I’ve recently received emails from teachers who have had pre-literate (coming from a culture that does not have a written language, or that has only very recently developed one) or illiterate (coming from a culture that does have a written language, but the student cannot read it) students recently join their classes. The teachers have asked me for suggestions for how they can work with these new arrivals effectively.
In addition, I thought people might find a few other materials helpful.
Five years ago, two thousand Hmong refugees came to Sacramento, and most of them who were high-school age came to our school. It was my first year teaching after spending nineteen years as a community organizer. How often can a high school teacher say that his students have never attended a school before?
It was an extraordinary, and unforgettable, experience.
I thought I would share in this list a few of the sites that I found especially helpful when I began teaching that class — in addition to some of the sites I listed on The Best Resource Sites For ESL/EFL Teachers.
Here are my picks for The Best Online Resources For Teachers of Pre-Literate ELL’s:
Teaching Non-Literate Adults is a section of an Adult Education ESL Teacher’s Guide from Texas A & I University.
The ESOL Curriculum Resource Book was developed by a number of organizations, including the University of Tennessee.
Making It Real: Teaching Pre-Literate Adult Refugee Students was created by the Tacoma Community House Training Project.
As always, feedback is welcome.