Hello,
I'd like add to this CAELA summary another approach to EL/Civics that
focuses on engaging in civic participation as well as studying it. It
rests on the notion that, in order to maintain a strong democracy (and
democracy is why many immigrants have come here), we need to pay
attention to what's going on, develop informed opinions, and learn how
to impact the civic decisions that affect us; and in order to protect
our rights and freedoms, we need to use them. In many classes (even at
lower levels), teachers are working with students to identify topics of
concern (threatened adult education funding cuts, for example), using
the issue to learn about the related civics (what our taxes are used for
and who decides), and developing the language skills to express their
views.  

For project descriptions that come from CA, TX, NY, the New England
states, and beyond, you can look under "Adult Education Project
Descriptions" at http://www.nelrc.org/cpcc/elcivics.htm .

The "Promising Practices for Building Civic Participation" listed below
come from the work of Massachusetts EL/Civics teachers and  documented
in the "Teacher Writings about Civics" section on the same web page
(http://www.nelrc.org/cpcc/elcivics.htm).

Promising Practices for Building Civic Participation
1. Develop the capacity of students to navigate their communities and
U.S. systems in order to find and share resources and information.
2. Provide opportunities for students to practice democracy, take
leadership, and participate in their communities.
3. Build the skills to communicate respectfully and resolve conflict.
4. Collaborate with community education and advocacy groups to
participate in community planning/development activities and other
organized efforts.
5. Critically examine the media and how it represents people and events.
6. Use current events to stay informed and to analyze issues in social
and historical context.
7. Use the arts as a means to explore geography, culture, and history.
8. Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their identities and
roles in a new culture and to consider how they want to participate. 

Many of us would like to learn about other documented efforts to address
the civic participation aspect of EL/Civics, so please tell us about
your work!
Thanks,
Andy Nash
New England Literacy Resource Center/World Education



>>> kirsten at cal.org 03/07/06 1:39 PM >>>

Hello All,

The Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) would like to
announce its latest on-line brief:

	English Literacy and Civics Education  <> 
This brief, written by CAELA staff members, explains the purpose and
content of the U.S. Department of Education's English Literacy and
Civics (EL/Civics) Education program. The brief also describes some ways
that teachers can develop EL/Civics classes appropriate for learners at
beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of English proficiency.	

It can be found on the CAELA Web site at:
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/elcivics.html

Thanks--
Kirsten



Kirsten Schaetzel
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition
Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th St. NW
Washington, DC 20016
Telephone:  202-355-1523
Fax:  202-362-3740 or 202-373-7204