Greetings all,

There are many more immigrants and refugees with visual impairments than
most of us are aware of and there will be more in the future. This is true
for a variety of reasons, including:

First, many immigrants and refugees, documented and undocumented, work in
fields where injury rates tend to be high, including injuries to the eyes,
such as in factory style food processing, factory farming, construction,
etc.

Second, many immigrants and refugees find accessing medical care very
difficult for cost and other reasons, so health issues, including vision
problems, may not be adequately cared for in a timely manner.

Third, many immigrants and refugees are especially vulnerable to diseases
such as diabetes, which can lead to vision loss, especially if not properly
cared for on an ongoing basis and with cultural understanding.

Fourth, many immigrants and refugees have experienced extreme poverty and
violence in the countries they come from and on their way to the U.S., as
well as while living in the U.S., which can often entail significant damage
to one or both eyes.

Fifth, in their countries of origin, they often experience malnutrition and
a variety of infectious diseases that can cause vision loss if not dealt
with expeditiously, which usually doesn't happen.

Sixth, we need to keep in mind that approximately 90 percent of people with
visual limitations live in impoverished countries. And many of them
immigrate to the U.S. for the same reasons that fully sighted immigrants and
refugees do.

In addition, some who come through family unification are older people, who
are generally more prone to vision loss in every country.

I have also found that a number of day laborer centers have visually
impaired immigrants and refugees using their employment services. But, for
the most part, these people do  not participate in the English classes
because of the difficulties they have seeing the pictures as well as the
standard size print in the handouts and texts, as well  as difficulties
seeing the gestures made by tutors and teachers, and seeing writing on the
board. Some of them have experienced embarrassment and teasing from other
students in such classes.

Some community-based programs provide individual and group tutoring in which
visually impaired new English learners try to participate. But, again, the
difficulties they have with pictures and standard sized text, the gestures
made by tutors and  teachers, and writing on the board, as well as the lack
of training for volunteer tutors and professional ESOL teachers in helping
such adult students, often leads them to become discouraged and withdraw
after some time.

Most also tend to do poorly in community college classes for the same
reasons.

It is also important to keep in mind that most visually impaired immigrants
and refugees, like most people born in the U.S. who are currently visually
impaired, are not born with this disability. They have developed it as
adults. So, they are also often dealing with the trauma and stress that such
a loss engenders, along with the stress of immigration. This may make
learning more difficult.

It is generally recognized that people with visual impairments greatly
benefit from specialized instruction in daily living skills, in reading and
writing in accessible formats, and in the use of special aids and equipment.
People who are learning English as a new language also require specialized
training and educational services that take into account their needs as new
language learners.



And new English learners with visual limitations usually have needs which
are greater than and in some respects different from both the needs of
Proficient English speakers who are visually impaired or blind and those of
fully-sighted new English learners. This means that simply adding together
training, educational offerings and services designed for proficient-English
speaking visually-impaired people and those designed for fully-sighted new
English learners may not adequately meet their needs.



The chances for new English learners with visual limitations to achieve
their goals and realize their full potential are therefore greatly enhanced
by specialized instruction which takes into account both their needs as
visually-impaired people and as new English learners, and which teaches
functional oral English communication and literacy in a way that is
integrated and coordinated with their learning of the other adaptive skills
they need.


Since only approximately 20 percent of all people with visual impairments in
this country are actually blind, many immigrants and refugees with visual
impairments can learn English literacy along with oral English if they are
provided
with the size type that works for them, along with the kinds of lighting and
other environmental adaptations that they need. This can best be provided by
using a word processor to enlarge text size, rather than copy machines.
Pictures may pose a more complex challenge, so I highly recommend reliance
on interacting with actual objects and the environment, rather than asking
such students to struggle with trying to see and interpret enlarged versions
of pictures while also becoming accustomed to a new culture and a new place
to live, and learning a new language.

