Hi, Darlene and everyone who works with low level learners.  

We worked with the Coalition for Limited English Speaking Elderly to
develop a curriculum for refugees and immigrants who struggled with
English and were relatively new to English literacy. 

This may still not be low enough for what your students need and we'll
talk about the issues that Phil from Florida has also raised - how to
help non-literate immigrants and refugees break into literacy without
killing them with the alphabet. The curriculum relies on hands-on work
with literacy and tries to link ideas from learners' everyday lives (
based on a needs assessment) with English language and literacy skills.)


For those of you who work with non-literate learners, what do you do to
introduce print without killing them with the alphabet? Environmental
print, anyone - combined perhaps with an introduction to the rules and
patterns of English print that uses texts from learners' lives as a
starting point?  

Here's the link for the curriculum 

http://www.clese.org/brightideas_eslcurric.htm

By the way, there is no copyright on any of these materials, so Xerox
away

Let me know if this is helpful 


Best 

Heide

-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Darlene Snider
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 5:06 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2394] Re: Reading and Adult English Language
Learners

Heide,

I am very excited about this discussion.  I work with the 
level 1 (including pre-lit) and level 2  ESL students at 
Walla Walla  Community College in Walla Walla Wa.  I would 
like to gain some insight into how to really address the 
needs of the students who enter at the pre-lit reading 
level.   I feel that these are students who really need 
every ounce of expertise i have and   I'm looking for some 
strategies I can apply in my classroom .

darlene



On Mon, 12 May 2008 14:17:49 -0400
  "Wrigley, Heide" <heide at literacywork.com> wrote:

> Good morning all 

> 

> 

> 

> It's 7 am here in Southern New Mexico, it's still nice 

>and cool and the

> roses are blooming big time and I should be going out to 

>water soon

> (coffee first, though)

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> I wanted to welcome you to the discussion on ESL Reading 

>and am hoping

> that we'll have a lively back and forth as you pose 

>questions, challenge

> assumptions, and share your own experience teaching 

>reading to ESL

> students - either teaching these skills explicitly and 

>systematically or

> just folding reading into your regular curriculum. 

> 

> 

> 

> I would like to invite you to tell us a sentence or two 

>about yourself

> and your work and your experience before you post your 

>messages.

> 

> 

> 

> Just a bit of background: I'm Heide Spruck Wrigley and 

>my work revolves

> around the intersection of research, policy and 

>practice. I've been

> involved in several studies on ESL literacy (broader 

>than just reading)

> that we can talk about, and this year I'm doing quite a 

>bit of work

> around workplace literacy.  Most of my work has been 

>with language

> minority adults who are relatively new to English but 

>I've also taught

> in intensive reading programs at the university level.  

> 

> 

> 

> I've been working with the Texas GREAT Centers 

>(professional development

> centers) for a number of years, and this year we started 

>a series of

> institutes that focus on ESL Reading with a special 

>emphasis on

> comprehension skills. So this discussion is an outgrowth 

>of this work. 

> 

> 

> 

> A bit later, I'll write a note about the 2 or 3 things 

>we know for sure

> about reading (of any kind, not just reading in another 

>language so we

> don't have to get caught up in the "reading wars"). 

> 

> 

> 

> But in the meantime, I'd like to invite you to jump in 

>and say a bit

> more about who you are  and what issues you are 

>grappling with when it

> comes to helping your ESL students understand what they 

>read.  

> 

> 

> 

> And a special welcome to the Texas teachers who have 

>been involved in

> the institutes. I'm hoping you will share your 

>experience teaching

> reading and tell us what has worked for you. 

> 

> 

> 

> All the best 

> 

> 

> 

> Heide

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

>From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov

> [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of 

>Lynda Terrill

> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 7:21 AM

> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov

> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2374] Discussion on Reading 

>and Adult

> EnglishLanguage Learners begins

> 

> 

> 

> Dear subscribers,

> 

> I am happy to announce that our discussion on reading 

>and adults

> learning English as a second language is beginning. 

> Heide Wrigley will

> be facilitating this discussion along with Texas 

>practitioners who have

> been working on a project related to reading.  I look 

>forward to hearing

> what they have to share, butI  also look forward to 

>hearing many of your

> experiences, questions, and answers about this important 

>topic.

> 

> Lynda Terrill

> lterrill at cal.org

> 

> 

> ________________________________

> 

> Stay in touch when you're away with Windows Live 

>Messenger. IM anytime

> you're online.

>

<http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Re

> fresh_messenger_052008> 

> 



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