English Language Teaching: issues of pedagogic diversity ... · PDF fileEnglish Language Teaching: issues of pedagogic diversity or pedagogies for diversity? Dr. Naeema Hann Senior

English Language Teaching:

issues of pedagogic diversity or

pedagogies for diversity?

Dr. Naeema Hann

Senior Lecturer

School of Languages

[email protected]

Leeds Metropolitan University MA in English

Language Teaching

mailto:[email protected]

English Language Teaching:

pedagogic diversity or pedagogies for diversity?

ESOL

ESOL learners and their contexts

Funding

ESOL: learning needs

Pedagogy – does it meet learners’ needs?

Social Justice

Leeds Metropolitan University MA in English Language Teaching

ESOL learners and Contexts

ESOL: learning of English as a second language by adult migrants in their host countries

(NIACE 2006; Rosenburg 2007; Schellekens 2007).

ESOL learner communities ‘ adults from settled communities of immigrants from the new Commonwealth and from fluctuating populations of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers’ (Pitt,K.2005)

Diverse Learning Contexts:

FE Colleges, community

centres

Workplace

Funded as part of Basic Skills

provision (English, Maths, IT)

rather than English as a

Foreign Language (EFL)

Attracts public funding as part

of Basic Skills


ESOL learners’ (Language) learning needs

Need to ommunicate with

those around them

At work

To access services

(health, education,

immigration etc.)

Need speaking and listening

skills which lend to pair

and group work


neighbours, friends

ESOL learners’ landscape

teacher, boss,

workmates etc.

family

Diverse learners

ESOL learners come with

Hope

Positive experiences and

expectations of learning

Need language of host

country

Basic Skills

Learners and tutors can

Have negative

experiences of learning

Come with spoken

language and some

literacy in home language


A typical ESOL class profile

Learners came from Poland, Slovakia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Eritria

Their existing skills in English ranged from Entry0 to Entry1. Some were able to answer questions about their name, address etc in 1 to 4 words, others could ask questions as well

Their jobs ranged from working at various positions in a take away, packing, shelf stacking to car valet

Previous education ranged from 2 years in a non-English speaking primary school to 11 years at a school in Poland which has implications for script knowledge

So tutor needs to account for: range of contexts, first languages and latent literacy and oracy.


Pedagogy Basic Skills (literacy, maths, IT)

Curriculum content responds to individual work

Funding tied to assessment

‘English and Maths qualifications to

enable [learners] to progress to

achieve their GCSE (A* - C) or

Functional Skills Level 2’

http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/providers/programmes/Basic+Skills/

ESOL pedagogy

Learners expected to gain all four language skills

speaking and listening needs can be immediate

Curriculum content responds to pair and group work

Funding tied to assessment ‘GCSEs in English and Maths

Functional Skills in English and Maths

Adult Basic Skills in literacy and

numeracy (last date for new

enrolments at Levels 1 and 2 was 31

August 2012)

ESOL (from Entry Level to Level 2)’ http://skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/providers/programmes/Basic+Skills/


Pedagogy 2

ESOL

activities ….. highly learner-

responsive’ (Baynham et al. 2007

p.8)

broadly resembles communicative

language teaching (Cooke and

Simpson 2008) which is

a collaborative learning approach

–focus is on negotiation of

meaning rather than form

(grammar)

oral communication in the

language classroom via

presentations, pair work and

group work (Schellekens 2007)

http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/r

esource/ESOL+learner+materials

%3A+Entry+1%2C+Unit+1/pdf/

Basic Skills

Focus on literacy skills

http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/r

esource/Literacy+learner+material

s%3A+Entry+1%2C+Unit+1/pdf/


http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/resource/ESOL+learner+materials%3A+Entry+1%2C+Unit+1/pdf/



http://rwp.excellencegateway.org.uk/resource/Literacy+learner+materials%3A+Entry+1%2C+Unit+1/pdf/



Recent Findings (Hann 2012a, 2014)

ESOL learners benefit from ‘bringing the outside in [to

the classroom]’ (Baynham et al 2007 p.44).

group/pair work

Interaction Funding changes mean

learners are less prepared for interaction out side the classroom

Successful pedagogy enables

learners to

Take the class out of the room – in

more ways than one….

