Heide and I are so often on the very same page on these issues!    I 
too, see very little attention paid to cultural issues in ESOL 
classrooms and I would like to say that while yes, it is hard to 
DISCUSS cultural issues with beginning learners, it behooves the 
teachers to be enough aware  of cultural issues related their 
particular population of learners not to make some gross assumptions 
about them and their behaviors.

My favorite examples of teachers being unaware of cultural issues, 
which I have no doubt talked about before here or on the English 
Language Learners' list, are two comments:  one from a teacher who said 
in annoyance " I don't know why it is so hard for [the students] to 
adjust to the US.  WE don't HAVE a culture."  and the other two from a 
tutor and a teacher who said similar things about students and 
homework:  "These students  just don't seem to care about learning.  
They do not engage in learning behaviors." and the other who said, " 
These students do not do homework.  They are just not independent 
learners."

These remarks tell me how unaware adult ESOL teachers are of cultural 
differences-- OURS and theirs.   The students who are seen as "not 
independent learners" or not engaging in student behaviors are usually 
those who come from educational traditions where memorizing is the 
norm--the teacher tells them what to memorize and they do.   If their 
teacher here does not give them something to memorize, they do not 
consider that they have any homework as they understand it. And if you 
asked them they would say they do not think their teacher is very good 
either, as a another quote from a 20 year old GED student from Africa 
sort of sums that up: " You GED teachers are so stupid!  You do not 
even know what you want us to learn.  In my country the teacher tells 
us exactly what to learn and we learn it and then we have a test on 
that.  Here, you tell us to go study something but we do not know which 
part and then the test is on some part you did not tell us to learn. "

Another cultural gap, especially in writing, is that students from such 
traditions ( where memorizing is the mode and the teacher is the 
expert) have no experience with our analytical and question-asking 
approach to learning, nor do they have experience with giving opinions. 
  When my college ESL students were asked what would happen in their 
country if they gave an opinion they first laughed and then were 
shocked.  They said they would be thrown out of school if they gave 
their opinions, and why would they, since the teacher knew all there 
was to know.

In fact, question asking is very much a Euro-centric approach to 
knowing.  I am reminded of a professor at Lesley who has worked among 
the Navajo for years.  During a doctoral program discussion on 
interdisciplinary inquiry, this professor quietly noted that not every 
culture knows by asking questions.  He pointed out that the Navajo are 
not a question-asking culture.  They accumulate knowledge in other 
ways.    This is true for other cultures besides the Navajo, but is 
something we Americans tend to bulldoze right over as we ask questions 
to our learners.

   When you consider how much we train students in our system to have 
opinions and ask questions, and how much cultural behaviors and 
culturally grounded beliefs govern an adult, no wonder there is so much 
confusion in the writing--and other aspects of ESOL classes.

Robin Lovrien Schwarz



they do not come from traditions where ana
-----Original Message-----
From: heide at literacywork.com
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Sent: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 7:13 PM
Subject: [SpecialTopics 280]  special topics - thinking, talking, 
writing and "unpacking" cultural language

    Hi, Ellen – thanks so much for jumping in and offering your insights 
and experience with your students. It’s a great contribution to the 
discussion and really highlights the relationship between thinking 
about ideas, writing, and culture. It is always amazing to me how much 
cultural knowledge is required to understand basic communication, read 
simple texts or comprehend what is going in the news (the Imus story 
being a case in point).



  I’ve been using the following sentence as an example of embedded 
cultural knowledge “She decided she would rather stay home alone than 
participate in her family’s Thanksgiving”  My guess is that someone who 
grew up in the United States has a much more nuanced interpretation of 
that sentence (in terms of the backstory)  than someone who is new to 
the U.S.  I talked with a young woman from Moldova yesterday with a PhD 
 from Princeton who was trying to sort out the phrase “I’m not just 
whistling Dixie” (she knew the Dixie chicks but that didn’t help much).



  Culture (ours, “theirs”) really is integral part of language learning 
and literacy development. It also shapes our social identities, and we 
get thrown off balance as we cross cultural borders and need to 
navigate between systems.  It is surprising how little attention we pay 
to culture in professional development  (beyond activities around 
holidays and multi-cultural potlucks).  Unpacking the euphemisms and 
colloquialism that students encounter, while at the same time touching 
on issues of racism and stereotyping is really quite a challenge.



