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Adult education ESOL instructors are alltoo amiliar with the ongoing ebb and ow ostudents who pass through their classrooms.With attrition rates near 70% in many programs,an “examination o the process learners gothrough in deciding to stay or leave a programand the many actors that inuence them”(Garner, as quoted in Belzer 1998) are at thecore o much research and discussion on thetopic o
 student persistence
. This article oerssome strategies that instructors can implementin their programs to address the persistence otheir students. But frst, we will defne studentpersistence.
What Is Student Persistence? 
The defnition o student persistence is nota synonym or “retention.” Retention speaksspecifcally to the time a student is attendingclass. Once that student is no longer attendingclass, he or she is traditionally defned ashaving “dropped out.”Student persistence, on the other hand,suggests that students have many orcesworking both or and against them. The sameamily, riends, job, childcare, and health issuesthat support students attending class can, in aash, become the very things that keep themrom coming to school. These “positive” and“negative” orces are defned as being outsidethe control o the students.When negative orces work againststudents, they may be orced to “stop out”rom classroom instruction while continuingwith sel-directed instruction at home. Whenpositive orces work in their avor, they areable to return to the program and attend classregularly. “Persistent” students, thereore,manage their language learning through sel-directed study away rom the ESL programwhen they must “stop out,” and return to classwhen they are able.The challenge acing educators withrespect to this new perspective on studentpersistence is to fnd ways to:
 • 
help students identiy the negative orces thatmake it difcult or them to attend class;
•
provide students with strategies to deal withthose negative orces so that they can stay inschool as long as possible;
 •
 
provide students with materials they can usefor self-study during a stopping out period; and
 • 
provide students with the impetus to returnto the program as quickly as possible oncethe negative orces have diminished
.
What Can Programs Do? 
 Program Orientation
Programs that provide students withan orientation to the campus and to theeducational oerings report higher levels ostudent persistence. Many students are notaware o the opportunities that are availableto them as they progress up the ESL levels.Students should know what is expected othem in order to advance successully throughthe dierent ESL levels, and they should knowhow to matriculate into ABE, GED, high schoolsubjects, ROP and other certifcate programs,and, eventually, into the community collegeand beyond. Orientation can be provided: (1)at the time o registration; (2) at orientation
Student Persistence in theAdult ESOL Classroom
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2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Great Teachers Inspire • Motivate • Change the World
 
Copyright
©
2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 meetings oered on a weekly or bi-monthlybasis; or (3) in the classroom (teachers shouldbe trained on strategies to integrate orientationand matriculation inormation into their teaching, including lesson plans).
Certifcates
Students are motivated by certifcatesthat acknowledge their accomplishments.Attendance certifcates can be awardedweekly or monthly in the classroom, with amore “ofcial” certifcate at semester’s term.Certifcates that recognize completion o onelevel o ESL and advancement into another provide students with tangible evidence thatthey
are
progressing.
 Proessional Development 
The importance o proessionaldevelopment cannot be understated.Keeping teachers abreast o new researchand knowledge in the teaching o languageacquisition, as well as providing training on theneeds o students particular to the communitythe program serves, is a commitment towardexcellence. To ensure the proessionaldevelopment needs o the teachers are beingmet, survey the teachers and then implementtraining that specifcally addresses their needs. Training topics can include multilevelinstruction, student persistence, classroommanagement, publisher training on using theprogram’s core texts, retention, standardizedtesting preparation, assessment, games,cooperative learning, and basic phrases in thelanguages o the students.
Identiy Mentor Teachers
National Education Association researchon the benefts o mentoring has shown thatpairing a seasoned instructor with a noviceinstructor to provide support and guidanceduring the frst semesters o teaching beneftsboth participants. While novice instructorsreceive valuable inormation on lessonplanning, classroom instruction, and thegeneral ins and outs o the program, mentorshave the opportunity to reect on their owninstruction and methodologies, leading to animprovement in their own teaching practices.
What Can Teachers Do? 
Create a Sae Learning Environment 
ESL students represent a wide range oages, educational backgrounds, personalities,goals, and levels o motivation. In his AectiveFilter Hypothesis, Dr. Stephen Krashen suggeststhat a student’s ability to acquire a secondlanguage is directly related to such variablesas positive or negative classroom experiences,nervousness, anxiety, and sense o sel-esteem.A “low” aective flter is associated with anenvironment in which a student eels sae,relaxed, and willing to take risks with languagelearning.There are a myriad o ways teachers cancreate a sae learning environment, therebylowering the aective flter o their students.Memorizing the names o all o your studentswithin the frst week o instruction reducesanxiety and increases sel-esteem. Learning aew key phrases in the languages o the studentsis a un way to model or students that it isacceptable to struggle with pronunciation andlanguage learning. Students are eager to sharetheir languages, and everyone has a good laughwhen teachers mispronounce the vocabularythey are learning.A powerul tool or lowering the aectiveflter o the students is to set up a buddy system.During the frst week o class, have studentsbuddy with someone who speaks their frstlanguage and exchange phone numbers sothat they can contact each other. The buddysystem has several benefts. First, it immediatelyconnects students to at least one other personin the classroom. This connection may helpmotivate them to keep coming to class, evenwhen negative orces are working against them.Second, buddies can keep each other apprised
 
