Fostering Community in
Diverse Adult ESL
Classrooms
Rachel Fabian
Hope Hardin
Maria Hodapp
Dr. Cheri Pierson
______________?
pineapple
What’s your favorite fruit?
pineapple
_____________?
5:40 am
What time did you get up today?
5:40 am
_______________?
Winchester, Kentucky
Where were you born?
Winchester, Kentucky
__________________?
Spanish,
English,
and Portuguese
What languages do you speak?
Spanish,
English,
and Portuguese
Fostering Community in
Diverse Adult ESL
Classrooms
Rachel Fabian
Hope Hardin
Maria Hodapp
Dr. Cheri Pierson
Today’s Topics
1. Who are our students?
2. Why is community important?
3. What activities can we use to foster
community?
4. What works in your class?
What do we know about
students before the class
begins?
Brainstorm together
Things we might know...
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native language
age
immigration status
time spent in the U.S.
scores on entrance
assessments
home country
marital status
children
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new or continuing
student
home address
email use
level of education
attained in home
country
work and hours of work
per week
demographic information
(what we see on the
registration card)
What do we NOT know
about students?
Brainstorm together
What cultural
knowledge will be
helpful in building this
community?
Background Cultural Knowledge (CQ)
Some Continuums to Consider...
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high/low context
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generational differences
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collectivist/individualist
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polychronic/monochronic
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power distance
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universalist/particularist
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justice/honor
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gender roles
Offering an Opinion
High Context
Low Context
*slide courtesy of Dr. Moreau, INTR
Handling Problems
High Context
Low Context
*slide courtesy of Dr. Moreau, INTR 561
Self Concept
Self
Intimate Social and
Cultural Environment
Collectivistic
Self
Self
Self
Individualistic
*slide courtesy of Dr. Moreau, INTR 561
Classroom
*slide courtesy of Dr. Moreau, INTR 561
The Teacher: Power Distance
*slide courtesy of Dr. Moreau, INTR 561
What is a
community?
What is a Community of Learning?
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One which is ‘together’; in which there is a strong ‘we’
feeling; and which students are happy to belong
to...members’ commitment to the group and each
other. (Dornyei, 2001, p. 43)
Cohesive learning community - one in which they feel
comfortable interacting among themselves and with
their teacher - takes time to achieve. (Senior, 2006)
A group of people with shared goals, needs, and
concerns. (Farrell and Richards, 2011, p.126)
Why is fostering
community
important?
Why is fostering community important?
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Leads to increased proficiency
Beneficial for teachers
Motivation
 Initiated
 Sustained
 Transferred
Aspects of Motivation
INITIATED
SUSTAINED
TRANSFERRED
Factors Influencing Classroom Community
Classroom
Community
(adapted from Farrell and Richards, 2011)
Challenges in fostering communities Standards
Standards should guide curricula; they should not dictate
everything that happens in the classroom. The teacher’s job is to
guide learners to articulate their goals, and then look for
overlaps among those goals and program or state outcome and
standards by which learners will be assessed.
(adapted from Parrish, 2004, p.293)
Challenges in fostering communities Multilevel Classes
Students in multilevel classes need to feel that their needs are
being addressed, and individual learning plans are essential.
However, one way to bridge the gap between learners’ diverse
needs is to identify and negotiate shared goals, which results in
more realistic expectations for the whole group.
(adapted from Parrish, 2004, p. 192)
Challenges in fostering communities Student Persistence
Where did all my students go? I’ve often asked myself that,
wondering why a class that had 18 or 20 students at its highest
point has dwindled, by late in the term, to 12 people coming
regularly . . . or 8 . . . or 6. Is it me, I wonder? The class? The
school? Short answer: none of the above. I did a little research
and quickly found that student persistence... is an issue for adult
education programs everywhere...Help students set goals and
develop self-efficacy.
(adapted from an article, “Student Persistence in Adult ESL: The Continuing Challenge”)
How do we address
these challenges?
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Show students at the beginning
of the course the awards they
could achieve at the end. (Perfect
Attendance, Completion of Level
2, etc.)
Sign-in sheet for attendance,
make calls when students are
absent
● Incorporate Student Goals:
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Find out student goals through
surveys, questionnaires, interview
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Show students the correlation
between their goals and curriculum
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Have students share their goals with
each other
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Collective celebration when goals are
met or progress achieved toward
them
Pictorial Student Goal Assessments
http://nevadaadulteducation.org/userfiles/files/ESOLStarterKit.pdf
http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/iii_a_assessinglearnerneeds.pdf
Student
Goal
Checklists
http://nevadaadulteducation.org/userfiles/files/ESOLStarterKit.pdf
Student
Goal
Checklists
http://nevadaadulteducation.org/userfiles/files/ESOLStarterKit.pdf
Classroom Techniques to Foster Community
Teacher Habits
Community-Building Activities within
Required Curriculum
General Mixers and Conversation Starters
Teacher Habits - Names
● Learn them quickly and correctly
● Sign-in daily
● Nametag activities: group greetings, spelling,
groupings, calling on students, new seats, absences.