  In terms of the study, we actually saw very few instances of teachers 
dealing with cultural issues in the classes we observed. Most likely, 
because these were beginning level ESL students and it’s difficult to 
“discuss” cultural issues when you don’t yet have much English.



  I wonder how some of the other practitioners out there are making 
cultural concepts accessible to students or teach toward cross-cultural 
competence, particularly at the lower levels.



  By the way, one reason I like the special topics is that it is a 
“sheltered discussion” where participants don’t have to worry about 
being attacked or having their views dismissed (at least I hope that’s 
right).  So I’d like to invite others who may be a bit reluctant to 
share their experiences as well.



  Oh, and very interesting point, Ellen, about introducing structure 
after students have started to write, rather than before



 Soon more



 Heide







   --------

  From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Ellen Berg
 Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 7:59 AM
 To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
  Subject: [SpecialTopics 276] Re: giving students a chance to think 
aboutwriting and play with language




   Heidi - I'm a volunteer that teaches GED in a correctional setting - 
I get the students starting to write from the very start (right at the 
intake). I am not a trained professional in this field but seem to have 
success with getting the students to write. I get ones who "hate it" or 
"I can't do it" from the onset but enjoy it, and succeed at writing a 
somewhat interesting paragraph, at the end. I mostly emplore them to 
write about themselves using a particular issue. I spend a lot of time 
talking with them, provoking thought about different issues, how the 
issue might apply to them or their family or their friends. Once I get 
them comfortable in the talking stage, I then have them start to put 
the words to paper and show them simple things to do to improve on what 
it is they are trying to say. I could go on and on but I think you 
catch the drift. With a student from Africa who did not understand 
American culture, and especially black American culture, we had to 
spend a lot of time explaining idioms, euphemisms & colloquialisms.

  I guess my main point is, it seems that I have to do a lot of work on 
the verbal end before they master the writing part. Once they start 
putting their thoughts on paper then we slowly start to work on 
structure (I even have to work on pennmanship for what is the point of 
writing if no one can read it). The important thing for me is to keep 
feeding back what it is that they have written and seeing if I am 
interpreting according to what they meant to say and keeping working 
forward from this point. In my experience, teaching them structure from 
the onset does not seem to work. It seems to be a relationship thing 
but mostly verbalizing everything seems key to their engagement and 
participation.

  By the way - I usually participate in your forums from a distance 
(reading only to pick up thoughts, ideas and tips). I actually don't 
feel qualified to participate at the level that all of you participate. 
I hope my thoughts have made a difference.

 Ellen Berg
 Customized Business Services, LLC
 POB 214
 Washington VA 22747-0214
 540-827-4498 (INet Phone)

  540-987-8248 (Home Phone)





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kind of battle.


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   --------

 From: "Wrigley, Heide" <heide at literacywork.com>
 Reply-To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
 To: <specialtopics at nifl.gov>
  Subject: [SpecialTopics 274] Re: giving students a chance to think 
aboutwriting and play with language
 Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 19:50:29 -0400

 Hi, Elsa



  That makes total sense to me – to explore different ways of telling 
the story (orally, in L1, through pictures) before committing oneself 
to writing. I think, as a rule, we give way too little time to 
preparation when we ask students to write. Most of us tend to write 
much richer pieces when we have been given a chance to think things 
through, talk with others about it, and have a good idea of what a 
final product might look like.



  As ESL teachers we often see writing preparation and sharing models as 
stifling students’ creativity, but it is really difficult to be 
creative in a language you don’t yet understand. If we don’t show 
students what we mean by vivid language and voice and, how will they 
develop the kind of writing that engages a reader? We cannot wait, I 
think, until we get to a GED class to talk about the power of writing 
and how to create powerful writing. Why not start early on with simple 
poetry, rather than with those deadly little formulaic paragraphs we 
often see.



