I would take the position with learners that anyone who comes to an English
speaking country will benefit from developing a well rounded capability in
English. There are no shortcuts, no special scripts to learn. On the other
hand perfection is neither expected not required. It is fine to make
mistakes as part of the learning process. That is the nature of the language
adventure and that is where the learner can look forward to gradual success,
progress and achievement, as long as she or he keeps at it, trying to
improve.

I doubt that a classroom can teach the specific needs of a work place or
shopping or transportation situation, even though some learners may ask for
that. Those skills are best learned while engaged in those tasks. The better
the all round language ability, the greater will be the confidence of the
speaker, the better she or he will do in the real world, and the better she
or he will learn from a real world situation. To pretend otherwise is to
mislead the learner, in my view.

Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
steve at lingq.com

On Thu, Jun 19, 2008 at 12:27 PM, Julie Howard <jhoward at thecenterweb.org>
wrote:


>  Greetings. This is Julie Howard from the Adult Learning Resource Centerin Arlington

> Heights, Illinois. I like the idea of providing students checklists of

> contexts in which they need English (work, shopping, healthcare,

> transportation, etc.), but learners, especially at the lower levels, may

> tend to check all categories because they perceive their language skills as

> deficient in all situations. If they check all the options, no practically

> useful information has been obtained. It's important to have them prioritize

> ("Check only 3", for example) so that the syllabus and lesson plans can be

> built around a reasonable number of objectives.

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> *From:* englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:

> englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] *On Behalf Of *Martin Senger

> *Sent:* Thursday, June 19, 2008 2:01 PM

>

> *To:* The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List

> *Subject:* [EnglishLanguage 2678] Re: Effective Needs Assessment

> Strategies

>

>

>

> Pax et bonum all!

>

>

>

> I have developed a Second Language Acquisition (SLA) History form that I

> fill out when I get a new student.  I question when and for how long they

> have studied not only English (L2), but also their native language(s) (L1),

> since this will give me an idea of their understanding how languages work in

> general (the toughest language to learn is your first second language).

>

>

>

> I then ask them about their learning and usage of English informally

> through culture: language TV watched in, books/internet/newspapers, music,

> school/work/home. This gives me an idea of where they are going to practice

> their English.

>

>

>

> For the piece de resistance, I ask them to grade themselves (0-10) on each

> of their language skills (I explain in some detail what each skill

> involves), and areas of specific difficulty or interest for each skill. This

> gives me an idea of their mind-set regarding their own language learning and

> a nice road map for my work with them.

>

>

>

> I have mostly higher-level students, who can understand these questions

> when asked. Also, I would welcome anyone who would like to critique this

> form, sine I am but a lowly teacher and not a researcher!

>

>

>

> Ciao!

>

>

>

> Martin E. Senger

>

> Adult ESL Teacher

>

> GECAC / The R. Benjamin Wiley Learning Center

>

> Erie, Pa

>

> 814-490-8510

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> *From:* englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:

> englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] *On Behalf Of *Betsy Wong

> *Sent:* Thursday, June 19, 2008 8:24 AM

> *To:* 'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List'

> *Subject:* [EnglishLanguage 2676] Re: Effective Needs Assessment

> Strategies

>

>

>

> One of the strategies that has proven helpful in assessing learners'

> language needs has been a full-group discussion/brainstorming session, with

> each one of these questions discussed at a time:

>

>

>

> Where do you speak English?

>

> Where do you hear English?

>

> Where do you read English?

>

> Where do you write English?

>

>

>

> Although this is simplistic, it really gets learners thinking about the

> situations in which they need to use English (and I usually follow up the

> question with, Are there any other times when you want to

> speak/hear/read/write English more easily?)

>

>

>

> At the lower levels, it's helpful to use visuals as well (e.g., a picture

> of a hospital or a children's school – "Do you need to speak English here?")

>

>

>

>

> I like to note answers on the board (this also lends itself to a

> "mind-mapping" diagram) and copy them for myself. I refer to it throughout

> the class term.

>

>

>

> Sometimes I follow the needs assessment discussion with individual

> goal-setting, having learners write sentences about what they want to

> practice in English.

>

>

>

> I find that it's really helpful, though, to do a full-class discussion

> first to generate ideas from which learners can pick and choose.

>

>

>

> What are some other simple ways to do a needs assessment?

>

>

>

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

>

> Betsy Lindeman Wong

>

> Lead ESL Teacher

>

> Alexandria Adult and Community Education

>

>

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

>

> *From:* englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:

> englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] *On Behalf Of *Lynda Terrill

> *Sent:* Wednesday, June 18, 2008 2:43 PM

> *To:* englishlanguage at nifl.gov

> *Subject:* [EnglishLanguage 2674] Moving on--Effective Needs

> AssessmentStrategies?

>

>

>

> Dear subscribers,

>

>

>

> Thanks to the many of you who responded with thoughtful insights and

> advice to the issue of the "problem tutor"; it seems to have hit a chord

> with many.

>

>

>

> There have been several requests now for the community to move to a

> different topic.  While the subscribers on this list don't ever seem to be

> at a loss for topics, I thought I would throw out a possible new topic, and

> I hope others will do the same.

>

>

>

> I realized awhile ago that almost every workshop I present starts with

> needs assessment--needs analysis of workshop participants and activities and

> information related to needs assessment for adult English language

> learners.

>

>

>

> This is not a new topic, but I wonder if some of you could describe

> practical needs assessment strategies and activities you have used with

> adult English language learners?

>

>

>

> For background reading, you could access *The REEP ESL Curriculum for

> Adults* at

> http://www.apsva.us/15401081182015517/lib/15401081182015517/reepcurriculum/index.html,

> then click on *needs assessment* in the Instructional Planning section.

> The needs assessment page includes links to needs assessment activities.

> Another resource is  Needs Assessment and Learner Self-Evaluation from the

> *Practitioner Toolkit: Working with Adult English Language Learners *

> http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/Part2-5NeedsAssessment&LearnerSelf-Evaluation.pdf

>

>

>

>

> Needs assessment and learner goal-setting are of continual interest to me,

> but please consider bringing up other topics of interest and

> concern—including adding new insights to the tutor discussion. Please change

> the subject line to reflect the topics.

>

>

>

> Thanks,

>

>

>

> Lynda Terrill

>

> list moderator

>

> lterrill at cal.org

>

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

> National Institute for Literacy

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> EnglishLanguage at nifl.gov

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

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> Email delivered to steve at thelinguist.com

>




-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
1-604-922-8514
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