Critical literacy with ESL students:

Language learning through affirmation of linguistic & cultural identities

Sunny Man Chu LAUPhD candidate, Second Language EducationDepartment of Curriculum, Teaching & Learning/ OISE

Mei Lan MATeacher, Toronto District School BoardMaster’s student, OISE

Rationale

• Workshops/ conference presentations on CL with ESL vague suggestions e.g. “Have it toned down”But what may a CL program for beginning ELLs look like?

• CL research with speakers of English

CL research with ELLs CL research with beginning ELLS

Purpose of this presentation

– Shows how a space for CL was negotiated in ESL curriculum • how basic language skills & critical literacy

skills are step by step infused with each other

– Invite comments & discussion on how CL program could be improved for ESL classrooms

Why critical literacy?

1. ESL functionalist/ assimilationist approach• Language learning autonomous, asocial and

decontextualized cognitive process (Pennycook, 2001)

• minority Ss social & cultural vacuum

2. Build up ESL Ss academic literacy (BICS & CALP)– Language proficiency:

a. surface conversational fluencyb. discrete language skillsc. academic language & critical literacy (Cummins, 2001)

3. Need to prepare Ss for global community critical users of information and knowledge, acceptance of

diverse cultures, etc.

BICS & CALP

What is Critical Literacy?• critical pedagogy Freire, Giroux, McLaren &

Shor (Burbules & Beck, 1999)

• Literacy : – a psychological or developmental

phenomenon ?!– a social and cultural practice!

• Traditional view of literacy “cloaks literacy’s connections to power, to social identity, and to ideologies often in the service of privileging certain types of literacies and certain people” (Gee, 1996, p. 46)

Different Orientations of CL

Lankshear’s (1997) three takes on critical literacy object(s) of critique

• A critical perspective on literacies• A critical perspective on texts & ideologies• A critical perspective on wider social

practices—

• concern how the ideas, cultures, languages and voices of students from the minority ethnic and lower-class backgrounds are marginalized by the dominant mainstream curricula and teaching practices.

• built on the notion of voice: “... the opening up of a space for the marginalized to speak, write, or read... so that the voicing of their lives may transform both their lives and the social system that excludes them.” (Pennycook, 2001, p. 101).

Context: School and Student population• Middle school in Scarborough, Grades 7 & 8 • approximately 480 students total • 78% of students have primary language other than

English• Students living in Canada for 5 years or less 18%

ESL students/ research participants• 12 participants, all of Chinese descent, from

mainland China, HK, & Vietnam• Stage 1 and 2 learners, majority have basic English• length of stay in Canada less than 1 month to 3

years

The ESL Program• ESL open withdrawal model • Ss are withdrawn for 1-2 language

periods per day• Stage 1 & 2 learners together• integrated for other subject areas,

e.g. Math, Science, French, etc.• delivery of services occurs outside of

the school building in a portable

Overview of curriculum plan 

• Topics that address immigrant Ss’ lived experiences– Social & familial upheavals, identity

crisis– linguistic & cultural, adjustment, etc.

• Distinct language focus tied in with progressive introduction of CL skills

• Aligned with curriculum requirements

1. Integrative critical literacy instructional model (built on Ada and Campoy’ s creative reading approach (1991, 2004)

Textual Dimension

Personal Dimension

Critical Dimension

Creative/ Transformative

Dimension

Guiding Framework-Critical Literacy: An integrative approach

2. Luke & Freebody’s (1999) concept of a. Code breakers b. Meaning makersc. Text users d. Text critics

Bridging Program

• What was involved• -introducing oneself/meeting people• -basic classroom English• -classroom vocabulary• -days, weeks, months, seasons• -establishing and developing rules

together• -set up of class library and blog

Rationale

• to provide ELLs with the language to function in the ESL classroom as well as other classes

• to develop a community of learners, where ELLs feel confident enough to take risks in their learning (Stage 1 vs. Stage 2 ELLs)

• -to set up firm expectations within the ESL class

Diamantes

SpringRainy, warm

Picnicking in the woods,going on the trip ,fishing

trees, singing birds, clear sky Kite-flying, moon admiring

playing with lanterns.Autumn

(by Chicken)

SummerSunny, hot

Swimming, camping, shoppingSunshine, beach, hotpotSkiing, skating, sledding

Cold, snowywinter

(by Sam)

1. Module on Me and My family3 units:

a. The Story of My Nameb. My Familyc. Who am I?

