Program Management

The English Language Civics Education Resource Center:
Online EL/Civics Resources for Teachers and Students

We at TCALL and Brenham Community Education are proud to announce the launch of the English Language Civics Education Resource Center, a new website designed for EL/Civics teachers and students. This website is made possible through an English Literacy Civics Education Grant funded by the US Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency. The Center is administered by Brenham Community Education (a partnership between Brenham Independent School District and Blinn College), in conjunction with the Texas Center for Adult Literacy and Learning at Texas A & M University. This site is now an archive and is no longer hosted on the TCALL website. Resources for EL Civics can be found at http://www-tcall.tamu.edu/litresources/elcres.htm

As Baez explains in Literacy Links, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Winter 2002), English Language Civics Education has traditionally included "the 'basics' of citizenship: the 100 citizenship questions, filling out the INS application, learning about American history and culture, INS interview practice, etc." (p. 1). Baez goes on to explain, however, that truly meeting the needs of EL Civics learners requires teachers to take a broader perspective and widen the definition of what we mean by "civics." Indeed, "the relevant issues, concerns, problems, and opportunities of being a citizen and community member in the United States (i.e. "civic participation") takes us "outside the box," and beyond what - and how - we have been teaching "citizenship" up to now." (p. 1).

On this new website, we have employed a broad definition of English Language Civics that includes the traditional citizenship basics (including learning about immigration and naturalization) but also expands to include civic participation, community action, advocacy, and community organizing for positive change.

We believe that citizenship education also includes helping new citizens navigate the workforce and improve their education, as well as helping parents interact more with their children's schools.

If you have spent any time at all on the web so far searching for English Language Civics Education resources, you already know that there are MANY sites out there connected with the area of EL/Civics. We have waded through a great number of sites to bring you resources we feel are exceptional. The criteria we used for selecting websites include:

1. Relevance of information provided to ESL and EL/Civics teachers and students, and to a broad definition of EL/Civics;
2. Ease of navigation, especially for student sites;
3. Content that respects adult learners. That is, the content is geared towards adults or easily adaptable to adult audiences (no juvenile tone, etc.); and
4. High quality content, rather than flashy presentation with no substance.

The bulk of the site is found in the "Resources" section, and consists of links to online resource materials, organized by both topic area and type of material. Topic areas include:

1. Civic Participation and Community Action;
2. Immigration and Naturalization;
3. Voting and Government; and
4. Parent and School Involvement, and
5. Workforce and Workplace Education.

Within each of these topic areas, you can access a wide range of materials including:

1. Lesson plans for teachers and tutors;
2. Professional development materials for teachers and tutors;
3. Web collections that have been compiled by other people and organizations;
4. Ideas and information about innovative programs;
5. Online interactive activities for adult learners;
6. Online interactive activities for parents and children; and
7. Links to agencies and other source materials.

In the "Community" section of the site, teachers, learners, and parents will find ways to connect with others around a variety of issues related to English Language Civics Education. The links in this section are designed to bring teachers, parents, and community members together, and include online discussion groups, listservs, and newsletters.

In what follows you will find a small sample of the kinds of resources you can find at our site. With each link, we also provide an abstract describing the site and the resources you will find there.

This curriculum, written by Ashley Hager, consists of a series of activities designed to help students identify aspects of their communities they would like to change, and explore how voting and other forms of collective action can bring about positive change. Please click the link below to visit their website: http://easternlincs.worlded.org/docs/politics/people.htm

This multiple-choice self-test covers areas such as US History and government and is designed by the INS to be used as a study guide. The test can be found at their website. Please click below to visit their site. http://www.ins.gov/graphics/exec/natz/natztest.asp

Visit our new site, look around, and then tell us what you think! We welcome suggestions for new websites or resources to include on the site, as well as feedback about site navigation or content. Please contact Jenny Sandlin e-mail: j_sandlin@juno.com for feedback regarding content and Melaney Dodson, e-mail: melaney@tamu.edu.

Jenny Sandlin currently works as a Research Associate at TCALL, after completing her Ph.D. in adult education from The University of Georgia in 2001. Her academic interests include critical literacy, workforce education, and curriculum in adult education. She has worked in the field of adult literacy since the early 1990s, tutoring ESL and ABE students, as well as creating curriculum materials for use in adult literacy classrooms. When she's not huddled over the computer, she enjoys taking walks, watching movies, and trying out new vegetarian recipes. She and her husband Ralf St. Clair also love spending time with their one year old son Grant.