Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • ESP Course Design For Latino

    Uploaded by

    farah_hamizah12
    14 views116 pages
    ESP course for Latino

    Original Title

    ESP Course Design for Latino

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    ESP course for Latino

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    14 views116 pages

    ESP Course Design For Latino

    Uploaded by

    farah_hamizah12
    ESP course for Latino

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 116
    ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CURRICULUM DESIGN FOR LATINO IMMIGRANT PARENTS A TERMINAL PROJECT PRESENTED BY MARIA GUERRERO TO THE LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS. FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTICS WITH A LANGUAGE TEACHING SPECIALIZATION UNIVERSITY OF OREGON JUNE 2007 ABSTRACT Title: English for Specific Purposes Curriculum Design for Latino Immigrant Parents Author: Maria Guerrero Thesis Chair: Dr. Marjorie Barker University of Oregon, Language Teaching Specialization Program Committee Member: Dr. Sarah Klinghammer University of Oregon, Language Teaching Specialization Program The Latino population has grown significantly in the United States, and Latino youth are four times more likely to drop out of high school than any other ethnic group. For this, as well as other school populations, a high correlation has been found between parental involvement and school performance. This English for Specific Purposes (ESP) curriculum was designed to address barriers that impede the involvement of Latino immigrant parents in their children’s schools, specifically those resulting from a lack of fluency in English. ‘The course design is based on principles in ESP. It incorporates authentic materials, and focuses on improving language and situational skills needed to increase parental involvement. This design could be used in Oregon schools to teach Latino immigrant parents English. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS, COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES MA TERMINAL PROJECT APPROVAL FORM, June 6, 2007 ‘The examining committee appointed by the Department of Linguistics for the Terminal Project. submitted by Maria Guerrero has read this terminal project and determined that it satisfactorily fulfils the program requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. ‘Thesis title: English for Specific Purposes Curriculum Design for Latino Immigrant Parents ‘Thesis Advisor: han 1. Marjorie Barker (Committee Chair) Committee Member: (Corpfnittee Member) Department Chair Ex 4Zn Dr. Bric Pederson (Linguistics Department Chair) TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Background of the Project. Statement of Purpose ...... Significance CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .. English for Specific Purposes Parental Involvement Authentic Materials CHAPTER 3 NEEDS ANALYSIS ........ Information Collection Language Needs Situational Needs CHAPTER 4 DESIGN EXPLANATION AND RATIONALE General Considerations . Course Organization Teaching Approach CHAPTER 5 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES CHAPTER 6 SYLLABUS AND LESSON PLANS Syllabus oe Lesson Plans Piloted Activity CHAPTER 7 COURSE EVALUATION ........csssssssssssssssssasesesee CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION Strengths Weaknesses REFERENCES ....0.00se0s0cscce APPENDICES Appendix A: Questionnaires... Permission Forms........ Summary of Individual Interviews. Appendix B: Course Syllabus, Scope and Sequence. Appendix C: Lesson Plans.. Pilot Lesson Plan. Sample Materials. 29 35 35 36 39) a2 45 45 49 34 55 56 66 B 8 80 Appendix D: Program Evaluation... 108 Parent Report Card English 108 Parent Report Card Spanish. 10 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Research strongly indicates that, when there is an increase in parental involvement, a child’s academic performance also increases (Tinkler, 2002). Latino youth are over-represented in statistics recording low academic achievement and high school dropout rates across the country and, indeed, are four times more likely to drop out than any other ethnic group (Bohon & Macpherson, 2005). At the same time, there has been a significant increase of native Spanish speaking students enrolled in the United States public education system. This increase reflects increases in immigration or first generation citizenship, many members of which groups are English Language Learners (ELLs). Based on state-reported data, the number of ELLs in Oregon jumped from 25,701 in the 1994-95 public school enrollment year to 59,908 in 2004-05. During this time period the ELL population enrollment increased over 133% in Oregon schools. In the 2004-05 enrollment year ELLs represented almost 11% of the public school enrollment population (National Clearing House for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Education Programs, 2006), Background This project presents a design for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) curriculum for Latino immigrant parents with children in the Lane County public school system in Eugene, OR. The curriculum will also be relevant to other regions with high Latino populations. This project recommends and presents a framework for language teaching and curriculum design for Latino immigrant parents. The purpose of this curriculum is to develop and build the English skills of immigrant parents so they are better able to support their children’s education and well being. The overall goal of the course is to teach English language skills through content that will assist learners to inctease involvement in their children’s school. The design selected for this curriculum is English for Specific Purposes (ESP), and it utilizes authentic materials in contexts that parents encounter while they navigate their way through the United States educational system, Statement of Purpose This