ESL Literacy Readers: Igniting a passion for reading in ESL literacy learners

Latest from Stories from the Field by Sandi Loschnig

“We do learn to read by reading”
Frank West (cited in Smith and Elley 1997)

I still remember my excitement when I learned to read. The bookmobile came to our school every two weeks and I would take out the full limit of books allowed. By the time the bookmobile returned I had read everything and was eagerly waiting to restock my stash. This early and extensive reading ignited my passion for reading and writing, a passion that still exists today.

Teacher and scholar Alan Maley researched and wrote at length about extensive reading and its benefits for English language learners. He compiled a list of characteristics of extensive reading, which includes the following:

1. Students read a lot and often.
2. There is a wide variety of text types and topics to choose from.
3. The texts are not just interesting: they are engaging/compelling.
4. Students choose what to read.
5. Reading purposes focus on: pleasure, information, and general understanding.
6. Reading is its own reward.
7. Materials are within the language competence of the students.
8. Reading is individual, and silent.
9. The teacher is a role model…a reader who participates along with the students. (Maley 2009)

Simply put, extensive reading is reading a lot and reading for pleasure. The goal is “to create fluency and enjoyment in the reading process” (Clarity 2007).

Ample research evidence supports the benefits of extensive reading. It helps develop learner autonomy; provides massive and repeated exposure to language in context; increases general language competence (writing, speaking skills); develops general, world knowledge; extends, consolidates, and sustains vocabulary growth; improves writing (the more we read the better we write); and creates motivation to read more (Maley 2009).

It is clear that extensive reading would benefit adult ESL literacy learners for all these reasons. For them to begin, the first task would be finding books written at the appropriate levels for this diverse group. And that is where this story opens.

The ESL Literacy Readers Project: Developing resources for ESL literacy learners

In early 2010, Theresa Wall and Joan Bruce, ESL literacy practitioners in the Centre for Excellence in Immigrant and Intercultural Advancement (CEIIA) at Bow Valley College, embarked on an ambitious project: to substantially increase the available reading resources for adult ESL literacy learners. As practitioners they experienced frustration with the lack of suitable reading materials for their learners. And like many practitioners working in the field, they created their own materials from scratch or modified existing materials intended for mainstream ESL learners. Out of this need, an idea emerged: to develop a series of books designed specifically for adult ESL literacy learners that would be openly accessible to practitioners everywhere.

The result was the ESL Literacy Readers project funded by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. By its end, the project created 40 readers intended to be used in conjunction with theme-based lessons for adult ESL literacy learners.

Theresa described the project’s early days. “When we started this project, there were very few materials available developed for adults who were new to reading. Our goal was to develop books for ESL literacy learners that were appropriate for adult readers. We wanted the characters to reflect the learners in our ESL literacy programs. The books would complement the settlement themes used in LINC[1] classes. We wanted to create something that instructors could use as part of a larger unit in their classroom instruction and that learners would read with support at the beginning, and independently by the end of the unit. We wanted reading to be a successful experience for ESL literacy learners. In the end, the project team wrote eleven to sixteen readers at each of the different levels from introductory to intermediate.”

“The entire team of writers and editors were ESL literacy practitioners in Bow Valley College’s ESL Literacy and Practical programs in the CEIIA. In all, there were six writers and the two of us as editors directly involved. Other CEIIA instructors supported the process by piloting the readers in their classes and offering feedback on the stories.” Theresa explained, “Instructors worked in pairs, with two teachers writing for one phase. Some instructors worked together and would meet throughout the process. After writers finished a story, they would send it for editing, where Joan and I would run the stories through all of the criteria we had developed as a team earlier in the process.”

Joan added, “Our purpose was not only developing material for our learners, but also to create exemplars to demonstrate to instructors what they needed to take into consideration when they were developing [their own] materials.”

