I will need to delineate "Teacher Perceived Motivations vs. Learner Perceived Motivations."
Also "Teacher Perceived Support Factors" vs. "Learner Perceived Support Factors."
And "Teacher Perceived Barriers vs. Learner Perceived Barriers."
Also there needs to be a section in the Findings on "Knowledge & Skills Sought by Learners," "New Services Recommended by Learners," "Teaching Approaches, Materials, Techniques & Strategies Used by Teachers," and "Sociocultural Factors Recommended by Learners."
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
THurs. 11/25/10 Formal & Nonformal Enrollees
I will probably want to discuss the students who dually enrolled in both nonformal and formal ELL. Mimose, Hector and Carlos are currently dually enrolled. Mimose and Carlos are unemployed and Hector is retired. Some have been previously enrolled in formal education prior to discovering the library's English Cafe: Elida, Orlando, and Aida. One has attended only several English Cafe classes and no other English classes yet she has lived in the U.S. for 25 years. As a mother of a 22 year old Downs Syndrome daughter, this may explain in part why.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wed. 11/24/10 Interview w/Hector (Henrico)--Weston
Hector, age 62, had the best fluency of all the learners I interviewed so far. His wife is Colombian but she lived in the U.S. before and worked in Colombia as an English teacher. Interestingly from the comments he made in our interview, he is a self-directed lifelong learner! He taught me a word: autographia. I thought it meant spelling but when I went home, I went on the Internet and found out that it is one of three self-directed strategies originated by the Hungarian multilinguist, Dr. Kato Lomb.
Lomb died in 2003 at 94 years of age, having mastered 17 languages!
Three of her strategies are given below. Hector knew about them as well because he replied to a question I asked him via email, Tell me what you know about 'autographia.' This is what he wrote:
Autolexia: reading for myself.
Autographia: writing for myself, When I try to write about what I'm thinking about each situation.
Autologia: speaking with myself, Thinking in English and having English conversations with myself.
She also has "10 Suggestions for Language Learning" and "10 No's of Language Learning"
Reference: http://www.lingua.org.uk/lomb.alkire.html Originally published in The International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching (Fall 2005) [not owned by Nova or FAU Libraries].
Her language learning research is "relatively unknown" in the SLA field. The article cited above correlates her strategies to documented strategies, and it can be seen that her work actually lays the foundation for the past 25 years of SLA theory.
Hector responded about what his obstacles are to learning English. He said that he believes it is better not to focus on learning the rules of English so much as learning to listen and develop an ear for English (See Jimena), (lines 465-492). This is in line with the thinking of immersing oneself in all forms of learning a language: informal, formal and nonformal. Also to write about what one is learning, Hector says. Hector epitomizes the ideal Third Age learner because he has the time to dedicate to learning now, and he is consciously aware of his need to incorporate all three forms of learning. He also is an active member of the South FL Astronomers' Association. I witnessed him asking students of the Weston English Cafe to come with him--and one did, I later learned!
Motivation:
An important reason for Hector to come to the E.C. is just to know people (line 552).
Moreover, it became clear to me that most of the participants attending the BCL's English Cafe are quite educated with a minimum of a college degree. This helps explain why so many are over age 50. Therefore, with classes comprised mostly of the young-old or middle-aged, it is appropriate to address their unique learning needs and to discuss andragocial teaching strategies with volunteer teacher and paid staff alike. With increased understanding and awareness of their language learning needs and supports as well as knowledge of their motivations and barriers, administrators and teachers alike will be better prepared and capable of meeting them.
Lomb died in 2003 at 94 years of age, having mastered 17 languages!
Three of her strategies are given below. Hector knew about them as well because he replied to a question I asked him via email, Tell me what you know about 'autographia.' This is what he wrote:
Autolexia: reading for myself.
Autographia: writing for myself, When I try to write about what I'm thinking about each situation.
Autologia: speaking with myself, Thinking in English and having English conversations with myself.
She also has "10 Suggestions for Language Learning" and "10 No's of Language Learning"
Reference: http://www.lingua.org.uk/lomb.alkire.html Originally published in The International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching (Fall 2005) [not owned by Nova or FAU Libraries].
Her language learning research is "relatively unknown" in the SLA field. The article cited above correlates her strategies to documented strategies, and it can be seen that her work actually lays the foundation for the past 25 years of SLA theory.
