“Learners’ Lives as Curriculum”:
An approach to linking language and literacy development
In immigrant communities
With professional development for practitioners
It is a custom that Cambodian women drink hot water after they have a baby. One day I left a cup of hot water on the dresser. Suddenly, I heard a loud scream. It was my son, Nathan. He was one and a half years old. The hot water spilled on his body. I rushed him to the bathtub and soaked him with cold water. I was so nervous, I could hardly think!
I remembered that the aloe vera plant is good for burns. I ran to the backyard to get some from my garden. I pulled a stem off and ran inside to put it on Nathan. His skin was red and some skin peeled off. An hour later his skin turned normal. He was okay, but I was shaky for a long time!
Saphay Nan, the author of this narrative, is on the staff of the Cambodian Association of America in Long Beach, California. Along with her colleagues, she wrote her own story and then collected additional stories about “home accidents” from Cambodian learners they serve in their program. With this material, the teachers collaborated to create a language lesson for learners based on material drawn from their own lives. The unit culminates in two learner projects; one to do a “safety audit” of their homes, and another to create a first aid kit for themselves and their families. In the process of listening to learners, collecting and writing material, the practitioners are creating a learner-centered curriculum while developing their own professional skills. 1
The principles behind these techniques are found in a model called “Learners’ Lives as Curriculum” (LLC)2 , in which learner texts (e.g. language experience dictation, poem, story, folktale, or interview) are used as catalysts for discussing themes of interest or concern to learners. A thematic unit, according to this model, provides learners with personal stories of others like themselves, along with an opportunity to respond to those stories, generate their own narratives, and prepare for a collective project while learning specific language skills and structures.
According to Learners’ Lives as Curriculum, thematic units include four main components:
· Narratives with a contextualized focus on themes and “hot topics” of interest to learners
· Language skills, structures, and competencies
· Opportunities to document current language use, and monitor progress towards learner-selected goals
· Opportunities to build a classroom community in which learners get acquainted, solve problems together, and engage in authentic projects (Weinstein, 1999)Certain projects illustrate further the potential when learners are invited to collectively construct knowledge through telling stories for real readers or listeners outside the classroom. Mien hill tribe women work in groups to describe photos of village life in Laos. With help from a bilingual aide, they create a book that will be given to their U.S.-born children. Newly arrived immigrants at the city college develop a handbook for new(er)comers on how to survive the first semester in the U.S., complete with a campus resource guide and tips for handling homesickness. Students at a popular education program in New York investigate neighborhood problems that they themselves have identified, and compile their research for collective advocacy.
These activities illustrate project-based learning, in which learners investigate a question, solve a problem, plan an event, or develop a product. Learners not only receive knowledge from a teacher or book, rather, they collectively share and create knowledge. Among the potential benefits are effective advocacy, support for problem-solving, or intergenerational transmission of culture, among others. In addition, materials created by learners are often more powerful and compelling for future learners than anything the most dedicated materials writer can dream up.
“Learners’ Lives as Curriculum” is a model which connects professional development with materials development in which practitioners develop materials for learners in their programs based on learners’ needs and experiences. While writing the materials, teachers themselves deepen their understanding not only of the learners themselves, but also of sound language and literacy teaching.A new initiative is envisioned linking two key activities for serving immigrant learners. The first component is teacher training (i.e. professional development). A two-day training for family literacy practitioners, titled “Using Learner Stories for Language and Literacy Outcomes: Focus on ELL Families” is now available from the National Center for Family Literacy3 . More general training for family literacy, worker issues and civic engagement are also available from Gail Weinstein, with a focus on learner-centered teaching with accountability .4
The second component of this initiative will be the development of ESL literacy materials for use by teachers and learners in family literacy and other English language programs. Practitioners will be encouraged to continue their professional development through an on-line course (now available for graduate credit), and to produce thematic units for there own programs.
1. This pilot project, done in partnership with the National Center for Family Literacy, was funded by the Knight Foundation.
2. Weinstein, G. 1999. Learners’ Lives as Curriculum Delta Books, McHenry IL.
3. For information about NCFL’s 2-day family literacy training, contact Cathy at cmctighe@famlit.org
4. For information about training for learner-centered teaching with accountability for family, worker and community issues, contact Gail Weinstein at gailw@sfsu.edu.