As part of the project, they reviewed other initiatives and related research to gather information about best practices in developing reading materials for new readers. They discovered ongoing work being done in this area at Newcastle University in England. Researchers Young-Scholten and Maguire (2010) found that there was a shortage of non-fiction and fiction books written for the lowest level second language learners. They set up a pilot project to train undergraduate English language and linguistics students to write stories for low level ESL literacy learners. The purpose of their project was two-fold: to educate the student writers about the needs of low literacy English language learners and to increase the availability of books for this population. The pilot eventually led to the Cracking Good Stories project, an ongoing initiative that trains people on how to write books for low literacy ESL learners and contributes to the development of appropriate level books for this learner group.

Incorporating this and other research with the experience of practitioners working in the CEIIA, Theresa and Joan compiled a list of best practices for practitioners to consider in the creation of their own ESL literacy stories, which is included in the ESL Literacy Readers Guide that was written as an accompaniment to the readers:

1. Choose relevant themes. Learners will understand and better relate to stories that speak to their everyday lives.

It’s so important that the reading material we’re giving our learners to work with is something that is completely relevant, that they can connect to, that has to do with their day-to-day lives, or something that they already have experience with so that the text doesn’t become cumbersome. They are learning to read, learning the reading strategies, learning the vocabulary, learning the syntax, and so adding an unfamiliar topic that potentially has little relevance to the learners’ lives does not support the reading process,” Theresa explained.

2. Keep vocabulary simple. Stories should consist of vocabulary familiar to learners; only a few new words should be introduced in a reading. Repetition of key words is critical, particularly with lower Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) levels.

“Learners have to be able to read 98% of the surrounding text before they’re able to use context clues so that’s a very high percentage of words that they have to be familiar with in order to use that strategy. I think that’s something that often we don’t realize. It’s just too much of an overload with new words and new concepts, and unfamiliar situations or unfamiliar content. That whole scaffolding piece before they actually get to reading the text is so critical. Whether that’s oral language or work with the new vocabulary and different kind of games and that sort of thing. We need to set them up for success,” Joan emphasized.

3. Choose fonts carefully. Font type and size are both important. Fonts should be clear, easy-to-read, and larger than in non-literacy materials. At the lower CLB levels, the font used should not contain the script version of ‘a’; however, it should be introduced in the higher levels as it is found in most authentic print.
4. Include plenty of whitespace. An uncluttered page is critical in stories written for LIFE (learners with interrupted formal education). The amount of whitespace can decrease with higher CLB levels.
5. Use authentic pictures. Good pictures facilitate comprehension a great deal. The more realistic the pictures are, the more easily learners will interpret them – a photograph is better than a drawing, for example.

(Bow Valley College 2011, 10)

After doing this project, I have a new awareness of how complex the process of reading text is, and what you need to take into account to come up with texts that are meaningful, relevant, level appropriate, and address the learner’s reality. (Joan Bruce, ESL literacy practitioner, personal interview)

The ESL Literacy Readers Guide is intended to assist practitioners in developing lessons for both the pre-reading and post-reading stages. It explains how the 40 stories are organized in levels from introductory to intermediate, and encompass the range of reading skills within each level.[2]

It also explains the importance of themes, and how they were carefully selected in the writing of the stories and recur throughout the different levels. “Theme-teaching allows for a natural progression into practical, real-life extension activities – activities that go beyond the classroom and have a basis in authentic printed material and application in the community” (ESL Literacy Readers Guide 2011). The guide gives suggestions for extension activities corresponding to the themes and using authentic printed materials. Theme topics include food/shopping/money, housing, transportation, employment, leisure, health, school and clothing.

Both the Readers’ Guide and the Readers themselves are freely available and easily downloaded from the ESL Literacy Network.

I asked both Theresa and Joan about the success of the ESL Literacy Readers. Were learners using them and had they improved their skills?

Theresa replied, “I remember one of the things I was excited about was that one of the learners in our class told me she was actually reading her book at home. She had it in her bedroom so when she put her child down to sleep, she’d make some time to read. To me, there were two important pieces to this – first, there was a book she could (and wanted to) read independently, and second, this book was hers to keep and read whenever she wanted to. Now she had the tools to practice reading at home on her own.”