project is an ESP beginning level course designed for immigrant parents with children in the public K-12 education system. It is a six-week course that meets two evenings per week for two and a half hours. Students are predominantly Latino, and Spanish is their native language (L1). This is a beginning-level class, but there is a range of proficiencies within this level. ‘The course will integrate the four language skills - reading, writing, speaking, and listening - with emphasis on specific skills needed by parents for effective communication while engaging in their children’s education. These adult leamers will acquire the language needed for participating in effective parent- teacher conferences, calling school attendance lines, writing acceptable excuses, and other relevant tasks. Significance The rationale for this ESP course stems from the concen that if the communication barriers impeding immigrant parents are not addressed, there will continue to be a lack of parent involvement in their children’s education, This concern is ‘even more critical as the Latino population is increasing rapidly in Lane County and across the U.S. According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic immigrant Population in the U.S. has increased by 57.9% from 1990 to 2000. In 1990 there were 22.4 million Latinos reported in the U.S. and this increased to 35,5 million in 2000 (Guzman, 2001). The data also show that 35% of Hispanics in the U.S. are under the age of 18 in comparison with 25.7% of U.S. citizens in general who are under 18 years of age. It is also predicted that Hispanics born in the U.S. will contribute more highly to Latino population growth than does immigration (Suro, 2003). Approximately three- quarters of the Latino population live in the westem and southem states. The increase in the Latino population is also becoming very visible in Oregon. “All Oregon counties except Baker, Hamey, and Gilliam experienced more than a 100 percent growth in their Hispanic populations from 1980 to 2003” (Ferrera, 2005). ‘The demographics of Lane County have changed significantly during the past decade, and the Latino population is alive and thriving in the community. This has resulted in a continuing increase in Latino enrollment in the K-12 educational system, which in turn, leads to increased enrollment in English Language Learner (ELL) programs, According to data collected as of January 26, 2006 from the 4 public school district, there are 1,247 self-identified Hispanic children enrolled in the 4J school district and 300 Spanish ELLs being served. The Korean population is the second largest ethnic group being served, with 79 ELLs in the district. After two years of English language instruction, students no longer qualify for these services, but are on a monitoring status; there are 120 ELLs on monitor status (A. Lane, personal communication, April 18, 2006). ‘The number of children in ELL programs correlates with the number of immigrant parents in the district. ‘There appears to be a significant need for a class that will teach English language skills to parents of these learners. In an attempt to address this need, this paper presents an ESP curriculum for the specific purpose of teaching English language skills to parents, with content designed to increase their involvement in school-related activities. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE English for Specific Purposes English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is a movement in language teaching that started in the 1960s. The focus of this language teaching is based on the specific needs and language use of a target group. It takes into account the sociocultural contexts in which the leamers will be using English, tends to be leaer-centered, and is not confined to.a specific methodology. ‘The teachers are referred to as ESP practitioners, because they perform many roles in designing and implementing the needed curriculum. The roles of the ESP practitioner are: teacher, course designer and materials provider, collaborator, researcher, and evaluator (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998). The practitioner conducts an extensive needs analysis prior to the development of the course This involves gathering data in the form of observations, interviews, and surveys, and actively participating while gathering information in specific contexts. Examples of ESP focuses include Business English, Academic English, and English for Tourism. Strevens (1988) identified ESP as having four absolute and two variable characteristics. The absolute characteristics include four categories that have been used as a general guide in the formation of ESP curricula, while the two variable characteristics may or may not be evident in the design. The absolute categories in ESP are: (a) it is designed to meet specific leamer needs, (b) the themes and topics relate to the content of targeted disciplines, occupations, or activities, (c) the language is focused on relevant activities in syntax, lexis, analysis of discourse, and semantics, and (d) it differs from general English instruction. The variable characteristics that may be present in an ESP curriculum are that it can be restrictive to the language skills to be leamed, and that itis not restrictively taught by an enforced methodology. The first absolute characteristic in an ESP course is that itis designed to meet specific leamer needs. The course is developed because there is a demand to meet the language needs of a particular group. For example, there may be a need for immigrant workers at a factory to learn English for safety purposes. From this need an English language course in ESP would be created and focus on the second absolute characteristic: it would relate the context of the themes and the topies by focusing on the communication skills needed in the occupation and focus on safety. ‘The third absolute characteristic would be met by targeting the language instruction in activities of syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, and analysis of discourse to this particular environment. 