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This book provides educators and education policy makers a picture of where the field of teaching adult English language learners is today in order to build a more effective delivery system for the future. It places adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) in the broader context of the U.S. education system (K-12 and adult education), then describes trends and issues in the areas of program design and instructional practice, assessment, teacher training and professional development, integration of research and practice, and technology. The book concludes that population trends and projections for the next 10 years suggest that the number of adult English language learners in the United States will continue to grow. The effective provision of services to these adults is a primary challenge to expanding and improving the U.S. adult education system. Adequate resources, as well as creative and alternative strategies, partnerships, and collaborative efforts, are needed to address the areas of assessment, teacher training and professional development, integration of research and practice, and technology. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education.) (Contains 58 references.) (SM)

This booklet is a basic introduction to the people, history, and cultures of the Somali Bantu. It is designed primarily for service providers and others assisting Somali Bantu refugees in their new communities in the United States. It focuses on: "Introduction"; "Land"; "People" (place in society and social structures); "History" (colonial period, slavery, social impact of slavery, after slavery, 20th century, civil war, in refugee camps, and post-civil war); "Religious Life"; "Daily Life and Values" (family life, marriage and children, community life, festivities and ceremonies, diet, dress, and art, literature and music); "Language and Literacy" (Af Maay dialect and literacy); "Education"; "Resettlement Challenges" (housing, work and finances, health care, mental health, education, learning English, style of communication, special needs of women, and relations between Bantu and other Somalis); and "Af Maay Glossary." (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education.) (Contains 23 references.) (SM)

In 2002, the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) collaborated with the Senior Service Association (SSA) and the American Society on Aging (ASA) on a two-phase project to improve the effectiveness of ASA's sub-grantees in serving linguistically and culturally diverse populations. SSA provides subsidized employment for low-income seniors and funds to sub-grantees to provide English instruction to English-as-a- Second-Language (ESL) seniors. One such program was at the Minneapolis, Minnesota, East Side Community Center, which worked with refugee seniors from Somalia. This report discusses the project's needs assessment and technical assistance phases. The needs assessment involved staff interviews, focus group interviews with Somali senior aides, ESL class observations, and presentations on adult ESL instruction. Technical assistance involved reviewing needs assessment findings and offering presentations at the Community Center for SSA sub-grantees serving senior aides who needed to improve their English. Recommendations are included for steps CAL could take to meet the needs of SSA sub-grantees working with linguistically diverse seniors. Eight appendixes, comprising the bulk of the report, include interview forms and responses, teacher question and observation forms, myths and realities about adult ESL learning, information on best practices in adult ESL teaching, and related conference presentations and teaching materials. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education.) (SM)

This study validated the Student Oral Proficiency Assessment (SOPA), an oral proficiency instrument designed for students in elementary foreign language programs. Elementary students who were tested with the SOPA were also administered other instruments designed to measure proficiency. These instruments included the Stanford Foreign Language Oral Skills Evaluation Matrix (FLOSEM) and the CAL Student Self-Assessment (SSA). Testing sites involved students in either a FLES program, a content-enriched FLES program, a foreign language experience, a two-way partial immersion program, or a total immersion program. Students and teachers at each site completed background questionnaires to gather program information and ethnographic data. Results indicated that the SOPA measured proficiency as intended. The correlation between SOPA levels and FLOSEM ratings were strong, while correlations between SOPA levels and the SSA were relatively low (possibly due to differences in mode of assessment and rating procedures). Overall, the content-enriched FLES program and the partial immersion programs, which had the most variation among students, provided the strongest empirical correlations between the SOPA and the other instruments. (Contains 39 tables and 20 references.) (SM)

