One thing I share in similar workshops is that many
ESL students may have difficulty in their classes not
only because of language, but also because of a lack
of background knowledge for their assignments. For
example, in many composition classes Martin Luther
King's letter from the Birmingham jail is used to
teach argument. Yet second-language students may not
know who he is, may not know what the civil rights
movement is, may not know what segregation is, may not
understand what the "South" is, and may have only a
slight knowledge of the history of slavery, the civil
war, and race relations in the US. When I worked in a
writing center, I would have to explain all of this
before we could even proceed to the assignment of
finding the different arguments in the letter. I've
had a number of teachers and tutors tell me that
realizing that students might not have certain
background information was the most helpful part of
the workshop because they had never thought about it
before.

Terry Pruett-Said
EAPP coordinator
Macomb Community College
Michigan


> From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of

> Jennifer Herrin

> Sent: Wed 6/11/2008 7:10 AM

> To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov

> Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2616] Sheltered English

> for Adults?

> 

> 

> Hello all,

> In our community college program we have only one

> transition course for ESL students. Therefore, once

> students have tested out of ESL classes (we use the

> CASAS), they often end up in Developmental English

> classes. The teachers of these classes often do not

> have

> training or experience with ESL.

> 

> I will soon be responsible for providing training

> for

> these teachers, and I would like to know if there

> are

> any resources (articles, textbooks) that would give

> me

> ideas to help mainstream teachers build strategies

> to

> best serve the ESL students that end up in their

> classes. 

> 

> I have found info on "sheltering" strategies for

> K-12,

> such as collaborative work, using visuals,

> repeating,

> paraphrasing, etc. (strategies ESL teachers are

> quite

> familiar with). However, I would like to find more

> adult-focused materials to help these non-ESL

> teachers

> work with ESL adults in their classrooms.

> 

> Thank you much!

> Jennifer Herrin

> Central New Mexico Community College

> jherrin at cnm.edu

> >

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