Sees language learners as

language users, especially in a

multilingual environment


Justice… ‘about the arrangement of relationships

in a society’ (Grayling 2009)

Justice and rights

Every individual in a society has a

right to certain experiences and

goods (Grayling 2009)

Individuals [should] have access

to opportunities and benefits,

equal to all – fairness and justice

(Rawls,J. 2005) VS

Taxation to redistribute wealth is

theft (Nozick in Grayling 2009)

Injustice – ‘the many denied

opportunities, social cultural goods

enjoyed by rich’ (Grayling 2009)

Social Justice (Court,J. in press)

‘capabilities’ (Sen 1999, 2009)

‘capabilities and functionings: opportunities

to achieve and actual achievement’ (Walker

2004)

Capability: do people have opportunity to

make informed choices about their

education? (Vaughan and Walker 2011)

Fraser’s (2008:6) three dimensions of Social

Justice

- Redistribution of resources to benefit of all

including new communities

- Recognition: ‘identifying and

acknowledging claims of historically

marginalized groups’

- Participation: ‘right to voice in debates and

decision-making’


Do migrants have language rights?

language rights

- freedom from

discrimination on the

basis of language

- Use one’s language in

the activities of communal

life

Second language users

‘legitimate speakers’ (Bourdieu 1977)

but in L2 interactions L2 speakers positioned as inferior and helpless (Bremner et al 1976; Norton 1995, 2010)

resource needed by L2 speakers to become legitimate speakers?

‘creative discursive agency’ (Flowerdew & Miller 2008)

Pedagogy to develop creative discursive agency?


Pedagogy: constraints and

opportunities

Case studies and research showed

ESOL learners often taught in

mixed level groups

Workplaces as learning venues

lack appropriate resources

Contact time limited

Language needs are

contextualised e.g. glass factory

Lesson content could be

compromised by focus on

assessment

However, learners are very

resourceful – they turned virtually

everything and everyone in their

environment into a resource

Need to move from

Diverse pedagogies

to

Pedagogy for diversity

Critical Pedagogy

‘aims to raise students’ awareness

about unjust social practices and

helps them to become social

agents for change’

(Kubota 2004 in Norton and Toohey 2004)


Some questions …..

Which language/ languages are taught in a country?

Which are used?

Who decides which language will be used when and

where? What are their reasons?

Who decides which language/s will be taught and to

what level?

Can a post-modern, democratic nation which denies

appropriate language provision claim solidarity with

those new to the country?


Questions?

Comments?


Bibliography Akbari, R. 2008. Transforming lives: introducing critical pedagogy into ELT classrooms by Ramin. ELT Journal

62(3).

ALI (2003) Literacy, numeracy and English for speakers of other languages: a survey of current practice in post-16

and adult provision. Ofsted Office for Standards in Education: 21.

Allwright, D. (1996) Social and pedagogic pressures in the language classroom: The role of socialisation. Society

and the Language Classroom. H. Coleman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Barton, D. and Pitt, K. (2003) Adult ESOL pedagogy: a review of research, an annotated bibliography and

recommendations for future research. London, NRDC.

Baynham, M. et al (2007) Effective Teaching and Learning, ESOL. London, NRDC.

Bourdieu, P. 1977. The economics of linguistic exchanges. Social Science Information16 (6):645-668.

Bremer, K. et al. (1996). Achieving Understanding: Discourse in intercultural encounters. London, Longman.

Cooke, M. and Simpson, J. (2008) ESOL: A Critical Guide. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Court,J. in press. ESOL for Social Justice? The opportunities and limitations within mainstream provision.