Joan added, “We sometimes also don’t realize the importance of a child seeing their parent read. That it is sending a message to the child that reading is important and that it’s something we enjoy doing. And so having this woman able to read to her child or having books in the home, the effects of that are far reaching because it affects the child and their attitude, and how they feel about reading.”

Some final words

The ESL Literacy Readers project is successful and innovative on many fronts. The Canadian-produced materials are specifically designed and written with the needs of adult ESL literacy learners in mind. The chosen themes are of high interest and pertinent to learners’ lives. The events and issues portrayed are those that a typical learner may experience in their new country. Deng goes to school, Lien buys food, Amir gets sick, and A Problem at Work are only a handful of titles in the 40 stories. An added bonus is that the photos accompanying the stories are of learners at Bow Valley College. Research and experience has shown that the more realistic a photo is, the more easily learners will interpret them and relate to them. The ESL Literacy Readers fill an important need for relevant, interesting adult-oriented reading materials targeted at beginning ESL literacy learners.

This project made it possible for instructor-created materials, developed specifically for ESL literacy learners, to be available to instructors across the country. And for learners to be able to take home and keep these books is a big deal for someone who has not had access to books that are both level appropriate and age-appropriate. (Theresa Wall, ESL literacy practitioner, personal interview)

References

Bow Valley College. 2011. ESL Literacy Readers’ Guide. Calgary: Bow Valley College, ESL Literacy Network. https://esl-literacy.com/readers/esl_literacy_readers_guide.pdf

Bow Valley College. 2011. ESL Literacy Readers. Bow Valley College, ESL Literacy Network. https://esl-literacy.com/readers

Clarity, Mary. 2007. “An Extensive Reading Program for Your ESL Classroom.” The Internet TESL Journal 13(8). http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Clarity-ExtensiveReading.html

Maley, Alan. 2009. “Extensive reading: why it is good for our students…and for us.” Teaching English Blog (British Council, BBC World Service). https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/extensive-reading-why-it-good-our-students%E2%80%A6-us

Smith, John W. A. and Warwick B. Elley. 1997. How Children Learn to Read: Insights from the New Zealand Experience. Auckland, New Zealand: Longman.

Young-Scholten, Martha and Margaret Wilkinson. 2010. “The Cracking Good Stories project: Creating fiction for LESLLA adults.” Presented at the EU-Speak Inaugural Workshop, Newcastle, England, November 5-7.

[1] LINC refers to Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada, a program funded by the Government of Canada (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/backgrounders/2013/2013-10-18.asp).

[2] The Canadian Language Benchmarks 2000: ESL for Literacy Learners document informed the development of the ESL Literacy Readers (http://www.language.ca/documents/e-version_ESL_Literacy_Learners_April_2010.pdf). This document organized the different ESL literacy levels into phases. It has since been revised, and the organization changed from phases to levels (Canadian Language Benchmarks: ESL for Adult Literacy Learners (ALL), http://www.language.ca/documents/CLB_Adult_Literacy_Learners_e-version_2015.pdf). In the near future, the ESL Literacy Readers will be re-organized to reflect the levels outlined in the 2015 document.

One Size Does Not Fit All: Designing Curriculum and Assessment for Adult ESL Literacy Learners

Latest from Stories from the Field By Sandi Loschnig

Developing “pathways, programming, services, and curricula design that promote a highly flexible, interactive and supportive environment” for learners is one of Bow Valley College’s Vision 2020 priorities (Bow Valley College 2011b, 15). Learning for LIFE: An ESL Literacy Curriculum Framework embodies this principle, and extends it beyond the walls of the College by supporting organizations to create their own customized curriculum tailored to their communities’ and their learners’ needs.

"Curriculum is both planned and lived (Aoki, 2005). The planned curriculum is the formalized curriculum which is developed in response to an understanding of the needs of learners as a group, the needs of your community and the wider environment of which your program is a part. The lived curriculum is the way in which the planned curriculum is addressed in the classroom, as instructors respond to the needs, interests and learning styles of individuals. Understanding curriculum as lived is one way of acknowledging ‘the uniqueness of every teaching situation’ (Aoki, 2005, 165).” (Bow Valley College 2011a [Framework], Introduction, 7).

