Curriculum Development for Adult Absolute Beginners of English

by Farrah T. Giroux MS Ed., CAS

Adult Education

“Adult education is a profession, historically tied closely to social work than to other kinds of public education, and at its base, it is holistic.”

Char Ullman, PhD.

Talking Points

• Who are absolute beginners of English?

• Refugee Data

• Absolute beginners of Lewiston and Portland, Maine

• Why do absolute beginners enroll in class?

• Tips for teaching adults

• Ultimate Conditions for Learning

• Role of Teachers

Talking Points (Continued)

• Unit Design

• Preliterates and Nonliterates

• First Day Literacy Assessments

• Writing Journals

• First Days: Mix It Up!

• The 3 C’s: Community, Culture and Civics

Talking Points(Continued)

• Making it Matter

• Learner Profile: Ahmed

• Making a Difference

• Top 10 Myths About Somalis in Lewiston

• Questions?

• Thank you for your time

Who are absolute beginners of English?

SCALE SCORE ADULT ESOL COURSE LEVEL

< 180 and Below Foundations or Beginning Literacy/Pre-Beginning

181 - 190 Low Beginning

191 -200 High Beginning

201 -210 Low Intermediate

211 - 220 High Intermediate

221 - 235 Low Advanced

http://www.adultedcontentstandards.ed.gov/ReferenceFiles/CASASELA.html

Adult Education Content Standards

CASAS Scores and Levels

Who are absolute beginners? (Continued)

Basic Reading & Writing: Lower Range

• No or minimal reading & writing skills

• Little or no comprehension of how print corresponds to spoken language

• May have difficulty using a writing instrument

Who are absolute beginners? (Continued)

Basic Reading & Writing: Upper Range

• Recognizes, reads & writes letters & numbers

• Limited understanding of connected prose

• Needs frequent re-reading

• Writes limited number of basic sight words & familiar words &

phrases

• Writes simple sentences or phrases

• Frequent spelling & grammatical errors

Refugee Data

Refugee admission to the United States through the Resettlement Program by region of Nationality, 2001 to 2010

Note: Prior to 1996, refugee arrival data were derived from the Nonimmigrant Information System of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Beginning in fiscal year 1996, arrival data for all years are from the Bureau for Refugee Programs (BRP), Department of State. Any comparison of refugee arrival data prior to 1996 must be made with caution. Source: 2010 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics and 2010 Annual Flow Report on Refugees and Asylees.

•Since 2008, annual ceiling

for refugees in U.S. has

remained at 80,000

•In 2010, 73,293 refugees

arrived in the U.S.

Refugee Data (Continued)

2010 Refugee arrivals by initial state of residence

Source: Department of Homeland Security, Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, Refugees and Asylees Tables. Available Online.

Top 6 States for Resettled Refugees in the U.S.

1.California 11.7% (8,577 people)

2.Texas 10.8% (7,918 people)

3.New York 6.2% (4,559 people)

4.Florida 5.8% (4,216 people)

5.Arizona 4.6% (3,400 people)

6.Georgia 4.4% (3,224 people)

However, many refugees did not remain in these top six states.

Where did they go?

Absolute Beginners of Lewiston & Portland, Maine

The Somali Bantus of Maine

Population:Lewiston and Portland, Maine are two of the cities with the largest populations of Somali Bantus. 4,000 Somalis live in Lewiston and 1,200 live in Portland.

Learning Factors:predominance of preliteracy and nonliteracy in Somali due to interrupted schooling,civil war, and refugee camps.Somali language has only been in writing since 1972.

Retention:due to attendance, tardiness and droupouts some of which influenced by PTSD, medical problems, and childcare.

Economic Growth Spurt:in Lewiston many Somali stores have opened rejuvinating the city

Why do absolute beginners enroll in ESOL classes?

• Survival

• Citizenship

• Job Enhancement

• Education

• Social Interaction

Motivation is key to keeping people coming to class.

Mix It Up!

Tips For Teaching Adults

•need to know why they need to know something.

•need to learn experientially.

•approach learning as problem-solving.

• learn best when the topic is of immediate value.

Adults:

M.S. Knowles suggests that adults approach learning in the following ways:

The Ultimate Conditions for Learning

•need to be involved in the planning and evaluaton

of their instruction.

•experience and making mistakes provides the basis

for learning activities.

•are most interested in learning subjects that have

immediate relevance to their job or personal life.

• learning is problem-centered rather than content

oriented.