Language Issues. 24 (2).

DfES (2003a) Skills For Life Learner Materials Pack ESOL. London, DfES Publications.

DfES (2003b) Teachers’ Notes ESOL Entry 2. London, Department For Education and Skills.

DIUS (2008) Focusing English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) on Community Cohesion. London,

DIUS.

Ellis R., H. Basturkmen, et al. 2001. Pre-emptive Focus on Form in the ESL Classroom. TESOL Quarterly 35[3]

Grayling,A.C. 2009. Ideas that matter. Phoenix. London.

Hann, N.B. 2008. ‘Hard is okay but not impossible’: Factors Supporting Success Of ESOL Learners On Vocational

Courses. Conference Presentation. Leeds Metropolitan University. Leeds.

Hann, N.B. 2012. The role of family in adult learners’ language learning. The Annual Bloomsbury Round Table on

Communication, Cognition and Culture. Birkbeck College, University of London. 2012.

Hann,N.B. (2012a), Factors Supporting Progress of ESOL Learners in Speaking Skills. PhD Thesis. Leeds

Metropolitan University

Hann, N.B. (2013). Mining the L2 Environment: ESOL Learners and Strategies Outside the Classroom. In

Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd Edn). (Ed.) B. Tomlinson. London. Bloomsbury.

.


Bibliography 2

Hann, N.B. (in press) Pedagogic Approaches in Adult ESOL : voices from the classroom in

Practice and Theory in Materials Development in Language Learning. (Eds.) Mishan, F. and Masuhara,H..

Bloomsbury Continuum

Kegan, R. et al. 2001. Toward a new pluralism in ABE/ESOL classrooms: Teaching to multiple ‘cultures of mind’.

Boston: National Centre for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, NCSALL.

Khanna, M. et al (1998) Adult ESOL Learners in Britain: A Cross-Cultural Study. Clevedon, Multilingual Matters

Ltd.

NIACE (2006) More than a language. Leicester, National Institute for Adult and Community Education.

Norton,B. and K. Toohey. 2004. Critical pedagogies and language Learning: An introduction. In Critical

Pedagogies and Language Learning. CUP.

Norton,B. 1995. Social Identity, Investment and Language Learning. TESOL Quarterly 29(1): 9 – 31

Norton, B. (2010). Language and Identity. Sociolinguistics and Language Education. N.H.Hornberger and S.L.McKay. Bristol, Multilingual Matters.

Rawls,J. 2005. A theory of Justice. Harvard University Press.

Richards, J. and Rodgers, T. (2001) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge, Cambridge

Univeristy Press.

Roberts, C. et al (2004) English For Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) - case studies of provision, learners'

needs and resources. London, NRDC.

Rosenberg, S. (2007) A critical history of ESOL in the UK, 1870-2006. Leicester, NIACE (National Institute of Adult

and Continuing Education).

Schellekens, P. (2007) The Oxford ESOL Handbook. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Tomlinson,B. Ed. 2013. Classroom Research of Language Classes in Applied Linguistics and Materials

Development. Bloomsbury. London.

Vertoveç, S. (2006). "The emergence of superdiversity in Britain." Working Paper No. 25 Centre on Migration,

Policy and Society. University of Oxford, 2006. Retrieved 5.09.09

Ward, J. (2007) ESOL: The Context for the UK Today. Leicester, NIACE National Institute for Adult and

Continuing Education.


Appendix 1

Transforming Classes (Akbari 2008)

Teach drawing on local culture

Learners’ L1 is a source (not interference)

Content should be based on students’ real

life concerns – more of this in ESOL later

Support learners’ to articulate relationships

between power, knowledge and language

e.g. through the lense of marginalised groups

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English Language Teaching: issues of pedagogic diversity ... · PDF fileEnglish Language Teaching: issues of pedagogic diversity or pedagogies for diversity? Dr. Naeema Hann Senior