DDear Colleen and others --

Sorry if my initial posting was a bit confusing.

The topic "L1 literacy use in the ESL classroom"
was meant to prompt discussion around the ways
that L1 literacy (broadly defined) could be most
effectively integrated into adult ESOL
instruction.  The technical definition of
literacy as reading/writing is one useful
starting point as the definition helps beginning
teachers think about how to go about teaching
English reading and writing to students who have
had little to no experience with print.  At the
same time, we also talk about "literacy" as
something that goes beyond reading/writing but
refers to socially-situated practices that shape
how and why members of a community communicate
with one another, which could be via
reading/writing or speaking/listening.  

The comments on the list-serve thus far have been
very useful -- and I will pass these on to my
graduate students.  

Thanks to everyone, M. Santos

--- Colleen <leenhd78 at yahoo.com> wrote:


> Maricel and others,

> 

> The topic of this email is about L1 Literacy

> but the

> questions and responses are not directly

> addressing

> this area.  None-the-less I'd like to touch on

> the

> literacy aspect of L1 use in the classroom.

> 

> Developing literacy in a second language is

> often

> (always?) much easier when one is literate in

> their

> first language.  Using the L1 to bridge to

> English (or

> another second language) I think is advisable. 

> Though

> there is an ever-growing population of ESL

> learners

> particularly adolescents and adults who are

> preliterate (meaning that their L1 does not

> have a

> written form).  Which means that this

> population does

> not have the opportunity of being literate in

> their

> L1.  

> 

> With this population, in my experiences it is

> useful

> to go from the more concrete (the actual

> object) to

> the abstract (the word that represents the

> object)

> with other steps in between (visual

> representations

> (pictures and drawings and symbols).  Also,

> ensuring

> that the students know and understand the words

> verbally before trying to teach them the word

> in

> written form is advisable.  Lastly, I think

> using

> words from the students language/culture - like

> their

> names, names of cities, and little words that

> you

> learn along the way can really help students

> make the

> connection between the spoken word and the

> written

> word (this is somehow an appropriation of the

> LEA/Frierian approach).  By the way, my classes

> of

> preliterate learners have always been speakers

> of the

> same L1 and I believe the research supports the

> grouping of preliterate learners by language.

> 

> Another thing that is not specific to

> preliterate

> populations that I have found useful is using

> the

> students L1 to determine comprehension - for

> example I

> teach numbers then I want to be sure my

> students know

> that I talking about numbers so i ask them to

> count

> together in their L1 - if there is agreement

> then I

> know they are all on the same page.  When there

> has

> been confusion in comprehending the topic at

> hand

> there has always been disagreement in telling

> me the

> words for the same ideas in their language.

> This works

> if you have at least two students who speak the

> same

> L1.

> 

> I hope these random thoughts are in some way

> helpful

> to your students.  Feel free to send any

> questions or

> comments you have to me - leenhd78 at yahoo.com

> 

> Colleen Shaughnessy

> Grad Student

> University of MD, Baltimore County

> 

> --- Maricel Santos <maricelgsantos at yahoo.com>

> wrote:

> 

> > Hello -- I train pre-service adult ESL

> teachers

> > at San Francisco State University. For a

> class

> > project, two of my students are interested in

> > gathering insights from adult ESL teachers

> about

> > L1 use in the classroom.  Here are their

> > questions:

> > 

> > 1. What advice would you give to a new adult

> ESL

> > teacher about L1 use in the classroom? For

> > example, what strategies about L1 use do you

> > think are useful with adult ESL learners?

> > 

> > 2. How do you think adult learners perceive

> L1

> > use in the class?

> > 

> > The students have read and discussed articles

> by

> > Heide Wrigely (e.g., the "What Works" study),

> > Klaudia Rivera, Tomas Kalmar, Julie Belz,

> > articles out of Focus on Basics (NCSALL),

> among

> > others... but they are hungry to find out

> what

> > actually goes on in the classroom. 

> > 

> > I would appreciate your help and input. 

> > 

> > Thank you, Maricel Santos

> > 

> > 

> > 

> > 

> > 		

> > __________________________________ 

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> > 

> >

>

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> 

> 

> "In the end we conserve only what we love.  We

> will love only what we understand and we will

> understand only what we are taught." ~Bata

> Dioum~

> 

> 

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