Strengthening Teachers Across the State

This past month LSS Center for New Americans was host to teachers from across the state and from Sioux Falls as they worked on professional development.  The English Language Instructor Development Program (ELIDP) training yields the English as a Second Language Instructor Credential for the State of South Dakota.  This program is funded through the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. 

This professional development has three phases. 

Phase I:  Participants have 26 hours of face-to-face training during which they discuss topics such as language acquisition, cultural and communication dynamics in the classroom, refugee resettlement, and working with adult English language learners, among others.  During this phase, participants also have hands on experience in the ESL classrooms at the Center for New Americans, working closely with one of the knowledgeable instructors in their classrooms, receiving coaching in both teaching and lesson planning. 

Phase II:  After reflecting on teaching practices and researching best practices, participants implement Action Research in their own classrooms. 

Phase III:  Participants present their Action Research at the annual Summer Summit Conference each July. 

Upon completion of all 3 phases, participants are eligible for state credentialing.

I was able to interview Sarah Jones, one of our newest instructors at the Center for New Americans.  Here is what she had to say about her experience ELIDP.

What was your best takeaway from IDP?

My best takeaway from IDP was the feedback I received while working with my mentor. The simple strategies and techniques we discussed and practiced are ideal for creating a more student-centered learning environment.

How do you think IDP will help you in the classroom?

I think the various strategies and learning activities we discussed both in our group sessions and in the individual discussions with my mentor will help in my classroom. These discussions provided several ideas for increasing student engagement, and their implementation will result in more opportunities for students practice what they are learning.

How do you think the experience of meeting other ESL teachers from across the state could be beneficial?

I think meeting and collaborating with teachers from other programs is always beneficial, as it provides the opportunity to learn what strategies other teachers have found to be helpful in their classrooms and brainstorm ways to implement those strategies in your own classroom.

Are you excited to plan and implement your Action Research?  How do you predict your Action Research affecting your classroom?

I look forward to planning and implementing my Action Research, and I predict that the implementation of more research-based strategies will positively impact student learning and success.

As a former participant in the ELIDP myself and a mentor, this program is a great way meet new teachers, refresh on proven strategies, and improve teaching skills.  So thank you very much South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation for providing this great opportunity!

Written by Heather Glidewell | LSS Center for New Americans | Adult ESL Instructor & Volunteer Coordinator Assistant

300 East 6th Street, Suite 100 | Sioux Falls, SD 57103

1-866-242-2447 toll free | 605-731-2059 fax

National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week

What is National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week?
September 19 to 25 is National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. This week focuses on public awareness and understanding of the essential role of adult education and family literacy in the workforce.

Why is literacy important?
Statistically we find that illiteracy leads to a multitude of socioeconomic problems.
Illiterate adults are:
• 2x more like to be unemployed
• 3x more likely to be in poverty
• 4x more likely to be in poor health

At LSS Center for New Americans, we serve an average of 793 adult English language learners every year. We offer courses in English language acquisition, cultural orientation, workforce training, job interview skills, and citizenship education.

Adult education is essential for workforce development. Statewide statistics show that adults who complete a course have a 54% employment retention rate after 6 months.

For more information on a state level, here is Governor Noem’s press release this past week: https://news.sd.gov/newsitem.aspx?id=28528.

As teachers, here at Center for New Americans, we are very blessed to continue to help our students reach their goals and become productive, successful members of our society.

Written by Heather Glidewell | LSS Center for New Americans | Adult ESL Instructor
300 East 6th Street, Suite 100 | Sioux Falls, SD 57103
1-866-242-2447 toll free | 605-731-2059 fax

The First Time

As we all know, November 3 was voting day.  We were reminded that many people participate in this privilege.  This day marked the first time for many new Americans to vote in their democracy.  It was a privilege to be celebrated and the results were greatly anticipated.

Here at Center for New Americans we learn that voting is a responsibility and a right reserved for U.S. citizens.  When studying for the naturalization test, students need to know the answers to the following questions:

• What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?  To vote
• Name one right only for United States citizens.  To vote in a federal election
• What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?  Voting and serving on a jury

According to https://americanhistory.si.edu/citizenship/ Preparing for the Oath:  “It is the responsibility of the United States citizens to vote in federal elections.  Voting is important.  However, there is no law that says that citizens must vote.”

Another question that is asked during the naturalization interview is, “Why do you want to be a citizen?”  As a citizenship instructor, I hear the answer, “America is my home!  I want to vote!” over and over.  I also hear, “I want to be part of a democracy!” 

We are so happy for our new citizens that voted this year.  Congratulations!  Here’s to many more years of voting and participating in our democracy. 

Written by Heather Glidewell | LSS Center for New Americans | Adult ESL Instructor

300 East 6th Street, Suite 100 | Sioux Falls, SD 57103

1-866-242-2447 toll free | 605-731-2059 fax

What’s in a Name?

It is a unique world that I teach in. On a typical day I have students from Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Congo, Burundi, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Ukraine…and a handful of other countries. I find that even what appears to be the simplest name may actually be a tongue twister for my American English tongue.

