ABSTRACT
Going with the report brought forward by the U.S department of education, it has become clear that most students in the federally funded education study English as their second language. Most of these students are emigrants and refugees. Many students have limited opportunities to study English in their native language hence their inability to acquire relevant literacy and language skills which are vital in the communication process.
Adult basic education and ESL programs help these students to acquire literacy and language skills through local education agencies such as community colleges and other community-based organizations among others. However, adult ESL education does encounter many challenges both on the side of the students and the instructors. For instance, the instructors are poorly paid; in addition, they usually receive little or no professional development and also teach in crowded classes with limited resources.
Unfortunately, there is little studies to help guide instruction or the curriculum development. In order to address the lack of research-based knowledge in adult ESL, the national centre for education evaluation and the regional assistance of the institute of education sciences found it prudent to fund a task so as to identify promising adult ESL and to test the impact of the intervention.
Problem
The problem being examined in this study is ESL adult education. The study outlines some of the challenges that face adult ESL education. In addition, the study determines the factors which ought to be considered when teaching adult ESL. It also focuses on the importance of adult ESL education especially to non-native speakers.
Problem background
The recent statistics from the department of education in the United States of America show that more than 40% of over three million adult students in the federally funded education program study English as a second language. However, most of these students are immigrants and refugees with different nationalities and cultural background. Many of the students have heard limited educational opportunities and are now struggling to acquire literacy and language skills to enable them communicate effectively with their counterparts. This forms the basis of the problem for this study.
Purpose of the study.
This study determines the needs for the different adult students who study English as their second language. The study will examine some of the institutions that provide services to adult ESL education. Furthermore, the research aims at examining the reasons why adults engage in ESL education. This study will also focus on the challenges encountered in adult ESL education.
Research questions
This research study attempt to answer the following questions:
- The significance for ESL adult education
- The challenges that faces ESL education
- The role of community college in supporting adult ESL education
Limitations of the study
Tight schedule of the semester implies that the time available for the field study won’t be enough hence there is a possibility that the information obtained will be inadequate. Furthermore, there is a possibility that some of the participants may not answer interview questions honestly.
Delimitations
The methods such as interview employed in this study for data collection is useful. Interviews will provide first hand information about ESL adult education. The information collected in this study will help to unfold the challenges faced in ESL education.
Definition of terms
This section will provide comprehensive definition of some of the terminologies that have been used in this research.
ESL. The abbreviation is most commonly used to imply the learning of English in an environment where English is the native language. It refers to the comprehensive learning of the language: listening and speaking as well as reading and writing, pronunciation as well as grammar.
Adult ESL STUDENT; For the sake of this paper, adult ESL students are learners aged 18 or older and who has been enrolled in one of the adult ESL programs offered by community colleges and other institutions of learning.
Qualitative research study - a type of educational research where the researcher depends on the views of the participant. Researchers aim to gain an in depth understanding of human behaviour.
Post secondary education –the level of education following the completion of a school providing secondary education such as high school.
Emigrants- for the sake of this study, emigrant will mean the individual who come to live permanently in a foreign country.
Refugees- these are people who have been forced to leave their home country because of war, persecution and natural disasters.
Instructors- these are teachers who help adult students to acquire literacy and communication skills in English.
Native language-this is the language that an individual is born with or has spoken from early childhood.
Interview- this is the face to face consultation with an individual.
Importance of this study
This study is useful, as it outlines the significance and the challenges that are experienced in ESL adult education. The study can be used by the policy makers as a basis for coming up with policies which enhances ESL education. Furthermore, the study provides valuable information which is crucial for further research in this topic. The research also stipulates the special needs for the adult ESL students.
Introduction/ background
There is no classic adult ESL student. Adult English language learners differ in terms of their prior educational experiences and literacy, their English language proficiency and their main reasons for participating in adult ESL. Some of the individuals that participate in adult ESL teaching include nurses from various parts of the world. For instance, nurses from Philippines and engineers from Russia study English in order to pass their job-related proficiency exams. Brooks and Heath (2005).
Refugees from Somalia or agricultural workers from Mexico seeking Basic English literacy and the emigrant who wish to effectively communicate engage in adult ESL education. The U.S citizens from Puerto Rico seeking to develop their academic English in order to enter a postsecondary program; and Vietnamese women and the elders who wish to help school-aged children with their homework all engage in adult ESL education. There are different categories of ESL adult students; some are highly educated; others have limited or interrupted schooling. Condelli and Wrigley (2004).
The wide range of prior educational experiences and reasons for participating in adult ESL education requires diverse range of resources and programs. It is difficult to accommodate the needs of varied groups of learners. Because of this, adult ESL learners with different learning profiles and needs may find themselves in the same program. For instance, the adult ESL class may contain varied adult learners with different strengths and needs.
Role of community college in providing adult ESL education.
According to Blose, (2009), about one out of four students in community colleges is an emigrant. The ESL is the largest and fastest growing programs in many colleges. While the majority of ESL students in the college are emigrants, it is prudent to appreciate the existence of other international students seeking English instructions. The reason for this is because international students consider community colleges to be comparatively cheaper.
The provision of instructions depends with the type of students engaging in ESL education. In some regions, the community college is the sole provider of adult ESL education services. However, in other regions, the main focus is credit-bearing or more advanced academic ESL courses hence admission is restricted to postsecondary education. Conversely, it is important to appreciate that community colleges has been on the forefront when comes to addressing the needs of the adult ESL students. Barton & Pitt (2003).
Challenges encountered by instructors
Learning ESL by adult is not easy as people may think. This study faces a lot of challenges. The challenges are encountered both by the instructor and the adult student learning English as their second language. Some of the challenges include poor pay on the side of the teachers or the instructors and non conducive teaching environment. In addition, they receive little or no professional development and they always encounter large crowds in classes.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This part presents the methods to be used in data collection. Interviews will be used to collect data for the sake of this study interviews entails asking and answering questions between the person conducting the research and the respondent. The use of interview is crucial because it enable an individual to collect first hand information which is free from bias.
Data analysis
Data analysis entails the process of interpreting the collected data so as to reach at a particular conclusion. For the case of this study, the Microsoft excel shall be used to analyse the data. The Microsoft excel will be used in this study to analyse data because it is simple to use.
CONCLUSION
Since this paper presents just pilot information about ESL adult education, there is need for further research in the subject area so as to comprehensively define the professional development needed for more programs in order to adopt the right method and the program for teaching ESL adult education.
References
Blose, C. (2009, February 1). Home at last. Community College Journal, 79(4), 24-26. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ831426) Retrieved April 6 2009, from ERIC database.
Barton, D. & Pitt, K. (2003). Adult ESOL pedagogy: A review of research, an annotated
Bibliography and recommendations for future research. London: NRDC.Retrieved January 2013 fromhttp://www.nrdc.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=424&ArticleID=381.
Brooks, G., Heath, K. (2005). Assessing adult literacy and numeracy: Areview of assessment instruments. Retrieved Jan 2013 from http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=23.
Condelli, L., Wrigley, H. (2004). Effective instruction for adult ESL literacy students: Findings from the What Works Study (2004) Retrieved Jan 2013 from www.nrdc.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_54.pdf.
AERA Research Points. (2004). English language learners: Boosting academic achievement. Research Points, 2(1). Retrieved Jan 22, 2013, from http://www.aera.net/pubs/rp/RP_Winter04.pdf
