promising practices for high school students with limited...
TRANSCRIPT
Promising Practices for High School
Students with Limited or Interrupted
Formal Education
(SLIFE)
Andrea DeCapua, The College of New Rochelle
William Smathers, New York University
Frank Tang, New York University
Major Issues
Pre-literate or low literacy
Limited or no grade-appropriate content knowledge
No or low English language proficiency
Additional Dimensions
High-context learners
with
Pre-scientific spectacles
(DeCapua & Marshall, forthcoming)
Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP)
(Marshall 1998; DeCapua & Marshall forthcoming)
High-Context Low-Context
ACCEPT HC
CONDITIONS
COMBINE
HC & LC
PROCESSES
FOCUS on LC
ACTIVITIES
w/familiar
language
& content
Immediate Relevance
FamilialRelationship
FutureRelevance
Independence
Group Responsibility
Oral
Transmission
and
IndividualAccountability
Written Word
Experience& Practice
ScientificSpectacles
FRAMING THE DISCOURSE
WHAT WORKSAND…
WHY
Small group instruction
Experiential learning
Differentiated learning
Thematic/content instruction
Incorporating “Funds of
Knowledge” (Moll, et al., 1992)
Scaffolding
Strategy development
Emphasis on academic English
HUMANISTIC APPROACH
“Whole Person” as a physical, cognitive, and emotional being and the development of
an individual’s self-concept
his/ her personal sense of reality
“fully functioning person” at peace with all of his/her feelings and reactions and able to be what s/he potentially is
Success or failure in language teaching depends not so much on whether one adopts inductive or deductivetechniques for teaching grammar, norwhether one engages in meaningful practice rather than pattern drills, but in the extent to which one caters to the learner’s affective domain.
Earl Stevick, 1982
Perhaps the most important article of faith is that the learner’s emotional attitude towards the teacher, towards fellow learners, and towards the targetlanguage and culture, is the single mostimportant variable in language learning. It
iscrucial, not only to take account of this
factor,but to give it a central place in the selection
ofcontent, materials and learning activities.
David Nunan, 1991
Maslow’s Hierachy of Human Needs
THE PYRAMID
THE HUMAN “HOUSE”
mind body
emotions spirit
THE HUMAN “HOUSE”
mind body
emotions spirit
What’s in the human “house” of SLIFE?
Affective Challenges
Adjustment to new living environment (home, community)
SES Factors
Cultural adjustment, including
Culture shock
Minority vs. majority cultures
Prejudice, discrimination
Low-context learning environment
Socio-cultural Challenges
Adjusting to a new educational system and learning environment
Adapting to the new school culture
Linguistic diversity
Minority vs. majority cultures
School/class environment
Developing scientific spectacles
Cognitive Challenges
L2 proficiency, especially academic language proficiency
High stake testing
School community that fails to address the needs and learning styles of SLIFE
Cognitively demanding, decontextualized learning tasks and environments
Some considerations about SLIFE
How are SLIFE being received?
Are their affective needs being attended to?
How are SLIFE integrated?
Are SLIFE exposed to mainstream curriculum and made aware of what is expected of them academically?
Are multiple pathways available?
Challenges to TeachersDedicated, caring, and involved
teachers
Active and informed administrative support
A warm, caring, but challenging learning environment
Variety of activities that promote academic language and content learning
Think: Humanistic Approach and MALP.
Daniel Goleman and George Lucason new demands to teachers
know your studentssocial emotional learning
educating hearts and minds
