Purpose | Project Origination | Setting | Participants | Special Terms | Original Curriculum | 13 Lessons Summarized

Purpose of This Site

The main purpose of this site is to allow you to learn from my experiences. By opening the pages of the reflective journals I kept while teaching an original, simplified family literacy class, I hope to shed some light on decisions that need to be contemplated and discussed prior to implementing a family literacy program with limited English proficiency (LEP) adults. I am excited to share what I have learned with as many as care to listen, but also anxious to let some of my mistakes shine through, so they don't need to be repeated by others (and therefore, help in saving time for future program designers and practitioners).

Keeping reflective journals while teaching, designing, or implementing new ideas and programs is always a beneficial practice—it also helps if it is something you enjoy doing, and can be disciplined enough to do consistently. Within this site, there are thirteen lessons presented in detail. I synthesized these lessons from reflective journals kept over a four-month period of time. Again, the purpose of sharing these entries in this manner, along with pertinent quotes from literature related to family literacy, is to help others who may be considering the implementation of a family literacy program with adult immigrant and/or refugee learners. There is also an extensive bibliography attached that is intended to be a powerful resource.

Project Origination

These lessons were learned while implementing a class I designed as part of a master's project in the Brigham Young University Department of Linguistics and English Language in Provo, Utah. The design of the class centered around using children's literature, namely picture books, with adult limited English proficiency (LEP) learners. In this particular experience, all of the participants were Latino. After studying the literature relative to the use of children's literature with LEP adults, I designed this class, found an elementary school interested in me working with some of their parents, and worked towards implementation of the class with these LEP immigrant adults.
More project origination details.

Setting

This class was taught in an elementary school classroom on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, as part of the after school/evening program activities. The elementary school was located in Provo, Utah, a city about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, Utah. The majority of the participants lived within a short distance of the school, since the majority were also associated with children who attended that elementary school. Occasionally you will read the names of towns such as Provo, Orem, and Spanish Fork. The class took place in Provo, Utah (home to Brigham Young University). Orem is a city just ten minutes north of Provo, and Spanish Fork is a city about fifteen minutes south of Provo. More setting details.

• PACT is an acronym that stands for Parents and Children Together. I originally incorporated it into the title of my class (Reading Side by Side: Parents and Children Together), thinking it was an original idea of my own. I soon discovered, however, that PACT is an acronym used widely in the family literacy realm, and it would not suffice for my title because it didn't describe the program as authentically as it should. Therefore, it is a term that you will read repeatedly in the reflective journals, yet I do not claim it as my own, nor do I intend to keep it in the title of the class curriculum.
  

• LEP stands for limited English proficiency.
  

• Wave One and Wave Two refer to two waves of the class that I taught. Due to the number of participants and the time frame within each class, both experiences ended up being very unique from one another. Wave One took place from February 26th to May 28th, 2002. Wave Two took place from April 16th to June 4th, 2002. Both were offered at the same elementary school.
  Definition of terms found in thesis.

Original Curriculum

Part of the reason for implementing this class was to try out an original curriculum I had developed, based on the use of children's picture books. The curriculum was created with adult, Latino limited English proficiency (LEP) students in mind. I hoped to use this class to bolster their confidence in reading in English with their children, while simultaneously improving their overall confidence and familiarity with English. What I quickly discovered, however, was that using a pre-packaged curriculum is tough, and not always what the students need most. Though I fully support the idea of using children's literature with adult English learners, I now feel strongly that curricula must be developed side by side with future program participants. In order for family literacy needs to be truly met, participants need to have an active role in curriculum design. See sample curriculum handbook.

13 Lessons Summarized

1. You cannot do it alone!
2. Be flexible with content within the context of a routine.
3. Remember your students have lives outside of class.
4. Encourage a comfortable atmosphere in the classroom.
5. Recruit students using as many methods possible.
6. Accept, and act upon, student input.
7. Think about what you're willing to do to help students be in class consistently.
8. Be prepared for discouraging days/nights.
9. Simultaneous enrollment in a family literacy class, along with a partnering ESL class, is very beneficial.
10. Help students understand why and how to keep records (e.g. reading logs); review procedures often.
11. Use of students' native language is indispensable when taking into account student morale/optimism and the purpose of the class.
12. Free childcare during classes is almost essential, even if the class takes place during regular school hours.
13. Great success is made up of small successes along the way.