M.S. Knowles suggests:

Adults:

Role of Teachers

• continue to scaffold learning

• provide support in the early stages

• gradually release responsibility as the learner becomes self-reliant

• provide healthy role models

Teachers:

Unit Design

•Listening & Speaking

•Reading & Writing (LEA)

•Numeracy & Math

•Beginner Grammar (Rec. English Grammar by Betty Azar)

•The 3 C’s:Community, Culture & Civics

•Making it Matter: Equipping Students for the Future

Scope and Sequence

Preliterate and Nonliterate Learners

• Preliterate: Learners have no written form (e.g., many American indigenous, African, Australian, and Pacific languages).

• Special Considerations: Learners need exposure to the puroses and uses of literacy.

• Nonliterate: Learners have no access to literacy instruction.

• Special Considerations: Learners may feel stigmatized.

• Nonalphabet literate: Learners are fully literate in a language written in a non alphabetic script (e.g., Chinese).

• Special Consideration: Learners need instruction in reading an alphabetic script and in the sound-syllable correspondences in English.

First Day Literacy Assessments

How to check for literacy, preliteracy and nonliteracy on day one

Name:___________

A B C D E F G H I J K L ....

Circle the letters in your name.

How does the student hold a pencil?

Does the student recognize print? Letters?

Can the student write his/her name?

Can the student open a book correctly?

Does the student recognize sight words?

Writing Journals

Language Experience Approach

write in composition notebook short composition

dictate to teacher or student short composition

vocabulary notebook with simple sentences & definitions picture dictionary

practice student - teacher dictation practice letters & numbers

LiteratesPreliterates & Nonliterates

First Days

• Day One: Assign seats informally.

• Students tend to sit beside friends or students who speak their own language, separate them.

• If you have a class that shares the same race and language, divide them by ability. Sit a low and a medium student together.

• Move seats twice a month.

• It will build community.

• Enhance speaking.

• Build social interaction.

Mix It Up! Not just for lunch. (Teaching Tolerance)

The 3 C’s: Community, Culture and Civics

Dumpsters, Raccoons and Garbage:a collaborative lesson with Auburn Housing Authority

Community & Civics:

Auburn Housing Authority:

Released a letter to tenants

asking tenants to take their

garbage out, and remember

to close the dumpster

because of problems with

raccoons. If problems

persisted, animal control

would be called.

Culture:

U.S. and Somali Bantu

What are the differences?

The 3 C’s(Continued)

Dumpsters, Raccoons and Garbage:a collaborative lesson with Auburn Housing Authority

animal controlDear _____ ,dumpstersgarbageraccoonssincerelytenantsthrow out

Vocabulary: Picture Dictionary:

The 3 C’s(Continued)

• create short story using vocabulary from Auburn Housing Authority letter

• using props from around the room, act out the story

• story: every morning/every night I throw out my garbage in the dumpster outside. I open the lid. I shut the lid. No raccoons come out and bite me.

Dumpsters, Raccoons and Garbage:a collaborative lesson with Auburn Housing Authority

Total Physical Response Story:

Making it Matter

• Read Ahmed’s story

• What issues does he mention? (loss of family, SES, etc...)

• What survival skills does he need to help his daughter?

• What might his goal be for taking an ESOL class?

What can we do as educators to help Ahmed attain his goals?

Learner Profile: Ahmed

“My daughter. She sick. She take the needles in fingers. Check

sugars. Diabetic. I go early from class. She alone. Pick her up at

bus... Her mama dead. She have only Daddy..... No good have

no mommy. No good. Me now, only me. Daddy cooking, Daddy

cleaning, Daddy take the needles for the diabetes. Very very

hard....English hard. Need English. Need jobby [job]. Need jobby

[job] send money to sons.....Class need three hours not two.

Three hours good....Thank you Teacher.”

Making a Difference

Social Justice

Adult education is holistic and tackles social justice issues on a daily basis.

Our roles as teachers are to scaffold students and make differences in their lives.

I leave you with the prevailing Top 10 Somali Myths in Lewiston.

Top 10 Myths about Somalis in Lewiston(Provided by Catholic Charities of Maine)

1. Somalis are draining the welfare coffers.

2. Somalis don’t want to work.

3. Somalis don’t want to learn English.

4. Somalis don’t want to become citizens.

5. Somalis get free apartments.

Top 10 Myths about Somalis(Continued 6-10)

6. Somalis get free cars.

7. Somalis keep live chickens in their kitchen cupboards.

8. Somalis are responsible for a rise in crime.

9. Somalis don’t integrate and don’t want to be part of the

community.

10. Somalis got a free ride to America.

Questions

?

Thank you for you time