Catherine-
Thank you for the criteria for adopting a core textbook. It is very good, and I hope Florida looks at it with a critical eye.


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Catherine Porter <CPorter at thecenterweb.org>
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov; specialtopics at nifl.gov
Sent: Thu, 19 Jun 2008 3:38 pm
Subject: [SpecialTopics 1026] Re: Textbooks and ESL Content Standards










This is Catherine Porter, from the Adult Learning Resource Center in Illinois.  
I would like to add my comments to the discussion about publishers' textbook 
correlations with state content standards.  

In Illinois, as in many states, part-time ESL instructors are frequently hired 
at the last minute, handed a textbook, and told to start teaching the next day 
or week.  For this reason, it is essential that the book both be pedagogically 
sound AND align with our Illinois ESL Content Standards.  Furthermore, I (also a 
textbook writer!) agree with Arlene Grognet's comments below that:


"As to David’s question about textbook correlations with standards, I 
would look at all of them as spurious. (And this coming from a 
textbook writer!) A textbook is only as good as the Teachers’ Manual 
which should accompany it. For each lesson, the Manual should give 
shape to the the standard, tell teachers how the linguistic skills 
they are teaching fit into language acquisition, give new and part-
time teachers step-by-step ways of  presenting and practicing a 
lesson, and give experienced teachers hints for expansion and 
extension of the lesson. Without that, textbooks are only page-turners."


To assist programs in selecting appropriate published materials, all curriculum 
development teams who attend our state-sponsored "ESL Curriculum Institutes" 
receive training in evaluating and selecting appropriate published materials.  
In Illinois, as in many states, publishers have been quick to publish 
correlations between their core series and our state standards.  In some cases 
these correlations are accurate while in others they are a wild and imaginative 
stretch.  

We have found that it takes at least two hours of staff development to train 
teachers and program coordinators to identify appropriate criteria for selecting 
a core text. The attached checklist, "Ten Criteria for Selecting a Core Text for 
ESL" has been extremely useful to Illinois adult education programs. Using the 
checklist, participants in the ESL Curriculum Institutes examine pages from 
popular textbooks to see if they meet these ten criteria.  In addition to 
applying the ten criteria, participants are also guided in identifying the 
"Three "Cs" for any textbook series: Cost, Components (as Arlene says, a 
textbook is only as good as its teacher's manual), and of course, Content 
Standards being addressed.  

After this initial training on selecting an appropriate core text, programs are 
encouraged to set up committees of teachers back at their programs to review, 
select, and pilot new materials. Those of us working with adult education 
instructors know how attached teachers become to their materials; in perhaps no 
other area is "resistance to change" so strong.  By involving teachers in the 
materials selection process, many Illinois programs are selecting and 
implementing core ESL materials that meet their students' needs and align with 
our state standards. 

Catherine Porter
Professional Development Specialist
Adult Learning Resource Center
Arlington Heights, IL 


-----Original Message-----
From:   specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of David J. Rosen
Sent:   Thu 6/19/2008 10:25 AM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Cc: 
Subject:    [SpecialTopics 1016]  More questions on state content standards

Posted on behalf of Arlene Grognet

From: aggrognet at aol.com
Date: June 19, 2008 10:59:52 AM EDT

Federico, Phil, et al-

I have read with interest all of the states’ responses to the  
questions raised, but a computer glitch (now solved) has kept me from  
contributing. I will keep my remarks to ESOL, because that is what I  
know best. It seems that most ABE and GED students come to class with  
oral English. However, they lack some of the knowledge and skills  
needed to lead a full adult life. On the other hand, ESOL students  
may already have those skills, but they lack the oral English with  
which to express them. For ESOL students, learning English is not an  
end in itself; it is a tool with which to do something else! That  
something else may be to go to the doctor or shop for food and  
clothing; it may be to work in a factory or a restaurant; it may be  
to talk with the school personnel or read a note from the teacher; it  
may be to get th GED or go to college.

  I was struck how closely David Heath’s description of teachers in  
Texas, matches that in Florida. Yet, I come to a different conclusion  
than he does. We need standards (not standardization) so that new and  
part-time teachers are oriented to what students should learn;  
experienced teachers have a reference guide for their teaching; and  
curriculum reflects the real world in which students have to  
communicate. I am a Florida resident, and participated in the  
standards setting workshops offered buy Susan Pimentel that Phil  
Anderson described. It was an interesting and challenging exercise,  
but one which new and part-time teachers would have benefited little  
from. I say this because professional development is out next step,  
and more than 4 hours of training on standards, no matter how good  
the training, with leave teachers angry and bored. I know that it is  
not enough, but state implementers have to realize that anything  
coming from the state is sacrosant and will be viewed with suspicion,  
if not hostility. If new teachers stick with the program, they will  
be back for more. If they quit, we haven’t lost that much.

As to David’s question about textbook correlations with standards, I  
would look at all of them as spurious. (And this coming from a  
textbook writer!) A textbook is only as good as the Teachers’ Manual  
which should accompany it. For each lesson, the Manual should give  
shape to the the standard, tell teachers how the linguistic skills  
they are teaching fit into language acquisition, give new and part- 
time teachers step-by-step ways of  presenting and practicing a  
lesson, and give experienced teachers hints for expansion and  
extension of the lesson. Without that, textbooks are only page-turners.

As to what the federal government can do for standards: give money to  
each state for refinement,  implementation, and experimentation, and  
stay out of standards writing and setting. If the federal government  
gets into it, it becomes a slippery slope. Just look at standardized  
testing and NRS as examples.

One question I have concerns assessment. How does know when when a  
student is ready to advance with the integrated skills needed in  
language learning? Is there any one assessment that gives the teacher  
or the test administrator a good picture of the students’ listening/ 
speaking and reading/writing skills, and is aligned with standards?

Allene Grognet
Vice President (Emeritus), Center for Applied Linguistics





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