Thank you Louise,

Whatever works is good!!

On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 8:00 PM, Louise Wiener <lwiener at llfinc.org> wrote:


>  Hi Steve,

>

> LLF teaches teachers another strategy ( visual literacy) for engaging adult

> learners in achieving literacy and math proficiency.  LLF designs classroom

> experiential education and enrichment materials and provides professional

> development services around those materials. It is not the goals but the

> method which is a little different.

>

> You are quite right, we backed into adult education around parent

> involvement and family leadership issues. What we learned was that, logic

> notwithstanding, connecting adult and early childhood outcomes is still a

> stretch. However,  visual literacy, in and of itself, appears to be a useful

> tool for engaging adults in strengthening their basic skills particularly

> observation, critical thinking, and communications skills. The work has

> shown promise in strengthening self-expression through speaking and writing,

> and improved confidence in math ( understanding geometry and measurement)

> and social studies, particularly graphing and mapping outcomes.

>

> Hope that helps - Louise

>

>

>

> On 7/9/08 2:53 PM, "Steve Kaufmann" <steve at thelinguist.com> wrote:

>

> I have to admit that I simply do not understand the following post. Just

> what is it that LLF teaches? How to think? English? How to be a leader in

> your family?

>

> Steve

>

> On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 10:20 AM, Louise Wiener <lwiener at llfinc.org> wrote:

>

> Hello All,

>

> I have been following the language development / critical thinking

> discussion with interest.   Learning and Leadership in Families, the

> non-profit I lead in Washington, DC, uses visual literacy - i.e. learning

> through looking - to encourage both language development and critical

> thinking.  We teach critical thinking through  exercises that gather

> information through careful observation and encourage critical thinking by

> comparing and contrasting  what the adult already knows with the

> information

> gathered from visual clues.

>

> LLF teaches how to use visual vocabulary (line, shape, color, texture, etc)

> to explore familiar environments and/or to decode unfamiliar environments.

> This can be done with dress / costume, with buildings or with other objects

> that encourage discussion about cultures and their similarities and

> differences. The process of building on what people already know and

> underpinning their knowledge with a structure that encourages critical

> thinking and deductive reasoning results in language development.

>

> What is most interesting in an ELL context is that the visual vocabulary

> provides a structure that cuts across cultures, but different cultures

> interpret different visual elements differently.  For example, the meaning

> of different kinds of lines is universal. The meaning of different colors

> and patterns varies from culture to culture - but is present as an

> identifier across cultures.  Makes for interesting conversations.   Louise

> Wiener

> --

> Louise W. Wiener, Executive Director

> Learning and Leadership in Families

>

> email: lwiener at LLFinc.org

> web:   www.LLFinc.org <http://www.LLFinc.org> <http://www.LLFinc.org>

>

>

>

>

>

> On 7/9/08 10:45 AM, "Andy Nash" <andy_nash at worlded.org> wrote:

>

> > Hi,

> I think I'm agreeing with Steve when I say that critical thinking

> > and

> language ability are really quite separate things and that there's

> > no

> reason to think that ESL beginners (or any students) don't already

> think

> > critically – or, in fact, that we (the teachers) do. So rather

> than talking

> > about "teaching" critical thinking, I'd be more

> comfortable talking about

> > "practicing" critical thinking along with

> our students. And this, I think,

> > means questioning assumptions and

> asking why things are as they are. As

> > Winston noted in his description

> of health projects, it's about considering

> > who benefits and who loses

> from presenting information/ideas in a particular

> > way, whose

> perspectives are represented or omitted, etc.

>

> Where I differ with

> > Steve is that I think that Cynthia's and

> Heide's lesson examples show us ways

> > for students and teachers to

> hear alternative experiences and perspectives and

> > to remind ourselves

> that things can be different (and they ARE different for

> > different

> groups of people). And this is what Cynthia was talking about when

> > she

> supported the idea of students recognizing their agency – that we

> don't

> > have to just accept things as they are.

>

> Andy Nash

>

> >>> "Steve Kaufmann"

> > <steve at thelinguist.com> 7/9/2008 12:15 AM >>>

> I no longer sure what the

> > subject of discussion is.. So here are my

> views on

> critical thinking, beginner

> > ESL, social activism and the role of

> modern

> technology.

>

> 1) Critical

> > thinking.

> If learners have limited English skills and a limited vocabulary,

> > we

> have no

> idea of their critical thinking skills. They simply cannot

> > express

> themselves in English. How do we know if someone can do the

> > following

> if

> they do not have the words?

>

>    - Observe

>    - Question

>    -

> > Analyze

>    - Compare

>    - Evaluate

>    - Judge

>    - Synthesize

>

> And do we judge

> > them based on our cultural standards?

>

> In my experience, ESL learners who seem

> > to have trouble arguing their

> points

> logically, generally have not enough

> > words in English. I wonder how

> many of

> the people on this discussion Forum can

> > sound intelligent in another

> language. First let the learners acquire words.

> > The more they have the

> more

> they can learn.

>

> 2) Beginner ESL

> I think there is

> > enough evidence out there that beginner ESL students

> should

> not be trying to

> > say anything. Just google "the silent period

> hypothesis"

> and you will find

> > lots of articles like

> this<http://homepage3.nifty.com/park/silent.htm><http://homepage3.nifty.com/park/silent.htm>

> .

>

>

> Let

> > the beginner learners listen to and read simple stories, divided

> into

> 30-60

> > second episodes, where the translation is available in their

> language.

> Let

> > them listen at first while reading in their own language, if they

> can

> read.Let

> > their brains get used to the language.

>

> Let them listen 20-30 times, for a

> > period of 2-3 months Do not put

> pressure

> on them to speak.

>

> 3) Social

> > activism

> If the goal is not English language instruction, but "educating"

> > the

> students in some activist agenda, find a person who speaks their

> language

> > to

> do it. Do not confuse it with English teaching.

>

> 4) Modern technology

> The

> > best place for modern technology is outside the classroom. This

> empowers

> the

> > learner and the teacher. It extends the influence of the teacher

> and

> makes

> > sure that learning is not perceived as something artificial that

> only

> happens

> > in the classroom.

>

> The exception to this would be if the learners do not have

> > access to

> computers, MP3 players etc, on their own.

>

> Steve

>

>

> --

> Steve

> > Kaufmann

> www.lingq.com <http://www.lingq.com> <http://www.lingq.com>

> >

> 1-604-922-8514

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> > Development section of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki

> >

>

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> t

>

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-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
1-604-922-8514
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