ESL literacy learners bring diverse strengths and challenges into the classroom. Their life experiences may include war, poverty, and other forms of violence and trauma. Their formal education has been limited or interrupted for many reasons.

As a result of this history, many ESL literacy learners have not developed “the knowledge, skills and strategies that are commonly assumed of adults in Alberta” (Framework, Stage 1, 6). However, they possess remarkable resilience, survival skills, and perseverance. They are genuinely motivated to learn English language and literacy skills so they can participate as full citizens in their new lives in Canada.

This struck me from the very first day I walked into an ESL literacy classroom. As much as possible, leave your assumptions at the door. You don’t really know what people’s backgrounds are, what their skills are, what might be scary for them, or what might be comforting for them. (Katrina Derix-Langstraat, ESL literacy practitioner, personal interview)

Early in 2009, the Centre for Excellence in Immigrant and Intercultural Advancement (CEIIA) at Bow Valley College, with funding from the Alberta Government, began developing a curriculum framework intended to provide information, guidance, and a structure that would help adult ESL literacy program administrators, curriculum developers, and practitioners develop responsive programs designed to meet the specific needs of their distinct learners. It was not a “one size fits all” approach, which would be inappropriate and ineffective given that ESL literacy programs are diverse – in location (urban/rural), setting (colleges, community organizations), and learners. Instead, it aimed to provide a thoughtful and considered framework that encouraged practitioners to engage in their own curriculum planning process. Katrina Derix-Langstraat (project lead) and Jennifer Acevedo (project consultant) talked with me about how the Learning for LIFE: An ESL Literacy Curriculum Framework took shape.

Katrina began. “The curriculum framework was one stage of a larger project. The other parts were the Learning for LIFE: An ESL Literacy Handbook and the ESL Literacy Network website. The intention was to create a resource that would help programs across the province to develop an ESL literacy curriculum of their own. The resource is intended to support both classroom instructors and program developers. It was meant to give them a place to start.”

The Framework project began with an extensive review of the research and theory in adult ESL literacy and adult first language acquisition. This process also included a review of curricula and curriculum framework models from a variety of resources and countries.[1]

Katrina and Jennifer took a collaborative approach in developing the resource. The Framework project included the formation of an Alberta Advisory Committee comprised of ESL literacy experts and practitioners. This committee provided ongoing feedback throughout the project. Interviews and site visits were conducted at community and educational organizations throughout rural and urban Alberta. As well, experienced ESL literacy practitioners at Bow Valley College contributed their collective expertise and insight.

“There were consultations with different programs and providers across the province. We discussed learner demographics, the learning needs of the learners, as well as practitioners’ perceptions about those needs. These conversations helped to identify emerging themes and trends,” Katrina explained.

Through their research and consultations, Katrina and Jennifer outlined four program contexts of ESL literacy programming for the Framework:

Community orientation and participation in ESL Literacy programs: These programs focus on addressing needs related to the acclimatization stage of the settlement continuum.

Employment ESL literacy programs: These programs provide ESL literacy for the workplace or ESL literacy in the workplace.

Family ESL literacy programs: These programs focus on providing ESL literacy development for parents and children, and also often address parenting skills.

Educational preparation ESL literacy programs: These programs aim to transition learners from ESL literacy to adult basic education programs or other training opportunities.

(Framework, Stage 1, 15)

Learning for LIFE: An ESL Literacy Curriculum Framework provides background information and guiding principles for all four of these program contexts and can be easily adapted according to a program’s needs and resources.

Katrina elaborated on the stages of curriculum development. “We came up with a five-part process. Stage1 is understanding needs, both the community’s needs and the learners’ needs. Stage 2 is determining the focus of your program. Stage 3 is about setting learning outcomes. Stage 4 is about integrating assessment for learners. Stage 5 is demonstrating accountability to all stakeholders. It’s not intended to be a linear process. The parts influence each other and there is interplay back and forth. However, if you’re going to design a program, or even as an instructor, these are things you need to think about, and then make decisions based on your learners, your demographics, and what’s possible in your context. It’s not ‘here we did it for you.’ People still need to do a lot of work on their own.”

