What is the correct link?




________________________________
From: Judy Frost <jfrost at everettcc.edu>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Friday, December 5, 2008 11:30:43 AM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3255] Re:Idon't understandthecurrentthinkingbehind teaching reading toadults!

Thank you!  I got it.  I think it is a wonderful idea!
Judy


>>> "Brian, Dr Donna J G" <djgbrian at utk.edu> 12/5/2008 7:09 AM >>>

Hi Judy and all,
This is one of those times when the URL that was given has gotten split
between two lines of the message, and all you need to do to access the
page is put both of the two lines back together again in the URL window
of your browser.  I just tried it, and I get the page we were told
about, so the URL that was given is not a dead link.

Donna Brian
Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List
Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu 

To post a message:
workplace at nifl.gov 

To subscribe/unsubscribe/change options/access archives:
http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/workplace 

-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Judy Frost
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 12:18 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3243] Re: Idon't understandthecurrent
thinkingbehind teaching reading toadults!

I would like to see this, but my browser said "page cannot be found", is
there some other way I can access the information?


Program Coordinator
Adult Education Tutorial Center
Volunteer Tutor Program
Everett Community College
425-388-9524 or
425 388 9085
jfrost at everettcc.edu 

"Be not the slave of your own past.  Plunge into the sublime seas, dive
deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new
power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the
old."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Everett Community College complies with all state and federal rules and
regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color,
national origin, age, gender or disability.



>>> "White, Maria E (HRSA)" <MEWhite at hrsa.gov> 12/4/2008 7:25 AM >>>

That is a very cool idea and possibly have them take it to Office Depot
and have it bound for about $7.00 to $10.00 or have them bound their own
book.  Please see the process in link below because about two years ago,
my children participated in  Prince Georges County , MD write a book
literacy competition and maybe this idea can be adopted to the Adult
Learners and generate the students competing and sharing their stories,
poems or plays.  Please review link to possibly adopt: 
http://www1.pgcps.org/uploadedFiles/Offices/Library_Media_Services/pdf/W 

rite_A_Book__Literary_Competition_Guide.pdf



"A love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak."
(Michael Garrett Marino) 

Maria E. White

Maria E. White

Senior Civil Rights Analyst

Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights

Health Resources and Services Administration

Health and Human Services

Parklawn Building 6-105

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, MD  20857

Office:  301-443-0363

Fax:      301-443-7898

mewhite at hrsa.gov 







From: MaKeever Clarke [mailto:mclarke at lvgs.org] 
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 9:37 AM
To: 'Wheeler, Tamela'; 'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion
List'
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3235] Re: I don't understand thecurrent
thinkingbehind teaching reading to adults!



Tamela,



What a fabulous idea! I never thought of having my adult learners write
a children's book based on their cultures. That is such a wonderful way
to show that you respect and honor their culture and heritage, and yet
all the while have them working on their target language skills. THANK
YOU for this idea. I am going to add it to my list of favorite
techniques (and give you full credit for it).



MaKeever Clarke

Program Coordinator of Customized Workplace English

Literacy Volunteers of Greater Syracuse, Inc.

PO Box 27, 2111 South Salina Street

Syracuse, NY  13205

mclarke at lvgs.org 

(315) 471-1300 Ext. 14















From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Wheeler, Tamela
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 10:19 AM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3216] Re: I don't understand the current
thinkingbehind teaching reading to adults!



I've used children's books as a TOOL for my ESOL students to write their
own children's book.  There's so many stories and folk tales within our
students and this is a good avenue for them to share their stories from
their cultures of their lives. 



When I do this project, I require them to read up to 5 children's books
(I have a collection of children's books that I provide).  They fill out
a form on each book (giving a summary, main characters, etc).   They
really like this project.  I've have some beautiful children's books
written and illustrated by my ESOL students.  This helps with reading
and writing.



Tamela Wheeler, MA

Pellissippi State Adult Education



________________________________

From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov 
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Glenda Lynn Rose
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 9:54 AM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3215] Re: I don't understand the current
thinkingbehind teaching reading to adults!



