[Sabeswest] ESOL Learners in ABE Classrooms

[Michele Sedor]

And, yet again, a workshop that is part of SABES West's "Unpacking Transitions" day!

Techniques to Help ESOL Learners in the Mainstream ABE Classroom

In the past few years,  programs have seen an increase of speakers of ESOL in their ABE classes.   Usually, this is because their comprehension and oral skills in English are high and they have "maxed" out of adult ESOL classes.  The literacy skills of many of these learners are low in English and often times, in their native language as well.   This situation can be compounded by the fact that most adult ESOL learners have not had years of schooling in English in which to develop vocabulary and other language skills necessary to pass the GED or go on to higher education.  As research has shown, it takes from 5-7 years (Cummins et al.) of continued classroom instruction for a student in the K-12 system  to achieve "academic competence" in English.  Most of the adults in our programs have never had that many hours of continued English instruction in a classroom so even though their oral skills may be high, they lag behind in their academic skills.    In this workshop, we will examine the issue of ESOL learners in mainstream ABE classrooms and explore some techniques to adapt to the ABE classroom.



Presenter:  Maria Elena Gonzalez, Boston 



Thursday, April 5, 2007 from 1-4 p.m.

Holyoke Community College, Kittredge Center 302

To register, go to calendar.sabes.org or contact Adrienne at 552-2586 (amorris at hcc.mass.edu).


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