[NIFL-ESL:5504] Homebuying Literacy/Homebuying Readiness

From: Deborah Schwartz (deborah@alri.org)
Date: Fri Jan 26 2001 - 13:53:09 EST


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From: "Deborah Schwartz" <deborah@alri.org>
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Subject: [NIFL-ESL:5504] Homebuying Literacy/Homebuying Readiness
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(This is a bit long and in-depth)
Anna thanks for inquiring about the homebuying readiness materials,
Janet, thanks for directing Anna and others our way,
And Maggie, thanks for pointing out some of the homebuying readiness
materials and how to order them

At the Adult Literacy Resource Institute (ALRI), through the support of the
Fannie Mae Foundation, we have been coordinating a homebuying readiness
project for a couple of years- first locally, and now nationally. The
project entails working with ESOL and ABE programs to help implement
homebuying readiness projects. The materials that Maggie mentioned are the
original materials that were developed by the foundation to "teach" English
and literacy to immigrant students using the topic of homebuying and
housing.

The curriculum that Maggie refers to, How to Buy A Home in The US, is a
workbook developed by the Fannie Mae Foundation in collaboration with Center
for Applied Linguistics (CAL). And it has been out in the field for about
four years now.

The curriculum can be ordered at no cost by calling the number that Maggie
shared, or by calling: 1-800-544-9224. The supplemental no-cost pamphlets on
borrowing basics, choosing mortgages, understanding credit, protecting one's
self from predatory lending and the becoming a citizen, do come in various
languages including English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Polish, Haitian
Creole, Spanish and Portuguese. These can be ordered by calling:
1-800-605-7100, 1-800-668-4663, 1-800-605-7100 , 1-800 544-9213.

Also, our Web site at the ALRI- that Janet mentioned, includes teachers'
lessons, students' writing, an overview of the Boston-based and Eastern
Massachusetts' homebuying readiness projects. Here's the exact URL of the
1999 project: http://alri.org/fannie/fnma3/FannieFront.html

These pages include my favorite resource of that year's project- a fantastic
on-line homebuying student manual designed for ESOL and beginning level ABE
students. The manual uses actual ESOL and ABE students' questions about
homebuying, and answers their questions through links to other reading
material that are meant to be student reader-friendly. The manual is a bit
hidden. You can find it by clicking on the word "computer" and then by
clicking onto the "on-line student manual" link.

Also, in the next month or two, the Fannie Mae Foundation will be publishing
a source book of teachers' lessons on homebuying, project implementation
ideas and funding possibilities for sustaining a homebuying readiness or
other content-base instructional project in existing ESOl/literacy programs.
Look for information about that on the FM Foundation's excellent web site
(www.fanniemaefoundation.org). I'll also be sure to post the sourcebook
information on this list. It will join the other free Fannie Mae Foundation
resources and eventually will be published on-line along with an annotated
bibliography of homebuying readiness resources for teachers.

There's a lot out there right now about making affordable housing and the
process of homebuying accessible to immigrant and/or low-income people. It
certainly varies from community to community and state to state, but there
is quite a lot of good teaching material and resources.  As Maggie mentioned
earlier, HUDs web site is another phenomenal resource: www.hud.gov
And I shouldn't neglect mentioning the start-up ESOL and ABE programs that
have been involved with using and developing this curriculum from the ground
up including El Paso Community College's Center for Adult Education,
Literacy South in North Carolina, New York Association for New Americans,
San Diego Community College's Continuing Ed. Centers, Operation Bootstrap
and Catholic Social Services, both in Massachusetts and Asian Resources in
Sacramento, California. Teachers, Students and Program Coordinators from
these programs are also very valuable as resources.

Hope this is useful start. Please feel free to call me or email with any
further questions or requests. That's what I'm here for!

Again, thanks everyone for chipping in. I would love to hear from any one
who has used the homebuying materials in their classrooms. I would be
particularly interested in hearing what kinds of challenges arose.


Deborah Schwartz
Adult Literacy Resource Institute
National Homebuying Readiness T.A. Project
Coordinator

(617)782-8956 x20
deborah@alri.org



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