• Negotiating new identities• What to retain, what to forgo?

Immigrant /Refugee Experience

• Family separation & shifting between homes

• Economic pressure• Balancing new employment, culture, , etc.• Language barrier• Lack of housing/ health care• Social isolation• racism

Factors affecting acculturation process

• Traumatic experiences of war, imprisonment, persecution, etc.

• Voluntary vs. involuntary immigration• Cultural backgrounds/ traditions• Experience with western education• Level of literacy in L1 • Grade level entered

Complex needs of ESL students

Ngo (2004; 2005)

Ngo (2004; 2005)

“Immigrant teenagers have to cope with three traumas simultaneously:– The crisis of adolescence– The culture shock– The problem of identity and status

(Epstein & Kheimets, 2000)

Research participants

• Half of the class experienced multiple transitions, splitting families:

• 1 came to live with sister/ brother-in-law• 1 lived with grandparents for 5 years before

getting back with parents in Canada• 4 lived with just 1 parent (either divorced/

staying in place of origin for work)

• Disman (1983) immigrant experience ≈ bereavement

Unit 1: The Story of My Name

• The Name Jar: – Explore cultural values attached to names– discuss problems concerning names

encountered by story characters and Ss themselves as immigrants

– Language focus: pronouns, vocab, reading skills e.g. predictions, making connections, etc.

• Amidst class discussions, Ss disclosed incidents of bully in their own classroom

Unit 1: The Story of My Name

1. My name is X. L.. My character is more gentle, my name mean glitter filled with sunshine . My parents chose the name for me . l have no sister.I have not any nickname. l like my name , because my name is very beautiful like the meteor.

2. My name is H.K.L.. I have 3 characters in my name. The first character in my name is my family name, second or third is first names. ... H means health ,K means outstanding. And my mam call me H.K. it is quite an affectionate term.

I have nicknames. My friend call my “chicken”. I quite like my nickname because it is short and easy to write it. I like my name to because my name is my mam and dad to it give me.

3. My name is T. L. I have 2 characters in my name. L. is my last name. T. is my first name in Chinese. “T” means child, It is my dad help me chose. Why my dad chose this name for me? Because he wants to tell people that “T.L” is in our family. And he hopes I am help every day, so he chose this name for me.I have a nickname is: “xpy” which means a little kid. They say that I’m a “little kid” forever in their hearts. So I get this nickname. I like my Chinese name, because it has some special meaning for me .

Unit 2: My Family

• Photo story of my family sharing information about family & life in home countries

• Language focus: present continuous tense, vocab on family members, adj. to describe appearance & personality, etc.

• Ss’ response

Unit 3: Who am I?

• Share what they like/ dislike, what they have, their abilities and roles

• Language focus:– Present tense to show personal habits/

preferences– I’m _______(adj)____________– I’m a/an ____________ that/who__________– I can _______(v-infinitive)________________– I’m like a/ an _____(metaphor)______

Loves and Hates1. I love going to school, because

in the school, I can see my friends.I love shopping with my mother, becauseshe will buy many beautiful clothes for me.I love caring for my friends, becauseI love them.I love sharing cakes with my sister, becauseshe likes cake.

I hate going to hospital, becauseI will scared!I hate running in rainy, becauseI will fall down on earth!I hate eating with my uncle, becausehe can eat too much!I hate shopping with my friends, becausethey will use my money!

Love and Hate I hate beans, corns and animals.selfishness and jealousy;summers hot and winters cold;English food and books;being popular,nosey people,smoker.liars.

I love computers and Eureka Seven. Jackies Chan and being home;learning, playing, walking,Pepsi and strawberry flavors;green and black,video games,camping,

HateI hate doing homeworkall day longeating seafood,going to the library.reading English book.

LoveI like playing in the snow,playing violins.playing computer games,swimming in the pool.eating chocolate ice cream,watching movies in the cinema ,playing soccer and basket ball with my friendI like comic Naruto ,One piece.

