Working with limited literacy adult English language learners Tacoma Community House Training Project

OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH AND WORKSHOPJENNY FIELD

Literature reviewSome extensive work done by Burton, Peyton and Adams (2003). National Adult Literacy Survey between 1989 and 1992 in USA

23% of the adult population studied measured at Level 1. They were able to perform simple routine tasks involving brief and uncomplicated texts and documents

27.3% measured at Level 2. They were generally able to locate information in texts and make low level inferences using printed materials

Result: more than half of the population studied had low or limited English literacy skills, more than half of those scoring at Levels 1 and 2 were immigrant adults

Dr John Bensemann (2012) New Zealand research - Critical insight(in partnership with English Language Partners New Zealand and Ako Aotearoa).

36 adult refugee learners interviewed from classes which have less than 9 years formal education.

He found that many refugee learners begin acquiring their English and other literacy skills at the lowest level as they have no, or minimal, previous English and they often lack reading and writing skills in their first language

Progress is usually slow and painstaking, requiring the tutor to: carefully scaffold skills, build on the small steps previously achieved constantly revise in order to consolidate the initial gains

Bensemann cont……

Making progress in language and literacy skills is developed through a balance of:

contextual learning to ensure personal relevance

motivational teaching of structural aspects ensure correct guidelines for English usage

patience, repetition, recycling.

What are the factors that influence L2 Literacy development?

L1 literacy Educational background L2 language and literacy Learner goals When considering placement into programmes both the learner’s oral proficiency and their L1 literacy background should be considered. Burton, Peyton and Adams (2003) Learners literacy backgrounds may range from: Preliterate, non literate, semi-literate, non-Roman alphabet literate, Roman alphabet literate.

L1 Literacy Explanation Special ConsiderationsPreliterateNonliterateSemiliterateNon alphabet literateNon-Roman alphabetliterateRoman alphabetliterateL1 has no written form(e.g., many Americanindigenous, African,Australian, and Pacificlanguages).Learners had no accessto literacy instruction.Learners had limitedaccess to literacyinstruction.Learners are fullyliterate in a languagewritten in a nonalphabeticscript such asChinese.Learners are literate ina language written in anon-Roman alphabet(e.g., Arabic, Greek,Korean, Russian, Thai}.Learners are fullyliterate in a languagewritten in a Romanalphabetic script (e.g.,French, German,Croatian, Spanish}.They know to readfrom left to right andrecognize letter shapesand fonts.Learners need exposureto the purposesand uses of literacy.Learners may feelstigmatized.Learners may have hadnegative experienceswith literacy learning.Learners need instructionin reading analphabetic script andin the sound-syllablecorrespondences ofEnglish.Learners need instructionin the Romanalphabet in order toh.FACTORS INFLUENCING ADULT LITERACY DEVELOPMENT IN

Types of L1 Literacy and

L1 Literacy

Effects on L2 Literacy

Explanation

Learning

Special Considerations

PreliterateL1 had no written form (e.g. many American indigenous, African, and Pacific languages)

Learners need exposure to the purposes and uses of literacy

NonliterateLearners had no access to literacy instruction

Learners may feel stigmatised

SemiliterateLearners had limited access to literacy instruction

Learners may have had negative experiences with literacy learning

Non-alphabet literateLearners are fully literate in a language written in a non-alphabetic script such as Chinese.

Learners need instruction in reading an alphabetic script and in the sound-syllable correspondences of English

Non-Roman alphabet literateLearners are literate in a language written in a non-Roman alphabet (Arabic)

Learners need instruction in the Roman alphabet in order to transfer their L1 literacy skills to English

Roman alphabet literateLearners are fully literate in a language written in a Roman script (e.g French Croatian, Spanish etc.)

Learners need instruction in the specific letter – to sound and sound syllable correspondences of English.

Walter Ong (1982)

Fully literate persons can only with great difficulty imagine what a primary oral culture is like

Moving from a primary oral culture to a chirographic culture changes the way we think

According to Ong (1982), in an oral culture thought processes are:

additive rather than subordinative aggregative rather than analytic redundant or “copious” oral thought is empathetic and participatory agonistically toned situational rather than abstract

Differences and similarities between literate and non-literate learnersLiterate learners Non-Literate learners

Learn from print Learn by doing and watching

Tend to be visually oriented Tend to be aurally oriented

Make lists to remember Repeat to remember

Spend years learning to read Have limited time for learning to read

Know they can learn Lack confidence in their learning ability

Learn best when content is relevant to their lives Learn best when content is relevant to their lives

Can distinguish between important and less important points

May accept all content as being of equal value

From What Non-Readers or Beginning Readers Need to Know, The Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning 1999

Writing and print has an existence of its own

establishes a distance between the writer, reader and the text itself

prompts us to get a sense of ourselves as situated in time Ong (1982)

Field & Sellars (2008) “becoming literate for the first time as an adult

in another language is a mammoth task. It is much more than learning codes and

signs. Learners must adjust to new concepts of time, of interiorisation of thought,

of vocabulary and of space.

