Adult ESOL Learners and Special Needs : BE CAREFUL

Robin Lovrien Schwarz,

M. SpEd; LD, Consultant in Adult ESOLRschwarz@lesley.edu

First Challenge: It is an invisible population –except in numbers

English learners are more than 60 % of the adult ed enrollment* --many places they are 80 or 90 % of programs (does not include NNSE in ABE or GED) If we include CLD, the% is much higher % of special needs averages the same as in English speaking population

–maybe higher

ESOL is 5% (maybe?) of the conversation How many sessions on ESOL at COABE? AAACE? CEA? LDA? IDA? (

On adult ESOL, none) Bridges to Practice has not yet included ESOL in the training

Special needs are even more marginalized Virtually NO statistics on what % of NNSE have disabilities* National Family Literacy Act, Report to Congress 2004

0

Second Challenge: The ESOL Population is Extremely Varied

Language and culture backgrounds Literacy levels/educational backgrounds Health/ mental health Socio-economic status Reasons for coming to adult education Age Family situations Stability

Third Challenge: Cultural Differences are Significant Generally speaking, cultural attitudes towards

special learning needs differ significantly: Adult ESOL learners mostly Will not expect or seek out accommodations for any

special need—and therefore frequently do not self-identify

Are not familiar with the concept of LD May not be comfortable with accommodation– feel it

is unfair, (high context cultures) or unnatural, or will taint family

May leave if focus on special need is uncomfortable—will not tell anyone

Some will not be able to frame learning differences even linguistically—( no words for this idea)

Fourth Challenge: 7 sources of Learning Difficulties in ESOL Learners

1. Health/mental health issues may get in the way of learning

1. Vision function issues (near/far vision acuity)n Visual stress syndrome (sensitivity to light)n Hearing loss/diminution n Stressn Culture shockn Depression n Illnessn Medication problems

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

2. Adult language learning needs not met

Language teachers–need LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Normal language learning causes difficulties often mistaken for LD---

Order in which language is learned dictates what learner can learn cognitively about new language

Adult language learners learn differently than children do

When methods for children are used, adults do not learn as well

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

2. Language learning needs, cont. Adult language learners have much harder time

hearing sounds of new language-must have direct instruction of sound system of English—not phonics

Oral language (referred to as BICS) and literacy language (referred to as CALPS) develop in different ways, different speeds– normal lag between two is poorly recognized in adult ESOL

Language skills develop separately—yet placement is largely by oral ability

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

3. First language influences not taken sufficiently into account: Phonological structure of L1 can make learning

English difficult Sounds very different L1 tones, different stress & intonation patters

Grammatical/syntactical differences may be significant L1 may not have tenses, prepositions, articles, etc.

If unwritten, L1 may lack terminology of literacy, writing conventions etc.

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

4. Cultural Background Factors Get in the Way of Learning

Cultural differences impact learning/educational/training situations

Expectations of teachers/class Understanding of learning/study Classroom/training interactions Understanding/interpretation of materials Adults—especially those who are not very

educated and out of their country for the first time– have a hard time adjusting to new culture– Culture shock estimated to last up to 3 years– for some longer.

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

5. Educational Background Not Sufficiently Regarded Extent and nature of previous education

misunderstood/not known What is equivalent duration of learning? Nature of educational approach- authoritarian,

rote learning vs. participatory, analytic learning World knowledge—geography, history, basic

science, numeracy– if lacking, many materials will be meaningless

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

5. Educational Background Factors, cont.

Impact of low or no literacy underestimated Brain has developed differently Visual information processed differently Language information processed differently Phonological skills are necessarily

underdeveloped

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

6. Phonological skills may be weak Phonological awareness-

Needed for literacy skills/reading in English Phonological memory -

Needed for oral/aural skills development

Skills may be weak because of Low education Incomplete/inadequate transfer from L1

Fourth Challenge: 7 Sources of Learning Difficulties, continued

7. “Pedagogically induced learning problems” Teachers/tutors have little or no awareness/training in first

four factors Low expectations of learners Setting up for failure, not success: Poorly delivered

instruction, confusing directions, vague goals, no indication of progress, failure to teach to mastery,

