Implemen(ng  a  Mutually  Adap(ve  

Model  of  Instruc(on  for  ESL  Literacy  in  Community-­‐Based  

Programs      Andrea  DeCapua,  Ed.D.                                                                                  Helaine  W.  Marshall,  Ph.D.  

     New  York  University                                                                                                                LIU  Hudson    

Allegra  Elson                      Sara  Cole                            KaEe  Murphy    

Greater  PiGsburgh  Literacy  Council  

(c)  copyright  MALP,  LLC.  For  terms  and  condiEons  of  use,  contact    informaEon@malpeducaEon.com  

Low  Educated  Second  Language  and  Literacy  AcquisiEon  for  Adults  (LESLLA)  

 

 LESLLA  Symposium    San  Francisco,  CA    

August  2013  LESLLA  Partnerships  

 Researchers     PracEEoners  

Andrea  DeCapua  NYU    

Helaine  W.  Marshall    LIU  Hudson  

 Allegra  Elson  Sara  Cole  

KaEe  Murphy    

Greater  PiGsburgh  Literacy  Council  

 

✚  

The  Hidden  Assump(ons  

•  Preferences  in  accessing  &  transmiWng  informaEon  

•  Ways  of  interacEng  

•  ResponsibiliEes  in  imparEng  &  receiving  knowledge  

•  Ways  of  thinking  &  learning  

90%  

10%  

Flaitz,  2012  

Three  Cultural  Differences  

•  Orality  versus  Literacy    •  Informal  Learning  vs.  Formal  EducaEon  

•  CollecEvism  versus  Individualism  

I  never  care  about  reading  unEl    I  come  here    In  my  country  nothing  to  read  but  here,  everywhere  print,  words  and  signs  and  books  and  you  have  to  read.  

The  most  importants  I  have  learned  about  the  United  States  that  is  a  book,  newspapers,  or  notebook  and  pens.    These  things  are  always  let  me  know  how  to  live  here.        

Informal  Ways  of  Learning  

•  Revolves around immediate needs of family and community

•  Grounded in observation, participation in sociocultural practices of family and community

•  Has immediate relevance

•  Centered on orality

(Gahunga,  Gahunga,  &  Luseno,  2011;  Paradise  &  Rogoff,  2009)  

•  “We” rather than “I” •  People see themselves as

part of an interconnected whole

•  “Web” of relationships •  Group is more important

than any single individual

Collec(vism  

•  Personal efforts praised, rewarded

•  Personal interests,

desires, primary •  Personal judgments •  Personal responsibility •  “Self-actualization”  

Individualism  

SLIFE U.S. Classrooms

CONDITIONS  

PROCESSES  

ACTIVITIES  

(Adapted from DeCapua & Marshall, 2009, 2011; Marshall, 1994,1998)

Aspects of Learning

 Two  Different  Learning  Paradigms  

 

   

Shared Responsibility

Individual Accountability

Pragmatic Tasks

Academic Tasks

Interconnectedness

Oral Transmission

Independence

Written Word

Future Relevance Immediate Relevance

Two  Different  Learning  Paradigms  

Struggling Language Learners

U.S. Classrooms

Immediate  Relevance   Future    Relevance  

Shared  Responsibility  

PragmaEc  Tasks  

CONDITIONS

PROCESSES

ACTIVITIES

Interconnectedness  

Oral  Transmission  

Independence  

(DeCapua  &  Marshall,  2009,  2010;  Marshall,  1994,  1998)  

Aspects of Learning

Individual    Accountability  

School-Based Tasks

WriGen  Word    

Standardized  Tes-ng!  

Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm MALPTM

Instructional Model

SLIFE* U.S. Classrooms

ACCEPT    SLIFE  CONDITIONS  

COMBINE  SLIFE                      &  U.S.  

PROCESSES  

FOCUS  on  U.S.  ACTIVITIES  with  familiar  language    

&  content  

with

(DeCapua & Marshall, 2010, 2011; Marshall 1994, 1998)

Interconnectedness Independence

Shared Responsibility

Individual Accountability

Pragmatic Tasks

School-Based Tasks

Immediate Relevance

Oral Transmission Written Word

Future Relevance

*Students  with  limited/interrupted  formal  educaEon  

 Collabora(on:    

Greater  PiQsburgh  Literacy  Council    

Downtown  Center  •  Serves  adult  ELL  immigrants  &  refugees  

•  ESL,  computer,  GED  classes    Familes  for  Learning  Center  •  Provides  adult  ESL,  parenEng  educaEon,  early  childhood  educaEon,  literacy  

   

Goals  of  Collabora(on  

•  To  transi(on  low-­‐educated  adult  learners  to  formal  schooling  and  different  ways  of  thinking  and  learning  

•  To  reduce  cultural  dissonance  

•  Develop  English  language  skills  •  Create  posiEve  learning  experience  •  Establish  warm  classroom  climate  •  Build  relaEonships  •  Improve  aGendance  

Data  Collec(on  

•   BEST  Plus  •  Classroom  observaEons  

– peer  –  researcher  

•  MALP  Checklist  •  Google  Hangout  meeEngs  

A. Accept Conditions for Learning A1. I am making this lesson/project immediately relevant to my students.

A2. I am helping students develop and maintain interconnectedness.

B. Combine Processes for Learning B1. I am incorporating both shared responsibility and individual accountability.

B2. I am scaffolding the written word through oral interaction.

C. Focus on New Activities for Learning C1. I am focusing on tasks requiring academic ways of thinking.

C2. I am making these tasks accessible to my students with familiar language and content.

