ESL: English as a Second Language
Literacy (LBS: Literacy and Basic Skills)
and ESL Literacy
Exactly how these terms are used and what they refer to is different from place to place and, sometimes, from person to person. In some places the divisions are important and formalised and in others, less so.In Canada, there are some contexts where there is a stigma, or perceived potential for repercussions, attached to being in a literacy class. For example, in some workplace education programs, workers are not comfortable saying that they do not read or write well because they think that their employer will treat them differently. In those places ESL and literacy students work together in an English class or a computer class; literacy development is part of the curriculum but it is not named as such.
I understand that in England the opposite is true. Students feel that there is more stigma attached to being in an ESL class than to being in a literacy class.The reasons why it might be important to create different classes for ESL students and literacy students will become clearer as we progress through the workshop.
For the purposes of this workshop, I use the terms this way:
ESL: I think you all have a pretty clear idea about who might be an ESL student by now. ESL students are people who do not speak, understand, read and/or write in English as fluently and/or as accurately as they would like or as they need to. They do speak, understand, read and write in at least one other language as fluently and/or as accurately as they would like or as they need to.
Literacy: Literacy students are people who speak and understand English fluently and accurately but do not read and/or write as fluently and/or as accurately as they would like or as they need to. In Ontario, literacy programs are funded by the Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) branch of the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities (MTCU).
Here is an overview of literacy in Ontario from Essential Skills Ontario: Literacy and Basic Skills in Ontario.
Here is an overview from the Community Literacy Ontario: Literacy and Basic Skills Presentations.
In some places literacy programs are referred to as Adult Basic Education (ABE) so you will see that term in the literature as well. The Canadian Literacy Thesaurus is a bilingual list of standardized vocabulary in the area of adult literacy if you want to delve into this terminology in more depth :P
ESL Literacy: ESL Literacy students are people who do not speak, understand, read and write in English as fluently or as accurately as they would like or as they need to. They do speak and understand at least one other language as fluently and/or as accurately as they would like or as they need to, but they do not read and write in any language fluently or accurately.
Some ESL Literacy students come to class with reading and writing goals and want to develop literacy abilities as well as speaking and listening abilities. Some ESL Literacy students come to class with primarily speaking and listening goals and need a print-light environment in which to develop these abilities.The chart and lists below may make this clearer for some. The difference between these students will become clearer as the workshop progresses - I hope! Please post any questions as comments. I will ask them here or in realspace. Your questions will help me edit this post for clarity and completeness.
I use the terms student and learner interchangeably. I am in a constant debate with myself as to which is more respectful and accurate but have come to no good conclusion yet.
Click on the chart to see it larger and more clearly.
ESL learners
• are fluent and accurate L1 readers and writers
• are not fluent and/or not accurate English readers and writers
• are not fluent and/or not accurate English speakers and listeners
• usually have experience with formal education
• are engaged in a process of transferring skills, experience and knowledge and understanding from one language to another; one formal learning context to another; from one culture to another
Literacy learners
• are fluent and accurate English speakers and listeners
• are not fluent and/or not accurate English readers and writers
• may have very little experience of formal education
• may have had negative formal-education experiences
• are learning literacy concepts as well as skills
• are engaged in a process of transferring skills, experience and knowledge and understanding from verbal modes to written and text-based modes; from informal learning to more formal context
ESL/Literacy learners
• are not fluent and/or not accurate L1 readers and writers
• are not fluent and/or not accurate English readers and writers
• are not fluent and/or not accurate English speakers and listeners
• may have very little experience of formal educatio
• may have had negative formal-education experiences
• are learning literacy concepts as well as skills
• are engaged in a process of transferring skills, experience and knowledge and understanding from one mode of communication to another (from verbal modes to written and text-based modes), from informal learning to more formal context, from one culture to another
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Here are some of the ways Literacy has been defined since 1950:
A person is literate who can with understanding both read and write a short simple statement on his/her everyday life.
United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 1951
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A person is functionally illiterate if he or she cannot engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning in his or her community, and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing, and calculation for their own and for the community's development.
UNESCO 1962
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Literacy work, like education in general, is a political act. It is not neutral, for the act of revealing social reality in order to transform it, or of concealing it in order to preserve it, is political. Literacy is not an end in itself. It is a fundamental human right.
International Symposium for Literacy, Persepolis, 3-8 September 1975
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Literacy means the "information processing skills necessary to use the printed material commonly encountered at work, at home, and in the community."
Statistics Canada, 1991
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Literacy is an important means to achieving labour’s goal of empowering working people:
Ontario Federation of Labour, 1991
- to take control of their lives individually and collectively;
- to be better able to speak with their own voices;
- to be better able to make those voices heard;
- to question, criticize, evaluate; and
- to act as full citizens with a broad vision in a democratic society.
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Literacy is a person’s ability to understand and employ printed information in daily activities, at home, at work, and in the community in order to reach one’s goals, and develop one’s knowledge and potential.
International Adult Literacy Survey, 1995
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The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society." This is a broader view of literacy than just an individual's ability to read, the more traditional concept of literacy. As information and technology have increasingly shaped our society, the skills we need to function successfully have gone beyond reading, and literacy has come to include the skills listed in the current definition.
National Institute For Literacy (US)
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Reading literacy is defined in PISA as the ability to understand, use and reflect on written texts in order to achieve one's goals, to develop one's knowledge and potential, and to participate effectively in society.
Literacy Skills for the World of Tomorrow: further results from PISA [Programme for International Student Assessment] 2000, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/Unesco Institute for Statistics, 2003
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Literacy is a complex set of abilities needed to understand and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture – alphabets, numbers, visual icons - for personal and community development. The nature of these abilities, and the demand for them, vary from one context to another.
In a technological society, literacy extends beyond the functional skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening to include multiple literacies such as visual, media and information literacy. These new literacies focus on an individual’s capacity to use and make critical judgements about the information they encounter on a daily basis.
However a culture defines it, literacy touches every aspect of individual and community life. It is an essential foundation for learning through life, and must be valued as a human right.
Centre for Literacy of Quebec, currently at http://www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/about/literacy
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