Teacher Habits - Names
Teacher Habits - Affirm Past
Ask students to teach you how to greet in their language
Learn about their work life before the USA
Google Map of student home countries
Teacher Habits - Affirm Goals
Teacher Habits - Affirming
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Phone each student before the first day
After a few classes, ask what activities they
enjoy
Bonus English chart
Require lots of student-provided examples
(correct graciously)
Teacher Habits - Affirming
Use students to generate examples.
It’s snowing and the roads are terrible!
Imperative:
(-) Don’t …
(+)
Please…
Suggestion:
(+) Why don’t you…?
Teacher Habits - Treats
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Surprise with coffee
Peppermints to share in the evening class
Holiday treat (candy hearts for imperatives)
Student birthdays
Dollar Store prizes (school supplies)
Music
Teacher Habits - YOU
Use your life as class material.
Teacher Habits - YOU
● Humor and anecdotes
● Participate in the mixers and surveys.
● Be the first brave volunteer for charades or pictionary.
Curriculum-Friendly Ideas
● Writing about personal experiences
focused on verb tense, sequence words, frequency words
● Writing about goals and future careers.
“want to,” “need to,” “I will,” sequencing words
● Share writing with each other and summarize partner’s work.
● Interview and write a paragraph about another student. Create a class
newspaper.
● Make or bring food, describe process
imperatives, ordinal numbers, sequencing
● Share writing at a culture night.
Michigan
by Maria Hodapp
Michigan is a very beautiful state.
There are many lakes; some are big
and others are small. The lake in the
photo is Lake Michigan. It is very big. In
the summer I like to visit Lake Michigan
and see the bright blue water. The
sand is warm and the water is
refreshing. I also like to visit Lake
Michigan in the winter. It is very cold,
but it is still beautiful.
Curriculum-Friendly Ideas
Polanczyk, Poland
By Irena
My country is Poland. My favorite
city is Polanczyk. I spent every
holiday there. I loved being
there. There are beautiful green
forests, nice neighborhoods,
beautiful scenery and big lakes. On
the lake is a little island. In summer
it is beautiful and in winter it is nice,
too. I would like to go there this
year.
Curriculum-Friendly Ideas: Light-Hearted
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Sticky Spelling (Vocabulary)
Charades (Present Continuous)
Ending Slap (singular to plural nouns, ‘ or ‘s possessive endings)
Pictionary (Students each contribute 1 or 2 secret words)
Flyswatter (photos to vocab, present to past, finish the sentence)
Scattergories-Style Brainstorm - Class split into 4 teams, and have 1
minute to write down as many vocab words on that topic. Teams read
off answers, only get a point for each answer not written by another
group. Health unit example:
○ Round 1: body parts
○ Round 2: health problems
○ Round 3: products (aspirin, crutches, etc.)
dishes
Open Mixers - Getting to Know You...
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“Speed Dating”
Student-Developed Survey
Memory Circles
Roll the Dice or
Beach Ball Toss
What’s in your bag?
Toilet Paper Activity
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Be My Guest!
Native country travel advice
Advice for living in the U.S.
Advice for being in your
class: write a letter to the
next group.
Open Mixers - Camaraderie
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Facebook Page
Mini Field Trip to Library
(or transit, restaurant, grocery store…)
Meet in cafeteria or student
lounge occasionally
Class “Craigslist”
(auto repair, salon...)
Micro-Mentoring: Take note
students of who have big
events coming up. Ask who
else has gone through the
experience already. Share
ideas.
(Parking ticket, citizenship exam,
court date, driver’s license test,
talking to landlord…)
Open Mixers - Camaraderie
It’s worth the
class time that
you “lose.”
Headlines
My Three Words
Goals Collage
Open Mixers - Groupings
● Student-made: Teach them how to form groups
(“Hi, do you have a partner?” “Can I work with you?” “Let’s talk.”)
● Group with photos
● Pick nametags at random.
● Deck of cards: Students find someone from the same suit, number, odd/even,
black/red, etc.
● You’re wonderful, You’re marvelous…
● Like-Ability or Mixed Ability
● App: Team Shake
● Synonym Rolls and Antonym Partners
● Paint Chips
What works for you?
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Names
Activities Tied to Curriculum
Goal-Setting and Celebrating
Accountability
Class Atmosphere
Q&A
For additional handout with links
and descriptions, ask us!
[email protected]