Kearney hit the nail on the head:
L1 in the classroom is “highly efficient” and one of the “best tools” a teacher can use. With a little bit of imagination and flexibility a teacher can fairly easily manage a multi-level, multi-lingual class of 25 students. 
For some research articles, go to the Adult Biliteracy topic on
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Main_Page
Paul Rogers 
 
Kearney Lykins wrote:
Students routinely use L1-L2/L2-L1 dictionaries in and out of class. Using a fellow student as a L1-L2/L2-L1 resource to translate something is highly efficient, and immensely valuable for learners.  Why would you prohibit a student from using one of the best tools he has (a classmate who speaks the same L1)?
 
 

Paul Rogers
805-258-3310
pumarosa21 at yahoo.com
PUMAROSA.COM

--- On Mon, 10/5/09, Kearney Lykins <kearney_lykins at yahoo.com> wrote:


From: Kearney Lykins <kearney_lykins at yahoo.com>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 5028] Re: The level playing field
To: "The Adult English Language Acquisition Discussion List" <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Date: Monday, October 5, 2009, 7:52 AM







Lynne,
 
The purpose of education is not to create a level playing field. The purpose of education is to educate. 
 
Here are some practices that would create a level playing field in class:
 
1. If some students have untreatable astigmatism, require the rest of the students to wear glasses that simulate the vision of their astigmatic classmates. This way all students are seeing equally.  
 
2. Require highly attentive students to listen to the Rolling Stones at a loud volume on ipods, so that non-attentive students have a better chance of equaling the scores of the attentive students on the next quiz. 
 
3. Confiscate all the money that students carry with them to class, put it in a single pile, and distribute it in equal amounts to the students after class. 
 
 
Students routinely use L1-L2/L2-L1 dictionaries in and out of class. Using a fellow student as a L1-L2/L2-L1 resource to translate something is highly efficient, and immensely valuable for learners.  Why would you prohibit a student from using one of the best tools he has (a classmate who speaks the same L1)?
 
Regards,
 
Kearney Lykins
 
 
Kearney_Lykins at yahoo.com
 






From: LYNNE KREISER <KREISERL at faytechcc.edu>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Mon, October 5, 2009 9:49:02 AM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 5024] Re: quitando la vergüenza

Paul:

In my experience ESL teachers do everything humanly possible to avoid
humiliating students.

Have you considered what it feels like to be a student in an ESL class
who speaks a language other than Spanish as L1? If teachers allow
students to use L1 in class, there will always be a student who is the
only one who speaks his or her L1. As a result, that student is then not
only struggling to learn English, but also dealing with the feeling of
isolation as others help each other out.

Insisting on English only creates a level playing field for ALL
students which is what every teacher should strive for.

Lynne Kreiser





>>> Paul Rogers <pumarosa21 at yahoo.com> 10/3/2009 11:00 AM >>>


A major factor contributing to adults'  English learning experience is
what I would call the "community attitude" toward immigrants, especially
Latinos.
When a student tells me of a particular negative encounter with an
English speaker in a store, at the DMV, etc., I use that experience as a
lesson.
I also explain that everyone feels a little timid (vergüenza) trying to
speak English due to the fact that English is difficult to pronounce in
the first place and in the second place there are many Americans who are
somewhat ... mean toward those who do not speak English.
Some ESL teachers contribute to the problem.
For example, students should have the right to speak their own language
in class under certain conditions, such as asking another student for a
translation. 
In one of my classes, a wife and her husband told me that they were
separated because she knew more English and had to explain things every
now and then to him. 
They were humiliated by the teacher and therefore dropped out of the
class.
In any case, when I teach, I explain to my students that I will try to
"quitar la vergüenza", to kick out timidity and feelings of inadequacy
as best as I can.
Creating a welcoming and supportive environment should be one of the
topics for a discussion, I think.
Paul Rogers
805-258-3310
pumarosa21 at yahoo.com 
PUMAROSA.COM


      

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