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Literacy Links

Volume 6, No. 2, Winter 2002

Links, addresses, personnel, email addresses, and other items or information in this issue may not be current. This is an archived issue and is to be used for that purpose ONLY.


IN THIS ISSUE

English Language Civics Education


Coming to America: Employment Opportunities/Civic
Responsibilities Making Sure Practitioners
Meet the Needs of New Texas Residents

By Anson Green, Workforce Adult Literacy Coordinator
Texas Workforce Commission

Objectives of the EL Civics Program

The English Literacy and Civics Education (EL/Civics) Program funded by the U.S. Department of Education is one approach the federal government has provided states to address the significant shifts in U.S. demographics so markedly reflected in the 2000 Census. Texas has grown 22.8%, making it the second most populous state. Residents of Hispanic origin account for over 60% of this growth. As a result, educators will not be surprised to hear that, in many areas, enrollment in ESL classes has more than quadrupled in the last two decades. (U.S. Dept. of Education, 2001)

EL Civics funding has given many programs the funding, as well as guidance and flexibility, to design innovative programs to begin to meet the English language and civics related needs of their communities. Such programs often feature curriculum based around such tasks as passing the INS exam or helping immigrants become more active members of their communities by being able to more effectively interact with the culture, government, and educational system of the United States. (Terrell, 2000) Very often though, immigrants' needs go above and beyond obtaining the language and knowledge needed to access U.S. institutions and culture.

Identifying the Needs of Immigrants

While curriculum based around EL/ Civics objectives holds the promise of providing new Texans with the tools needed to matriculate in the United States, these objectives may not completely meet the various, often complex, needs of many immigrants.

Practitioners strive to provide the most effective programming possible for their participants. To do so, they must work with learners to identify not only what learners feel they need to matriculate into the United States but also to identify why participants have come to the U.S. in the first place. When asking the question, Why America? The answer is often, Work! Many immigrants rightly view English literacy as a tool that will allow them to either get a job, keep a job or to obtain increased pay or promotion.

Increased Pressures Faced by Many Immigrants

The promise of broader employment opportunities is perhaps the largest single aspect motivating individuals to come to the U.S. Yet, the economic means and educational needs of today's immigrants are much greater than those of previous generations. Not only are today's immigrants poorer than previous generations of immigrants, they are also more likely to remain poor longer and thus be more reliant on public assistance programs and be uninsured. (Camarota, 2001) According to the Center for Immigration Statistics, lower educational levels among populations of new immigrants are the main cause for this poverty gap. (Camarota, 2001) When considered together, adult educators, with their workforce development partners, are in a prime position to be agents of change, providing basic education, skills training and employment guidance to the ever-increasing numbers of under-skilled immigrants.

Funding and Assistance to Meet Increased Needs

Year 2001 reauthorization of EL/Civics grants has ensured increased funding for EL/Civics activities benefiting local programs that are awarded grants. Texas programs that wish to maximize their potential impact to serve learners and expand their services to address the employment related needs of these learners are encouraged to collaborate with their state and local level workforce development partners.

The Office of Workforce Adult Literacy at the Texas Workforce Commission is dedicated to assisting local programs in increasing their capacity to deliver targeted basic skills education. Upcoming grant opportunities (see Funding Opportunity below), as well as technical assistance guides at our Web sitehttp://www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/adult lit/adultlit_hp.html and assistance in brokering relationships between employers and workforce development partners are some mechanisms available to local adult education programs.

Together, adult educators, with their workforce development partners, can provide immigrant Texans with the wider portfolio of learning and skills needed to make their transition into America smoother and more economically beneficial.

About the Author

Anson Green is the Workforce Adult Literacy Coordinator for the Texas Workforce Commission. Prior to his work at TWC, Anson taught developmental reading, and taught a Welfare-to-Work teleservice training course for Northwest Vista College in San Antonio. He recently completed a research fellowship for the National Institute for Literacy which produced the book Making It Work: A Curriculum Resource for Women-Centered Programs.

References

Camarota, Steven A. (2001). Immigrants in the United States-2000: A snapshot of America's foreign-born population. Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies.

The technical assistance field guide, Planning Literacy and Language Services for Texas' Limited English Proficient Workers, is available at TWC's Web site http://www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/adultlit/adultlit_hp.html.

Terrill, Lynda. (2000). Civics education for adult English language learners. Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education. http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/civics.html.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education. (2001). Adult Education Data and Statistics http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/index.html.