I hate homework, cats and gym;Tests and jealousy;winter and books;Selfih people and time;Friends and smoking;French.I love school ,Canada;Dogs and history,Fishing and television;Trombone and playing game;music and food;Shy,walking

“I am” poemsI am a Chinese that can speak Mandarin very well.I am a basketball fan that can shoot a basket very nicely.I am a student that loves to learn.I am a gymnast that loves to get strong.I am a boy that can get any girl friends I like.

(by Boah)I am a good swimmer that wins championship.I am a student who loves to learn.I am a bird that loves to fly.I am a cat that likes eating fish.I am a boy that is healthy. (by Sam)

“I can” poemsI can do push-ups 40 times per minute.I can play the race car games very fast.I can read the books really loud.I can use some words to make sentences.I can speak Mandarin very well.I can walk to school every day.I can sing for a long time. (by Boah)

I can help my mother to wash dishes.I can speak a lot Cantonese.I can run on the Great Wall.I can play computer games very well.I can fold the clothes every day.I can read a book every day. I can finish my homework in one hour… (by Yorkie)

“I can” poemsI can play different kinds of baseball.I can read Chinese books.I can write in ChineseI can ply pokemon gamesI can speak a little EnglishI can read world map. (by Sam)

I can do my text very well when is open-book test.I can make the house very clean.I can finish my homework fast. I can play a lot of instruments.I can hand in my homework on time.I can decorate my house very beautifully.I can sing songs very loudly. (by Terri)

Bullying at School

• Bullying:- verbal:

“Are they dumb?" /“Are they stupid?”“Why we have so many ESL students in our

class?”

- physical or social exclusion

• Unit on Bullying Painted Words– explore cultural differences & how they affect

cross-cultural communication– Explore issues around bullying

What, Who, Why & What we can do about it

Bullying at School• Language focus:

– past tense, reading skills (bookmarking / concepts of text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world)

– Identify points of view & whose voice is missing

• Categories: (by B.C. Teachers Federation Program

Against Racism)1. Target 2. bystander3. Intervener 4. perpetrator

Student response

• Mostly girls reported being bullied• Refrain from taking any action:

-fear of not having the language to report-fear of revenge

• Bystanders (both male & female) fear of revenge

Causes:• Ignorance/ insensitivity• Misunderstanding• Teenage immaturity about socially

acceptable behaviour, even among ESL students

• Stereotyping images of certain social groups (e.g. from media, family, & society at large)

Second language Learning

1. Cognitive approaches learner characteristics Input & output

2. Sociocultural approaches Community building & identity construction affects the learners’ investment in language learning(Norton, 2000)

Right to speak full membershipRight to

command reception

• Implication:Concerted effort of ESL teacher, and the whole school in helping students to feel they are legitimate members of a community

Critical action• organized a Lunch & Learn PD

session for staff regarding ELLs and their experiences at school

• Ss presented their stories Spoken Memories

• discussed ways to stop bullying• staff

better awareness ELLs’ social & cultural adjustments

positive feedback

Feedback from Teacher on Lunch & Learn PD session on ESL experiences

1. Hi.. I thought it was awesome... and sad.  It helped me to remember the ESL students..and I've made more of an effort to talk to Yoland and Melodie... Yoland doesn't want to present her presentation to her class which is really upsetting... I wish I could do more.  It's too bad that Sunny can't present these findings to the whole staff... I think a lot of people (on staff) don’t really have a clue what the students are actually going through.. (or they turn a blind eye like some of the students)...

2. After attending the lunch and learn last week (about ESL students) I decided to take a different approach to ESL and Science... I found some great resources through Tippett for the science unit and created an alternative assignment based on the resources. 7D was given an earthquake project recently that was language-based (although I did give it to the ESL students so that they also had access to what everyone else was working on). It was their choice (the ESL students) if they wanted to do the alternative assignment or work on the earthquake project.

I told the class that they'd be working on it in

class, during class time, with a partner. Today, Melodie and Chicken showed up with the COMPLETED EARTHQUAKE PROJECT.. totally typed and everything answered. I was shocked ... basically over the last couple of days, they had translated everything on the sheet (must have taken forever!) and wrote it out in their own words. I was so proud of them that I showed the rest of 7D and everyone clapped!!! I think it was really important for their class to see that ESL students are capable of doing everything (and in this case --- so much better!) than English-speaking students. If only their class would give them a chance... sigh.

Questions? Ideas?