Hector responded about what his obstacles are to learning English. He said that he believes it is better not to focus on learning the rules of English so much as learning to listen and develop an ear for English (See Jimena), (lines 465-492). This is in line with the thinking of immersing oneself in all forms of learning a language: informal, formal and nonformal. Also to write about what one is learning, Hector says. Hector epitomizes the ideal Third Age learner because he has the time to dedicate to learning now, and he is consciously aware of his need to incorporate all three forms of learning. He also is an active member of the South FL Astronomers' Association. I witnessed him asking students of the Weston English Cafe to come with him--and one did, I later learned!
Motivation:
An important reason for Hector to come to the E.C. is just to know people (line 552).
Moreover, it became clear to me that most of the participants attending the BCL's English Cafe are quite educated with a minimum of a college degree. This helps explain why so many are over age 50. Therefore, with classes comprised mostly of the young-old or middle-aged, it is appropriate to address their unique learning needs and to discuss andragocial teaching strategies with volunteer teacher and paid staff alike. With increased understanding and awareness of their language learning needs and supports as well as knowledge of their motivations and barriers, administrators and teachers alike will be better prepared and capable of meeting them.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Fri. 11/19/10 Interview over phone w/ Pam (SWR)
The phone interview was conducted using GoogleTalk and my digital recorder. (I debated about using an online phone recording company but realized that is wasn't necessary.) It went well except for when the reception got poor midway through. I called Pam back and things cleared up from there.
My interview with Pam was an overall terrific confirmation of my interview & observations of Ann on 11/1 and 11/15. I need to mention here that I should have asked Lydia her age when I was there. She heard my introduction and did not initially volunteer. Pam is not sure if she is older than 67 (Pam's age) or not, but she said that she will call her and suggest she talk with me. Her English is quite proficient and she has been in the class for three years.
This interview with Pam is giving me the idea that I should interview Sandy now, Suzi's cohort at NOR. I want to plan that for the first week in Dec.
Background on Pam:
She has taught since 2005 or 2006. She has been a widow for a couple of years. She is 67 and has 35 years teaching mostly high school English. She is one of Ann Kearny's assistants (Ann has 4 or so of them: Lydia [proficient English speaker now/3 yr. ELL student of the E.C., Mary Lou (hospitality); Pat (small group helper), and Pam (English grammarian)].
My interview with Pam was an overall terrific confirmation of my interview & observations of Ann on 11/1 and 11/15. I need to mention here that I should have asked Lydia her age when I was there. She heard my introduction and did not initially volunteer. Pam is not sure if she is older than 67 (Pam's age) or not, but she said that she will call her and suggest she talk with me. Her English is quite proficient and she has been in the class for three years.
This interview with Pam is giving me the idea that I should interview Sandy now, Suzi's cohort at NOR. I want to plan that for the first week in Dec.
Background on Pam:
She has taught since 2005 or 2006. She has been a widow for a couple of years. She is 67 and has 35 years teaching mostly high school English. She is one of Ann Kearny's assistants (Ann has 4 or so of them: Lydia [proficient English speaker now/3 yr. ELL student of the E.C., Mary Lou (hospitality); Pat (small group helper), and Pam (English grammarian)].
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
RE: Visit on Mon. 11/15/10 to Ann K's class @ SWR
I met two more of Ann's assistants, Pam and Mary Lou. Mary Lou helps with new student registration and putting out the snacks at breaktime. Pam is a retired high school English teacher who helps in the small group discussions. She also helps with recruiting learners for the Florida Literacy Coalition's Adult Learner Essay contest. She told me that last year, her students entered but her name was not listed as is was in the past in the booklet...
Ann invited me back to their Christmas potluck party on Dec. 13.
Follow up and ask Pam why...I sent her an email on Tues. 11/16 asking her to describe the adult literacy contest (with ipod prize, according to Ann) as well as the Dominoes social group.
I emailed her on Wed. 11/17 and no response yet. I will call her this morning.
Ann invited me back to their Christmas potluck party on Dec. 13.
Follow up and ask Pam why...I sent her an email on Tues. 11/16 asking her to describe the adult literacy contest (with ipod prize, according to Ann) as well as the Dominoes social group.
I emailed her on Wed. 11/17 and no response yet. I will call her this morning.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Mon. 11/15/10 Comments on Jimena's interview
RE: Do the students tell you what they want?
