Compelling Conversations

Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for ESL learners and teachers

Posts Tagged Citizenship

What is Your American Dream?

Aug 21

Posted by Eric Roth in ESL | No Comments

What is your American Dream? This remains one of my favorite questions to ask new immigrants and American citizens.

I asked that question, followed by, “why” in a regular column for Easy English Times this month. I gave the last words to Toni Morrison, the Nobel-Prize winning author. “The function of freedom is to free somebody else.”

Easy English Times, published in California, ran an ESL conversation activity that concluded with that question, is a monthly newspaper written in simple English for these immigrants and future citizens. My co-author Toni Aberson and I have contributed a monthly column called “Instant Activity: Conversation” for the last 16 months. The editor adapts materials from our book Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics for beginning and intermediate students.

While the Easy English Times website remains a work in progress, it contains a number of fine features for English teachers and tutors in adult education programs, including literacy and ESL. (Unfortunately, it doesn’t include a summary of the previous Conversation Activity columns yet).

You can check out the collection of free crossword puzzles and reading comprehension activities for each back issue of Easy English Times:
http://www.easyenglishtimes.com/monthly.html

The Easy English Times editors have also put together a solid EET recommends list of selective ESL resources (including Compelling Conversations):

http://www.easyenglishtimes.com/links.html

While Easy English Times remains relatively unknown outside California, the paper has earned an excellent reputation among CATESOL members, many California adult learners, and literacy instructors nationwide. (The editor and publisher of Easy English Times always give popular workshops at CATESOL regional and state conferences.)

Finally, subscription is $10 per year for each student per classroom inside the United States, and $15 per year for international English language learning students. Details here:
https://easyengl.securesites.com/subscribe.html?Category=newspapers

This thin, quality newspaper focuses on a vital niche in the newspaper world: America’s often overlooked and sometimes demonized new immigrants and adult education students. I’m proud to have been working with Easy English Times for over a year. Check it out!

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California Immigrants are Learning English – and Want to Learn More!

Sep 25

Posted by Eric Roth in California, Citizenship, EL Civics, ELL, ESL, English class, academic matters, adult education, educational philosophy, immigration, language debate, language politics, public education | 1 Comment

Do American immigrants want to learn English? Are the children of Spanish-speaking adult immigrants learning English? What are the recent trends in California and Los Angeles?

A recently released Census Bureau report, based on the 2007 Census information, shows that – shock, shock – immigrants overwhelmingly want to improve their English skills. It also shows that a slight majority (51%) of immigrants in Los Angeles claim that they can speak English fluently – an increase from just a few years ago. The study also notes that 88% of immigrant children claim to speak English – and want to learn more.

Yesterday’s Los Angeles Times editorial “Speak English? Yes, more immigrants do “ provides a solid introduction to the heated debate over language and immigration in California. The editorial also argues that immigration reform should include a provision to keep families united so the American children of illegal immigrant parents are not separated from their parents. Finally, the editorial concludes that both the United States and the English language continue to evolve and Americans should embrace change.

The fine editorial, however, could and should have called for both expanding and improving the quality of public education programs so immigrants – including adult immigrants – can learn English quicker. A better Census report also would have included the legal status of immigrants and gone beyond self-reported data by immigrants with evolving language skills.

The editorial’s strong, humane conclusion is worth repeating verbatim:
“American culture grows and adapts as new immigrants redefine it over the generations, and the same can be said of the English language. We should embrace that evolution, not hold it at bay with false and alarmist arguments about the threat to American values.”

Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2008 editorial

Doesn’t that sound sane and civilized?

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PBS Provides More Resources for ESL, EL/Civics Adult Educators

Aug 15

Posted by Eric Roth in EL Civics, adult education, resources | 1 Comment

ESL/Civics tip

Public Broadcasting System (PBS) continues to expand their valuable non-commercial services for listeners, including English teachers and ESL instructors.

Take the free online tour of PBS ESL/CivicsLink, an online professional development service for ESL teachers. The online system “helps instructors teach speakers of other languages effectively, strengthens cross-cultural awareness and integrates English literacy instruction and civics education.” This system also addresses core issues in teaching English and civics and encourages active engagement through project-based learning. It works for small-group study with peer mentoring and with both facilitated and nonfacilitated models.
Web: PBS Civics link for ESL instructors

This is just one of many tips, mostly for K-6 teachers, at Delta’s bigdealbook.com site for ESL/ELL teachers.

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What is the electoral college? Why does it matter?