1 e course might focus on safety language by teaching key words such as caution, warning, and on-site factory signs may be used in language activities. ESP courses are different than general English courses because they rely heavily on the leamer’s communication needs in a specific environment. They also tend to be offered in the environment that presents the communication need. For example, ESP courses are more likely to be offered directly on-site for workers, at a business for businessmen, at a university for international students, and at a public school for immigrant parents, Offering an ESP course in the target environment can be very beneficial because it offers the learners more opportunity to practice the language skills targeted by the course, and it may also reduce the amount of commuting time. ESP courses tend to be short in duration, while having clearly defined goals and objectives - leading ESP students to assimilate course material easily. Streven’s two variable characteristics are that the curriculum is not tied to a specific methodology, and moreover, it may be restricted to the language skills to be leamed, to the exclusion of other skills traditionally included in standard language curriculum, Dudley-Evans & St. Tohn (1998) have modified Streven’s definition of ESP. They acknowledge Streven’s four absolute characteristics and expand the variable characteristics to include the fact, that ESP is likely to be designed for adult leamers, and emphasize that ESP is not tied to specific teaching methodology, allowing flexibility in custom tailoring the course to fit the leamers needs. The assessment component in ESP can be directly accomplished through tasks performed in the specific ESP context where relevant language skills are taught. The aspect of real-life relevance tends to increase motivation for accomplishing the leaning tasks. Furthermore, the results of task proficiency “...can be more effective than any traditional oral examination or reading and writing test” (Johns & Price-Muchado, p.48). For instance, in an ESP class for parents the theme could be school culture and a topic might be: At the bus stop. Under this specific topic, language skills such as greetings, self-introductions, making small talk, and closings will be introduced. All of these skills will then be used to perform a role-play in front of the class involving two parents ‘meeting for the first time at the bus stop. ‘The task is specific to the language use involved in an authentic interaction. Assessment in ESP, being often tied to authentic contexts as well, builds self-confidence in the learners and inspires them to perform the task beyond the classroom environment, While there are many benefits to using ESP, one issue raised in opposition is the idea that teaching language in a specific context can limit the learner. In the article The Curse of Caliban, Widdowson describes a potential situation regarding English for Waiters. It involves designing a course that will teach greetings and other language functions specific to the field of service. If the course is successful then the waiter will learn English in the specific context, but the “waiter cannot use his English to change his position in life: he has been specifically programmed to that purpose and not any other” (Widdowson, 1981, p. 51). This limitation in using ESP should be considered by the practitioner and the curriculum should incorporate problem-solving techniques or functions of the language that will guide the learner in communicative competence. For example, in an interview conducted for this project, the Latino family liaison in the Hillsboro School District reported that some of the language barriers that parents confront involve problem-solving skills, She described the situation of a Spanish-speaking parent with limited English proficiency that encountered a problem when her child did not arrive home at the appropriate time after school from the bus stop. It was after 4 p.m. and there was not a translator available after school hours (S. Haighighi, personal communication, May 8, 2006). ‘The parent faced a situation that required problem-solving English skills that would allow her to find her child. An ESP curriculum should also include a component on problem-solving skills that will help the leamer who is faced with unpredictable circumstances. ESP, “driven from the outset by need, has always sought to empower learners, even if what learners needed was initially thought to be only what the institution or work place needed for them” (Masters, 1998, p. 724). ESP focuses on language use specific to functions or tasks, which tend to have immediate results in the context, but should also include a component on communication strategies that learners can use when confronted with situations outside the context of the ESP curriculum. Parental Involvement ‘There are many barriers that prevent Latino immigrant parents from fully engaging in their children’s education. These include language barriers, a lack of understanding of the U.S. educational system, different cultural perceptions of what constitutes parental involvement, cultural beliefs concerning working collaboratively versus competitively, an unwelcoming school environment, and low educational attainment by Latino parents (Tinkler, 2002). These factors need to be addressed in order to increase parental involvement. Lack of English language skills is one of the primary obstacles preventing many parents from fully and effectively communicating with teachers and administrators. Often, the majority of school staff does not speak Spanish and many forms sent home with children are only provided in English. This makes communication regarding grades, homework, behaviors, and other issues difficult (Gibson, 2002). Parents in this circumstance can feel