Languages are fundamentally linked to arts and culture, and ELA is deeply engaged with the music, literature, performance, and artistic traditions encoded and expressed in endangered languages. ELA is also committed to mapping urban linguistic diversity, representing many of the smaller, minority, and Indigenous languages that are primarily oral and have neither public visibility nor official support. Drawing on a decade of research in collaboration with communities, ELA has created print and digital versions of the world's most linguistically diverse city (NYC), including 700 language varieties at over 1200 significant sites.

Part of ELA's mission is to offer a range of public programming for a general audience interested in language issues and specifically lesser-known languages and language endangerment. ELA also assists with community-based language revitalization efforts when possible, bringing linguistic knowhow and resources to where communities need it most. ELA's network provides community-based translation and interpretation services to government agencies at both the local and national level in a wide range of Indigenous and minority languages that few for-profit translation companies support. By researching and advocating together with minority language communities, ELA seeks to change policy, in New York City and other multilingual cities, to improve municipal support for linguistic diversity. In addition to its community work, ELA is a research hub for scholars working on a range of issues from language documentation to multilingualism, language policy, language and health, and much more. Lastly, ELA serves as a platform for a range of special projects depending on community interest and on circumstances that may arise, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.