Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id i8E3PKR04023; Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:25:20 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:25:20 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <BD6BDCBE.C4A0%lketzenberg@resolutionpictures.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Laurie Ketzenberg <lketzenberg@resolutionpictures.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10447] Re: Freire and adult ESL X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Status: O Content-Length: 17153 Lines: 355 I used that Digest as the core of an in-service while coordinating a VESL program a few years ago. Instructors developed activities based on students' writings; vocabulary lists were generated, based on students' own hi/stories and real life experiences; this gave them a chance to practice language in a social way that was truly meaningful for everyone. Teachers guided them to create books and dialogues that had application in their lives (job interviews, doctors' appointments) as well as auto/biographies and other hi/stories. The content provided a context within which to weave and ultimately spiral upwards, plenty of grammar practice in a real life context. However, classroom focus always remained on the students' themes and not on language itself. Joy Peyton and JoAnn Crandall also wrote a useful Digest: Philosophies and Approaches in Adult ESL Literacy Instruction (http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/peyton.htm) Laurie Ketzenberg Temple University > From: "Lynda Terrill" <lterrill@cal.org> > Reply-To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov > Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2004 16:31:54 -0400 (EDT) > To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> > Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10440] Re: Freire and adult ESL > > Dear listers: > > For a more direct link to the NCLE/ERIC document mentioned below, please go to > http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/FreireQA.htm on the NCLE Web site. This Q & A, > "The Freirean Approach to Adult Literacy Education," was written by David > Spener for NCLE in 1990 and revised in 1992. > > NCLE digests and other materials are still available online and paper copy > despite the many changes in ERIC. For a list of digests, Q & A's and briefs > available to download, please see http://www.cal.org/ncle/digests/ > > Lynda Terrill > Nifl-ESL Moderator > Technical Assistance and Web Coordinator > National Center for ESL Literacy Education > Center for Applied Linguistics > 4646 40th St, NW > Washington, DC > lterrill@cal.org > tel 202-362-0700 > fax 202-363-7204 > http://www.cal.org/ncle > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: nifl-esl@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-esl@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of PAUL ROGERS > Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 4:02 PM > To: Multiple recipients of list > Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10439] Freire and adult ESL > > I just came upon a very interesting ariticle on applying Freire's methods to > adult ESL: > http://adulted.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cal.org% > 2Fncle%2Fdigests%2FfreireQA.htm > How can the Freirean approach be adapted for use in ESL literacy education? > Literacy teachers in the United States and Canada who work with adult > nonnative speakers of English have attempted to apply Freire's general > approach using compatible ESL teaching methods and techniques. In doing so, > they have had to overcome two important difficulties. First, Freire's approach > assumes that learners are highly knowledgeable about the culture in which they > live, and that they are expert speakers of the language that they are learning > to read and write. > For nonnative speakers of English in predominantly English-speaking countries, > neither of these conditions pertains. How can teachers pose problems for their > classes to discuss in English, and then develop literacy lessons based on > these discussions, if their students cannot speak English? > > A number of authors have suggested that beginning ESL students can develop > problem-posing and dialogue skills rather early on in their acquisition of > English. Teachers can foster the process by focusing their initial instruction > on development of their students' descriptive vocabularies and teaching them > to use questions to exchange information in English. > Some familiar ESL methods and techniques that have been used by Freirean > practitioners to develop students' descriptive and questioning abilities have > included language experience stories, oral histories, Total Physical Response > activities, picture stories, the use of flash cards to introduce new > vocabulary and structures, and skits conducted with puppets (Wallerstein, > 1983; Nash, Cason, Rhum, McGrail, & Gomez-Sanford, in press; Faigin, 1985; > Auerbach & Wallerstein, 1987; Barndt & Marino, 1983). > > A second problem for ESL teachers is that the spelling and syllabic structures > of English do not lend themselves to the syllabary method originally used by > Freire in Spanish and Portuguese. How, then, can generative words be used to > build word-attack skills in reading and writing? Ra£l A€orve, a literacy > trainer for California Literacy, uses a whole-word and word-family method. > Learners memorize the spelling of each new vocabulary word and place them in > lists of other words on the basis of similar morphological structure or > related meaning. For example, the word "American" might appear in two > different word lists: > in one with words like "African," "Dominican," and "Canadian," and in another > with words suggested by students like "apple pie," "Statue of Liberty," and > "rich" (A€orve, personal communication, October 10, 1988). > > Other practitioners adapt the use of generative words to the phonics method of > reading instruction, where students