Catherine -

I work at a very small Adult Ed program, and when I ask other teachers I just get told -- go look in the cupboard. Some teachers change their books each semester, some do mainly handouts.  So, I get no real advice at all. 

I am curious as to which book IL Adult Ed has chosen for Literacy, Beginners (low) and High Beginners and Intermediates. 

Thank you,
Linda Selover 

I teach a multi-level ESL class, with students who are barely literate, to college educated. 


 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Catherine Porter" <CPorter at thecenterweb.org>

> 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

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> -------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

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> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 



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