Prioritizing Learning Needs for Beginning ESL Students

Beth KocsisESL Instructor

• “Nice to meet you!”

• Tell us one piece of language (phrase, social exchange) that you say every day.

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Introductions

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Functional

Literacy

Life Skills and ‘extras’

High Priority

Learning

School Skills

Citizenship

Beginning Literacy Goals

Definition ExamplePre-literate learner

The native language does not yet have a writing system (oral society).

A Bantu refugee from Somalia knows her native Af-Maay only orally, as a written form of the language is just now being developed.

Non-literate learner

The native language has a written form, but the learner has no education and no access to literacy instruction.

An older Bhutanese farmer has now moved to the US as a refugee.

Semi-literate learner

The learner has minimal literacy in native language.

Roberto attended a rural school in El Salvador for 3 years. Although he wanted to continue, his family needed him to work on the family farm.

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Glossary of Terms

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Beginning Literacy ESL

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Beginning Literacy ESL

Beginning

Literacy

ESL

Dialogues/Conversation

► Social exchange

► Personal information questions

Citizenship

► Differentiating levels

► Civics, reading and writing

► The ‘interview!’

► Money

► Time

► Numbers

► Functional literacy

Priority English

► Stories

► Parent Education

Life Skills

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Class Ideas

“Let’s start at the very beginning…a very good place to…start”?

The case for not starting at the alphabet

What skills are necessary for students to read and write one word?

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• Class Norms: On time/late, cell phone use, planned absences, being prepared for class

• Watching TV for school closings!

• Learning activities: Circle, listen, repeat, match, underline

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Teaching School Skills

Social exchange►How are you’s? Nice to see/meet you! Have a nice weekend!

►How’s the weather?

►Excuse me’s...

Personal information questions►Where are you from?

►Where are you living now?

►How long have you lived in Pittsburgh? Do you like living in Pittsburgh?

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Dialogues/Conversation

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Minimum Competencies• Today/yesterday/tomorrow/day before yesterday/day after tomorrow

• Distinguishing day vs. date

• Next week/this week/next week

For higher level students…• Ordinal number accuracy

• Recognizing months and corresponding numbers

• Day/month abbreviations

• “Next Monday is...” “Last Friday was...” o Next week Last weeko Contextualized numeric dates (appointment cards, expiration

dates, birthdays)o Ago/in

Priority Learning: The Calendar

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Minimum Competencies• On time/early/late

• ‘Before/after’, ‘Every day’

• Awareness of counting by 5’s

• Proficiency with counting by 5’s

• Answering questions (when do you get up, eat lunch, go to bed)

• Awareness of am/pm

• Reading digital clocks

For higher level students…• All middle level activities + different ways of expressing time

(’25 after,’ ‘quarter after’ ’25 to,’)

• Once/twice a day/week/month

• Reading digital and analog clocks

Priority Learning: Time

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Minimum Competencies• Recognizing #1-50 in and out of sequence

• Recognizing number 1- 100

• Writing dictated phone numbers

• Orally giving their phone numbers

For higher level students…• All middle level competencies + recognizing and saying numbers

through 10,000

• Phone numbers (writing and reading with proper pronunciation and pacing)

• SSN

Priority Learning: Numbers

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Minimum Competencies• Coin recognition

• Prices under $5.00

• Making correct money amounts with change

• Counting money with bills and coins

• Orally and writing prices to $500.00

• Money concepts (less than, more than, most, least)

• Shopping concepts (each, per pound)

For higher level students…• All middle level competencies + money concepts - going shopping

• Change (too much, not enough)

• Rounding to the nearest dollar

Priority Learning: Money

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Life Skills

Through Life Skills Stories

• The Goal

• The Process

• The Stories

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Teaching Syntax & Vocabulary

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Functional Literacy

• Whole/sight word recognition

• Spell and write first and last name

• Monthly calendar

• Address work – memorize and recite it orally

• Birthdays (their own and family members)

• Phone Number

• Abbreviations - SSN, Phone #, DOB

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Functional Literacy Skills

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Writing

Civics Speaking Interview

based on N-400

Reading

Citizenship Test

• LEARN Bus

• Volunteer Opportunities

• Field trips

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Extra Learning Opportunities

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