learn the spelling patterns of English in > order to be able to sound out new words they need to read and write. In > languages such as Spanish and Portugguese, generative words contain syllables > that can be recombined to form new words. In English, generative words are > used to teach other words witht he same sound-letter correspondences or > similar morphological structure (Long & Speigel-Podnecky, 1988). Still others > have abandoned the use of generative words altogether in favor of other whole > language techniques developed for English. > > How can the ESL curriculum be based on students' life experiences and cultures > when teachers do not speak students' languages? > In her book Language and Culture in Conflict, Nina Wallerstein (1983) > emphasizes that ESL teachers and students typically come from different > cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds that need to be recognized as > equally valid. To bridge this experience gap, teachers must make special > efforts to get to know the realities faced by students in their personal lives > and communities, either by living among their students or by observing in > class and in the community. Wallerstein recommends that teachers visit the > homes of their students as invited guests to learn first hand about their > lives and families. To learn about the cultural attributes of students, > teachers should attempt to be present as observers at times of cultural > transmission from the older generation to the younger (social rites and > child-rearing practices) and of cultural preservation (festivals and historic > celebrations in the students' neighborhoods). They should learn about times of > cultural disruption by! > asking students either in simplified English or through an interpreter to > describe their immigration to the host country and to compare their lives in > the two countries. Teachers should also become familiar with the neighborhoods > where students live, walking in them with students, taking photographs, and > bringing realia back to class to discuss. In class, teachers should observe > student interactions, including body language, and take note of students' > actions, because these usually reveal their priorities and problems. > The teacher should also invite students to share objects from their cultures > with others in class. > > Having a bilingual aide in the ESL class can also facilitate dialogue on the > cultural themes and problems that generate the curriculum in the Freirean > approach. Hemmendinger (1987) found cultural themes and problems for the > curriculum through classroom observation and conversations with her Laotian > Hmong students. Sometimes problem-posing activities resulted from the sharing > of cultural information; at other times the discussion of a problem led to > intercultural dialogue. In one instance, for example, she found a student > closely examining all the potted plants in the class. When Hemmindinger, > through the bilingual aide, inquired as to why the student was interested in > the plants, she found that he was a practitioner of Hmong herbal medicine. > This theme led to a discussion of Hmong health and medicinal practices as they > compared to those practiced by the dominant culture in Canada and problems > that students were having as they confronted the Canadian health-care system. > > Can the Freirean approach be used with > competency-based approaches to ESL? > Although some educators advocating the Freirean approach have criticized > competency-based ESL as being a form of "banking education" (Auerbach & > Burgess, 1985; Graman, 1988), other Freire-inspired ESL teachers have > described their use of competency-based instruction within the Freirean > framework to teach specific language skills and functions (Faigin, 1985; > Hemmendinger, 1987). Working with Central American refugees in Washington, DC, > Spener (1990a) adapted the Freirean approach to the selection and development > of ESL competencies in the curriculum. In bilingual discussion workshops, > Spener and his students engaged in posing problems in which the solutions were > related to the learning of English. The product of each of these workshops was > a class syllabus agreed on by the group that included the daily situations > where students felt improving their English would help them most. For each > situation on a class's syllabus, Spener wrote out specific ESL competencies in > Spanish and! > English that he would then bring back to class for the students to reject, > modify, or approve for inclusion in their syllabus. The syllabus, which was > called the study agenda, served as a guide to follow, allowing Spener and his > students to incorporate other elements of dialogue and problem"posing in class > sessions to enrich the educational process (Spener, 1990a, 1990b). > > References > A€orve, R. L. (1989). Community-based literacy > educators: experts and catalysts for change. New Directions for Continuing > Education, 42, 35-42. > > Ashton-Warner, S. (1963). Teacher. New York: Simon and Schuster. > > Auerbach, E. R., & Wallerstein, N. (1987). ESL for > action: Problem-posing at work. Reading, MA: > Addison-Wesley. > > Auerbach, E. R., & Burgess, D. (1985). The hidden curriculum of survival ESL. > TESOL Quarterly, 10, 475-495. > > Barndt, D., & Marino, D. (1983). Getting there: > Producing photostories with immigrant women. Toronto, > Ontario: Between the Lines. > > Chacoff, A. (1989). (Bi)literacy and empowerment: > Education for indigenous groups in Brazil. Working Papers in Educational > Linguistics, 43-62. > Philadelphia: Language Education Division of the University of Pennsylvania. > > Collins, S. D., Balmuth, M., & Jean, P. (1989). So we can use our own names, > and write the laws by which we > live: Educating the new U.S. labor Force. Harvard Educational Review, 59, > 454-469. > > Facundo, B. (1984). Issues for an evaluation of Freire-inspired programs in > the United States and Puerto Rico. Reston, VA: Latino Institute. (ERIC > Document Reproduction Service No. ED 243 998) > > Faigin, S. (1985). Basic ESL literacy from a Freirean > perspective: a curriculum unit for farmworker education. Major essay for the > degree of Master of Education, University of British Columbia. (ERIC Document > Reproduction Service No. ED 274 196) > > Fargo, G.A. (1981). The power of literacy applied to traditional birth > attendants, Saulteaux-Cree Indians and Hawaiian children. Paper presented at > the 48th annual meeting of the Claremont Reading Conference. > (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 201967)Freire, P. (1973). Education > for critical consciousness. New York: Seabury Press. > > Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New > York: The Continuum Publishing Corporation. > > Goodman, K. (1986). What's whole in whole language? > Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. > > Graman, T. (1988). Education for humanization: > Applying Paulo Freire's pedagogy to learning a second language. Harvard > Educational Review, 58, 433-448. > > Gudschinsky, S. C. (1976). Handbook of literacy. > Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics. > > Hamayan, E., & Pfleger, M. (1987). Developing literacy in English as a second > language: guidelines for teachers of young children from non-iterate > backgrounds. Teacher Resource Guide Number 1. > Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. (ERIC Document > Reproduction Service No. ED 290 343) > > Hemmendinger, A. (1987). Two models for using problem-posing and cultural > sharing in teaching the Hmong English as a second language and first language > literacy. Unpublished master's thesis, St. Francis Xavier University, > Antigonish, Nova Scotia. > > Hope, A., Timmel S., & Hodzi, C. (1984). Training for transformation, Vols. I, > II & III. Harare, Zimbabwe: > Mambo Press. > > Jurmo, P. (1987). Learner participation practices in adult literacy in the > United States. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Massachusetts. > > Laubach, F. C. (1947). Teaching the world to read. New > York: Friendship Press. > > Long, L. D., & Spiegel-Podnecky, J. (1988). In Print. > Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. > > Nash, A., Cason, A., Rhum, M., McGrail, & Gomez-Sanford, R. (1989). Talking > shop: a curriculum sourcebook for participatory adult ESL. Boston: > English Family Literacy Project of the University of Massachusetts/Boston. > > Newman, J., (Ed.). (1985). Whole language: Theory in use. Portsmouth, NH: > Heinemann. > > Noble, P. (1983). Formation of Freirean facilitators. > Chicago, IL: Latino Institute. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 256 > 845) > > Rabideau, D. (Ed.). (1989). El espanol en marcha [Spanish on the March]. > Comite de Educacion Basica en Espanol. > > Shor, I., & Freire, P. (1987). A pedagogy for > liberation: Dialogues on transforming education with Ira Shor and Paulo > Freire. New York: Bergin and Garvey. > > Simich-Dudgeon, C. (1989). English literacy > development: Approaches and strategies that work with limited English > proficient children and adults (Occasional Papers in Bilingual Education, 12). > Washington, DC: New Focus: The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education > Spener, D. (1990a). Setting an agenda for study in home-based ESL classes with > native speakers of Spanish. Unpublished manuscript. > > Spener, D. (1990b). Suggested structure for meetings of home-based ESL classes > for native speakers of Spanish. Unpublished manuscript. (ERIC Document > Reproduction Service No. ED 318 300). > > Wallerstein, N. (1983). Language and culture in > conflict: Problem-posing in the ESL classroom. > Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. > > > For Further Reading > Association for Community Based Education. (1988). > Literacy for empowerment: A resource handbook for community based educators. > Washington, DC: Author. > (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 321 593) > > Auerbach, E.R. (1989). Toward a social-contextual approach to family literacy. > Harvard Educational Review, 59, 105-151. > > Auerbach, E. R. (in press). Making meaning, making > change: Participatory curriculum development for adult ESL literacy. > Washington, DC and McHenry, IL: Center for Applied Linguistics and Delta > Systems. > > Fauteux, D., & Alamo, M. (1991). Palabras de lucha y alegria [Words of > struggle and joy]. Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press. > > Freire, P. (1985). The politics of education. New > York: Bergin and Garvey. > > Rivera, K.M. (1990). Devewloping native language literacy in language minority > adults. ERIC Digest. > Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse on Literacy Education. > > Vella, J. K. (1989). Learning to teach: Training of trainers for community > development. Washington, DC: > OEF International. > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > -- > > > > ERIC/NCLE Digests are available free of charge from the National Center for > ESL Literacy Education (NCLE), > 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859; (202) 362-0700, ext. 200; > e-mail: ncle@cal.org. World Wide > Web: www.cal.org/ncle. > > > Citations with an ED number may be purchased from the ERIC Document > Reproduction Service (EDRS) at 1-800-443-3742; or at email: service@edrs.com; > or at http://www.edrs.com. > > > The National Center for ESL Literacy Education (NCLE) is operated by the > Center for Applied Linguistics > (CAL) with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of > Educational Research and Improvement, under contract no. RR 93002010. The > opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or > policies of ED or the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. > > > > More NCLE Digests and Q&As > > > > NCLE Homepage > > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Y! Messenger - Communicate in real time. Download now. > http://messenger.yahoo.com
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