Aug 14

Posted by Eric Roth in Citizenship, Compelling Conversations, EL Civics, ESL, adult education, conversation starters, resources | 2 Comments

How did George W. Bush actually become President of the United States?

After all, he received fewer popular votes for President than Al Gore, didn’t he? How could Al Gore win the popular vote and still lose the 2000 U.S. Presidential election? The short, unpleasant answer is that the popular vote doesn’t count – and the only vote that matters in electing presidents in the United States is the electoral college.

What is the electoral college? How many votes does your state have in the real United States presidential election? If you teach U.S. history, EL/Civics, or just vote in U.S. elections, you already know these answers – and your students and friends should too!

Check out the easy to use electoral college map hosted by the Los Angeles Times. This educational map game can become addictive – especially for people who are following the presidential race.  Among the many interesting features is that the default setting, based on the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, shows Senator McCain with a clear electoral college advantage over Senator Obama. Amidst the daily national polls, it’s easy for U.S. citizens – let alone adult immigrants and citizenship students – to forget this vital fact.

You can also go to the fine Wikipedia article on the peculiar history and strange institution called the United_States_Electoral_College. Bottomline: your vote matters less than it should in the 21st century!

By the way, I’m one of those folks that wants to abolish the electoral college as a sad legacy of both aristocratic ideals and slave-era logic. Direct elections work just fine. Since abolishing the electoral college seems very, very difficult, we should – it seems to me – at least switch from a winner take all system for each state to a fairer system where each congressional district chooses its own electors. Adopting this more transparent, honest “tiered” system would quickly reveal the huge divide between urban and rural America across the country. If Senator Obama wins the popular vote and still loses the electoral college, I expect more Democrats to rediscover their discomfort with the very undemocratic electoral college. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!

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Does Uncle Sam want immigrants to learn English?

Jul 18

Posted by Eric Roth in California, Citizenship, EL Civics, ELL, ESL, Uncategorized, adult education, language debate, public education | No Comments

Learning to read, write, and speak English remains a legal requirement for legal immigrants to become citizens in the United States. National polls also consistently show that over 80% of American voters favor making English the official national language. Immigrants to English speaking countries like the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia also want to learn more English to gain better jobs, feel more comfortable, talk with doctors and teachers, and a thousand other reasons.

Yet funding for English language classes, especially for adults, remains quite limited. Government programs only help students learn rather basic English, often around 1200 essential words. Students can “pass” all their ESL classes and learn enough English to hold low-level jobs. The learn to listen more than speak, and read more than write. These low standards, by the way, also include a very, very low level definition of “can read, write, and speak” English for citizenship. (More on this subject in future posts.)

Many states, like California, are cutting back on all their education programs. English as a second language classes face even more dramatic cutbacks, partly because the students seldom vote. On one hand, this decision makes perfect sense during economically difficult times. Recessions and economic fears force citizens and governments to make tough choices, and cutting funds for English classes for immigrants – especially undocumented (illegal) immigrants is popular. It’s also very short-sighted and counter-productive. America is a stronger, better, and smarter country when we allow immigrants to use their intelligence and creativity, and we develop everyone’s skills.

” Uncle Sam wants you to speak English” reads a popular bumper-sticker. Uncle Sam, the traditional symbol for the United States government, probably does want everyone to speak English. The American people clearly want immigrants to know how to speak English too. A gap exists between vague desires and concrete actions. For instance, cutting English classes for immigrants seems unlikely to help them learn English.

I saw this “Uncle Same Wants You to Speak English” bumper-sticker on the way back from an English teacher’s conference again last week. I also wondered about the driver.

  • Does he support helping immigrants learn English?
  • Does he really think immigrants who don’t speak English will understand his message?
  • Would a Spanish speaking immigrant, for instance, know who Uncle Sam is?
  • Or is the driver simply stating that immigrants – who might speak two, three, four, or more languages – should only speak English in the United States?
  • Or would he prefer illegal immigrants just leave the country? Was he inviting everyone to share his language and country, urging linguistic unity, or expressing a distrust of people speaking other languages?
  • Would he expect French tourists, Japanese visitors, and international guests to only speak English too? Really?

Unfortunately, I never had a chance to talk with the gentleman who placed this provocative message on his car. I don’t really know what he meant by his “Uncle Sam wants you to speak English” bumper-sticker.

I hope, however, that he supports adding, not cutting, English language classes. We both would like more people to be able to speak to him and ask him questions in his best language (English) too.

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