Hello, everyone:
 
What an excellent discussion. I agree with Jane about the need for
beginning level and literacy level adult English language learners to
understand the connection between oral and written expression. It is
also true that one should make no assumptions about prior
knowledge...one needs to go back thinking about  holding  a pencil, and
issues of directionality and so on.
 
There are some free resources on the CAELA Web site that should help
practitioners working with literacy level (and higher as well) learners
who are not native speakers  learning to read in English.
 
The Practitioner Toolkit: Working with Adult English language Learners
(National Center for Family Literacy and Center for Applied Linguistics,
2004) is available on the CAELA Web site at
http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/instructional/prac_toolkit.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/instructional/prac_toolkit.html> 
 
It includes activities to use with literacy level learners to get them
accustomed to the connection between spoken language and symbols and to
give them practice with directionality issues and so on in written
English, starting on page 60 of part II of the toolkit. 
 
Other free resources on this topic available on line at CAL include an
online resource collection on Working with Literacy-Level Adult English
Language learners at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/literacy.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/literacy.html> ,
which include links to many CAELA and other resources, such as a brief
of the same name at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/litQA.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/litQA.html> , and
annotated bib on Beginning- and Literacy-Level Learners at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/bibliographies/literacy.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/bibliographies/literacy.html> ,
and FAQ on the topic at
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/faqs.html#nineteen
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/faqs.html#nineteen> . There are
also summaries of discussions on this list about literacy-level learners
at http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/litdiscussion.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/litdiscussion.html>  (2006) and
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/practlitdiscussion.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/practlitdiscussion.html>
(2007). Finally, there is a brief that summarizes salient differences
between teaching adult English language learners to read in English and
teaching native English speakers to read in English, How Should Adult
ESL Reading Instruction Differ from ABE Reading Instruction?
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/readingdif.html
<http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/readingdif.html> 
 
Miriam
 
Miriam Burt
Center for Adult English Language Acquisition
Center for Applied Linguistics
4646 40th Street NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 362-0700, ext. 556 (phone)
(202) 363-7204 (fax) 
mburt at cal.org <mailto:mburt at cal.org>  (email)


________________________________

	From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
janeaddeo at comcast.net
	Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 11:58 PM
	To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
	Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2440] Re: literacy for very low
literate ornon-literate learners
	
	
	Hi all,
	 
	My name is Jane Addeo. I teach adult Latinos in the Annapolis,
MD. area in a faith-based program ( The church allows us to use the high
school for night classes)  The majority has little or no literacy in
Spanish and app. 3 years of formal education.  
	 
	At the beginning level, we usually have a teacher and an
assistant. We do not begin with the alphabet, but rather, provide a lot
of oral practice with gestures, pictures. The oral practice includes
large group, small group, students, teacher and assistant circulating
room.   When the students are comfortable with orally producing, for
example, "I am___.  I am from____.  I live____"  etc., we introduce the
writing of the expressions- tracing the letters, connecting the dots of
the letters- if necessary, Cloze exercises etc.  At times, it is
necessary to teach some how to hold a pencil/pen.  Then, we practice
reading the expressions.
	 
	We concentrate on using students' info to personalize the lesson
and to make the lesson relevant to them.  
	 
	I recommend  A teacher's guide: teaching basic literacy to ESOL
learners  (2006) by Marina Spiegal & Helen Sunderland available from
peppercornbooks.com
	 
	We avoid rules at this level because most are not familiar with
rules in L1.  
	 
	An earlier posting discussed written corrections- we assist the
student with corrections in pencil or black or blue pen- this reduces
stress.
	 
	Thanks to Heide and all for your informative comments.
	 
	 
	 
	 

		-------------- Original message -------------- 
		From: "Wrigley, Heide" <heide at literacywork.com> 
		
		> 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.) 
		> < BR>> ; 
		> 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: R eading 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" 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 < BR>> ; >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 intersectio n of r esearch, 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 
		&g t; > 
		> > 
		> > 
		> > 
		> > 
		> > 
		> > 
		> >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 l ook 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. 
		> > 
		> 
		> > fresh_messenger_052008> 
		> > 
		> 
		> 
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