Funding Opportunity

Funding for projects targeting basic education or English literacy services to adults who are employed and are functioning at low literacy skill levels will be available for the TWC in Winter 2002.

The goal of these projects is to increase workers chances of sustaining employment as well as to increase their opportunities for advancement. The aim is to provide focused, targeted job-skills training integrated with literacy upgrading that is directly related to the needs of identified employers.

Interested Adult Education and Literacy providers are encouraged to begin planning now by communicating with their Local Workforce Boards and employers to design projects. For more information, contact Anson Green at 512-936-0642 or via e-mail anson.green@twc.state.tx.us.

ESL Learning and Civics Education
by Ana Maria Piña Houde, President,
Anamarc Educational Institute, El Paso

During times when being literate and belonging to a group that knows the minimum about the place where they live is a must, getting an education through a bilingual vocational training program represents a golden opportunity. At Anamarc Educational Institute we live this experience on a daily basis. Students are driven not only by their educational goals, but also by learning more about a culture and system to function as conscious citizens and family members.

Our ESL Level III classes are currently learning to express opinions about issues that concern you as a citizen, which correlate with the CASAS competency of understanding civic responsibilities and activities. Also included in the classes is the understanding of governmental activities. One activity in this class is learning the definitions of a city representative, mayor, house representative, congressman, senator, and other political officials. The students are also learning what they can communicate to these officials and how to do it. To add to their knowledge, they are reviewing historical events that relate to these topics. Currently, they are in the process of writing letters to different officials to practice these skills.

Approximately fifty percent of our student population is not a U.S. citizen. When talking to students they express that it is highly important to learn ESL with integrated Civics topics, not only for excelling in their GED, but also to help them with obtaining their citizenship.

Field-Notes - Partners in Learning Odessa, Texas
by Angela Hock, Partners in Learning, Odessa

Adult learners at Partners in Learning run the gamut from those employed and participating in Workforce Literacy classes funded by the Texas Workforce Commission to men and women in ESOL classes who come to strengthen their employability skills and increase their ability to communicate in a variety of contexts. Civics education intersects consistently with the basic economic survival needs. In addition to the skills needed for work, learners must also develop the skills needed to communicate clearly with schools, medical personnel and other civic institutions - tasks that often daunt the best of us.

The Workforce Literacy programs are primarily ESOL classes conducted onsite for a hospital, an oil-field related employer or a manufacturing firm in Odessa. These classes focus primarily on learning that is related to the specific work environment of that site. The key issue for most of the learners is learning enough English to make a living that will support their families both here and in Mexico.

For example, one employee enrolled in a Workforce Literacy class commented recently on the value of these classes to people from Mexico. He said that often fellow native-born Mexican citizens working at low-wage jobs in the United States are reluctant to take classes (afraid they cannot succeed or cannot learn). Their fear of being laughed at by English speaking employees (and others in the community) when they attempt English keeps them isolated, and keeps them from succeeding. His encouragement was that they learn English so they can work well in this country and better help their families.

Ties to Mexico pull strongly on these men and women while at the same time the need to be gainfully employed in this country is strong. As they attempt to gain residency, they are ever mindful of their families remaining in Mexico and their desire not to be seen as "deserting" their culture or heritage. One of the unique features of Mexican immigration, different from pressures for earlier European and Asian immigrants, is the proximity of the native land and people and the resultant "tug" at their loyalties. This is a dynamic dilemma that educators should respond to, recognize, and appreciate.

[Editor's Note: In August 2001, the Office of Workforce Adult Literacy at the Texas Workforce Commission funded four Workforce Adult Literacy demonstration projects for job seekers and/or current workers with limited literacy skills. Recipients of funding are implementing basic skills programs using curriculum and methodological frameworks based on the National Institute for Literacy's Equipped for the Future (EFF) Content Standards and Worker Role Map. These model programs and curricula are integrating the EFF Content Framework with the knowledge and skills needed for specific jobs, as identified through collaborations with local employers. Each of these four projects is strengthened by collaborative partnerships with local employers as well as by relationships with Local Workforce Development Boards, who act as catalysts for project recruitment and support. The above Field Notes are from two of these demonstration projects.]

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LITERACY LINKS is published quarterly by
The Texas Adult Literacy Clearinghouse,
a project housed in the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4477

The contents of Literacy Links do not necessarily represent the views or opinions
of the Texas Center for the Advancement of Literacy & Learning,
Texas A&M University, Texas Education Agency, nor Harris County Department of Education.

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