Inappropriate materials—not ESOL, too high, too low, not relevant

Learner goals ignored for/overridden by curriculum needs

Fifth Challenge: Limited means of identification

Testing for LD/ Learning problems directly is impossible for NNES (except for Spanish):

Learning problems stemming from LD cannot—SHOULD NOT—be directly identified

NO CURRENT testing tools—including screening tools– are fully valid; they can be misleading and harmful, even in the extreme,

because of:

Fifth Challenge: Limited means of identification

Language difficulties– CALPS not sufficient for testing in English—even those who have lived here and gone to school here must be tested with great caution and skill

Cultural differences—format, content, purpose of testing

Literacy limitations--Testing tools intended to determine learning problems in literate learners will give skewed results for low literate learners

Fifth Challenge: Limited means of identification

Tests for other kinds of difficulties —e.g for degree to which a physically handicapped person is self –sufficient– are biased for similar reasons—cultural differences/language

Most tools for ESOL learners are NOT looking at key issues of learning difficulties in foreign language learning: phonological skills– Phonological awareness– awareness of the sound chunks

of a language and how they are manipulated– key to literacy in first or second language—weakness cause of phonological dyslexia

Phonological memory—how we remember new/unfamiliar sounds and process them– oral/aural skills

Fifth Challenge: Limited means of identification

Testing tools for ESOL do not differentiate problems Language development (BICS/CALPS)? Phonological skills? Cultural barriers? Physical problems?

They just tell you that English is low

Fifth Challenge: Limited means of identification

Though the paradigm for identification of LD is changing dramatically, many states still require a discrepancy Not possible to obtain a valid intelligence score

across cultures and languages—user’s manuals ALL say that…. Intelligence not conceived of the same way across

cultures

Accurate achievement testing not possible for factors already mentioned

Fifth Challenge: Limited means of identification

Who will test them?? Few diagnosticians are well versed in

evaluation of learning problems in adults Even fewer have any notion of

challenges of evaluating a person from another culture/language background Normal language acquisition patterns Awareness of cultural differences and impact

of cultural differences Impact of low literacy, etc.

Sixth Challenge: Lack of Informed Teachers and Tutors

Teachers and Tutors Tend to assume learning problems are the same

as in the Eng. Spkg population– and refer ESOL learners for the same reasons

Are not well versed in normal language acquisition issues— Mistake them for LD Wait too long to do anything

Not versed in the needs of very low literate persons– learners can’t do what teachers are asking of them

Teachers and tutors, cont.

Not trained in language instruction– Not aware of language challenges of

materials; Do not know how to explain language issues; Do not know grammar of English to explain it

to someone with little English Have little sense of impact of nature and

impact of cultural differences or low/no literacy

Teachers and tutors, cont.

Have few useful resources to help them ONE (two?) manual has appeared in US– Three

in Canada,--one in Britain--about adult ESOL learners with learning problems

No courses, textbooks 2ND Lang. acq. lit. still not addressing issues TESOL as a profession has ignored special

needs– Bilingual Special Ed addresses them– at K-12

Special needs professions generally do not address needs of ESOL learners

K-12 models of special needs in ESOL do not work well for adults as for ALL Adult ED

ESOL LEARNERS AND LD: Bottom line?

DO NOT ASSUME LEARNING DIFFICULTIES ARE CAUSED BY LD

FORMAL IDENTIFICATION IS IMPOSSIBLE--CAN BE HARMFUL

NO SERVICES ARE IN PLACE FOR LD/SPED DESIGNAGTION

LEARNERS AND TEACHERS MUST LEARN TO LEARN IN DIFFERENT WAYS

A few QUICK resources to support this:

http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/mental.html http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/beginQA.html http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/pdQA.html http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/natlit2.html http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/reading.html http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/litQA.html http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/SLA.html

FOR ACADEMIC REFERENCES, EMAIL RSCHWARZ@LESLEY.EDU