To echo what Mikal has said: Language must be presented to learners and
practiced in some sort of context, so why not make it a context that is
similar to what they may encounter in real life? Recent immigrants and
refugees need life skills in addition to knowledge of the language. 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Steinbacher Mikal
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 4:00 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: RE: [EnglishLanguage 2681] Re: Effective Needs Assessment
Strategies

 

Steve, I disagree:   

 

I think we have to at least introduce students to day to day life
situations in the US or any other English speaking country, and the
language with which to to cope with them.

 

There are texts out there that are designed to teach reading, grammar,
writing etc, in context with the real life situations that ESL students
face on a day to day basis.  These life skills are critical to immigrant
success in the US, and while we can't cover them all in the classroom,
we can sure hit some of the most critical.  

 

We use the StandOut series starting in ESL level 2.  There are 4 levels
to that series and each takes the students through the same topics at a
higher, more complicated level as they progress through the ESL classes.


 

I usually teach level 4 and up, and I also have guest speakers who share
information on:

 


>A nurse:  how to get the most out of your doctor visits, and other

health care related issues


>A bank officer: banking, how to get credit, and keep good credit, how

to prevent credit theft, and get loan


>A fire fighter: CPR training



>A police officer: the role of the police in the US, and how to handle

themselves when the police are involved.   Many ESL students come from
coutries where the police are not there to help them.  

 

These activities supplement the text activities and students leave class
better equipped to deal with life in the US.  

 

 

Mikal Steinbacher

Instructor, ABE/ESL/English

Lake Washington Technical College

 

  _____  

From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Steve Kaufmann
Sent: Thu 6/19/2008 1:45 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2681] Re: Effective Needs Assessment
Strategies

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 <http://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 Center
in 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/reepcurricul
um/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/Part2-5Nee
dsAssessment&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


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-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com <http://www.lingq.com/> 
1-604-922-8514 

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