 setting, even with the lowest-level learners, andprovide the students with examples o short-term and long-term goals that are specifc,measurable, and achievable.
In addition to setting goals, encouragestudents to set their bars high. Many studentsthink only o getting and keeping themost menial entry-level positions. Instead,encourage them to think about working their way up to manager or even owner o their ownbusiness.
 Allow Students to Purchase Their Textbooks
Central to the mission statement o themajority o educational institutions is theobjective o preparing students or lielonglearning. How can a student be successulin this endeavor i they cannot purchasea textbook? Students who purchase their textbooks are empowered because:
 •
They have made a monetary investmentin their utures.
 •
They have learned to prioritize and valuelearning and education.
 •
They can serve as role models to their children.
 •
They can continue to use their textbooksor sel-study should they be orced to“stop out” or a period o time.Tell students about the importance o beingable to complete the activities in their own text,and being able to review their work later athome or on a break at work.A program in Southern Caliornia recentlyswitched rom class sets to student-purchasedbooks. Now retention rates in their levels 1 and2 classes are the best they have ever been.Once programs and teachers have anunderstanding o what improves studentperormance, they can see how implementinga ew simple strategies can have ar-reaching,positive eects on their student population.o missed lessons. Third, buddies can keep incontact with each other during the “stoppingout” periods, which encourages absent studentsto return when they can.
Build a Strong Classroom Community 
In addition to providing students with asae learning environment, teachers need toacilitate the building o a strong classroomcommunity. Using pair work, as well as small-group and whole-class activities, beginningwith the frst day o class, helps the studentsget acquainted. Once the semester is in ullswing, however, students commonly fnd acomortable niche that they seldom leave.One activity you might fnd helpul is called“Crazy Wednesday.” Every Wednesday,instruct students to sit somewhere dierentrom their “regular” seats, with at least oneperson who does not speak their frst language.Providing ongoing opportunities or studentsto make new connections promotes andstrengthens academic excellence in theclassroom and reinorces the social andemotional connections, which improve studentpersistence.Providing students with an opportunity toshare their cultures also helps build a strongclassroom community. Students are passionateabout their cultures and the countries they haveemigrated rom, and it is moving and powerulto watch them share their passion with their classmates.
Have Students Identiy and EstablishShort-term and Long-term Educational Goals
The research gleaned on studentpersistence rom study circles around thecountry shows clearly that students who haveset
specifc
goals or their English learning aremore persistent than students who have ageneral goal o “I want to learn English.” It isimportant that teachers teach lessons on goal
Copyright
©
2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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