Welcome to the ESL Watercooler
Your place for all things ESL in Indiana

 Welcome to the ESL Watercooler! 

 

 

ESL Class:  Grammar Lesson

 

Her thin wrist is poised over the page,

with painstaking attention to the words,

meaning and sound

of the discordant new language

practiced with the person in the next seat

from another color and country

whose skin exudes unfamiliar spices.

 

He used to be a teacher

in what used to be Russia

She used to have a farm

in Cambodia before she came

carrying only an iron tea kettle.

Those two over there—

neighbors in the same town

of the so-called “former” Yugoslavia.

 

This is a classroom filled with used-to-be’s,

a hard concept to teach in English.

They need it though

to explain who they once were.

 

A Somali woman veiled head to shoe

asks a question, pronounces “used to”

with three syllables instead of two.

As he shifts in his chair to attend,

the Buddhist monk forms a fluid arc of saffron.

His robes hang out below the frayed wool coat

he wears during this hard winter.

On his feet hiking boots, laces open,

chafe rough against bare legs.

 

Diane Pecoraro                                                                        diane.pecoraro@state.mn.us

depecoraro@aol.com

                                           

                                                                                   

 

Directions for Training Design for Workplace ESL online discussions. 

 

Second Online discussion today Thursday July 27th for Training Design for the Workplace at 2:00 EST. 

 

1.  Click the link to open the chat room  (http://www.ciesc.k12.in.us/adulted/watercoolerBB/chat/index.php3)
2.  Type your name as you would like it to appear in the "username" field.
3.  Click the "chat" button to be placed into the chatroom.
4.  Read below to find out more about the book we are currently reading and also check out the Watercooler Forum on the link above. 

 


 EL CIVICS

The writings of the MA Civic Education and Participation Group are now online at http://www.nelrc.org/cpcc/cepg/index.htm. This group of EL/Civics instructors generated a list of promising practices that reflects their collective thinking about teaching for civic engagement and participation in a democracy.

Andy Nash,New England Literacy Resource Center



Teacher Resources

Professional Development

Career Opportunities

Assessment

Crossroads Cafe

EL Civics Notice
States considering implementing EL Civics programs into their adult education classrooms or thinking of revamping currently existing programs can find helpful information on the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) Web site.  CAELA has a collection of resources that includes items like Activities for Integrating Civics in Adult English Language Learning and Civics Education for Adult English Language Learners. 

Here is a link to access these as well as other Civics resources:  http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/instructional/civics.html.

Cheryl Keenan, Director, Division of Adult Education and Literacy

 

 

Click here for information about INTESOL (Indiana Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages).

 

Click here about information on the ESL Workplace Training Certificate.


 

Mary Spink, Director of Training and Technical Assistance for the International Center of Indianapolis sent the following information concerning the Somali Bantu and approaches to literacy.  If you would more information about the Bantu people living in Indiana, you can contact Mary at the International Center of Indianapois,  32 East Washington St, Suite 1625 Indianapolis, IN. 46204.  Her email address is mspink@icenterindy.org .

 

 

I would like to let the listserve know that the National Somali Bantu Project has now published its monthly newsletter, Shambara News, in the Zigua language.

 

Most Somali Bantu speak Maay Maay, but most Zigu only speak Maay as a second language and have requested translation in their Zigua language.

The Shambara News is also published in Maay Maay and English. All three can be accessed by going to www.somalibantu.org and then clicking on Shambara News and then clicking on Zigua, Maay Maay or English. These newsletters can be printed off of the website.

 

We have seen that Somali Bantu are quite happy to see a publication in their mother tongues. Sometimes this is the first time they have seen anything printed in their language. We have also found that Somali Bantu who have a basic understanding of the alphabet - learned through ESL classes - can use that knowledge to actually read the Shambara News.

This gives them much confidence and, in some cases, takes them from illiteracy to literacy in a matter of moments.

 

We encourage Somali Bantu people and service providers to use the Shambara News as a literacy tool. There is a brief English translation that can help Americans understand what the Maay and Zigua versions say.

We also encourage service providers and the Somali Bantu to contact us concerning newsletter ideas.

 

Please feel free to contact the National Somali Bantu Project with any questions or comments.

 

Yours truly,

 

Dan Van Lehman, Omar Eno, and Jamal Haji www.somalibantu.org