MALPTM  Teacher  Planning  Checklist  

© University of Michigan Press, 2011. DeCapua, A. & Marshall, H.W. Breaking New Ground: Teaching Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education in U.S. Secondary Schools.

Voices  

Part  I:        From  the  Field    •  Sara:      MALP  Teacher  Planning  Checklist  •  Allegra:      Peer  ObservaEons  •  KaEe:      Mural  Project  

Part  II:      From  the  “Ivory  Tower”    •  Helaine:  A  LESLLA-­‐Inspired  Partnership  

Sara’s  Class  

•  2  Classes:  High  Beginner,  Bridge  Literacy  

•  Prior  EducaEon:  0-­‐  16  •  Oral  Skills:  Beginning  to  Low  Intermediate  

•  Literacy  Levels:  none  to  some  

•  Ages:  19-­‐75  •  Time  in  US:  5  days  –  8  years  

Sara’s  Checklist:    Component  A  Accept  Condi(ons  for  Learning  

A1.    I  am  making  this  lesson/project  immediately  relevant  to  my  students.                                                                                                                                                                        

–    incorporated daily activities that the students engage in �

A2.    I  am  helping  students  develop  and  maintain  interconnectedness.                

–  interview each other and ask about where they shop on a daily basis�

– must work together to get answers for the whole class�

Sara’s  Checklist:  Component  B  Combine  Processes  for  Learning  

B1.        I  am  incorpora(ng  both  shared  responsibility  and  individual  accountability.                                                                                                                                                                                      -  Shared Responsibility: create and fill out grid; put

answers on board together�-  Individual Accountability: complete worksheet by

themselves, respond to questions�

B2.        I  am  scaffolding  the  wriQen  word  through  oral  interac(on.    -  worksheet & grid first introduced orally and talked about

as class. �-  class gives examples and talks about personal experience

and preferences �-  students ask questions and then begin working with grid�

Sara’s  Checklist:  Component  C  Focus  on  New  Ac(vi(es  

C1.      I  am  focusing  on  tasks  requiring  academic  ways  of  thinking  -  numeracy skills �-  comparing and classifying �-  drawing conclusions from data�C2.      I  am  making  these  tasks  accessible  to  my  students  with  familiar  language  and  content.                  -  students are familiar with language about food,

buying food, neighborhoods, and basic numbers�-  Food shopping idea familiar from earlier units on

daily activities. �

Allegra’s  Class  

•  Morning  FoundaEons  

•  Prior  EducaEon:  None  to  some  high  school  

•  Oral  Skills:  Minimal  oral  English  skills  

•  Literacy  Levels:  Zero  to  minimal  literacy  in  first  language  

•  Ages:    26  -­‐75  •  Time  in  US:    3  weeks  -­‐  2  years  

Allegra  –  Peer  Observa(ons  

•  Teachers  observed  each  other  •  Teachers  took  notes,  reviewed  using  MALP  Checklist  

•  Helpful  having  second  set  of  eyes  and  ears  and  sounding  board  for  beGer  ways  to  implement  Checklist    

•  Challenge  to  schedule  observaEons  since  all  teach  at  the  same  Eme.    

Ka(e’s  Class  

•  2  Family  Literacy  Classes  

•  MulElevel  

•  Prior  EducaEon:    0  -­‐  14  years  

•  Oral  Skills:    very  low-­‐advanced    

•  Literacy  Level:  alphabet  recogniEon  -­‐  4th  grade  

•  Time  in  US:  1  month  -­‐  10  years  

•  Age:    mid-­‐20s  to  mid-­‐40s  

•  All  women  with  young  children  

Ka(e’s  Mural  Project  

Reflec(ons  

The  Students  and  MALP:  •  Family  literacy  parEcipants  very  engaged  in  mural  project  •  Interconnectedness:    

–  Students  developing  friendships  inside  and  outside  of  class    –  Support  and  helping  each  other  in  class    

The  Teachers  and  MALP:  •  Very  enthusiasEc    •  Reminder  to  keep  lessons  learner-­‐centered  and  to  bring  ‘outside  in’  •  Open  entry/open  exit  program  challenges:  

–  integraEng  new  students  –  keeping  lesson  on  track  

 

A  LESLLA-­‐Inspired  Partnership  

•  Met  the  goal  of  bringing  together  researchers  and  pracEEoners  in  adult  educaEon  

•  Significance  –  Helped  establish  validity  of  MALP  in  adult  ESL  and  literacy  program  

•  Future  direcEons  •  On-­‐going,  not  ending  yet    

Website:            hGp://malpeducaEon.com  Wiki:                          hGp://malp.pbworks.com    Book:    Marshall,  H.W,,  &  DeCapua,  A.,  (2013).    Making  the  Transi4on  to  Classroom  Success:    Culturally  Responsive    Teaching  for  Struggling  Language  Learners.  Ann  Arbor,  MI:University  of  Michigan  Press  

 

MALP  Resources  

(c)  copyright  MALP,  LLC.  For  terms  and  condiEons  of  use,  contact    informaEon@malpeducaEon.com  

 

Contact  Us!  

Researchers  Andrea  DeCapua                  drandreadecapua@gmail.com  Helaine  W.  Marshall      helaine.marshall@liu.edu    Prac((oners  Allegra  Elson                      aelson@gplc.org    Sara  Cole                                            scole@gplc.org    KaEe  Murphy                              kmurphy@gplc.org    

(c)  copyright  MALP,  LLC.  For  terms  and  condiEons  of  use,  contact    informaEon@malpeducaEon.com