 
And yet, I am told, and firmly believe, that names show respect to people and help to create community and camaraderie. More importantly, as a teacher, it shows that I care when I try to pronounce a name correctly, even if I fail miserably.

 
And just What’s In a Name?

 
My obsession with names began long ago. I would spend hours as a child going over my grandmother’s name book and carefully pick out the best names with the best meanings for my future children…or a character in my most recent attempt at novel writing.
When I became an English instructor at LSS, my obsession with names continued. I found it fascinating to hear all the different names and pronunciations. I also found it intriguing that all my Nepalese women seemed to have the same middle name…Maya…and my Nepali men a common middle name…Bahadur. In fact I was so intrigued that I finally asked why? After a lengthy explanation, my students told me that Maya means “love” and Bahadur means “bravery.” They also informed me that first names, too, had meanings, such as Santi means “peace,” Chhabi means “key,” and Phul means “flower.”

Recently I was able to discuss names with some of my other students from around the globe. We discussed: Who chose their name? Does their name have a special meaning? What is common practice with naming children in their home countries? Students were more than eager to share with me (and often laugh with me as I tried very hard to get the names right).

 
One interesting thing I learned was that a student from Sudan was named according to the day of the week. If a child was born on a Tuesday, the girls were all one name and the boys another, and then of course the other days had their own corresponding names. He said though that things have changed over the years, and this is not necessarily followed any more.

 
Additionally, another Sudanese student shared that children receive their own name plus the name of their father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Thus a child could be named Aziza Mohammed Ali Osman (child-father-grandfather-great-grandfather’s names respectively) and this goes for either a boy or a girl.

 
My own name was always kind of an embarrassment for me as a child, and even today I have students calling me “Hi There,” “He There,” and “Heater.” Coincidentally a gentleman from Ethiopia shared that he, too, was always embarrassed about his name as a child as it is not a common name. In fact it was at the suggestion of a family friend that he received his moniker. Then one day he heard his name (at the refugee camp no less) and there was another with his name. He said he was so relieved to meet someone else with his name.

Finally, for today, a student from China explained that their name means “Red Sun.” For him, this was a good name, to be named for the beautiful red sun in the sky. Certainly this was a name that he was proud of, just as my other students are proud of their names and their heritage…just as I am proud of my name and my heritage, too.

 

Written by Heather Glidewell | LSS Center for New Americans | Adult ESL Instructor
300 East 6th Street, Suite 100 | Sioux Falls, SD 57103
1-866-242-2447 toll free | 605-731-2059 fax

Home Remedies from Around the World Part 2

Here are a few more tips I learned from my students over the past couple of months while discussing health care.

Home Stomachache Remedies

 

Stomachaches plague both the young and old.  Perhaps we eat the wrong food or catch a nasty bug.  Maybe we are just stressed out.  Regardless, dealing with a stomachache can be quite the challenge.  My students had great suggestions on the best home practices.

 

Ethiopia ~ When I have a stomachache, I use lemon, sugar, and water, mix it together and I drink it.  I eat a little ginger.

Guatemala ~ When I have a stomachache, I drink lemon juice and tea for the pain.

Eritrea ~ When I have a stomachache, I drink lemon water and I change my food.  I make rice to eat.

Sudan ~ When I have a stomachache, I take a little walk.  I take a nap.  I drink tea from a tree root.

Ukraine ~ If we have a stomachache, we lie down and then do massage.

So I really did have to look up why lemon (a definitively acidic fruit) would help an upset stomach, and apparently a little lemon juice can go a long way in helping the stomach clear out any leftover irritants.  It gives the stomach the extra acidity to heal itself.

Home Headache Remedies

 

Headaches, too, are ever present and affect us all.  A debilitating headache could potentially affect a person for several days.  There are often so many triggers too, from dehydration and hunger to lack of sleep or a sinus infection.  Here are the best ideas my students gave me.

 

Ukraine ~ When I have a headache, I try to relax and put a cloth with mint oil on my forehead.

El Salvador ~  When you have a headache, put a cloth on your forehead.  Drink chamomile tea.  Use lavender oil.  Drink ginger tea.

Sudan ~ When I have a headache, I take a shower with cool water and sleep.  I also eat onion, tomato, and red peppers.

 

Although my research could give me some insight into the herbal remedies my students suggested, I was not able to find as much information on the vegetable-based remedies as I had hoped.

Peppermint oil in fact helps stop migraines.  Ginger has been used for headache treatments for over 2000 years.  Chamomile relaxes the body and relieves stress, and there may also be benefits to lavender oil.

When it came to the vegetables, this is what I learned.  Veggies high in water content such as cucumbers and tomatoes can help with hydration and relieve headaches.

Hot peppers, on the other hand, can help with congestion as we sweat, cough, and cry while eating them (haha!).  Since some headaches can be caused by sinus congestion, this could be a useful remedy.

