[etni] Re: Ethiopians
- From: Debbie Hellerstein <debbie.hellerstein@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:35:55 +0200
I'd like to strongly recommend to any teachers working with Ethiopian
immigrant students Erica Garb and Alex Kozulin's "I Think, Therefore I Read"
(Acadmeon), especially for high-school and above. It teaches cognitive
skills through the process of the acquisition of English. The tasks are
scaffolded, from very simple to more complex, though the content is geared
for young adults. I have worked with it a lot and believe it is an excellent
source for providing students with the cognitive skills and reading
strategies they need with content that respects their intelligence.
Good Luck,
Debbie
On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 11:25 PM, Cecile Hadassah Nadav <hadassahn@xxxxxxxxx
> wrote:
> I completely agree with all that Sonya wrote. I teach girls at the high
> school level. We've found that working slowly with lots of repetition,
> spiraling, etc. is important, with lots of praise and encouragement. Try to
> anticipate subjects that they may not be familiar with and give them the
> background information necessary to understand a text ahead of time
> (sometimes I feel like I'm teaching geography/history/science). Regardless
> of how well they can manipulate their pelephones and use Facebook, many of
> these kids are simply not in touch with the 21st century.I realized that
> they don't like to admit that they don't know things, so I just explain
> things in a matter of fact way, as if I explain it to all my students that
> way, without asking them first if they know it or not. If it turns out that
> they already know about the subject, so it makes them feel good, no harm
> done. But I've stopped assuming that they know almost anything. We also try
> to bring in texts about successful Ethiopian olim, or other subjects that
> they can relate to. Be careful not to give them workpages etc. that look
> babyish, or have a lower grade level written on them-- very insulting.
> We've
> also noticed that they do not consider games to be serious learning, but if
> the element of competition is added, they'll participate. I've had success
> with musical activities (we had some fun translating Bob Marley songs). My
> students seem to appreciate the fact that I'm also an olah, unlike most of
> their other teachers, and that I understand some of the challenges that
> they
> face (correcting my spelling mistakes in Hebrew makes them feel great!).
> That being said, keep in mind that aliyah has been a traumatic experience
> for many Ethiopians--they face discrimination, poverty, disintegration of
> their family structure, separation of family members, as well as the usual
> stresses of aliyah like learning Hebrew and adjusting to the culture.
> Because of this they are generally very motivated to succeed, but they
> still
> really need to know that you believe in them, and believe that they can be
> much more than a cleaning woman or a garbage collector. They want to be
> accepted and respected, not felt sorry for. I make them work hard. Make
> sure
> they know the importance of knowing English for their future, because the
> burden of learning a 3rd language (when they may not even be literate in
> Amharic and not yet mastered Hebrew) can seem pointless to them. Also, in
> Ethiopian culture, parents don't get involved much in what goes on in
> school. The teacher is considered the authority, and is also expected to
> handle any problems or issues. So don't expect a lot of help from the
> homefront (the language barrier often prevents this anyway). While
> challenging, I really enjoy teaching my Ethiopian students. They're like a
> breath of fresh air.
> Good luck!
> Hadassah Nadav
> Kfar Noar L'bnot "Ayelet Hashachar"
> Yonatan, Ramat Hagolan
>
> -----------------------------------------------
> ** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org
> ** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx **
> ** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **
> -----------------------------------------------
>
>
--
Devora Hellerstein,
The Zinman College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the Wingate
Institute
972-9-863-9200
972-523-628-528
-----------------------------------------------
** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org
** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx **
** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **
-----------------------------------------------
Other related posts: