[NIFL-ESL:10595] RE: literacy issues

From: mdryden@mail.utexas.edu
Date: Mon Nov 22 2004 - 19:04:55 EST


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From: mdryden@mail.utexas.edu
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Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10595] RE: literacy issues
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You are certainly on the right track.  Let me know if I can do anything to help
you advocate for this.  I used to volunteer my time, for students who had no
schooling, to teach them in their native language. At one point, I was even
opposed because I gave native language literacy instruction to traumatized
refugees from Bosnia.  I knew that I was doing the right thing, in helping them
in their native language first. 


Quoting Mona Curtis <MCurtis@tvcc.cc>:

> This is a very big issue in Adult ESL classes.  Many of our students
> have limitied literacy skills in their native language.  But the
> situation is magnified because our students are now adults so the little
> literacy training that they did have was 20 -40 years ago.  We have been
> working hard to have a Spanish literacy program that compliments our ESL
> program.  We offer Spanish GED for those who have a fair amount of
> literacy in Spanish, but we have been working hard to develop a
> beginning Spanish literacy program for students who come to us with only
> a few grades of schooling, and that 20 years ago!  Unfortunately more
> and more federal programs refuse to fund any instruction that is not in
> English.  Since the current administration is bent upon scientific
> research, I hope somehow we can get this information to policy makers,
> that students cannot gain skills in a second language that they do not
> have in their first language.  
> 
> Mona Curtis
> ESL Coordinator
> Treasure Valley Community College
> 650 College Blvd. 
> Ontario, OR 97914
> www.tvcc.cc
> 541-881-8822 x 316
> fax 541-881-2747
> 
> >>> crandall@umbc.edu 11/17/04 01:49PM >>>
> I have worked with schools who have increasing numbers of secondary
> school
> immigrant students with limited prior education or literacy, and one
> of
> the things we did was to provide an extended language and literacy
> program
> consisting of beginning ESL (which is focused mostly on oral langauge
> development), a course in basic ESL literacy and numeracy, and one
> content
> area course such as science or art.  The students spoke a number of
> different languages, so literacy in their first language was not
> possible.
> 
> However, you have the student enrolled in Spanish.  Is it possible to
> provide another hour of Spanish literacy and numeracy for him (perhaps
> with a tutor) and then to transition him to ESL literacy later?  He
> will
> make faster progress in Spanish literacy and he can be developing his
> oral
> English while he is developing his reading and writing first in
> Spanish.
> 
> We also found that we had to provide additional instructional time for
> these students through after-school sessions, summer sessions, and even
> a
> Saturday program which brought together parents and their children in
> a
> math course/experience.  Other students can serve as tutors in this,
> meeting with him before and/or after school and even during lunch. 
> The
> personal attention should help.
> 
> Jodi
> 
> -- 
> JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall
> Professor, Education Department
> Director, Ph.D. Program in Language, Literacy, & Culture
> University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
> 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
> ph:    410-455-2313/1417
> fax:   410-455-8947/1880
> email: crandall@umbc.edu 
> www.umbc.edu/llc/ 
> www.umbc.edu/esol/ 
> www.tirfonline.org 
> 
> 
>  intrigued most of all with your question:  what services would he be
> > offered if he were not an ELL?  Literacy/basic math support.  That's
> a
> > great question and I'll ask around to find that baseline.
> >
> > Thank you, and the notion of putting him into more electives is
> > helpful--each grade has but two daily five days a week--but why not
> 7th
> > grade art . . .?
> > thank you,
> > emilie condon
> > ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> > From: "dezreen@excite.com" <dezreen@excite.com>
> > Reply-To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov 
> > Date:  Wed, 17 Nov 2004 09:30:31 -0500 (EST)
> >
> >>
> >> If this child was not ELL (i.e. a native English speaker) what sort
> of
> >> services would they receive? Would they get basic literacy and math
> >> support?
> >>
> >>If there are other options available, I would get him out of the
> multiple
> >> science classes. Can he take art more than once and with different
> >> lessons during the day? What sort of literacy help is he getting,
> how
> >> often and through whom? This should be in addition to ESL class, as
> your
> >> initial focus will be on communicative language. He should also
> receive
> >> some basic math skills.
> >>
> >>Students with similar profiles have caused my district to rethink
> their
> >> servicing of ELL's who also happen to come in with skills that are
> not at
> >> grade level. This is not only an ESL issue, it needs to involve the
> >> entire school.
> >>
> >>Kathleen Morgan
> >>Telluride School District
> >>Telluride CO
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --- On Wed 11/17, pop.intrex.net < econdon@intrex.net > wrote:
> >>From: pop.intrex.net [mailto: econdon@intrex.net] 
> >>To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov 
> >>Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 06:07:23 -0500 (EST)
> >>Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10562] literacy issues
> >>
> >>A student has just arrived from Honduras.  He has been
> >> placed<br>age-appropriately into the 8th grade at the public middle
> >> school in Durham,<br>NC where I am an ESL teacher.<br><br>He has
> >> completed 1st grade in his home country and some of 2nd.  He
> is<br>unable
> >> to read or even write his name.  He has been working as a
> >> brick<br>layer.<br><br>We have thought to put him into one class
> most of
> >> the day--the science<br>teacher's class in part because she is so
> hands
> >> on.  He will get the same<br>lesson over and over and have an
> environment
> >> that is familiar to him.<br><br>He will go to an elective ESL class
> (that
> >> is how ESL is scheduled in this<br>public school) and a Spanish
> >> class.<br><br>Does anyone have any wisdom, or material ideas--print
> or
> >> computer that could<br>be available or purchased in a public
> >> school?<br><br>thanks<br>emilie condon<br><br><br>
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
> >>Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com 
> >>The most personalized portal on the Web!
> >>
> >
> 
> 
> 
> 



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