Those who are interested in details about adapting print  size and type
face, etc.,  utilizing total physical response and other techniques in ways
that work for students with visual impairments as well as all ESOL students,
can
check the web site of the Kaizen Program for New English Learners With
Visual Limitations at:
http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/


Since we don't have all our materials on our web site, if you want more
information about techniques, as well as about specific statistics about the
frequency of visual impairment among immigrants and refugees as far as it is
known, and other such concerns, you are welcome to contact me, Sylvie
Kashdan,  directly at
kaizen at literacyworks.org

Here are links to some materials that may be of assistance:

Kaizen Program: Informational Brochure

http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/about.htm



Teaching English to Immigrants and Refugees with Visual Limitations: How do
you do it?

http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/How_do_you_do_%20it_for_web_page.htm

Notes on the Needs of New English Learners with Vision Limitations

http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/Notes.htm



For general information on how to assist adult students with visual
impairments see below:



Best regards,



Sylvie Kashdan, M.A.
Instructor/Curriculum Coordinator
KAIZEN PROGRAM for New English Learners with Visual Limitations
810-A Hiawatha Place South
Seattle, WA  98144, U.S.A.
phone:  (206) 784-5619
email:  kaizen at literacyworks.org
web:  http://www.nwlincs.org/kaizen/


Bridging the Gap

Best Practices for Instructing Adults Who Are Visually Impaired and Have Low
Literacy Skills

American Foundation for the Blind National Literacy Center

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp'sectionID=44&TopicID=108&DocumentID=2504

A Free Online Course

The American Foundation for the Blind National Literacy Center offers this
course, free of charge, to all professionals interested in improving their
awareness and understanding of issues faced by adults who are visually
impaired and have low literacy skills. Designed as a self-directed learning
opportunity, the engaging content offers something for everyone:

Relevant for vision rehabilitation, adult basic education, health care,
assisted living, and workforce development professionals.

Authentic case studies and application questions, thinker boxes, live links,
and extensive resources offer opportunities to transfer learning to real
world situations.

Message boards give participants an opportunity to share ideas and ask
questions.

This self-paced course gives participants the freedom to select modules and
topics that are relevant to them. It is designed to ensure that all
participants have the opportunity to achieve the following objectives:

Understand the range of social, legal, and practical issues they face as
educators working with adults who have varying types and degrees of visual
impairment.

Be familiar with the range of instructional theories, techniques, and
technologies they can draw upon when teaching literacy skills to adults who
are visually impaired.

Know where they can find supplemental information and tools.

Demonstrate an ability to apply what they learn in the course to specific
situations involving adults who are visually impaired, particularly in
community-based models.

This Web-based course contains the following modules:

Module One: Awareness

Module Two: Reading, Testing, and Learning Disabilities

Module Three: The Impact of Vision Loss on Learning and Instruction

Module Four: Technology (under construction, due Spring 2005)

Module Five: Adapting the Learning Environment

Module Six: The New GED 2002: Implications for Adults Who Are Visually
Impaired

For those participants interested in continuing education units, they must
take the pre-test and post-test for each module that will be used for
credit. Our Learning Management System will track each participant's time
and scores on the course and generate reports that may be used for
documentation.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Martin Senger" <MSenger at GECAC.org>
To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List"
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 5:24 AM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3695] Re: Post critical period oralL2
learningofadults w/low L1 litearcy


Pax et bonum! (peace & goodness)

Has anyone thought of looking at how visually-impaired students learn a
second-language? I don't know how big of a pool there would be, but I feel
there could be things we could learn about alternatives to visually-based
education (i.e. literacy).

Just an idea.

Martin E. Senger
Adult ESL / Civics Teacher,
G.E.C.A.C. / The R. Benjamin Wiley Learning Center
Erie, Pa.
Co-Director,
ESL Special Interest Group
Pa. Assoc. for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE)


-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Anne Whiteside
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 11:28 PM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3662] Re: Post critical period oral L2
learningofadults w/low L1 litearcy

I don't have anything written up yet...and am trying to collect a bigger
sample, and they haven't been transcribed yet, so you may be right...Anne


>>> mbigelow at umn.edu 01/27/09 2:15 PM >>>

Anne,

This is fascinating.  Would you happen to have a publication or citation you
could share with the list yet?  I'm sure many would be very interested to
read more, even if it is a handout.  I’m often overwhelmed by the English
language fluency and pragmatic skills of the teens I've worked with.  But
sometimes the transcriptions show surprises!  They are not as accurate as
they seem.

Martha

-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Anne Whiteside
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 2:39 PM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3633] Re: Working withlearners withlimitedliteracy

Your last paragraph brings up an issue which I think is a good topic for
research, namely whether in multilingual societies without access to much
schooling there is a higher tolerance for error and a greater emphasis on
basic communication, and also whether people are actually achieving
native-like fluency post critical period...Í´ve been recording conversations
with adult speakers of Mayan languages who learned Spanish after the age of
18 but who don't read or write, and have found some of them to be pretty
non-schooled proficient, able to cover for their lacks with circumlocution
or avoidance, but pretty capable in terms of BICS.

