Adult Learner Transitions

Creating a Successful ESL to ABE Transition Class

Introduction

At Austin Community College, we found that English as a Second Language (ESL) students who transitioned into Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes struggled to keep up with their native English speaking classmates. They encountered challenges in three areas: 1) English skills, particularly in grammar and vocabulary, 2) poor reading habits and abilities, and 3) underdeveloped analytical skills. We quickly realized that solving these deficiencies within the ESL program was not realistic owing to the fact that students “top out” of the BEST Plus (Basic English Skills Test oral interview assessment) before they are truly ready to attend ABE classes with native speakers of English. Thus, we developed a transition course for students who “topped out” on the BEST Plus, but are not quite ready for ABE. Student progress is measured on the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE), but class instruction is structured more like an ESL class than an ABE class.

We found our transition approach to be very successful. This article will outline the design of the class and its rationale.

Curriculum

The ESL to ABE Transition class is not a prepartory class for the General Educational Development (GED) credential; it is designed to prepare students to successfully transition into ABE classes. In essence, it is a hybrid of ESL and ABE.

We decided to bridge the gap between ESL and ABE by:

1. Introducing (not thoroughly studying) subject areas of the GED test (Social Studies, Science, Reading, Language / Writing, Math)
2. Improving English Language grammar usage to higher level in following areas:
   1. Word Forms
   2. Sentence Structure
   3. Past, Present, Present Perfect Tenses
   4. Comparisons, Connecting Ideas
   5. Passive Voice, Adjective Clauses
3. Teaching vocabulary needed for ABE class (e.g., digit, place value, English and Metric systems of measurement)
4. Teaching analytical skills:
   1. Main Idea
   2. Fact versus Opinion
   3. Cause / Effect
   4. Maps, Charts, Graphs
   5. Inference

The course is divided into six theme-based units: Health, Geography, Early American History, Economics, Community, and Recent American History. Each unit contains lessons from the GED skill areas that tie into each other around thematic lines. To illustrate, the Early American History Unit is summarized in the table below (specific exercises and materials are omitted):

The instructor can choose how to teach the lessons, in what combination, and in whatever order they deem logical for their class. Instructors supplement lessons with outside materials when necessary, and find doing so greatly simplified because of the anchor provided by the central theme.

We also chose theme-based units in an attempt to integrate subjects as much as possible. In this way, it would be rational to teach history in the middle of a math lesson, or vice versa. It was our hope that this approach would encourage teachers and students to “think outside the box” and explore concepts more fully. Lastly, by creating units that encapsulate reading, language, and mathematics, it is our intention to help students show progress in all areas simultaneously.

Outcomes

Exit criteria for the transition class are: 1) achieving a grade equivalency of fifth grade on the TABE test or 2) attending class for one year. Regardless of pro-gress, we transition all students into ABE after one year because, by definition, the class is transitional and students must move on to ABE.

It is still too early to tell what the long term effects of our transition program will be, since it is only one year old. However, we started with one section last year, and currently have three, and those are full. Anecdotal evidence from ABE instructors who have received transition graduates note that these students are well prepared and more successful than students who come directly from the ESL program.

Our ESL to ABE transition program has helped Austin Ccommunity College to bridge the gap between ESL and ABE. Students who have gone through the program are more confident and better equipped to succeed in ABE classes with their native English speaking peers.

Debbie Talavera is an experienced Adult Ed teacher and curriculum developer for both ESL and ABE. She currently works as the Staff Development Coordinator for the Department of Adult Education at Austin Community College.