Secrets for Adults ELLs, Part 2

I recently posted about secrets for adult ELLs, and the difficulty some students can have with immersing themselves in English when they have young families or spouses who don't speak English. I won't go into detail in this post; you can read the original post here. My original post was a reaction post to Alexandra Lowe's TESOL blog post, which discussed "secrets" adult language learners provided for other language learners. 

Image via TESOL.org

Alexandra recently posted a follow-up which provided some clarification about her original post about how students can increase their English exposure and use, even if they can't "run away" from their native languages. She wrote, "the advice was certainly not intended to discourage students from  speaking their L1 at home with their family. Rather, it is designed to encourage adult ESL students in the United States to resolve to speak English whenever they have an opportunity to interact with the English-speaking world around them." Because this is really what we ask our students to do, isn't it? We encourage them to speak English whenever they can because they already have enough exposure to their L1 (native language). They speak it with their spouse, parents, children and/or friends. Teachers should be encouraging them to use English in every other situation when they aren't communicating with loved ones. 

Alexandra elaborated on different ways adult learners can improve their language skills. These include: speaking to English customer-service representatives (rather than those who are Spanish-speaking); declining translators at their children's school meetings; inviting English speaking children (and their parents) over for play dates, which result in English practice for both children and parents; establishing ESL meet-ups for informal conversation practice with people who speak languages other than their L1. You can see her whole post and read all of the suggestions here. 

Image via http://union.unimelb.edu.au/clubs/let-s-talk-conversation-group

The last suggestion (group conversation meet-ups) reminds me of CMU's Conversation Partner Program. We set up students with native English speakers, but I like the idea of groups of students getting together to chat. I think it would be even more effective if the students set up the groups so that learners who have children can discuss with other parents. They could even bring their children if they cannot find babysitters. This option may be more effective and practical for students with families and spouses, especially if their spouses also want to practice speaking English. 

There are, of course, other ways for students to increase their exposure to English. They can join student clubs and volunteer. I think the lesson to take away is that it's essential for students to try to use the target language as much as possible, and it is essential for teachers to help students figure out ways to increase their English language use. Other suggestions for how students can increase their exposure to the target language?

Secrets for Adult ELLs

Learning a new language is hard, especially for adults. This brief post, Unearthing the Secrets of Adult ELLS, from the TESOL blog provides some suggestions for adult ELLs (English Language Learners). They were generated by students and seem similar to what most (all?) English language teachers preach.

Suggestions:

1. Run away from people who speak your language. Be in contact with as many English speakers as possible. Ask them to correct you.
2. Expose yourself to America and to American culture. Avoid stores and other locations in the United States where they speak your language. Watch movies and TV without subtitles or English closed captions.
3. Just try to speak—if necessary, use gestures.
4. Try to think in English.
5. Keep a pencil and a notebook with you to write down new words and expressions.

One of the big questions we have to deal with on a daily basis is challenged with suggestion number one. How do we encourage students to speak English most of the time without disregarding their culture, heritage, friends and family? Some adults have spouses and children, so they really can't "run away" from people who speak their language. They live with and love those people. Learners who have children want to pass along their language and culture to their children, especially when they're so far from home; and many spouses don't speak English. How can they reconcile their family/emotional needs versus their language needs?

The first part of #1 isn't always possible for all students, but they can "be in contact with as many English speakers as possible." This probably means something different for everybody, but it's essential for success nonetheless. The CMU ELI has a conversation partner program, and we recommend partners meet for at least one hour per week for English conversation. While this definitely isn't enough, it is a start and may be the best option for adult students with families.

Do you have any other advice or suggestions for adult ELLs? Did you learn a language as an adult? How did you do it?

Game Night

                                                      As some of you may know, I am the CMU ELI's Conversation 

Partner Program coordinator. For the past two months, we have joined with the ESL Association on campus and held two game nights. During these evenings, students have come to practice speaking English while playing games. Some bring their (American) conversation partner, some just come with their ELI friends. We eat pizza, play games, chat, and have a good time. 



Usually I bring games with the president of the ESL Association, but during the most recent evening, one student brought a game... he even told me that afternoon that he was going to buy the game so that he could share it with the other students! Have you ever played Sequence? It's very fun and not language-based, which is good for lower-level students. Of course. I don't really have many games that aren't language-based... do other English teachers have this same "problem"?

Some of the other games we've played are Scrabble, Scattergories, Pictionary (large group), Uno, Bingo, Euchre, and Apples to Apples. 

These game nights have been a pretty big hit with the international students at the ELI. Last semester I tried holding these events; however, they weren't well attended. But this semester, a lot more students have been attending. I think providing pizza is a pretty big incentive! We plan to continue these meetings, maybe even going bowling next time!



If anybody  has ever held an event like this before, I would love to hear your suggestions. If you're looking to hold an after-school event, I suggest good advertising and free food for maximum attendance.