The Framework also looks at Habits of Mind. Katrina explained, “Habits of Mind are the soft skills, the non-literacy skills that learners need to be successful in school. They are things like setting goals, managing your learning, being prepared for different situations, managing information, and managing your time.” Jennifer added, “Based on conversations with other practitioners, we heard that learners don’t often realize how their behaviour is perceived. We do them a disservice if we don’t try to illuminate aspects of Canadian culture such as expectations at school or at work. We tried to develop a process, a series of questions teachers could draw upon in their classrooms.”

“In the Framework, Habits of Mind is the term used to describe the non-literacy skills that demonstrate the characteristics of successful learners in North American contexts” (Framework, Stage 3, 94). The term draws on the research of Costa and Kallick that identified 16 Habits of Mind[2] that contribute to success in learning and in life. They defined a habit as a behaviour that requires “a discipline of the mind that is practiced so it becomes a habitual way of working toward more thoughtful…action” (Costa and Kallick 2008, xvii). The Framework focuses on four specific Habits of Mind: resourcefulness, motivation, responsibility, and engagement (Framework, Stage 3, 96). For each of the four, the Framework provides a description of the Habit, a description of the skills that support learners in demonstrating the Habit, considerations for understanding learners’ challenges, considerations for building on learners’ strengths, and a process of skill development that demonstrates each Habit of Mind (Framework, Stage 3, 99). In addition, practitioners are given considerations for assessing these Habits of Mind (Framework, Stage 4, 51-52).

The Importance of Integrating Alternative Learner Assessment

Katrina talked about the importance of assessment. “It’s particularly challenging in this field to make assessment meaningful, purposeful, and transparent. We want to demonstrate accountability to learners and instructors, and to the other stakeholders [funders, administrators]…. One of the reasons we included Habits of Mind is that progress is gradual depending on the learner’s background knowledge and life experiences. We see great growth and progress in learners over the course of a term or a program in these other [soft skill] areas which actually have a huge positive impact on learning…. So including Habits of Mind gave instructors some language and some awareness to capture the progress being made in [these soft skills], because everything, like bringing your glasses to school and knowing when it is appropriate to speak out…makes students more aware of themselves as learners.” Jennifer added, “The learners have an opportunity to practice these skills and make connections with their previous experience…and these skills help them succeed in their daily lives…how to be a student, how to be an employee….”

“Assessment is a transparent, ongoing process of purposefully gathering useful information that directs instruction and enables communication about learning. Effective assessment provides detailed, useful information for instructors, learners and other stakeholders” (Framework, Stage 4, 4). The Framework recommends getting learners involved in the assessment process by:

• using assessments for different purposes,
• integrating informal assessment as part of the classroom routine,
• using a portfolio based language assessment approach, and
• integrating regular learning conferences [with learners] as an opportunity for communicating about learning expectations, challenges and achievements. (Framework, Stage 4, 6)

The Framework’s philosophy surrounding assessment is congruent with a formative assessment model that requires learners’ engagement and involvement. Practitioners do not just give feedback but engage in a dialogue with students about learning.[3]

Progress for ESL literacy learners is not always straight-forward or linear. The more complex and flexible measurements of success such as personal growth, self-confidence, independence, social connections, and changed attitudes toward life and learning are all ways to measure progress, but are not easily quantified or standardized. Building accountability into each stage of curriculum development helps demonstrate and value the incremental progress made by ESL literacy learners.

Developing skills and personal growth are inextricably linked and equally necessary for foundational learners to make progress. Learners develop skills when they have the self-confidence to take risks and when the experience themselves as learners. They build self-confidence and experience themselves as learners when they develop skills that make a difference in their daily lives at work, at home, and in the community. Including both these components of progress offers the possibility of honouring the whole learner and giving a true indication of progress. (Jackson and Schaetti 2014, 54)

A Success Story

Jennifer shared a successful application of the Framework within her own work. “I took the Curriculum Framework that we designed and used it to successfully create and pilot a curriculum for what we call our ‘Practical Program’ at Bow Valley College. We define ‘practical’ learners as learners with 4 to 9 years of education who already have the very basics of literacy but still need support to develop more learning strategies and literacy skills. These learners benefit from a program designed for their specific needs.”