Jimena teaches a lower ability group than most English Cafe classes. Her class is an Advanced Beginnner class that was formed in 2007 from a large class of 25 students. She has seven learners on average, half of whom have been with her since she started in 2007.
She says that her students are really not capable of telling her what they need (lines 316-323). She says that what they want is to advance from book to book. But they are not ready to move that quickly. She finds that they do come in with questions about words their English speaking co-workers have used as well as questions about word meanings and how to use the words (See Nancy and Lisa). Jimena also has two students who do want the conversation (330-331), but the rest need and want grammar and writing practice..
In a learner interview with Elida, she commented that teachers need to model first before asking students to read aloud. Correlate this to what Jimena said about teaching Spanish-speakers English (lines 108-113), which is that they need extra help with the pronunciation of the vowels. In fact, when I observed Ann Kearny's class today, I let the teachers know that modeling first before asking students to read aloud is very important for their pronunciation practice.
When asked, What types of resources are available to the learners through the library to help them with their language learning? and What about referring them to the library computer classes? Jimena responded that the teacher who teaches the computer classes now is not even a teacher, nor is his background in computers. He is a former real estate agent and yet he was hired through this grant to teach computers...She says that her students are aware of the U.S. Citizenship classes, but that, for example, she has privately tutored one of her students (who has a learning problem) for the exam and she passed.
She also talked about the lack of accessible dictionaries, thesauri and current idiom books available for teachers. There used to be books she could access up at the Reference desk where she signs in as a volunteer, but now those books are no longer there b/c the librarians have put many of them into circulation. Two years ago, those books were there and she had no problem accessing them. (Suggest that these materials be made available to volunteers in a place that is accessible to them--either in the classroom where they teach or at the volunteer sign-in area.)
For the past three years, she has been telling her students about the CDs and DVDs that they can check out. Except for one student (Rosa who has a learning problem and who Jimena hand holds), no others haibitually take them out.
Learning Supports:
Jimena's experience as a Spanish-speaker who has lived in Brazil, Venezuela and Chile have enabled and empowered her to help her students (lines 298-301). I will recommend that a future study research the assets and liabilities of Native English speaking teachers verses Non-native English speaking teachers.
Jimena says that she learned to master English by listening to English on the radio and TV. She says that her learners need to listen to the radio and to watch TV in English to "really open their ear" to the language. This coincides with what Janine said about what it took for her to master English.
Jimena is an assiduous teacher. She meets with two of her learners individually on a weekly basis to provide them with extra tutoring. Reina has some learning difficulties and Jimena has been coaching her on many things over the past three years, including phonics and the U.S. Citizenship exam, which she has now passed. "For example, Reina. I think she's kind of illiterate or dyslexic or both. I would take tapes or CDs for children, or for Spanish people learning Basic English. And I would spend the time--I would go through that once. And then, she would take it home for a couple of weeks. So she would get extra reinforcement. As I said, I don't want you to run behind the other students. I want you to be...So I try to help them stay on the same level."
"And then one of my students (Filipe) wants me to come here on Wednesday and meet with him one-on-one just to speak because he wants to learn, to communicate better in English. He's pretty good, but it's the same thing with most of the students. He does not listen to any television or radio in English. And I don't think he communicates with too many people in English."
She says that not only do her younger students need English to help them function on their jobs, but her older learners do as well.
Using children's materials (lines 132; 176-182) was also spoken about by Jimena on a couple of occasions. This coincides with Janine and Nancy's interviews.
She also uses Rock 'N Learn Phonics CDs and booklets to teach her learners phonics through catchy songs and rhymes. There are also DVDs that have an on-screen mouth to enable learners to check their progress as well as delayed answers so students have time to respond.
Motivators for learning:
Jimena says that she thinks it is very personal for each of them. But for half of them, they are working with English-speaking co-workers so they need English for functioning on the job (191; 196-197).
Since about half of the learners she began with in 2007 are still with her, she believes it is attributable to the cultural similarities she and her students share. Having lived in Chile, Venezuela and Brazil, Jimena can be that " intercultural bridge" for her students, spoken about by Han (2009).
Barriers to learning:
J. talks about the lack of value that the students place on the classes. If they were fee-based, she believes their attendance would improve. She says lack of motivation, lack of interest, laziness and tiredness also contribute to students' attendance problems.