There was, however, no mention of onions.  I suppose they could also have high water content and if hot enough could help clear out congestion.

Overall I have found the suggestions of my students very intriguing and definitely worth trying. So bring on the spicy salads and lemon ginger tea!

Written by Heather Glidewell, ESL Instructor

Home Remedies from Around the World Part 1

This past month we have been talking about health care with our students. In my upper level English class, we discussed some home remedies that my students use. I learned so much from them!

 

Home Burn Remedies

From cooking mishaps to fun in the summer sun, we all have burns sometimes.  Here are a few of the responses I received from my students on the best ways to take care of them.

El Salvador ~ When I get a burn, I use aloe vera on my burn. I put tomato on it and then I feel better. I put cold water on the burn. I use honey and put on the burn.
Iraq ~ When I burn my hand, I will put tomato paste on a burn.
Venezuela ~ When I have a burn, I put onion on it, I rinse in a lot of cold water, or I put a slice of potato on it.

So naturally I had to look up the benefits of putting a tomato slice on a burn, and sure enough there is a chemical called lycopene in tomatoes that reduces the heat from a burn and helps relieve the pain. Additionally honey has antiseptic properties for burns, and potato slices, especially the peel of a potato, will hold a lot of water and keep a burn from drying out too fast. Finally onion juice, too, has natural pain relievers.

 

Home Cough Remedies

 

The cold season is finally winding down, but allergy season is making its presence known, so my students gladly gave me ideas to help with coughing.

Guatemala ~ When I have cough, I drink hot water with honey and ginger.
Ukraine ~ When I have a cough, I drink tea with honey, ginger, and lemon.
Ethiopia ~ I drink milk with honey and garlic. I mix garlic and milk together. I boil for a few minutes and after that drink I feel better.
Eritrea ~ When I have a cough, I drink warm water. I drink lemon with tea. I take vitamin C; for example, lemon, tomatoes, or an orange. We have to drink hot water early in the morning.

 

The remedy that surprised me most here was the garlic and honey milk. Although both garlic and honey are said to have benefits for colds and coughs, I do not know if I could stomach warm garlic milk. I might have to stick to the other suggestions.

 

 

Catch me next time when I discuss even more home remedies!

Written by Heather Glidewell, ESL Instructor

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Center for New Americans. We recently had an end of the year party with our students.  Please enjoy!

A Festive Rendition of This Land is Your Land sang by teachers and students.

 

Nepalese Students Share their cultural dance

 

 

Our Ukrainian and Nepalese students dance together

 

 

Students and Staff learn Dhaanto dance

Congolese student leads everyone in impromptu song.

 

Peace on Earth

and

Good Will to All!

Enjoy

Your

Holidays!

The LSS Adult English Language Students Have Spoken – Student Survey Day 2018

by Laura Smith-Hill
Each year the LSS Center for New Americans (CNA) facilitates a “Student Survey Day.” On this day, the program provides interpreters and staff to assist students with completing on-line agency client satisfaction surveys. All fourteen program laptops and all twenty-two tablets are pulled out to assist more than 150 students with completing these surveys throughout one very busy day.
But our program does not stop there! We take this opportunity to inform students about all the classes available to them though the LSS CNA (English speaking classes, English literacy classes, computer classes, workforce training classes, citizenship classes). I, as the Education Program Coordinator, give them a short motivational speech about the journey of acquiring a new language, what they can do to help themselves learn English more quickly and to let them know how we, as their instructors, strive to do our best to help them meet their life goals!
Part of us being our best as English language instructors is taking the time to hear honest feedback from our adult learners. That’s where our student survey discussions come in.
We have students divide up into native language groups with interpreters to discuss their thoughts and feelings about the questions below. Here are the most common responses of our student body.

2018 Student Survey Feedback
1. Why do you want to learn English?
1. To communicate and speak with people.
2. To get a job or a better job.
3. It’s the national language.

2. What do you think of this program?
1. Helpful/Useful
2. Very good teachers
3. Free/not expensive

3. A Great Teacher:
1. Repeats a lot
2. Gives multiple examples
3. Is happy

4. What’s most challenging about learning English?
1. Writing and spelling
2. Speaking and pronunciation
3. Reading

5. How can the teachers help you more?
1. Repeat tasks, words, sentences more to increase student understanding.
2. Offer more hours of class time.
3. More writing, reading, homework and grammar (such as verb tenses).

6. What do you want to learn more about?
1. Speaking and writing
2. Reading
3. Computer
4. Vocabulary and spelling
We take our students’ feedback, suggestions and ideas very seriously. I read each and every groups’ survey notes, share the student body feedback with all our teachers, then we review and debrief the input as an Education Team. We use the students’ feedback to inform our on-going professional and programmatic development.
“Student Survey Day” inspires us as a teaching team. We are reminded of the humility and dedication of our students, and are humbled by their recognition and gratitude for the work we do for them each day. We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve our students through our profession as teachers and to contribute toward the mission of LSS: Inspired by God’s love, we care for, support and strengthen individuals, families and communities.