LINCS Online Discussion: Teaching Academic Writing to Adult English Learners

Drs. Joy Kreeft Peyton, Rebecca Fernandez, and Kirsten Schaetzel, who recently published a study on teaching writing to English learners in the summer edition of the COABE Journal, will be presenting a 1-hour webinar on their research for the LINCS community on Friday, March 2 at 1:00 EST (12:00 pm CST). Their study is called  “A survey of writing instruction in adult ESL programs: Are teaching practices meeting adult learner needs?”

With the increased focus on college and career readiness in adult education today, adults learning English need to develop skills to write well academically for academic and professional tasks. This webinar, “Teaching Academic Writing to Adult English Learners,” will give participants an overview of the current place of academic writing in adult education classes and introduce them to ways to incorporate more academic writing activities into instruction. The presenters will review the results of a survey, which describe the place and characteristics of the teaching of academic writing currently in classes and give an overview of instructional approaches that teachers can use. During a follow up discussion in the English Language Acquisition Community the following week (March 4, 5 & 6), the researchers will give an overview of specific academic writing activities (using writing as the basis for reading; using graphic organizers to develop academic writing skills; and using writing test sample questions (from the GED and HiSET) to develop academic writing skills) and discuss how each of these activities can be adapted for use with learners at different English proficiency levels.

Bios on Presenters

• Dr. Rebeca Fernandez is an Assistant Professor at Davidson College. She has been in the field of language and literacy for 25 years. She began her career in bilingual education and taught adult ESL for many years. She currently works with multilinguals and teaches courses in the Rhetoric & Writing Studies and Educational Studies programs at Davidson College.
• Dr. Joy Kreeft Peyton is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Applied Linguistics. Her work includes implementing and studying approaches to writing that give learners opportunities to express themselves in environments that facilitate learning and success. She has worked on writing projects overseas and in the United States in K-12 and adult education settings.
• Dr. Kirsten Schaetzel is the English Language Specialist at Emory University School of Law. She works with students, faculty, and staff on academic and cultural adaptation and expectations. She has taught academic writing to adult learners overseas and in the United States and worked with the CAELA intitative at the Center for Applied Linguistics.

Details for how to register for the webinar will be announced on the English Language Acquisition community group closer to the date of the webinar.

Registering for the LINCS Community

To create a new account:

1. Go to the LINCS Community: https://community.lincs.ed.gov and select “Log In / Register” at the top of the page (on the far right in the blue menu ribbon). Then select “Register for a new account.”
2. Complete the “Create an Account” screen. Check the box indicating that you agree to the Terms and Conditions, then click “Submit” at the bottom.
3. An automated email will be sent to you. Be sure to check your Spam / Junk Mail box if you don’t see it! Click on the link in that email to verify your account. Once your email has been verified, you should get a “verification successful” email message.
4. There’s one last step! A LINCS staff member reviews every new account to prevent spammers from accessing the Community pages. You will receive another email once your account has been approved.
5. Now you can login from the LINCS Community page (https://community.lincs.ed.gov/). Once again select “Log In / Register” at the top of the page. Enter your email address and password, and click “Log In.”

Joining a Group:

• Log in and click the “Join Groups” button, or “Groups” tab in the blue horizontal navigation bar. You will see a list of groups you can join. Choose the one(s) that interest you and select “join” to become a member. (For the special discussion on teaching writing to English learners, be sure to choose the English Language Acquisition Community.)
• When you choose a group, you will be redirected to that group’s home page. On the right, you have the option to set your Email Subscription to receive messages immediately or in 12-hour or 24-hour digests.

Contact tech support if needed at https://community.lincs.ed.gov/Contact.