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| Photo taken by Haun |
As we begin this week's search for information I decided to share a photo of Chris, our foster puppy from Speranza Animal Rescue. My first name is also Chris so we've had some fun mix-ups already! Puppy Chris was searching the backyard for a tennis ball and he's immediately what I thought of when I started to search for information this week.
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| Photo retrieved from: http://literacykewauneeco.org/ |
The first article I found was on another Adult Literacy program, this one in Wisconsin, called Literacy Partners. The article stated that Literacy Partners' main goal is to help adults learn English but they also accomplish so much more. They help their adult students become US citizens, get GEDs, licenses, and complete taxes among other things. The program is, unfortunately, exclusively for adults because Literacy Partners says that there are programs that exist within schools to help students develop their language skills. While I agree that there are programs in school I know my students would really benefit from having somewhere outside of school to practice and develop their English skills. Periods in my school are only forty-three minutes, which isn't a lot of time. Some ESL departments have limited funding. I do not know how one would go about creating a group like the ones that exist for adults but I do think that it is something that should be considered. To clarify, I think programs like Literacy Partners do great work and I am not trying to discredit the work they do. I just wish there were more programs like Literacy Partners for our students.
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| Image retrieved from https://4riverscs.org/home |
The second thing I found was on a language immersion program in Oregon that has a high-achieving dual immersion program. Because of their success they are going to be studied over the next few years to hopefully uncover what the secret of their success is. That being said, the school in question is a charter school and has access to resources that not all public schools are able to afford. Still, I am hopeful that the results of the study will encourage schools to redirect some of our existing resources to our L2 students. And who knows, maybe dual language immersion programs will start to be implemented in more schools because of the success at Ford Rivers Community School?
That concludes my research for this week, thank you very much for your time. See you next week!
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/kewaunee-county/2018/10/17/literacy-group-helps-more-than-just-language-skills-needs-tutors/1670230002/
https://www.argusobserver.com/news/four-rivers-lauded-for-language-immersion/article_7bb1b12c-d4b3-11e8-958b-9fc1e8856a84.html
I saw both of those articles as well. My mind went directly to funding. In my area, when families move in from another country, they immediately gravitate to the public schools. I wish more finding were directed to programs here. Programs in non-pubic schools may get more funding, but do they really get enough students? And how to parents of L2 students learn about these non-public programs?
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, and I think your idea is amazing. I think having a Literacy Partners group would be so beneficial for our L2 students. Being able to allow these students to go somewhere after school to continue their learning is just what they need. I think if it were different activities and such, they would really enjoy it (mostly so they don't think they are going to school 24-7)! Learning without them even knowing it. Great idea, wish it could happen in my area as well! Thanks for sharing this!
-Liz
I participated into these classes. These classes were offered for new immigrants like me.I was an adults whose first language is something other than English. Classes were offered at varying levels of difficulty to match people's differing needs and prior proficiency in English. Programs like this were made up of informal sessions that focus on conversation, or they may include more structured courses that focus on written and oral proficiency and offer credits. Once I had gained basic communication skills, I was more able to find work or complete further adult education. Some ESL lessons were also involved into civics component, teaching students about the community around them.
ReplyDeleteESL classes were typically offered in the evenings or on the weekends in order to fit the adult students' needs. The program was provided for free. These classes are available at a variety of institutions, such as community centers, community colleges, public schools, colleges, and universities, and yes they do get lots of students and there information for free for the Ls students to learn about these non-public programs in any community.