This booklet provides a basic introduction to the people, history, and cultures of Afghanistan. It is designed primarily for service providers and others assisting the Afghan refugees in their new communities in the United States. The 12 sections focus on: (1) "Preface"; (2) "Introduction" (recent Afghan refugees); (3) "The Land"; (4) "The Economy"; (5) "The People" (Pushtuns, Tajiks, Altaic groups, and other ethnic groups); (6) "History" (antiquity, early conquests, introduction of Islam, empires, beginnings of Afghanistan, western powers, formation of Afghanistan, modernization of Afghanistan, Soviet occupation, and current crisis); (7) "Religion" (the Sunni and the Shi's, the Taliban version of Islam, and Islam's impact on daily life); (8) "Daily Live and Values" (social structures, family life, key cultural and social values, festivities, food and drink, dress, and music and literature); (9) "Language and Literacy" (language roots, language use, features of Dari and Pashto, and names); (10) "Education"; (11) "Cross-Cultural and Adjustment Challenge" (physical health, mental health, educational concerns, learning English, women's issues, and capacity and community building); and (12) "Bibliography for Further Reading." (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education.) (SM)

This booklet provides a basic introduction to the history, cultures, and resettlement experiences of the Montagnard people of Vietnam. It is designed primary for service providers and others assisting Montagnard refugees in their new communities in the United States. Information has been drawn from many sources, especially from insights provided by Montagnards who have resettled in North Carolina. Information is provided on the Montagnard people and where they came from, their daily life and values, their language and literacy, education, and cross-cultural challenges (e.g., driving, alcohol, housing, learning English, youth, work and finances). (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (Author/VWL)

This report provides information designed to encourage those working in international education to directly confront "language problems" by considering the effectiveness and feasibility of initial education in the mother tongue or local language. It serves as a bridge between applied linguistics and developmental education, exploring educational limitations arising from language barriers and innovative ways in which these limitations have been addressed. It describes successful and innovative programs that multilingual countries have implemented to expand educational opportunity, especially for underserved groups, clarifying replication of these programs in other countries and emphasizing the need for leadership on language issues. Chapter 1 reviews the international context for language in education and the importance of initial education in the mother tongue. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss promising and innovative approaches in 13 countries, describing necessary foundation work and external support. Chapter 4 outlines opportunities for assistance, emphasizing the importance of global leadership on language issues. Chapter 5 offers observations on the relationships between language and school access, equity, and quality and the importance of making innovative education programs the norm in multilingual countries. Appendixes contain summaries of the 13 innovative programs and an annotated list of key organizations. (Contains 111 references.) (SM)

A 1996-97 survey of 1,534 elementary and 1,650 secondary schools across the United States, both public and private, investigated current patterns in foreign language enrollment, languages and programs offered, curriculum design and content, teaching methods, teacher qualifications and training, and response to national reform issues. The study was designed to replicate a 1986-87 survey to reveal trends over a decade. A national portrait of foreign language education at the elementary and secondary levels is presented here, with highlights in each of the areas of inquiry. Common problems identified include funding shortages, inadequate inservice training, inadequate articulation, and shortage of teachers (elementary and secondary levels) and lack of quality materials and poor academic counseling (secondary level). An overall ten percent increase in elementary school language enrollments over the ten-year period was found, and level secondary enrollments. A number of positive trends were identified. Contains 9 references. (MSE)

The project described here evaluated the extent to which the Alexandria (Virginia) Head Start program addresses the needs of preschool English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and provided teachers with training to enhance their students' language development. While over 40 percent of the children spoke a language other than English as their first language, none of the teachers had any formal training in ESL methodology or second language development. The training involved classroom observation, informal classroom participation of the trainer, consultation with individual staff, demonstration teaching, and classroom videotaping. Site-based training took place during the children's nap periods, and full staff inservice programs were provided. Observation and training focused on four areas: orientation to the sites and classrooms; ESL methodology, instructional practices, and second language development; additional effective classroom strategies, with extension to the home-school connection and working with families; and appreciating cultural diversity, building cross-cultural communication, and including multicultural materials in the classroom. Project activities and their results are summarized, and recommendations are made for further action. Contains 5 references. (MSE)

