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 h6EHKK714882; Mon, 14 Jul 2003 13:20:20 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 13:20:20 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <000001c34a2c$0d8767a0$1a01a8c0@cccchs.org> 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: "Sylvan Rainwater" <sylvan@cccchs.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9181] Re: Women learners X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510 Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 2888 Lines: 60 It is true that more men learn on the job. Our program has primarily women students, because we are a morning program, and most of the fathers are working. The women can come because we also have classes for the children and provide child care, which is critical for their participation. When women get jobs where they have to learn English (or, as sometimes happens, when they have, say, an English-speaking manager who is also interested in learning Spanish, so they teach each other), they learn English faster than in a classroom. Men often attend evening classes, at a time when they are tired from having worked all day. It's not surprising that their attendance would suffer. We have two teachers: me (female) and my co-teacher, who is not only male but also from Mexico, where most of the learners are from. It makes the classes more interesting for the few fathers who can come, but also seems to help the women relate more easily. I think a lot of that is the cultural connection -- he knows what a teacher is supposed to look like, what he is supposed to say, and what to do so that they pay attention to him. He also knows more about their real lives, their problems, and can address them more accurately. Having said all that, I have to say that he is also just a very good teacher, and has enormous sensitivity and motivation to work very hard with them. I would also guess that this thread could be of interest to the NIFL list focusing on women's literacy. Folks over there might have more information or access to more research on this topic, or at least something related to it. Sylvan Rainwater . mailto:sylvan@cccchs.org Family Literacy Coordinator Clackamas County Children's Commission/Head Start Oregon City, Oregon -----Original Message----- From: nifl-esl@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-esl@nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Yvonne Lerew Sent: Monday, July 14, 2003 8:46 AM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9179] Re: Women learners I am also very interested in this question. In my experience, adult women immigrants study more English in a classroom setting, however adult men use English more at work and in the community so that after a few years the men equal or exceed the women in terms of conversational English skills. Another factor that may be important is that most teachers (in our program, all of the teachers) are women. Would male teachers be better able to provide relevant lessons for male students? Do the sorts of interactions that male students have, such as in all-male working environments like construction, get equal treatment in ESL classrooms? Is the language and/or culturally appropriate behaviors in all-male interactions substantially different than in mixed groups or all-female groups? I have looked for some research on this but have not found much. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks, Yvonne Lerew
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