She also talks about one of her older learners, Maria, who left class to help with her daughter's wedding. Then her daughter had a baby and Maria continued to stay away from class b/c she was taking care of her granddaughter now. There was also Ana, who stopped coming to class. According to Jimena, Ana said, "I'm tired of coming here for the past two and a half years. So I am going to take some time off." Jimena continued, "So she became a citizen. And she hasn't come back. Because for some reason, I guess she thinks that because she already got her papers, that she doesn't need to learn English. She doesn't need to apply herself anymore. I think it's being lazy--period. That's the way I see it. That they're not as interested in learning as they were before."
Jimena teaches a lower ability group than most English Cafe classes. Her class is an Advanced Beginnner class that was formed in 2007 from a large class of 25 students. She has seven learners on average, half of whom have been with her since she started in 2007.
She says that her students are really not capable of telling her what they need (lines 316-323). She says that what they want is to advance from book to book. But they are not ready to move that quickly. She finds that they do come in with questions about words their English speaking co-workers have used as well as questions about word meanings and how to use the words (See Nancy and Lisa). Jimena also has two students who do want the conversation (330-331), but the rest need and want grammar and writing practice..
In a learner interview with Elida, she commented that teachers need to model first before asking students to read aloud. Correlate this to what Jimena said about teaching Spanish-speakers English (lines 108-113), which is that they need extra help with the pronunciation of the vowels. In fact, when I observed Ann Kearny's class today, I let the teachers know that modeling first before asking students to read aloud is very important for their pronunciation practice.
When asked, What types of resources are available to the learners through the library to help them with their language learning? and What about referring them to the library computer classes? Jimena responded that the teacher who teaches the computer classes now is not even a teacher, nor is his background in computers. He is a former real estate agent and yet he was hired through this grant to teach computers...She says that her students are aware of the U.S. Citizenship classes, but that, for example, she has privately tutored one of her students (who has a learning problem) for the exam and she passed.
She also talked about the lack of accessible dictionaries, thesauri and current idiom books available for teachers. There used to be books she could access up at the Reference desk where she signs in as a volunteer, but now those books are no longer there b/c the librarians have put many of them into circulation. Two years ago, those books were there and she had no problem accessing them. (Suggest that these materials be made available to volunteers in a place that is accessible to them--either in the classroom where they teach or at the volunteer sign-in area.)
For the past three years, she has been telling her students about the CDs and DVDs that they can check out. Except for one student (Rosa who has a learning problem and who Jimena hand holds), no others haibitually take them out.
Learning Supports:
Jimena's experience as a Spanish-speaker who has lived in Brazil, Venezuela and Chile have enabled and empowered her to help her students (lines 298-301). I will recommend that a future study research the assets and liabilities of Native English speaking teachers verses Non-native English speaking teachers.
Jimena says that she learned to master English by listening to English on the radio and TV. She says that her learners need to listen to the radio and to watch TV in English to "really open their ear" to the language. This coincides with what Janine said about what it took for her to master English.
Jimena is an assiduous teacher. She meets with two of her learners individually on a weekly basis to provide them with extra tutoring. Reina has some learning difficulties and Jimena has been coaching her on many things over the past three years, including phonics and the U.S. Citizenship exam, which she has now passed. "For example, Reina. I think she's kind of illiterate or dyslexic or both. I would take tapes or CDs for children, or for Spanish people learning Basic English. And I would spend the time--I would go through that once. And then, she would take it home for a couple of weeks. So she would get extra reinforcement. As I said, I don't want you to run behind the other students. I want you to be...So I try to help them stay on the same level."
"And then one of my students (Filipe) wants me to come here on Wednesday and meet with him one-on-one just to speak because he wants to learn, to communicate better in English. He's pretty good, but it's the same thing with most of the students. He does not listen to any television or radio in English. And I don't think he communicates with too many people in English."
She says that not only do her younger students need English to help them function on their jobs, but her older learners do as well.
Using children's materials (lines 132; 176-182) was also spoken about by Jimena on a couple of occasions. This coincides with Janine and Nancy's interviews.
She also uses Rock 'N Learn Phonics CDs and booklets to teach her learners phonics through catchy songs and rhymes. There are also DVDs that have an on-screen mouth to enable learners to check their progress as well as delayed answers so students have time to respond.
Motivators for learning:
Jimena says that she thinks it is very personal for each of them. But for half of them, they are working with English-speaking co-workers so they need English for functioning on the job (191; 196-197).