I have to admit I"m a little insulted by tone of this response.  I find
it ironic that open-mindedness is appreciated, but the idea of using
children's books is not included in that open-minded attitude. 



I do selectively use children's books.  I use them because as an adult
some of my favorite books are still children's books and I use them when
I teach English speakers other subjects as well as language arts.  As
far as my students being insulted, I have never had a student who
complained.  A lot of it may be in the presentation.  



The use of children's books has to be done with an understanding of your
goals and the goals of your students, of course.  Some books I present
because they are part of the culture - "I do not like them Sam I am"
and "It's fun to have fun but you have to know how" are phrases from Dr.
Seuss, used outside their original storybook context, for example.  

Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day is one of my
and my students' favorite books, because it reminds us that bad days
happen and happen regardless of where you live ("even in Australia")
(and how your attitude is in the  morning really affects how you see the
rest of the day.)

Some bilingual books, like The Upside Down Boy and I Love Saturdays y
Domingos I use because my students are mainly parents, and these books
address issues that their children may be experiencing.



David Schwarzer said that if the teacher likes to dance, everyone
dances.  Maybe that's part of the key.  I love children's books.  I
continue to read them as an adult.  I have a large personal collection
of books from which my students voluntarily (ie., ASK) to borrow.  If
the teacher, however, dislikes children's books, then clearly he or she
should not use them, because that dislike will be transmitted to the
students and clearly will not be an effective teaching tool.



In short, I respect your decision to not use children's books and your
reasons, but I also ask that you consider the possiblity that the use of
children's books is not as "insulting" or degrading as you might think,
depending on how and why they are used.







Grace and Peace!
Glenda Lynn Rose, PhD

512-789-5131 (cell)

glyndalin at yahoo.com 






--- On Tue, 12/2/08, Jose Perez <joseperez3338 at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Jose Perez <joseperez3338 at gmail.com>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3214] Re: I don't understand the current
thinking behind teaching reading to adults!
To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 9:19 PM

Ali,

Thank goodness for young, innovative, open-minded, "thinking outside
the box" individuals like you. We need more future educators like you,
so I want to thank you for your very astute observations and comments.

In my humble opinion, there is no place for children's books in an
adult class--whether it's an ESL class or an ABE class. It is
insulting, degrading and humiliating for adults, males especially, to
be handed children's books. It is a mistake many educators make. Maybe
it's because they don't realize the stigma and unfortunate humialition
these adults go through just admitting that they can't read, or how
hard it is to learn the (complicated) English language when your
native language is, say, Spanish. So I applaud you for not stooping to
giving your adult students children's books.

I know I've said this before, but I am most likely one of their
biggest fans. Have you tried the Junkyard Dan series by Nox Press?
These are books written on a first-grade reading level, but are for
adults and are not the typical condescending, dated, boring books that
we usually give these students. They are crime dramas. I use these
books with great success, and my students can't get enough of them. I
think that as a young, innovative educator, who seems to have a full
understanding on why our current ways are, on a whole, not effective
and not working very well for our adult students, if you visit the Nox
Press website, you will see what I am talking about. Your students
will thank you. But don't take my word for it. Check 'em out yourself!

Good luck in your future teaching carreer, and may you make many great
changes in your lifetime.

Jose Perez

On Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 2:56 PM, Ali Hesami <hesamiar at gmail.com> wrote:

> That's a great point, and exactly what I'm talking about. If we as

educators

> keep extrapolating on teaching methods for children because there are

not

> many adult-specific methods, how can we ever hope to develop an

> adult-specific method? I think we can agree that adults of varying

ages do

> not learn as children do, and have drastically different literacy

needs.

