L1 literacy use in the ESL classroom
From LiteracyTentWiki
The discussion thread below, streamlined here, was taken from messages posted to the NIFL-ESL electronic discussion forum [nifl-esl@nifl.gov] in November, 2005.
To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov
From: Maricel Santos maricelgsantos at yahoo.com
Thu Nov 3 09:55:24 EST 2005
Hello -- I train pre-service adult ESL teachers at San Francisco State University. For a class project, two of my students are interested in gathering insights from adult ESL teachers about L1 use in the classroom. Here are their questions:
1. What advice would you give to a new adult ESL teacher about L1 use in the classroom? For example, what strategies about L1 use do you think are useful with adult ESL learners?
2. How do you think adult learners perceive L1 use in the class?
The students have read and discussed articles by Heide Wrigely (e.g., the "What Works" study), Klaudia Rivera, Tomas Kalmar, Julie Belz, articles out of Focus on Basics (NCSALL), among others... but they are hungry to find out what actually goes on in the classroom.
I would appreciate your help and input.
Thank you, Maricel Santos
To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov
From: aneaddeo@comcast.net janeaddeo at comcast.net
Thu Nov 3 11:48:06 EST 2005
Maricel,
1. I would not use the students' L1 unless all the students have the same L1. At times, use of L1 is a time-saver. Also, at the very beginning level, students lack of English may impede their ability to ask questions to clarify difficulty.
I don't prohibit the use of the students' L1 in class. At times a student who speaks the same language may understand his classmate's difficulty and clarify the difficulty.
2. In my experience as the instructor of Level 1 to recently arrived Latinos, the students do not seem bothered when a student uses L1, even if it is not the same L1.
To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov
From: dezreen@excite.com dezreen at excite.com
Thu Nov 3 13:29:50 EST 2005
If the L1 of the class is the same, this can be both a gift, especially for beginners and a crutch for LEP/Intermediate learners.
I have specific times in my lessons where they all try to speak only in English. It forces them to really work at speaking/thinking in English. We do this when there is a verbal focus rather than writing. They gets participation points for this that factors into their grade (my students are high schoolers).
To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov
From: Kevin Jepson kevin.jepson at sbcglobal.net
Thu Nov 3 13:36:11 EST 2005
Another interesting approach is to honor the L1 - not necessarily always by speaking it in the classroom - but by using English to discuss, contrast, or exemplify various L1s, both linguistically and culturally.
To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov
From: Colleen leenhd78 at yahoo.com
Thu Nov 3 20:46:29 EST 2005
Maricel and others,
The topic of this email is about L1 Literacy but the questions and responses are not directly addressing this area. None-the-less I'd like to touch on the literacy aspect of L1 use in the classroom.
Developing literacy in a second language is often (always?) much easier when one is literate in their first language. Using the L1 to bridge to English (or another second language) I think is advisable. Though there is an ever-growing population of ESL learners particularly adolescents and adults who are preliterate (meaning that their L1 does not have a written form). Which means that this population does not have the opportunity of being literate in their L1.
With this population, in my experiences it is useful to go from the more concrete (the actual object) to the abstract (the word that represents the object) with other steps in between (visual representations (pictures and drawings and symbols). Also, ensuring that the students know and understand the words verbally before trying to teach them the word in written form is advisable. Lastly, I think using words from the students language/culture - like their names, names of cities, and little words that you learn along the way can really help students make the connection between the spoken word and the written word (this is somehow an appropriation of the LEA/Frierian approach). By the way, my classes of preliterate learners have always been speakers of the same L1 and I believe the research supports the grouping of preliterate learners by language.
Another thing that is not specific to preliterate populations that I have found useful is using the students L1 to determine comprehension - for example I teach numbers then I want to be sure my students know that I talking about numbers so i ask them to count together in their L1 - if there is agreement then I know they are all on the same page. When there has been confusion in comprehending the topic at hand there has always been disagreement in telling me the words for the same ideas in their language. This works if you have at least two students who speak the same L1.
I hope these random thoughts are in some way helpful to your students. Feel free to send any questions or comments you have to me - leenhd78 at yahoo.com
Colleen Shaughnessy
To: nifl-esl@nifl.gov
From: arconn@juno.com arconn at juno.com
Fri Nov 4 18:58:49 EST 2005
I have 2 people in my class right now who cannot read in their native language. Because I will have them only for a few months, I am teaching them mostly oral English (What is your name, where do you live? body parts, greetings etc.) and simple writing, like filling out forms, addressing envelopes etc.. Going into phonics with 5 hours a week of instruction, just doesn't fill the bill here. Other students in the class help by using L1 when translations are needed.
I also had a class of very bright Syrian people who did not want to be taught in their native language. They said they had a teacher from Syria and learned little English because the teacher would speak in Syrian and that made the class speak that way too. They wanted a teacher who knew no Syrian (me) and never taught me any words in L1. this way they had to speak to me in English.
I think it all depends on the learner. Some will learn better by immersion and others need the L1.
Return to AleESOLWholeDiscussion
