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State Capacity Building > Maine

Maine: Working with Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners


May 1, 2007

Dear participants,

I enjoyed working with you in Portland last week. As I find time, I will continue to add resources to this page. Meanwhile, here is a link to the Powerpoint presentation from the workshop. Click here.

 

April 2007

Dear participants of  the April 23-24 Maine workshop, “Working with Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners,” welcome to the beginnings of a Web page that may serve your needs in teaching literacy- and beginning-level adult English language learners.  This page is very much still “under construction”, so I look forward to your feedback.  If you have questions, comments, or advice, please email me at lterrill@cal.org

Thank you,
Lynda Terrill
Workshop facilitator
CAELA Web coordinator

 

Introduction

Description of literacy-level adult English language learners

Literacy-level learners are generally those with 6 or fewer years of education in their native countries who need focused instruction on learning to read and write English. The population participating in literacy-level classes is diverse: These classes may include men and women with different native languages, ages, length of time in country, life and language learning goals, and access to previous education (Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks, 2000; Shank & Terrill, 1997). Literacy learners also have a wide range of oral skills in English. (For a more detailed description of the varieties of first language literacy and effects on second language literacy, see Burt, Peyton, & Adams, 2003.) The learners are further differentiated by their experiences. Many have experienced trauma related to events in their native countries and to resettlement in the United States, and this trauma may affect the speed and facility with which they learn English (Adkins, Sample, & Birman, 1999).

The following learners might attend the same literacy class:

 

Preliterate (The native language does not yet have a writing system.) Wanankhucha, a Bantu from Somalia, entered the class as a recent refugee. She knows her native Af-Maay only orally, as a written form of the language is just now being developed. Furthermore, as a refugee, Wanankhucha shows evidence of trauma.
Nonliterate (The native language has a written form, but the learner has no literacy.) Trang is a young, single mother from rural Vietnam who grew up without access to education. Here in the United States, she lacks many of the educational and cultural supports earlier Vietnamese refugees enjoyed.
Semiliterate (The learner has minimal literacy in native language.) Roberto attended a rural school in El Salvador for 3 years. Although he wanted to continue, his family needed him to work on the family farm.
Nonalphabet literate (The learner is literate in a language that is not alphabetic.) Xian is a retired minor bureaucrat from China. He is highly literate in the Mandarin script, but he is unfamiliar with any alphabet, including Roman.
Non-Roman alphabet literate (The learner is literate in an alphabetic language other than Roman.) Khalil comes from Jordan. He completed 2 years of secondary school and is literate in Arabic.
Roman-alphabet literate (The learner is literate in a language that is written in the Roman alphabet). Alex is a senior from Russia. As a young man, he studied French. Even though he was a professional (engineer) in his own country, he does not want to move to a higher level class.
Others who may benefit from a literacy-level class are individuals with learning disabilities or individuals who, because of age, physical or mental health issues, or family situations, find that the slow and repetitive pace of such a class better meets their needs and goals  [Excerpted from Working With Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners (Florez & Terrill, 2003)]

 

Cultural Considerations

 

The Bantu in Our Midst: A Resource for ELT Classrooms

www.springinstitute.org/Files/thebantuinourmidst4.pdf

Cultural Adjustment, Mental Health, and ESL www.springinstitute.org/Files/culturaladjustmentmentalhealthandesl.pdf

Cultural Orientation for Refugees
www.cal.org/resources/digest/digest_pdfs/CORdigest.pdf

Cultural Orientation Resource Center
www.cal.org/CORC
This extensive website which was established to link overseas cultural orientation with domestic resettlement programs, offers a great deal of both background and up-to-date information about refugees and their concerns. The website includes Fact Sheets which give pertinent country and cultural background about such groups as the Sudanese, Iraqi Kurds, Somalis, Haitians, and Cubans as well as questions frequently asked by refugees. This site is maintained by the Center for Applied Linguistics.

 

The Dinka of Sudan: Family Traditions in Transition
Kate Singleton 2001  (ERIC No. ED 457 702)
www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/0000000b/80/0d/83/f2.pdf

ESL Starter Kit
www.aelweb.vcu.edu/publications/ESLKit/ESLKit_2002.pdf (produced by the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center)
See Section A, Part 1, "Cultural Considerations" (pp. A2-A7)
While the entire ESL Starter Kit is useful for new adult ESL teachers and administrators, this section offers specific advice on effective and culturally sensitive ways to work with learners.

