Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id KAA21765; Wed, 15 Mar 2000 10:27:44 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 10:27:44 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.20000315101408.008037c0@cmsv.edu> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Theresa M. Nahim" <tnahim@cmsv.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:548] Potential Study X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32) Status: OR Hello everyone, I'm new to the list. I would really appreciate your feedback on the following: 59% of the students in our workplace ESL program are female and Hispanic. Their combined average age is 54; combined length of residence is 10.5 years. Half (9 out of 12) of these female students are in the Low Beginning class. As a research project, I am contemplating a study of the effects of age, length of residence, and social identity on the Hispanic woman and their success or failure in learning a second language. Pierce had done a study with Canadian women and social identity in '95. However, preliminary research indicates that factors affecting age and language learning for adults and adolescents have been done, but no such studies on women much less the Hispanic woman have. This thesis is still being shaped, so please bear with me. I am seeking to discover if there have been, as Andres Munro has said, "improvements in language acquisition in contexts, and the utility of that knowledge in other contexts, " which is difficult to measure. I will use the women in the program for subjects and use case studies as a research design. I plan to focus on instructional practices such as oral and written assessment and usage of English on the job, (all of the women are housekeepers who have frequent interaction with staff and students) to determine if this is motivation for a move to classroom learning. Students currently are asked to complete a self-evaluation questionnaire at the end of the semester. Assessment will be extended to the women's supervisors (all are English speaking) to obtain a sense of student's language use. FYI- Instruction/learning takes place in groups of no less than five students. Students were identified by means of a placement and oral interview (the latter was more instructive than the formal test). They were grouped according to their skill level, tutor observation and semester progress reports provided by tutors. Any ideas you might have as to the "research worthiness" of this study would be greatly appreciated. If you have other ideas relating to Hispanic women in the context of literacy education, I'd be interested in hearing (reading) them also. Please reply DIRECTLY to tnahim@cmsv.edu ALL comments are most welcome. Thank you. Theresa M. Nahim Director, ESL Employee Program College of Mount Saint Vincent Riverdale, New York
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