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 i7H2HcC21934; Mon, 16 Aug 2004 22:17:38 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 2004 22:17:38 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <s121155d.012@ontario-mail.tvcc.cc> 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: "Mona Curtis" <mcurtis@tvcc.cc> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:10413] pumarosa and native language X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise Internet Agent 6.5.1 Status: O Content-Length: 3306 Lines: 66 Dear Colleagues, I have been in contact with Paul Rogers of Pumarosa because we have had such a positive reaction from our students using this site. A computer session is part of almost all of our ESL classes. We have recommended several internet sites in addition to the programs already installed on our computers. At times, nearly half the class is using Pumarosa. I asked the students what they liked about it they said that it was easy to understand and they liked that everything was explained in Spanish. They also liked hearing the sounds in English. From an instructor's point of view, I have several comments. First is that many of our students come to us completely computer illiterate. To see these students, within a few class sessions, using an Internet site is very exciting and speaks about the accessability of the site. If you are not familiar with Pumarosa, it is an audio/visual English learning site for Spanish speakers. It starts with very basic concepts such as the alphabet and the pronunciation of each letter. It gives the Spanish translation and a phonetic spelling which a Spanish speaker can understand, "he (ji)" and of course the pronunciation in English, which is, may I add, very clear and well pronounced. It is very step-by-step, explaining, in Spanish, concepts like verb conjugation and pronouns and giving lots of examples, which are pronounced in English and translated to Spanish. This, however, brings us to an interesting point pedegogically. Although the pedulum has been swinging toward the use of L1 in ELL classes, it is still used with a precautionary tone. My experience both as a teacher and a student also direct me toward a more limited use of L1. HOWEVER the reactions of the students seem to be quite the opposite. The students appreciate it and continually speak of their frustrations in English immersion classes, where they were completely lost, didn't learn anything, and finally gave up. Thinking about this I have many theories. One is that TVCC is in an agricultural area and typically our students do not have strong literacy backgrounds in their native language. This type of learner, it seems to me, may need more support from L1, at least at the beginning. (I think not for the learning of English, but just the reassurance that somebody understands them, since they don't have academic backgrounds and aren't totally comfortable in a school setting to begin with.) HOWEVER, Pumarosa is very similar to a course that I helped develop while I was in Mexico, Ingles Total. My supervisors there, who were very well educated professionals, also insisted on a lot of translation. One thing courses like Pumarosa and Ingles Total do well is to address the specific problematic areas of a particular language group, in this case, Spanish. So I'm left wondering about the relative strengths and weaknesses of programs that rely on a lot of translation and those that don't, Rosetta Stone, for example. I'm also wondering if I should be using the actual names of commercially developed curriculums, texts, and sites in the listserve. All comments welcome. Mona Curtis ESL Coordinator Treasure Valley Community College 650 College Blvd. Ontario, OR 97914 www.tvcc.cc 541-881-8822 x 316 fax 541-881-2747
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