A wonderful new book for teachers of adult ESOL literacy has just come out in the UK.  It is called Teaching Basic Literacy to ESOL Learners, by Marina Spiegel and Helen Sunderland, published by London South Bank University.
 
You can email them at lluplus at lsbu.ac.uk
 
Website:  www.lsbu.ac.uk/lluplus
 
It is comprehensive, accessible and goes way beyond traditional phonics based approaches.
 
It includes models of reading/writing acquisition, approaches to teaching basic reading and writing, assessment and planning, learning styles, dyslexia, materials, etc.
 
Elsa Auerbach

	-----Original Message----- 
	From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Maricel Santos 
	Sent: Mon 8/7/2006 7:17 PM 
	To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List 
	Cc: 
	Subject: [EnglishLanguage 550] Re: Use of L1
	
	
	Dear all --
	
	Thanks, Sharon, for this response.  Your reflections remind me that it's always valuable to ask students what THEY think the "L1-policy" should be in the classroom, so that the rules for when and how to use the L1 are owned by the students, not determined solely by the teacher.  
	
	My colleague Erik Jacobsen told me his classes have agreed on 'rules' such as "try 3 times in English, and then you may use the L1." I've used rules like this too, and the exercise of polling the class and voting on a set of rules can be a useful community-building activity.
	
	Maricel Santos
	
	Sharon McKay <smckay at cal.org> wrote: 

		I am new to the English Language Discussion List and perhaps I should introduce myself.   I have been teaching adult ESL literacy level adult ESL for twenty years and I have seen the bilingual focus in the classroom rise, fall, rise and fall again.   I would have to agree that there are times in class when it is easier for the students and for me to speak Spanish.   However, in Arlington, Virginia we have students from many different language backgrounds.   
		From time to time I have spoken Spanish in class.    New vocabulary pops up during a lesson.  I think it can be handled in such a way that non-Spanish speaking students don’t feel slighted.   I often ask students for the word in their language and sometimes we all try to pronounce it together.    Unfortunately, I have seen several incidents of Spanish ‘exclusivity’ generate a raw environment in my classroom.   Majority rules has never been worth sacrificing the class community or the individual.
		Finally, I have to ask myself when and why I need to speak a second language in class. 
		It is usually a matter of convenience to me because I am working under a time constraint. 
		Do I stop students from speaking their native language when they are explaining concepts to one another during class?   Usually not, but that can’t continue very long because it disrupts the flow of the lesson.
		In twenty years, I have never had a literacy-level student thank me for speaking their language in class.  But many have thanked me for speaking English and nudging them in the direction of using their own English.    
		This is a great discussion.  I look forward to hearing some more techniques for using  native languages effectively or other alternatives that work for you in the classroom.
		Sharon McKay 
		ESL Specialist,  CAELA 
		Center for Adult English 
		  Language Acquisition 
		4646 40th Street, NW 
		Washington, DC  20016-1859 
		(202) 362-0700  ext. 584 
		smckay at cal.org 


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