embarrassed because they lack English language skills, making it necessary for their child to translate for them. This creates a new role for the child and places more demands on him or her. This role can lead to situations of miscommunication and incorrect information being transferred. For example, a child might not tell parents about a failing grade. In an interview conducted for this project, ‘The Parent Involvement Coordinator in the Lane County 4J public school system described a situation of miscommunication. Because report cards are sent home in, English in the State of Oregon, a Latino parent was not able to read the report card and 10 was told by her child the several As on the report card represented As for letter grades ‘meaning excellent work. The parent was distraught when she later discovered they represented the amount of absences accumulated over the school term. The Coordinator also indicated that this situation is not uncommon and that learning English is listed by parents as their top priority in order to help their children (C. Urbina, personal communication, April 24, 2006) Cultural differences create another important obstacle for Latinos that needs to be addressed. The Latino cultural perception of the role of the school and the role of parent differs in several respects from American perceptions. ‘Teachers and administrators, in general, view parental involvement in the U.S. formally, such as participation in bake sales, volunteering in the classroom, and attending school meetings. In contrast, Latino culture views the role of the parent as more informal. Parents care for their children by ensuring they receive good nutrition, adequate rest, and are taught family values. This ties into cultural perceptions in which the role of the Latino parent is to nurture the child, while the role of the school is to educate the child. In addition, Latino culture has a different concept of respect for teachers. If a parent has a concem, they are not likely to contiont the teacher because this may imply disrespect or questioning of the teacher's role. Mistakenly, the teacher in the U.S. may view this lack of formal involvement as a disinterest in the child’s education (Tinkler, 2002). Another obstacle is that many Latino parents may have little education in their native language; some parents may even be illiterate in their native language. Second language literacy will be more difficult for these leamers. Language and literacy issues prevent many immigrant parents from helping with their children’s homework, which MW means a lack of support for the child. This is something that can be improved by providing family literacy programs or ESL classes, but an integrated skills class alone will not be able to focus solely on literacy skills (Weinstein, 1997). Ina study conducted at the Oregon Social Learning Center, factors that promote and hinder academic success for Latino middle and high school students were analyzed. Five hundred and fifty-four Latino and non-Latino parents and students in Oregon were surveyed. The data showed that Latino parents and students were more likely to face institutionalized barriers than non-Latinos. Latino student groups reported barriers in school activities such as not receiving information, not having time because of work, and not feeling welcome around or in the school environment. Parents also reported more unwelcoming experiences at their children’s schools than non-Latino parents. These institutional barriers were shown to be related to less academic success for Latino students. Parental academic encouragement was also shown to be related to better academic outcomes for these students (DeGarmo, Eddy, & Martinez, 2004). ‘An evaluation of a program of parental training for 73 Spanish-speaking Latino parents of middle and high school students in Oregon was conducted by the Social Learning Center. The goals of the program included parent training in monitoring the adolescent, homework engagement, skill encouragement, appropriate discipline, and ‘general parenting practices. ‘The parental training sessions were held over twelve weeks, with groups ranging from twelve to fifteen members. The intervention showed positive benefits for parenting and youth outcomes in increased homework completion and school attendance (Eddy & Martinez, 2005). The program was conducted completely in the participants’ native language, Spanish 12 Combining an ESL program with training for Latino parents is an effective way to address several barriers that hinder parental involvement. The intervention by the Social Learning Center demonstrated that providing parental training to immigrant parents could increase parental involvement. Ifa program addresses many of the obstacles to parental involvement, it could be quite successful in increasing such involvement in the schools. This project combines English language teaching and parental training, addresses cultural differences, and adds a component on family literacy. The course is not able to fully address each obstacle, but it provides the essential building blocks to empower immigrant parents to become more involved in their children’s education. Authentic Mates Is ‘There are many challenges to finding a text in ESP that will fit the needs of the learner, in part because no single textbook can meet all the needs of any learner. The optimum solution for this dilemma is having a range of materials (Jones, 1990). Resources can include authentic materials, ESP materials, and teacher-generated materials. A benefit to using authentic materials is that they provide the leamers with ‘materials that will prepare them for real life interactions. Authentic materials can have many positive effects for leamers, There is a variety of resources available, and there are many ways in which they can be implemented in a language classroom. One question that remains is how authentic materials can be used effectively with minimal adaptation, Authentic materials in language teaching and learning are materials that were originally designed for native speakers, not the second language learner. One example is a local newspaper created to provide enjoyment and daily news for the native speaker. 