bek Libraries have many resources and programs to help you learn English and other languages. If you are interested in learning about which library has items in your language, you can see this on our Languages other than English page,

Learning English

Conversation Cafe

Conversation Cafe is a weekly social group for adults who speak English as a second language and anyone interested in participating in intercultural conversation practise. These informal sessions are free.

Conversation Cafe does not meet during the school holidays.

  • Glenroy Library on Thursdays at 7:30pm

You can find out where our libraries are located on our Visit or contact us at the Library page.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

We offer access to an online preparation and practice resource for learning how to read, write and speak English. This preparation and practice resource is called Road to IELTS (International English Language Testing System). The resource is available at two levels:

You will need to login with your full library card number (A20003xxxxxxxxxB). Your password is your date of birth in eight numbers (ddmmyyyy).

You can also watch a video explaining more about Road to IELTS and how to use it on the Merri-bek Libraries YouTube channel.

Learn another language

If you are looking to learn and prepare for realistic conversations and communication in a new language, we recommend using the tools on the Mango languages website. The tools on this site are available in over 70 world languages including Spanish, French, Greek, Italian, and English. You will need to set up a profile with your email address, full library card number without the A and B (20003xxxxxxxxx) and a password you can set yourself. You may want to keep this the same as your library card password. Once you have set up your profile, you can login with just your email address and password.

We also have a range of resources to help you learn a language. You can see what is available by searching our Merri-bek Libraries catalogue.