Civic engagement and language education are critical to adult immigrants' connection to their new society. Building on the concepts in Introducing Civic Literacy in the Adult ESOL Classroom, this workshop provides a framework and strategies for integrating civic and community engagement in adult ESOL classes.
Please note: This course will take place in Blackboard, where you will find all virtual session information, course materials, and additional resources. You cannot access the online course from the SABES website. You will receive a separate email one to two days before the course begins with instructions on how to access the Zoom session. If you do not receive these instructions, please check your Spam folder and/or send an email to nruskin@edc.org.
- Adult ESOL instructors of all English proficiency levels
This professional development activity/course is designed for:
Following Introducing Civic Literacy in the Adult ESOL Classroom, this workshop provides a framework and strategies for integrating civic and community engagement in adult ESOL. In the first part of the session, the presenter will briefly review the information from the previous workshop, and will present an ESOL and civic literacy framework, on which several instructional strategies are based. Next, there will be an interactive discussion regarding the concept of community engagement and its importance for immigrants—citizens and noncitizens alike.
In the second part of the session, the presenter will introduce strategies, best practices, and tools for adult ESOL educators to use in their classrooms. These strategies will focus on student engagement in civics, volunteering, participation in community and civic activities, and addressing relevant issues of social justice. You will discuss how these strategies align with content standards in the Civics Strand of the Massachusetts English Language Proficiency Standards (MA ELPS), the Teaching Skills That Matter (TSTM) curriculum, as well as the MA ESOL Professional Standard Three: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Teaching.
There will be time during the session for you to reflect on the information and consider ways to adapt and adopt the strategies, resources, and tools presented to your specific teaching contexts.
- Describe active citizenship and related concepts in the context of adult ESOL
- Explain the ESOL and civic literacy framework introduced in the session
- Adopt the strategies, resources, and tools presented to incorporate civic engagement to your adult education learning environments
- Reflect on the benefits of teaching civic engagement to adult ELLs
Upon completion of this professional development activity/course, you will be able to:
United States