Since about half of the learners she began with in 2007 are still with her, she believes it is attributable to the cultural similarities she and her students share. Having lived in Chile, Venezuela and Brazil, Jimena can be that " intercultural bridge" for her students, spoken about by Han (2009).
Barriers to learning:
J. talks about the lack of value that the students place on the classes. If they were fee-based, she believes their attendance would improve. She says lack of motivation, lack of interest, laziness and tiredness also contribute to students' attendance problems.
She also talks about one of her older learners, Maria, who left class to help with her daughter's wedding. Then her daughter had a baby and Maria continued to stay away from class b/c she was taking care of her granddaughter now. There was also Ana, who stopped coming to class. According to Jimena, Ana said, "I'm tired of coming here for the past two and a half years. So I am going to take some time off." Jimena continued, "So she became a citizen. And she hasn't come back. Because for some reason, I guess she thinks that because she already got her papers, that she doesn't need to learn English. She doesn't need to apply herself anymore. I think it's being lazy--period. That's the way I see it. That they're not as interested in learning as they were before."
Thursday, November 11, 2010
"To go to the library--we are ageless"
I asked Elida to talk about how the library could attract more older learners to the E.C. classes. She replied,
"Well, you know, people from my age [group]...To go to the library--we are ageless." Upon following up with Elida, I confirmed what she meant, which is that going to the library to learn has nothing to do with one's chronological age. "In the library, I feel comfortable. It looks like I don't have age." In fact, people who are advanced in age who attend Elida's English Cafe class, have the most regular attendance of all the learners. The approximate average age of all eight classes observed was_____ .
I wanasked Elida a follow up question which is, does she think Shayla and Silvio have improved the most? What is this a function of? Their regular attendance? Are they also communicating with other English speakers outside the class? Unfortunately, she did not know the answer. But she did say, "I think retired people have more opportunities to enjoy everything."
Hence, one finding I have is that age is not much of an issue especially when it comes to nonformal education (which includes coming to the library for classes, i.e., outside the formal educational system).
Another intriguing statement Elida made is that, if she had remained in Brazil, there would be prejudice against her due to her age. "In my country, I don't have the opportunity like I have here. Because in my country, I am an old lady. I'm a very, very, very old lady. After the forties, forget it," she said. Brazil values a very young workforce. She also said that much of Central and South American are the same way except Chile and Uruguay. The exception is also in her field of psychology where the older you are, the more valued you are for your experience.
***
Elida also said that in addition to feeling ageless in the E.C.class, she also feels welcomed and able to enjoy the conversations that her teachers facilitate in class (p. 3). In comparison, she described her McFatter Technical Center learning atmostphere as "very strict, very serious"(p. 6) and devoid of any conversation practice. Perhaps it is the library's lack of an attendance requirement and the two caring and patient teachers who are there first and foremost to support them in their English learning endeavor, rather than to evaluate them in their quest.
"Well, you know, people from my age [group]...To go to the library--we are ageless." Upon following up with Elida, I confirmed what she meant, which is that going to the library to learn has nothing to do with one's chronological age. "In the library, I feel comfortable. It looks like I don't have age." In fact, people who are advanced in age who attend Elida's English Cafe class, have the most regular attendance of all the learners. The approximate average age of all eight classes observed was_____ .
I wanasked Elida a follow up question which is, does she think Shayla and Silvio have improved the most? What is this a function of? Their regular attendance? Are they also communicating with other English speakers outside the class? Unfortunately, she did not know the answer. But she did say, "I think retired people have more opportunities to enjoy everything."
Hence, one finding I have is that age is not much of an issue especially when it comes to nonformal education (which includes coming to the library for classes, i.e., outside the formal educational system).
Another intriguing statement Elida made is that, if she had remained in Brazil, there would be prejudice against her due to her age. "In my country, I don't have the opportunity like I have here. Because in my country, I am an old lady. I'm a very, very, very old lady. After the forties, forget it," she said. Brazil values a very young workforce. She also said that much of Central and South American are the same way except Chile and Uruguay. The exception is also in her field of psychology where the older you are, the more valued you are for your experience.