> 

> On Tue, Dec 2, 2008 at 1:45 PM, Bonnie Odiorne

<bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net>

> wrote:

>> 

>> I don't know a lot about adult reading acquisition theories, but I

do know

>> that many researchers take what works for children and extrapolate,

since

>> little work has been done with adults. The most important issue would

be

>> content, as folks have mentioned, and how the brain works, added to

the

>> adult's experience (possible trauma from illiteracy) and passive

oral

>> vocabulary. I've been taught a combination of choosing key words

to remember

>> initial letters and word patterns to help with sound/letter

correspondence;

>> language experience stories that the learner would dictate and could

then

>> "read" relatively quickly, and a quick development of sight

word vocabulary.

>> Also workplace or other realia that the learner needs to function. In

>> relation to using children's books or techniques (the Wilson

method comes to

>> mind) I'd do it only if reading to children was one of the

adult's goals;

>> otherwise learners can make their own picture books with doodles and

>> accompanying text limited to their level and interest. I do have

direct

>> experience with taking a Methods and Materials ESL class whose

professor's

>> only knowledge of adult learners was of graduate assistants in her

>> University, though she claimed adult learning as her specialty;

otherwise

>> her materials came right out of chldren's contexts and K-12

methodology; she

>> didn't appreciate my more "practical" methods and

materials that didn't have

>> communicative language games....

>> Bonnie Odiorne, Post University Writing Center, Waterbury, CT

>> 

>> --- On Tue, 12/2/08, Ali Hesami <hesamiar at gmail.com> wrote:

>> 

>> From: Ali Hesami <hesamiar at gmail.com>

>> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3184] I don't understand the current

thinking

>> behind teaching reading to adults!

>> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov 

>> Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 12:29 AM

>> 

>> Hello all.

>> My name is Ali Hesami, and I am currently a graduate student in the

adult

>> literacy program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond,

Virginia.

>> I've been attending a class called "Teaching Reading to

Adults" as part of

>> my required curriculum, and I have been wondering about the current

methods

>> used to teach reading to adults. It seems to me that the teacher

teach

>> adults just as they would teach children, often even using research

and

>> writing on teaching reading to children as guidelines.

>> While I understand the usefulness of phonics, phonetics, etc. by

>> themselves, I firmly believe that an adult can better benefit from

learning

>> to read by simply reading in a classroom environment, guided by

teachers,

>> tutors, etc. An adult in his or her 40s or even 50s simply should not

have

>> to sit through long sessions of syllable by syllable instruction if

all they

>> desire id to be better able to communicate with others and better

express

>> their opinions about the world surrounding them.

>> I speak from experience here. I began learning English as a 14 year

old in

>> an international school in Tanzania. I placed into the 9th grade to

start;

>> no one ever even approached phonics, phonemes, etc. I read and

listened, all

>> the while guided by teachers who helped me with the material at hand.

I

>> became conversational in about three months or so, while I worked on

my

>> writing, also with guidance from my teachers. Conversely, while in

school in

>> my native Tehran, Iran, I was taught English in a similar manner as

here,

>> and I spoke a grand total of three phrases when I left Iran for

Tanzania:

>> Hello, Fine thank you, and Beg your pardon? I'm not even joking

here!

>> I admit as a 14 year old I had an advantage over adults here, but I

can't

>> help but wonder if what worked for me would help adults much more

than

>> playing word games and reading children's books.

>> Let's have them read material they can identify with in some way,

and keep

>> them reading, while slowly working on their writing skill alongside.

>> Let me know any thoughts, ideas, criticisms, etc. It has been eating

away

>> at me for a few months now.

>> Thanks in advance,

>> Ali Hesami

>> hesamiar at gmail.com 

>> 

>> ----------------------------------------------------

>> National Institute for Literacy

>> Adult English Language Learners mailing list

>> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov 

>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage 

>> Email delivered to bonniesophia at sbcglobal.net 

>> 

>> ----------------------------------------------------

>> National Institute for Literacy

>> Adult English Language Learners mailing list

>> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov 

>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage 

>> Email delivered to hesamiar at gmail.com 

> 

> 

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Adult English Language Learners mailing list

> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov 

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

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> Email delivered to joseperez3338 at gmail.com 

> 

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