  One time I saw a very short piece written by a student that used the 
basic structure of “my name is… I am from…” but at the end of her 
paragraph, she wrote “that’s all!” and that little phrase allowed her 
to come through as a person who could have fun with writing.



  More on grammar and study findings in the morning. Keep your questions 
and comments coming



 Heide









   --------

  From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Elsa Auerbach
 Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 6:46 AM
 To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
  Subject: [SpecialTopics 269] Re: judicious use of the native language 
- Part 3 - translation and writing in L1




  A little anecdotal evidence here: I remember Paulo Freire once telling 
a story about his daughter’s teaching (I’m not totally sure I’m getting 
this right). She found that if students are allowed to write in their 
first language first (to develop their ideas, to figure out what they 
think, to write their way towards understanding) and THEN write in the 
second language (without translating, but having already explored their 
ideas), their L2 writing was much richer and more developed than texts 
written ‘cold’ in their L2. This implies NOT translating, but using L1 
almost as a way in to L2 writing. Elsa


 On 4/9/07 10:34 PM, "Wrigley, Heide" <heide at literacywork.com> wrote:

  Although the study did not address issues of having students write in 
L1 and then translate, here are a couple of thoughts (mine only)

  Translation has long been used in other countries to build language 
skills. Since the advent of the communicative approach to language 
teaching it has become out of favor. Translation workshops where 
students take work that they have created or other texts written in L1 
and then render them in English can be an excellent way to build 
language awareness and put language skills to use. Promising are 
approaches that engage students in translating brochures or other texts 
for a real audience, such as offering to translate a menu for a 
restaurant or a brochure for a local business. “Backward translations” 
are a must in these cases.

  Workshops focused on translation are most appropriate for intermediate 
levels on up where students have the English skills necessary to 
translate more complex concepts and sophisticated language.

  I’m reluctant to endorse having students write in the native language 
and then translate in beginning literacy classes – at that level, 
students tend to think that there is a one to one relationship between 
L1 words, phrases and structures and their L2 equivalents, and the 
translations tend to be both awkward and highly ungrammatical. In 
addition, we don’t want students to overly rely on translation but move 
them toward thinking in the target language.

  You do, however, make a very good point in terms of helping students 
to organize their ideas and think about what they want to say before 
asking them to write in English. This can be done in a number of ways. 
Here are some tips for teachers:


   * Introduce writing by using oral language first. Help students to 
compose the text orally, whether it is a story, a description, or a 
process. Make sure students have the language they need.
  * Connect oral language with writing through models such as the 
Language Experience Approach where the connections are obvious since 
students talk, read and write together as a group
  * Model what you want students to do in writing by giving an oral 
example (if you do it in writing, your students tend to copy what you 
said)
  * Dictate a few sentences that model what you want students to write 
that way they get practice in putting pen to paper without having to 
compose something from scratch (some may still copy but that’s also 
writing practice and they may not be ready to write on their own)
  * Allow students to think about and talk about their ideas in L1 or L2 
before you ask them to write. – that process activates background 
knowledge and facilitates the composing process. In the beginning 
levels, let students know what they will be writing about over the next 
few days – that’s not cheating, that’s giving your students a fighting 
chance
  * Invite students to draw a picture as a starting point, again giving 
them a chance to compose a story mentally before engaging in combat 
with vocabulary, grammar and spelling. Students can create a snapshot 
of a scene, create a strip story a la Chalk Talks, or draw an item, for 
example.

 It’s late – back to the study tomorrow

 Heide



  --------

  From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cameron Eileen
 Sent: Friday, April 06, 2007 12:40 AM
 To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
  Subject: [SpecialTopics 260] Three Questions Regarding Research 
Articles andRelated Topics in ESOL Instruction