***
Elida also said that in addition to feeling ageless in the E.C.class, she also feels welcomed and able to enjoy the conversations that her teachers facilitate in class (p. 3). In comparison, she described her McFatter Technical Center learning atmostphere as "very strict, very serious"(p. 6) and devoid of any conversation practice. Perhaps it is the library's lack of an attendance requirement and the two caring and patient teachers who are there first and foremost to support them in their English learning endeavor, rather than to evaluate them in their quest.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Wed. 11/10/10
Tonight, I heard from Jimena who told me she can check next Wed. on the name of the phonics program. I also sent her her take-home essay questions and told her that they are due next Sat. the 20th.
I called Elida last night to ask her to look over the transcript. She did and she emailed me back some answers about her in-laws. She also sounded very shocked about how lousy her English sounds!!! She thanked me for my patience. I will email her and tell that that is what EVERYONE says. She had no corrections for me.
JoAnn asked me about my research progress and invited me to a Spring FL Lit. Coalition conference in early May. She wants to do something on literacy tutors in the library and is working now on getting IRB. I agreed that I would be too "high" on graduation.
I called Elida last night to ask her to look over the transcript. She did and she emailed me back some answers about her in-laws. She also sounded very shocked about how lousy her English sounds!!! She thanked me for my patience. I will email her and tell that that is what EVERYONE says. She had no corrections for me.
JoAnn asked me about my research progress and invited me to a Spring FL Lit. Coalition conference in early May. She wants to do something on literacy tutors in the library and is working now on getting IRB. I agreed that I would be too "high" on graduation.
Wed. 11/10/11
I left a voice mail for Elida last night to remind her to look over her transcript and answer my follow-up questions. She is going to look it over tonight, she said (although I know that tonightis her cEnglish Cafe class)...
I will start transcribing Jimena's interview this week.
I will start transcribing Jimena's interview this week.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sun. 11/7/10
I haven't heard from Aida re: getting together to go over her transcript (member checking). So I called Mimose Tuesday morning and she said that, due to Election day, they would not be having class. (so therefore she couldn't talk with Aida). She suggested that I call or email Teacher Nancy. I decided that I had best not because the study is voluntary and participants are told that they can drop out at any time. I need to respect that.
I haven't heard from Jimena yet either about some follow-up questions I have for her from our interview. If nec., I will wait till we get together again to do the member-checking.
On Fri. 10/29/10, after my interview with Guy at WR, I took the following notes:
These students represent several different constructs in the literature on adult ELLs:
Celina (60): the undereducated, unemployed, married end of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Elida (60): the educated, employed, married end of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Mimose (64): the unemployed, educated, and divorced end of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Ernesto (65) & Olga (55): the educated, retired/unemployed, married partof the spectrum; also represent two different ends of this age cohort.
Graciela (65): educated, retired, married part of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Aida: (58) educated, underemployed, divorced part of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
I haven't heard from Jimena yet either about some follow-up questions I have for her from our interview. If nec., I will wait till we get together again to do the member-checking.
On Fri. 10/29/10, after my interview with Guy at WR, I took the following notes:
These students represent several different constructs in the literature on adult ELLs:
Celina (60): the undereducated, unemployed, married end of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Elida (60): the educated, employed, married end of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Mimose (64): the unemployed, educated, and divorced end of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Ernesto (65) & Olga (55): the educated, retired/unemployed, married partof the spectrum; also represent two different ends of this age cohort.
Graciela (65): educated, retired, married part of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Aida: (58) educated, underemployed, divorced part of the spectrum of adult ELLs.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tues. 11/2/10, Guy's Take-Home Essay
Guy raised a good point re: using higher level students as peer tutors (in class) for the lower level students. It's an idea he hasn't used yet, but is considering it for the near future (TEACHING STRATEGY).
Miriam mentioned doing this from time to time, when the opportunity presents itself.
Not having a an attendance requirement in the program can make this erratic at best.
Miriam mentioned doing this from time to time, when the opportunity presents itself.
Not having a an attendance requirement in the program can make this erratic at best.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Mon. 11/1/10, SWR Visit
See FIELDNOTES folder for Ann.
I GAVE ANN THE QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME SINCE SHE REQUESTED IT THAT WAY. THEN I PROCEEDED WITH THE INTERVIEW AS I WOULD NORMALLY.
Ann's background:
She was a medical librarian and high school media specialist for over 35 years. She has a chronic illness ( a diabetic for 56 years). When she was diagnosed at 19, she was given a 25 year prognosis. She is 74 today. She has a passion for health literacy and helping others with their health (lines 306-310).
SUMMARY OF ANN K.'s CLASS:
She teaches self-contained, stand-alone lessons. This is because not every student is able to come week after week.
