And to add to Cynthia's ideas below

Bring in "Material World" (Sierra Publishing) by Peter Menzel



Ask students "What do you see?"  (Model for very beginners "I see a man ......) - Invite students to work in pairs or small groups to select a picture to look at and talk about. Walk around and be their dictionary (for words they want to know - all students have to do is point to the items in the picture).

And to extend Cynthia's ideas further - Ask students to map "the migrant trail" - tracing lines between beginning and ending places for their journey from "home" to your class (be sensitive to all the different ways immigrants cross borders). Are there "sending villages" and receiving places where families and entire groups end up? What are the push/pull factors of emigration/immigration - consider moving from the personal to socio-political - treading softly and gauging the mood/interest/anxiety of the class as you try out ideas

Heide




________________________________________
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov [professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Cynthia Peters [cynthia_peters at worlded.org]
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 8:59 AM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2227] Re: Critical thinking   in      theBeginning ESL classroom

I agree. Wonderful story. And a great way to get people talking and
using phrases.

Here's a possible direction to take this — which admittedly involves
more vocabulary but could be do-able: Broach the idea of countries. What
are they? What are national boundaries? In the 1800s, people who lived
in the geographical area now known as Texas used to be considered
Mexican. Then there was a war. Now they're Americans. Who makes national
boundaries? How are they decided? Does it matter? What are they for? Do
we really need them? What if we didn't have them?

What is nationality? And how much meaning does it have for each person?
Maybe some are really attached to their nationality. Others maybe less
so. Explore that. Use maps, timelines, etc.

I haven't ever tried this in a classroom, and am just coming up with
this idea off the top of my head, but it strikes me as an example of the
teacher creating a framework for students to take their thinking in new
directions. Thus inspiring critical thinking!

Cynthia



--

Cynthia Peters
Change Agent Editor
World Education
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Boston, MA  02210

tel: 617-482-9485 ext. 3649
fax: 617-482-0617
email: cpeters at worlded.org

Check out The Change Agent online at:
www.nelrc.org/changeagent



>>> On 7/8/2008 at 5:47 PM, in message

<a305dbd10807081447v30d020bam644c04d1546edb3a at mail.gmail.com>, "Holly
Dilatush"
<holly at dilatush.com> wrote:

> Enjoyable story, Barbara, thanks.

>

> I'm a 53-year old with 9 years nearly fulltime adult ed work, ESOL,

EFL,

> GED, all levels.

>

> My first reaction was to laugh and say, "impossible.... teach them

"That's *

> im*possible!" or just "Impossible!"  but not "...not possible."  :D

> (I realize both are used but do think that if a concordance were

consulted,

> that "impossible" would be more widely used)

>

> I'd continue the debates, substituting ________ for America...  Is

this a

> Mexican?  Is this a Somalian? etc...

>

> It's been fascinating for me to learn from adult learners -- what

kind of

> effect globalization and economic developments have had on the

honest

> representation of who is a citizen of what country... and how many

> expatriates there are... or are not...

>

> I love activities using photos, because so often details I'd not

thought of

> are noted by other participants.

>

> I would say that this type of activity would qualify as one

promoting

> critical thinking and potentially learner leadership as well.

> My mind is sifting various language-related activities that could

accompany

> or follow such an activity.

>

> Thoughts? Reactions? Comments?

> holly

>

> On Tue, Jul 8, 2008 at 4:40 PM, Barbara Caballero <

> barbaracaballero at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>

>> Subject: Critical thinking in the Beginning ESL classroom

>> Good morning,

>> I just read a lot, but not all, of the recommended articles on

teaching

>> critical thinking authored by Stephen Brookfield.  Thank you very

much for

>> the links to these articles.  I think I get it.

>>

>> I believe that I have unknowingly ventured into this type of

teaching in my

>> very Beginning ESL classroom.  I'll describe what I did.

>>

>> You probably need to know that I'm a 58-year-old white woman and

I've been

>> teaching ESL for about 15 years, as a volunteer tutor or paid

classroom

>> teacher.  I'm currently a part-time instructor at Austin Community

College

>> in Texas.

>>

>> Before the lesson in question, my students have learned to say "I'm

from

>> ___" and to ask "Where are you from?"  I also have taught my

students that

>> I'm from Pennsylvania and I'm an American.  We use maps and lots of

>> repetition.  Now for my critical thinking lesson.

>>

>> I have 10 or 15 colorful photos that I have cut out of magazines.

Each

>> photo is of an individual.  Some of the individuals have

characteristics in

>> common, some are very different.  For example, there are different

ages,

>> races, genders, income-levels, abilities, emotions, etc.  I'll start

out

>> with a few photos of white people who appear to be healthy and

wealthy.  I

>> display one photo and I ask my students: "Is this an American?"

They

>> usually say yes.   We continue by looking at photos of people who

look

>> different from the first people.  I ask my question "Is this an

>> American?".   If there is disagreement, I'll ask, "Is it POSSIBLE?"

>> Sometimes we communicate by "I-don't-know" shrugging, and using

"so-so"

>> gestures, etc.  Eventually we all agree and repeat the phrase,

"It's

>> POSSIBLE."  Some of my pictures are of individuals whose clothing

and

>> surroundings seem to indicate that they are not Americans.  If the

students

>> insist that it's not an

>>  American, I'll ask "It's NOT possible?  Why?"  They point out the

clues in

>> the photo that tell them that this is not an American.  Usually

there is

>> spirited side-talking in L1.  All comments and opinions are

acknowledged and

>> are OK by me.  My focus is on teaching the phrase "It's POSSIBLE",

plus at

>> least the students hearing the phrase "It's NOT possible".  But I

also want

>> them to loosen up any pre-conceived notions about Americans.  The

other goal

>> is to get my students used to looking for clues.

>>

>> I would be interested in feeback from the listserv.  Am I on the

right

>> track, or  am I doing some unintended damage?

>> Thanks again,

>> Barbara Rotolo-Caballero

>>

>

>

>> --

>> Holly (Dilatush)

>>

>> holly at dilatush.com

>> (434) 960.7177 cell phone

>> (434) 295.9716 home phone

>> [OK to call 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. EST / GMT -5 time]

>>

>> "Live with intention. Share inside~out smiles, inspire hope, seek

awe and

>> nurture in nature." (original by Holly)

>>

>> www.tales-around-the-world.blogspot.com

>> www.abavirtual-learningcenter.org

>> www.blogblossoms.edublogs.org

>> *Twitter ID = smilin7

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