Hello Colleagues,
Below is an announcemmennt from Julie McKinney, moderator of the NIFL
Focus
on basics discussion list.  Note that this discussion began yesterday
(2/15) - I apologize for the delay in getting this announcement to you.
marie
****************************

For those who are interested: the discussion of Struggling ESOL Learners
Starts February 15 on the Focus on Basics Discussion List. Please join
Robin Schwarz and the rest of us to discuss her article in Focus on
Basics, Vol. 8A.

To read the article: "Taking a Closer Look at Struggling ESOL Learners"
go to:
http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=994

If you are not subscribed to the FOB list, you can subscribe at:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

Below are the questions we posted last week to get us thinking about the
article and how it relates to the work we do.

Discussion Questions

1. Stories: Have you had struggling learners in your program? How
common do you think this problem is? Do you want to share a story of a
learner you have worked with, and tell us how you were able to find out
the issue, and what you did to help?

2. Physical Disabilities: How do we screen for them and what specific
accommodations can we make in the class or program for them?

3. Intake/Counseling Procedures: What does your center or program do
for a routine intake? What is the procedure to address a learner who is
not progressing? How well do you get at factors such as physical and
health problems, living situations, amount and nature of literacy
skills, nature of the primary language and cultural communication style?

4. Responding: Once there is a reason discovered for a learner's
struggles, how well-equipped are you to respond to the problem? How do
you learn how to accommodate a hearing or visual problem? What do you do
for the learner with anxiety or depression? Do you have access to a
consulting teacher, or someone knowledgeable in the complexities of a
given culture's communication style (as in the example of the Sudanese
men in the article)?

5. Staff Training/Professional Development: What kind of training do we
all need in order to ensure that our intake procedures are complete and
appropriate? What kind of training will help us to respond an effective
way?

6. Did This Article Change Something You Do? Share with us anything
that you changed, did, started, or stopped as a result of reading this
article. Why? What result did you get?

7. What Connections Did You Make With This Article? Even if you did not
change anything, did it ring a bell or hit home to you in some way?

We'll see you for the discussion!

Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org