She is clearly committed to the conversational focus of these classes (lines 266-67; 273-74). The way Ann does this is very unique. Her assistant teacher, a retired English high school teacher whom she co-teaches with, addresses these needs in the class.
When asked how she incorporates resources from the library into her classes, Ann says she tells her students about volunteering in the coffee shop and for Friends of the Library. Also, some volunteer in El Club (lines 336-351).
Question # IV-How are you informed in what you do? Uncover some rationales and justifications for what you do with your older learners.
Ann answered this question differently than the others. She is the only one who spoke about her own motivations for teaching. She shared about her own need for community, having lost her family and her husband, and for her own need for communicating with others. She also said that she has spiritual reasons for teaching. In doing so, she offered me insight into seeing alike teachers and learners are in these nonacademic classes.
She also answered several of the interview questions using health care examples. Being trained as a medical librarian, she makes an excellent teacher of Third Age ELL learners. Her example of the woman who came to class when Ann had a lesson on smoking was an example of how literacy education using the sociocultural approach (using the personal constrcuts of the learners, such as their culture, race, gender, including the learners' of a particular age cohort's health circumstances) was remarkable. Also, her example of the grandmother who was the caregiver of an intellectually challenged daughter who had a baby at thirteen provide insight into understanding the motivational and sociocultural needs to some Third Age adult learners.
Ann talked about the "shift going on" at SWR from English classes to Citizenship classes...
She talked about her own motivation to teach which dovetails that of her students--for community, a sense of family or belonging.
I GAVE ANN THE QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME SINCE SHE REQUESTED IT THAT WAY. THEN I PROCEEDED WITH THE INTERVIEW AS I WOULD NORMALLY.
Ann's background:
She was a medical librarian and high school media specialist for over 35 years. She has a chronic illness ( a diabetic for 56 years). When she was diagnosed at 19, she was given a 25 year prognosis. She is 74 today. She has a passion for health literacy and helping others with their health (lines 306-310).
SUMMARY OF ANN K.'s CLASS:
She teaches self-contained, stand-alone lessons. This is because not every student is able to come week after week.
She is clearly committed to the conversational focus of these classes (lines 266-67; 273-74). The way Ann does this is very unique. Her assistant teacher, a retired English high school teacher whom she co-teaches with, addresses these needs in the class.
Ann is very strongly committed to community building in the class, so she has a scheduled coffee break in each class. Again, she has an adult volunteer help her with it (who is not one of the students). This volunteer also handles all of the class registration of new learners.
Another unique thing about the class is that Lydia, one of the longterm learners (3 years now) started a Dominoes Club. This group now includes friends of class members who come to experience this "cultural exchange" group. Is English only spoken or is there an "exchange of language?
Plus, there is a lunch bunch that gets together after class about 4 or 5 times a year. There's also a couples' group that met in the class who also go out together socially.
She notes that the class is smaller, plus there is only one English Cafe class a week now since when she began eight years ago. As I suspected, this is cyclical and right now, Citizenship classes are more well-attended at SWR. There are three Citizen classes each week now at SWR.When asked how she incorporates resources from the library into her classes, Ann says she tells her students about volunteering in the coffee shop and for Friends of the Library. Also, some volunteer in El Club (lines 336-351).
Question # IV-How are you informed in what you do? Uncover some rationales and justifications for what you do with your older learners.
Ann answered this question differently than the others. She is the only one who spoke about her own motivations for teaching. She shared about her own need for community, having lost her family and her husband, and for her own need for communicating with others. She also said that she has spiritual reasons for teaching. In doing so, she offered me insight into seeing alike teachers and learners are in these nonacademic classes.
She also answered several of the interview questions using health care examples. Being trained as a medical librarian, she makes an excellent teacher of Third Age ELL learners. Her example of the woman who came to class when Ann had a lesson on smoking was an example of how literacy education using the sociocultural approach (using the personal constrcuts of the learners, such as their culture, race, gender, including the learners' of a particular age cohort's health circumstances) was remarkable. Also, her example of the grandmother who was the caregiver of an intellectually challenged daughter who had a baby at thirteen provide insight into understanding the motivational and sociocultural needs to some Third Age adult learners.
Ann talked about the "shift going on" at SWR from English classes to Citizenship classes...
She talked about her own motivation to teach which dovetails that of her students--for community, a sense of family or belonging.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)