Besides the difficult personal transitions involved in growth from childhood to adulthood, immigrant adolescents face difficult transitions to school as well, as they move from their native cultures to the U.S. culture, through the structures and gateposts of secondary school, and into higher education and work. This book discusses four specific principles that can be applied by secondary school staff to facilitate these reconceptualizations and promote students' transitions are proposed: (1) cultivating organizational relationships with and among health and social service agencies, community-based organizations, and higher education institutions; (2) providing access to information, about U.S. schools and culture, available resources and support services, workplaces and career preparation, and higher education; (3) cultivating human relationships, between immigrant students and adults, between students, among school staff, and between educators and families; and (4) providing multiple and flexible pathways into U.S. schooling and culture, into the mainstream, and beyond secondary school. With discussion of each of the principles, a list of questions is offered for school staff to ask in establishing practices based on the principle. (Contains 106 references and a list of related or useful organizations and programs.) (MSE)

This book discusses the challenges to developing a teaching force that is competent to work with immigrant students, arguing that professional development should be re-thought and teacher educators should move far beyond traditional inservice and teacher training. A framework is developed for considering what teachers of immigrant youth need to understand about their students, what kinds of professional development experiences are likely to facilitate those understandings, and what kinds of teacher education programs and school settings are able to support their ongoing learning. It is argued that professional development should occur during preservice education, during induction, when teachers are adjusting to being part of the school staff, and throughout teachers' careers. Promising new structures and practices for professional development are described, focusing on those that promote community, collegiality, and collaboration. Innovative approaches to preservice and inservice professional development in California, Maryland, Minnesota, and New York are profiled. (Contains 55 references.) (MSE)

For elderly refugees, coming from a variety of cultural situations and with varied educational backgrounds, transplantation to a new culture is an especially difficult process. There is no research evidence to suggest that older adults can not succeed in learning another language, although more deliberate efforts must be made to achieve this. In some ways, adults may have superior language learning capacities. Physical health is an important factor, and hearing and visual acuity are crucial to comprehension. Changes in climate and diet can affect the elderly adversely, particularly in the early stages of acculturation. Social identity, cultural expectations about the educational experience, and attitude and learning motivation are also key factors in language learning success. Teachers can encourage the older language learner by eliminating affective barriers, incorporating adult learning strategies into instruction, making the learning situation and materials relevant to student needs and wishes, and tapping into the goals of the refugee community. Language learning programs specifically for the elderly have been sparse, but a number have been successful. Additional broad strategies include increased dialogue between aging and refugee service organizations and addressing the issue of depression in elderly refugees. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)

From May through December 1995, a survey was conducted in the Bosnian language to gather information from resettled refugees about their perspectives on resettlement and their views on prearrival cultural orientation. Thirty-eight voluntary agencies distributed questionnaires, and nearly 200 Bosnians from 18 communities replied. Most respondents were male (63%), married (60%), and had either a secondary education (45%) or a university education (35%). More than half came to the United States as referrals from the United Nations High Command for Refugees, but few had attended prearrival cultural orientation. Those who had offered suggestions to make the introduction to the United States more realistic. The war in Bosnia had interrupted the education of 30 respondents, and more than two-thirds indicated that they were at a beginning level in English on arrival. Many commented on difficulties in having their diplomas recognized in the United States, and others commented on the high cost of higher education in the United States. Almost without exception respondents were positive about their children's adjustment to school. Nearly all commented on major differences between Bosnian and U.S. school systems, many noting that school in the United States is simpler, less comprehensive, and not as demanding as in Bosnia. About two-thirds were employed, and many noted work-related problems. More than half found their adjustment to the United States easy, but about 40% found it difficult. An appendix contains an English translation of the survey. (Contains one table.) (SLD)

The report details a study of ways in which classroom teachers can promote language minority students' academic linguistic competence in English, develop and implement social studies lessons that are sensitive to the cultural and educational backgrounds of language minority students, and help these students adapt to the school-based culture. The study includes examination of middle school social studies (U.S. history and world history) classrooms at several sites around the United States to identify which academic language and culture demands of this content area pose difficulties for these students and which strategies promote student success. Three focal areas are: academic discourse in social studies classes; common social studies activities; and the resources concerning different cultures that students bring to the classroom. Results in each of these areas are summarized. Appended materials include a list of the specific research questions, textbook analysis protocols, and a list of project publications. Contains 101 references. (MSE)