Literacy Links

Success Stories

Not Just English

by Gabriel Forsyth

A dear friend of mine from India told me that in India they believe the three highest professions in life are priests, doctors, and teachers. Priests help people spiritually, doctors help people physically, and teachers help people mentally. Teachers are highly respected because of the understanding that knowledge is invaluable and to pass knowledge on to others is a tremendous responsibility. Among the knowledge teachers can pass on, learning another language is among the greater empowerments a person can receive. Honestly, where would the human race be without the ability to communicate? As our world continues to grow smaller the need to communicate grows larger thus producing a high demand for learning multiple languages.

Thousands of people from around the world immigrate to the United States of America each year looking for an improved quality of life. Whether they are able to achieve an improved quality of life largely depends on their acquisition of the English Language. Otherwise, without a proficiency in English, the opportunities for jobs are limited; they can be exploited in terms of salaries, and their children’s educations suffer because of an inability to contribute to it.

I have been teaching English as a Second language for two years to adults who have immigrated to this country. I have come to notice a majority of my students lack proficient knowledge not only in the English Language but also of the world beyond their home country. Many of my students’ educations in their home countries were partial and limited. Some lack even a basic knowledge of elementary world geography.

The appealing thing about teaching ESL is that your curriculum is as vast as the language itself, therefore you can teach a wide variety of topics while remaining faithful to your core purpose of teaching the English Language. Over the last two years of teaching ESL, I have put into practice several different ways to incorporate U.S. civics and global awareness into my English lessons. Having taught all levels of English proficiency, I have found these various ideas can be modified to meet the needs of students whether they are just beginning to learn English or are well advanced in their journey.

The News
The internet is a rich source of information that ESL teachers can pull from. The options for lessons using news stories ranges from reading comprehension exercises to classroom discussions. I like to search for interesting national and international news stories that I can print off and incorporate into my lessons. This allows me to teach my students new vocabulary and reading comprehension while helping them to be informed about the world they live in. Sometimes I use big stories like the youth riots in France and hurricane Katrina while other times I use lesser known stories like the elections in Ecuador. Internet sources of news – http://news.yahoo.com, www.msnbc.msn.com, www.foxnews.com

Photography
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then could we not use a picture to teach a thousand words? I love to use photographs to create classroom discussions and writing prompts. A picture of a village in Sudan or a busy street in Hong Kong can be used to teach new vocabulary as well as to discuss a variety of topics both social and political. I have found pictures to be a great way to incorporate global awareness and civics into my ESL lessons.

Magazines like National Geographic and Newsweek are great sources of pictures that you can clip and build a portfolio for use in the classroom. Photoblog websites like www.trekearth.com are also valuable resources for finding pictures to use in your lessons.

The students
When I have classes where the students do not all come from the same country, I try and take advantage of this through class discussions where the students can share with each other things they make their country of origin unique. You can create discussion questions to facilitate this, for example: What are the differences between the neighborhood you live in here in the United States and the neighborhood where you lived in your home country? How is shopping here in the United States different than shopping in your home country? What are some things that are special to you about your home country?

The art of asking the right questions is essential to incorporating civics and global awareness into your lessons. Recently I asked a group of my ESL students to tell me what languages they would like their children to learn in addition to English and Spanish. I was fascinated by the responses I received. Most of my students listed French as a language they wanted their children to learn, and a few others listed such languages as Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and Arabic. I have also asked many of my classes what other countries they would like to visit. The idea is to get them thinking globally, dreaming, and ultimately learning about the world we live in.

The result
Teaching ESL demands teaching more than just the English Language. I have had many of my students email me telling me how they have appreciated learning about other countries and cultures including the United States. The most common reasons that my students give for wanting to learn English are to be able to help with their children’s education and to be able to obtain employment or advance in their employment. These goals will be more fully realized with proficiency in the English language, and with a greater understanding of U.S. civics and a heightened global awareness.

About the Author

Gabriel Forsyth teaches English as a second language and does freelance writing. He has been teaching ESL for two years. He has traveled to seven different Countries and plans to continue increasing that number.