“The development of the Practical Program curriculum was a huge undertaking as the program consists of nine levels. The curriculum provides instructors with a progression of connected outcomes over these nine levels. The outcomes help instructors measure learners’ progress in small incremental steps across the levels, allowing for spiralling and recycling. Without the Curriculum Framework to support the development of this curriculum, it would have been much more of a challenge to create it. The Curriculum Framework provided a structure and tangible outcomes, not only in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, but in learning strategies and life skills as well. The result is a program curriculum that is able to effectively address the literacy and language needs of learners. Instructors use the Practical Program curriculum for planning, teaching, and assessment, providing learners with a cohesive learning experience across all levels of the program.”

Final Words

Learning for LIFE: An ESL Literacy Curriculum Framework is the culmination of well-considered research and the collective expertise of experienced ESL literacy practitioners. It provides an invaluable resource to ESL literacy program administrators, curriculum developers, and practitioners as they engage in the dynamic and ongoing process of developing responsive ESL literacy programming tailored to their learners’ needs.

An effective curriculum is responsive to learner needs and reflects the context in which it operates. Adult ESL literacy programs in Alberta are diverse, serving different learner populations in both urban and rural contexts, in part-time and full-time settings. The ESL Literacy Curriculum Framework addresses this diversity by provided a general process for curriculum development, as well as information for specific program contexts. (https://esl-literacy.com/curriculum-framework)

References 

Aoki, Ted T. 2005. “Teaching as In-dwelling Between Two Curriculum Worlds (1986/1991).” In Curriculum in a New Key: The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki, edited by William F. Pinar and Rita L. Irwin, 159-165. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bow Valley College. 2011a. Learning for LIFE: An ESL Literacy Curriculum Framework. Calgary: Bow Valley College. https://esl-literacy.com/curriculum-framework

Bow Valley College. 2011b. Vision 2020: Learning Into the Future. A Report to the Community. Calgary: Bow Valley College. http://web.bowvalleycollege.ca/pdf/BVCVision2020Report2011.pdf

Costa, Arthur L., and Bena Kallick (Eds.). 2008. “Describing the Habits of Mind.” In Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind: 16 Essential Characteristics for Success. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108008/chapters/Describing-the-Habits-of-Mind.aspx

Derrick, Jay, Kathryn Ecclestone, and Juliet Merrifield. 2007. “A balancing act? The English and Welsh model of assessment in adult basic education.” In Measures of success: Assessment and accountability in adult basic education, edited by Pat Campbell, 287-323. Edmonton: Grass Roots Press.

Jackson, Candace, and Marnie Schaetti. (2014). Research Findings: Literacy and Essential Skills: Learner Progression Measures Project. Calgary: Bow Valley College. https://centreforfoundationallearning.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/lpm-researchfindingsreport.pdf

[1] The Manitoba Adult EAL Curriculum Framework Foundations: 2009 and the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Curriculum Framework for English Speakers of Other Languages (2005) were influential in developing the resource.

[2] “The Habits of Mind are an identified set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, necessary to effectively operate in society and promote strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity and craftsmanship.” (http://www.chsvt.org/wdp/Habits_of_Mind.pdf)

[3] Researchers Derrick, Ecclestone, and Merrifield (2007) list ten best practices in formative assessment:

1. Make it part of effective planning for teaching and learning, which should include processes for feedback and engaging learners.
2. Focus on how students learn.
3. Help students become aware of how they are learning, not just what they are learning.
4. Recognize it as central to classroom practice.
5. Regard it as a key professional skill for teachers.
6. Take account of the importance of learner motivation by emphasizing progress and achievement rather than failure.
7. Promote commitment to learning goals and a shared understanding of the criteria being assessed.
8. Enable learners to receive constructive feedback about how to improve.
9. Develop learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they become reflective and self-managing.
10. Recognize the full range of achievement for all learners.