ESOL (12)

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ESOL

D1. What research is there on the development of writing skills in ESOL?

D2. [What do we understand about the] ability of adult immigrants to learn English (second language acquisition), particularly among the elderly and those with little or no education?

• ESOL teachers want to believe and would encourage their learners that "everyone" has the ability to learn. But it is sometimes frustrating for elderly immigrants(particularly those with little/no education to remember what they had learned a year or two days ago; they would complain and feel very frustrated when they have difficulty remembering. Teachers would get discourage because it's a challenge for them to pinpoint and show to their learners that they are making progress. I understand it requires patience, time(a lot of time), not six months, not a year---it take years, determination and special attention on the part of a program to respond to the needs of elderly immigrant populations. These populations have to and they like to socialize with their peers. An adult eduaction program is sometimes the only place where these immigrants can go for services(classes and recreational activities). So the issue is not only about the ability to learn a second language, but also about capacity of a program to respond to the many needs of these immigrant populations.

Kerlaug

2/1/05

D3. [Can we] quantify the time it takes for adult immigrants to acquire English proficiency at certain levels – beginning, intermediate, advanced?

D4. [What is the] impact of acculturation on ESL learners?

D5. What practices are successful in teaching reading to low level ESL?

• Our text are bilingual: one paragraph in English, next paragraph in Spanish, all the time.”
• I think consistency (being organized or following a routine) and repetition are good practices in teaching reading to low level ESOL (Also refer to answer on reading that show best results).”

D6. How can we improve literacy with English speakers?

D7. Do adults who are illiterate or pre-literate in L1 benefit from support in L1 in order to acquire English, more than receiving instruction only in English?

D8. What’s the optimum number of hours per week for ESL instruction?

D9. How to address ld’s in the ESOL community?

D10. What are effective models for VESL and low level ESL?

D11. What do teachers believe about student use of L1 in the classroom?

• Makes a great advantage!
• We sometimes have fun looking up math terms in the GED Spanish prep book and I often have students who are more facile in concepts in their native language translate math terms into their native language so I can make sure they are tapping into knowledge they already have. I sometimes have students who are having trouble writing in English put the troublesome parts into their native language during drafting and then translate it later. But I try to get native speakers to do this with things they can't spell or think how to write too. Native languages are thinking tools. You can always translate them later and this allows the writer to keep the flow of the ideas going. Later, they can make decisions about whether the idea needs to be translated straight or need major revision in order to be understood in English. Of course, you don't have time to do this when you are taking the GED itself, but I find it is a helpful tool when learning how to write well.”
• I think we may need another symposium for this question. When I first started learning English, I felt lucky to have a teacher who was able to explain in French. Even with some translation, there were times that I was completely lost. The teacher used my primary language as a tool to encourage and reinforce learning. As a result, I was able to catch up and acquire some language fairly quickly.I have had ESOL learners who are very fluent in English-some of these learners can be very demanding when their fellow classmates began to use their primary language---“Speak English” they said to each other. Before the class was over, the same students who shouted “speak English” would ask for translation/explanation in their primary language. So, as a group we often discussed and set limits as of when to use and not use our primary language.”

D12. How do you meet the varied needs of students in a multi-level ESL classroom (non-literate to university education)?