A Guide for Providers: Engaging Immigrant Seniors in Community Service and Employment Programs
www.seniorserviceamerica.org/news/cal_guide.html
Written by adult ESL specialists at the Center for Applied Linguistics for Senior Service America, this downloadable guide gives information about foreign-born elders in the United States, reflects on cultural differences in the United States, and offers tips for effective cross-cultural communication in workplace contexts.

National Somali Bantu Project at Portland State University
www.bantusupport.pdx.edu/
This site provides a wide variety of information and useful links to topics and issures related to the Somali Bantu.

“Somali Refugee Helps Create Dictionary Bantu” (NPR Audio from January 17, 2007 by Jeanne Barron of Maine Public Broadcasting) www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6883697

Literacy-Level Adult English Language Learners

CAELA Resources

Several other digests and Q & As offer background information, approaches, and techniques that are relevant to teachers working with literacy-level learners:

To view the complete list of digests, click here.
Other resources on the CAELA Web site related to teaching literacy-level adult English language learners include:

Other Resources

 

Almanza, D., Singleton, K., & Terrill, L. (1996). Learning disabilities in adult ESL: Case studies and directions. In Year in review (1995-96, Vol. 5): Reports of research conducted by adult education practitioner-researchers in Virginia. Richmond, VA: Virginia Adult Educators Research Network. pp. 1-6.
In this article three adult ESL instructors discuss a practitioner research project aimed at the general question: "How can teachers assist adult ESL students who may be 'learning disabled' to acquire and retain literacy in a learner-centered classroom or computer lab?" Although the teachers found many questions, they also discovered some important insights about the effect of environment, interaction, and learner input on instruction. Of special interest to Maine was one of the adults in the case study--and elder from Somalia.

Croydon, A. (2005). Making it real: Teaching pre-literate adult refugee students. Tacoma, WA: Tacoma Community House Training Project (now part of  Literacy Network of Washington) (available from www.tchtrainingproject.com/pdf/prelit.pdf)

This free resource is of interest not only because it address the complexities of working with pre-literate adults learning English, but also because it focuses specifically on teaching refugees. This guide focuses on teaching adults from cultures that do not have a written language such as the Somali Bantu, but its approaches, techniques, and activities described are useful for teaching other learners as well. Making it Real includes sections on teaching speaking and listening and teaching reading and writing. Within the first section, specific techniques such as grids, information gap, and dialogs and role plays are described. The section on reading and writing explores approaches to teaching reading and includes descriptions of literacy-level learners and a discussion of “Literacy Basics” (p. 53) such as helping pre-literate learners become familiar with the left-to-right and top-to-bottom directionality of English reading and writing.

REEP ESL Curriculum for Adults.This is the latest edition of the REEP Curriculum from the Arlington Education and Employment Program (REEP) in Arlington, Virginia. This curriculum includes information any serious ESL teacher—whether just beginning to teach, or a veteran of many years in the classroom—would need to know about providing instruction to adult English language learners. The REEPworld Web site offers practice for beginning-level adult English language learners on a variety of health and family topics.

Spiegel, M., & Sunderland, H. (2006). A Teachers’ guide: Teaching basic literacy to ESOL learners. London, England: LLU+ and London South Bank University. (Available in the United States from Peppercorn Books at www.peppercornbooks.com/catalog/)

This teachers’ guide outlines models for teaching reading and writing to basic literacy learners. The guide has ideas for beginning and experienced instructors, and it traces several approaches to literacy from a historic perspective. There is a practitioner’s chart for working one on one that outlines stage and purpose, activity and material needed as well as a sample curriculum. The guide treats a broad range of topics including learning styles, dyslexia, assessment, materials, planning, and managing courses and classrooms. Resources for teachers include materials, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. The book is recommended by the authors to ESL teachers who are new to literacy levels, working on their ESL certifications, teaching EFL or changing to a career in ESL. The book evolved from a need for theoretical and practical ESL background. LLU+ (formerly the London Language and Literacy Unit) and the authors discovered the gap in materials when they were developing ESL teacher training courses to be used throughout the United Kingdom

Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning
www.spring-institute.org/
Besides the several articles cited above, the Spring Institute offers several documents that demonstrate their long-term, knowledge, experience, and respect for refugees and other immigrants. To view other publaications, go to Spring's ELT (English Language Training) Publications Library at www.springinstitute.org/publications.html.

Teaching Literacy Students in your ESL Class Presented by Kate Singleton at the  Virginia Institute for Lifelong Learning—English as a second language in Arlington Virginia July, 2000 (ERIC No. ED 457 703)

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