13 Headlines, articles, cartoon strips, help-wanted advertisements, apartment advertisements, and many other articles can be brought into the language classroom to teach a variety of language skills. These can include reading, writing, listening, or vocabulary activities. For example, activities designed around food advertisements can be used to teach vocabulary of colors, foods, and money. The weather forecast can also be brought into the classroom to create an authentic dialogue about the projected weather for each day of the week. This can include prepared dialogues or role-plays centered on fishing or camping trips, what clothes and items a parent or child will need for the day, or the best day to plan the school picnic. The students can work in pairs and reinforce vocabulary while predicting the best day of the week for the school picnic. The local newspaper provides a wealth of inexpensive authentic materials that can enhance learning and lead to performance based tasks in the classroom, Other authentic materials available include short stories, novels, poems, and films that can be used with a variety of proficiency levels in the language classroom. There are also many genres of literature that can be used for language teaching, Literature can be distinguished into two categories. Literature big L is defined as any written genres with recognized intellectual merit. This can include novels, short stories, poems, and dramas. Works of Shakespeare and classic novels like Moby Dick are defined as big L. Literature little I efers to anything written and can include comic strips and song lyrics. Using authentic materials in EFL or ESL teaching has a variety of positive effects for language leamers, Authentic materials have been shown to enhance and increase student motivation (Dornyei, 2002). ‘The materials can be used to supplement traditional courses designed around textbooks. They can also be helpful in implicitly and explicitly 14 teaching the target culture and reinforcing the necessity of the English language. A variety of authentic materials is easily accessible and available, including newspapers, novels, short stories, menus, maps, school Iunch menus, calendars and many others. They tend to increase motivation and be more interesting than materials that are written for teaching language points in textbooks. ‘They also expose language in natural usage, which includes errors, or what some might define as improper English. This is something that is not likely to be seen in a textbook created for language acquisition. Authentic materials can be modified to fit the proficiency level of the learner, but if they are adapted too much, they can move away from the authenticity of natural language. Modifying authentic materials can be questionable because learners may need to leam survival level English and deal with such materials at face value in real life situations, However, the many new definitions and vocabulary presented by authentic forms, for example, may make the task of filling them out overwhelming for the beginning leamer. One way to present this to the leamer is by shortening and breaking the text into manageable chunks of language, working on one section at a time, and including paraphrased definitions to make the material more comprehensible for the learner. In an ESP class for parents, a goal of the course may be for the parent to learn how to fill out school forms in English. For a beginning level class, authentic materials can be slightly modified or adapted for leamer comprehension. The teacher can spend a lesson teaching name, date, address, phone number, and other relevant vocabulary the eamer will need for the form. The school form can first be presented in sections so the eamer is able to perform the task, The forms can be simplified by reducing some of the text and including glosses so the leamers can acquire necessary vocabulary. After the learners are able to fill out the modified language form the next lesson plan or activity should follow up with the authentic language form that is used in the school environment. ‘This will allow the teacher to assess if the learner is able to perform the authentic task with minimal assistance, and ultimately ensure that the leamer is able to perform this task independently. ‘There are many approaches that can be used when using authentic materials in the classroom. Lazar (1993) describes three approaches to using literature in the classroom: literature as content, literature for personal enrichment, and the language based approach. Literature as content uses literature as the focus for the course. Literature for personal enrichment selects literature that is interesting and stimulating to the student. The language-based approach is often used in language teaching and has a variety of benefits. This approach is centered on materials that bring out stylistic forms, while language Jeaming is the focus. It encourages students to use prior knowledge of grammar and the language to make meaningful interpretations of the text. The materials are used to improve the leaning of the target language. This is an effective approach in language acquisition. It can be applied to poems, song lyrics, short stories, and other forms of literature. For example, the teacher could select song lyrics that are motivating to the students and contain third person singular endings. In order to focus on form, the teacher could have the students circle the third person singular endings as the song plays. Using music and song lyrics can also be a very effective way to teach cultural knowledge and build vocabulary for adult leamers (Lems, 2002). There are many ways of implementing this technique. 