  1. In the article "National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and 
Literacy: A Conversation With FOB... What Works for Adult ESL 
Students," it states that ESL students are better able to learn and 
understand English when the teacher or instructor of ESL is bilingual, 
in which case, the instructor can speak the students' native language 
or languages in order to clarify the students' understanding to further 
construct meaning. This statement is also made in the article "Real 
World Research: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Research for 
Adult ESL." However, if a teacher or instructor is not bilingual, and 
they want to improve ESL students' written proficiency levels, should 
the instructor who is fluent only in English be encouraged to permit 
his or her ESL students to first write an essay or paragraph, depending 
upon the written assignment, within the student's own native language 
and then work closely with the student to translate that writing into 
English? Is this a recommended form of instruction? For one thing, 
allowing ESL students to write within their native languages helps the 
instructor familiarize themselves with languages that may be foreign to 
them. This can also help the student translate and interpret their own 
native language and correspond their thoughts and ideas within a 
contextualized English language. This can permit ESL students to 
demonstrate writing that displays clearer contextualized meanings. It 
also allows ESL students to demonstrate a complexity of thoughts and 
ideas as well as express critical, analytical thinking skills within 
written English, especially those ESL students who struggle with 
written English in terms of writing incoherent sentences or clauses, or 
students who write mere phrases or simple sentences with incorrect word 
choice and improper use of grammar. The article, "Real World Research," 
states "English learners who, for example, have good higher order 
reading strategies in their own language cannot call on those 
strategies to help them understand English texts until their 
understanding of English vocabulary and syntax are good enough to 
understand basic sentences and expressions." Can this same principle be 
applied to ESL students' written English?



  2. The article "Real World Research: Combining Qualitative and 
Quantitative Research for Adult ESL" briefly refers to the codings of a 
running record. A running record that is incorporated in the teaching 
of standard American English and literacy within elementary schools in 
this country is used in a way that teachers can determine a student's 
reading abilities and potentialities through close observation of a 
student's reading processes. Before a running record can be 
implemented, the teacher or instructor first must decipher the probable 
reading level of a particular student. For instance, the teacher must 
select a book that the student will easily be able to read along with 
selecting two other books that may be more challenging to this same 
student. Students must read 50 words within each of the three books. To 
correspond the running record in accordance with the student's reading, 
the teacher must listen closely and observe, paying strict attention to 
the student's substitution or replacement of words, repetition of 
words, omission of words, pronunciation and/or mispronunciation of 
words, and number of self-corrections the student makes during their 
reading. Once the student is finished reading 50 words within all three 
selected books, the teacher must add up all of the student's errors. 
The book in which the student made no less than five errors is selected 
for appropriate reading in terms of a substantiated reading level since 
it presents more of a challenge. However, a book in which a student 
makes more than five errors is considered too difficult for the student 
to read or comprehend. I brought this up because in a standard English 
or literacy class in grades K-12, a student can be placed within a 
specific reading level or group and is given reading material in 
accordance with that particular reading or grade level, as it pertains 
to a balanced literacy model in adherence with the curricular standards 
of a running record. Students are given reading material that is 
slightly more challenging in order to assist these students in 
mastering the English language. Once students have mastered the English 
language and have acquired appropriate English reading skills, they 
will be able to read books that are several reading or grade levels 
above their current reading performance level. Can a running record 
such as the one I have previousy described be applied within an adult 
literacy program for ESL students? Instead of using grocery store 
fliers, electricity bills, and immigration documents, can literature be 
incorporated in an adult literacy program for ESL students?



  3. In the research study discussed in the article "Instruction, 
Language, and Literacy: What Works Study for Adult ESL Literacy 
Students, the BEST Oral Interview was incorporated in measuring 
listening comprehension, communication, and fluency. In the footnote of 
that same research study, it states that the BEST Oral Interview also 
includes measures of pronunciation and a reading and writing score 
which were not used in the study. I would actually like to know more 
about those measures of pronunciation, reading, and writing, and how 
they are assessed in determining a student's perfomance level. 
Recently, I completed a training session for both print-based and the 
computer-adaptive BEST PLUS software program which measures the same 
items that were measured in the research study 1)listening 
comprehension, 2) language complexity or fluency, and 3) communication. 
When I completed the training session in BEST PLUS there was no mention 
of scoring for pronunciation, reading, or writing. Also, I wanted to 
know if these measurements had been included in your research study, 
would it have any effect on the students' performance levels 
quantitatively? Also would it have any statistical significance 
whatsoever in this particular research study if these variables had 
been taken into consideration when the BEST Oral Interview was 
administered?


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