In your groups

Discuss some of Ong’s descriptions of people from

preliterate cultures

Have you experienced or observed some of these traits?

So what helps learners who present with limited literacy in their L1?

Build from an oral platform. Learning to speak English is one of the first steps they can take to get control of their lives.

Building up simple communicative strategies gives confidence and builds a platform for learning.

However they will meet complex situations where more than a few simple words are needed.

Teachers need to find a balance between unstructured conversation and controlled practice of new language

Use meaningful hooks and plenty of practice, not just parroting

Oral drills Croydon(2005) p1.

Controlled practice techniques

“Beginner students need a curriculum that builds grammatical structures and vocabulary and gives then opportunity to practice these new language skills in a controlled environment p.5”

Build oral competency before introducing the written form of the language

Start from the students’ worldPicture stories

As these may be stories about events the past tense may be used here not in a formal way but as part of the retelling of events.Grids using pictures , symbols, single words or short known phrases.

Line up activities I like these line up and circle activities as interaction occurs. However they shouldn’t be carried on for too long.

More activities that support learners

Dialogues and Role plays Croyden pp. 17 – 29

New structures can be practised through 4-6 line dialogues .

Practice together first, then in pairs

A concrete springboard – naming things they know, having an opportunity to discuss family matters

Construct simple conversations with prompt questions and invite them to say more.

Sorting and categorizing

Ordering and sequencing

Comparing

Matching

Picture cards, magazine pictures

Realia Drawing Maps

Brainstorming Board Games bingo, alphabet

Other games e.g cards, guessing games, picture games.

Teaching Reading and Writing“ An effective literacy programme provides the right balance between Meaning Based approaches and Parts to Whole approaches. .. A reading programme should have opportunity for students to apply literacy in a real way to meet their needs and well as time spent on bottom-up processing where students learn how to sound out to constituent parts of a word” Croydon,p.47.

Meaning based Approaches

Learner build up their sight words, use target letter charts.

Teach phonics ( initial consonants) while you are teaching language

Use worksheets, games, make your own target letter chart.

Language Experience Approach

Students have a shared experience then write about it together. This becomes a text.

The news. Start with informal chatting. Generate ideas with a sentence starter

On the weekend I ______________. I feel ____________ because ____________.

In groups

1. Complete the chart

2. Think about and match activities with those L1 groups which may benefit particularly from this activity.

Managing a Multi-level literacy class.

“ Almost every English class could be called multi-level since students’ pace of learning, rate of acculturation, style of learning and previous education experience vary a lot. Adjusting groupings, modifying tasks, and providing individualised and self-access materials all help to make a multi level class run more smoothly Croydon (2005)p.78.”

At Wintec there may be students from a variety of L1 backgrounds

There are benefits in multilevel classes

Tip for worksheets Have four or five tasks on one sheet graded from easy – higher level of difficulty. The more able student work through all activities whereas beginner literacy students may complete one or two.

Planning and sequencing of activities will help make your lessons successful. Ask yourself these questions as you plan.

Will this strategy/ material / activity allow students to respond at their own level. Will

they succeed?

Will the material allow each student to discover something new about the

language?

What language skills are being practised?

Are there visual and non-verbal clues built into the material?

What is the objective for each level of student in the lesson?

BibliographyBenseman, J. (2012) Adult refugee learners with limited literacy: needs and effective responses

Burt, M., Peyton, J.K., Adams, R. (2003) Reading and Adult English Language Learners: A review of the research. Washington, DC: Centre for Applied Linguistics

Croydon, A. (2005) Making It Real: Teaching Pre-literate Adult Refugee Students. Tacoma Community Housing Training Project

Field, J., & Sellars, A. (2009) From remembering to reading: The mammoth task of beginning to function in a literate world. TESOLANZ, Wellington, New Zealand

Ker, A., Adams, R., Skyrme, G. (2013) Research in applied linguistics and language teaching and learning in New Zealand (2006–2010) Language Teaching, 46, pp 225-255

Ong, W. (1982) Orality and Literacy The Technologizing of the Word New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd

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