16 While there are many approaches to the ESP curriculum, the choice of approach for this project is motivated by the goal of increasing parental involvement. The rationale for this curriculum design stems from the concer that if immigrant parents are only offered ESL instruction without a specific context to teach cultural awareness, then their involvement in their child’s school will not increase. It is essential to educate immigrant parents, not only by teaching English language skills in the school context, but also by addressing other barriers to parental involvement. Teaching general English alone is not ‘enough to improve parental involvement. It is important to provide an opportunity for parents to learn language skills that will help them support their children’s education. Providing an opportunity for these parents to learn English will help remove the language barrier preventing many Latinos from fully engaging in their children’s education. It is evident that an ESL course for immigrant parents is a highly desirable component for improving English language skills for parents, thereby increasing the possibility of positive outcomes in their children’s school performance. The following course design is based on principles in ESP, the use of authentic materials, and the need to increase parental involvement for immigrant parents. 17 Chapter 3 S ANALYSIS Information Collection An intensive needs analysis was conducted to support the design of this ESP curriculum for Latino immigrant parents. The needs analysis included the target group, the audience, and the resource group. The target group is the Latino immigrant parents, The audience includes teachers, assistants, administrators, and others who will potentially be included in the needs analysis. The resource group includes those who serve as resources for information about the target group. The needs analyst conducts the analysis, in which these groups may overlap. Two categories for information collection were used, classified by Brown (1995) as facilitator drawn out information and existing information. The existing information was compiled from the review of literature of ESP, parental involvement, and authentic materials. Informal behavioral observations of apilot ESL class for parents at Kelly Middle School in Eugene were also conducted Seven interviews were conducted with school staff, administrators, and others that interact with and represent the target group (see Appendix A for a summary of the individual interviews and the questionnaire sheet used to colleet the information). ‘The interviews consisted of open-ended questions designed to target the language and situational needs of the leamers. Five interviews were conducted in person and two were conducted over the telephone, All participants granted verbal or written permission to ‘mention their names and/or the information gathered from the interviews. Some informal discourse analysis was also conducted in order to target the language used in specific contexts such as parent-teacher conferences and language used 18 on school attendance lines. The needs analyst called school attendance lines in the Eugene public school system and gathered the information requested by the attendance lines. ‘The most common information requested was for parents or guardians to leave a ‘message with detailed information regarding the reason for the absence, date, name of the child, and if the child would be gone all day or part of the day. ‘The needs analyst also participated in parent-teacher conferences and noted the language that was used during the interaction. The information from the informal discourse analysis and individual interviews was gathered and categorized by the language needs and situational needs of the leamers, which may overlap. Language Needs The language needs of the students include linguistic, sociolinguistic, survival skills, and sociocultural skills. The linguistic needs of the leamers include building grammar, phonology, and lexicon. The leamers’ needs for studying the language, the degree of language competence required, and individual goals and abilities are also important aspects of language needs. ‘The needs analyst called eight different school attendance lines in the 47 School District. Only one school, El Camino del Rio, offered their attendance line in both English and Spanish, ‘This school is an elementary school in north Eugene, located in a densely Latino neighborhood. Several principals in other Hispanic regions indicated that they were working on translating school forms and other materials into Spanish and that Spanish may be added to the attendance lines. One issue raised is that if attendance lines are offered in Spanish, it may be necessary to offer them in other languages as well. Korean-speakers are the second largest group of ELLs in the district. Ifthe attendance 19 line is offered in Spanish, then there may be an obligation to include other language backgrounds, An attempt to make attendance lines accessible to non-English speakers may thus lead to a lengthy menu (press one for English, two for Spanish, three for Korean, and so forth). Both native speakers of English and other language speakers may find it too time consuming and therefore choose not to communicate with the schools. In individual interviews conducted with the resource group, communicating with the school about a sick child was consistently defined as an important communication skill for parents, Because bilingual school employees are limited in many schools and offering attendance lines in many languages could strain school resources of time and finances, acquiring the English language skills necessary to leave a message with the secretary or on the school’s attendance line was included in the course curriculum. In order to learn this task, the parent must understand the steps and language involved. ‘Leaving a message on an answering machine eliminates unpredictable language that is

    You might also like