Dear Sarah,

I teach a low level adult ESOL class. How can I deal with all the different levels of literacy in my class?

Liz from Pennsylvania

Dear Liz,

I could write a tome on all the ways to scaffold and support students with weak reading skills! For this column, I'll just address the thorny issue of reading a text in class. After I read the text aloud to the class, I have the students read the text again, first silently and then in pairs. I pair students by their strengths. For the reading activity I'll pair a strong speaker with strong reader. The student with strong reading skills can read the text aloud as the partner follows along. The student with the strong oral skills can help the reader with pronunciation and intonation. In this way each student teaches and learns from the other.

Sarah

Dear Sarah,

I am a new teacher with a recent certificate in TESOL. I understand the value of collaborative learning, but in my class it takes so much time to get students into groups and on task. Do you have any tips? Thanks.

Wendy from Louisville, KY


Dear Wendy,

Collaborative learning is very valuable in the adult education classroom, but it can take a lot of precious classroom time and be difficult to manage. Here are my tips: Once you say "Get into groups," students begin to wonder:
--Where do I go?
--Who am I working with?
--Do I move over there or does my partner move over here?
--Do I need to bring my book?
--Do I bring my bag or leave it here?

I try to eliminate the guessing by assigning students to their groups and telling them where each group meets and what each student needs to bring. This speeds up the transition.

Also, I break the instructions down into steps. Once everyone is in a group, I assign the task. This minimizes the initial socializing as groups settle in and it puts the groupwork task front and center.

Finally, I always give a time limit (and I stick to it). Not all students are finished when I call "time," but unless I meet a lot of resistance I keep the pace moving forward. I usually ask students to debrief after a collaborative activity, so while students report back to the class, everyone has a little more time to process the activity.

Many new teachers are uncomfortable with telling adult learners what to do, but I believe that my role as an adult education teacher is to work out the logistical issues so they can focus on their learning.

My best,
Sarah

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