Anne Whiteside


>>> owlhouse at wwt.net 01/27/09 9:00 AM >>>

I agree - from experience - that it is incredibly difficult to get grammar
to "take" with immigrant and refugee students, but I still like to cover
basic word order - sentence, question, answer.  I think these issues are
important and, just like vocabulary, need constant repetition and recycling
to bring them to awareness.  At the preliterate level, I use colored rods to
draw attention to word order changes.  There is no explicit grammar
instruction - just different colored rods representing different grammatical
categories.  By moving the rods around, they learn to make questions and
answers.  They learn to recognize the difference between a yes/no question
and an or-question.  Basics.  Sometimes it goes on for weeks before they get
it (in a wide variety of contexts), but they do get it.

But the question is, then... if not direct instruction, then what?  It
doesn't get intuited, of that I'm sure.  But without understanding grammar,
their English will never be considered fluent by people outside the ESL
community.  I conducted research at a workplace that had a huge number of
Ethiopian workers, and got incessant complaints about their English from
American customers.  Frankly, I thought most of the Ethiopians spoke English
perfectly understandably, but I am not the general public.  The general
public has much higher (and unrealistic) standards, not only for grammar,
but also for pronunciation.  If someone has not achieved native-speaker
ability, many Americans simply will not - or cannot - understand them.  It
boggles the mind for those of us who spend our lives working with non-native
speakers, but it's true.

What I'm saying is - it's not just about language acquisition.  It's also
about something we might call "language receptivity."  We are not training
our ESL students in a vacuum.  There is a larger world out there that has
incredibly high standards which, frankly, I'm not sure it's possible for our
students to meet no matter what kind of ESL instruction they get.






  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: robinschwarz1 at aol.com
  To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
  Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 9:32 AM
  Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3607] Re: Working withlearners
withlimitedliteracy


  In reviewing some literature about adult second/other language acquistion,
I came across a couple of studies showing that "grammar sensitivity"-- the
ability to know when a sentence is grammatically correct or not in the
language being leaar lower or even non-existent in immigrants who arrived in
the US as adults compared to those who had arrived as young teens.   Their
sensitivity was tested after they had been in the US many years but had had
no formal English instruction.   This is consistent with theories that
indicate that for adults, language acquisition is conscious and
effortful--and this also goes along with what Elaine Tarone mentioned about
theories about noticing--if we do not actively notice what is wrong (not
have it pointed out, but consciously think about it as needing correction)
then the errors do not change.

  As of now, I believe there is almost no research at all telling us what it
is like for non-literates--or especially preliterates (those coming from
cultures with no text tradition) to learn grammar as adults.   The latter
have no language with wh ideas, and none of the non-literates has even
grappled with the concept that language is a thing that can be talked about
and manipulated.    There seems to be a deeply seated belief among a lot of
ESL teachers that teaching grammar explicitly will help with language
learning, but in my observation and experience as a teacher, there is no
direct connection with learning grammar and PRODUCING correct language
unless, as Elaine points out, it is a consciously applied process.   If
grammar were the answer, all those students who excel at grammar book
grammar should be able to speak and write grammar as well as they do the
excercises-- and we all know THAT is not true.....

  Robin Lovrien Schwarz





  -----Original Message-----
  From: Joan <owlhouse at wwt.net>
  To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
  Sent: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 8:00 pm
  Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3592] Re: Working withlearners
withlimitedliteracy


  On the issue of teaching grammar...

  I'm for it!

  And, in general, the students are for it - if they're not Korean or
Japanese or come from an education that has rammed grammar down their
throats at the expense of communicative ability.  Not to say that grammar is
not communicative - it definitely is, it definitely is more than form, it
definitely carries meaning, and our students need to know that and how to
get their meaning across.  I am skeptical that most people will intuit
grammatical forms if they receive adequate input. I have worked with
immigrant and refugee high school students - some of whom have lived their
entire lives in the U.S. and gone through the school system every step of
the way - and are still speaking some interlanguage that is neither English
nor their native language, but some conglomeration of rules that they
intuited absolutely incorrectly.  At that point, it's nearly impossible for
them to go back and get it right.

  I'm not advocating a heavy form-based approach, but definitely some
grammar.


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