Information for Adult Learners

Conversation Circle Summary

Throughout the conversation circles, women talked about their experiences with school and learning. Their stories included how teachers treated them in schools. They mentioned many things they would like to learn or read (see also Our Concerns). Participants discussed their problems with classroom activities and requirements. This section lists women's ideas for WHAT they want to know and HOW they want to learn it. (Educators would call this curriculum and pedagogy.) Many more of these ideas can be found throughout the other summaries as well.

 

About being asked…

In almost every conversation circle, women had to take some time to think how to answer the questions, "What do you want to read?" and "What do you want to learn?" After women got started talking, their answers came easily. It just took them time to get started! Several women seemed surprised by the questions. It was hard for them to answer because it was the first time they had been asked. Most of the women in the discussions had never really thought about what they wanted to learn. They assumed the teacher would tell them.

I always depend on you when you select and teach me please.

This was especially true for immigrant ESL learners. Some (not all) want the teachers to give them something to read that would help them to learn English better.

But several immigrant women did think that learning U.S. culture might help them to more easily learn English (see culture in Our Concerns).

A few women thought that what they read in school was too disconnected from their lives. One woman thought that teachers in high school were lazy because they just always taught the same things. She wondered, "What's the point?"

 

One woman became frustrated when her tutor ignored her suggestions. She wanted to read sports and entertainment. Her tutor would say, "Well, this is a cute story so let's just do this!" She had to figure out on her own how to find what she wanted. Several women did realize that many books exist that they would find interesting. They want to know more about them. They just don't know how to research it themselves. They want teachers to make suggestions based on their interests. Some women have teachers who do make suggestions but they also want to learn how to find materials on their own.

They might take us to the library every once in the while but no, we ain't got no classes on no types of books - nothin'. If it's something that they want us to read, like you said, they hand it out and we can have a nice day wid it, but something that we want to read?? We got to find it out ourselves.

 

Discouraging Experiences

Women talked about some of the experiences that made it hard for them to read or to learn. Sometimes their teachers or parents were not supportive. Sometimes teachers or parents did not recognize the learner was having a problem. Women talked about getting passed through school. Some women worried this was also happening now to their own children.

 

'Cause I went to school for years and it's all related to…it's all in a college area and it's all the GED programs - but a GED program was not what I was looking for. I had a high school diploma and they weren't teaching me to read - they were teaching me how to take the test.

One woman described having a hard time in high school and now having a hard time finding a program to help her. She has a high school diploma but had a hard time finding a program to help with her reading skills.

 

In one group, women talked about how hard it is to take the GED. Writing the essays on the topics on the test was difficult. They were frustrated because the math test was different than what they had learned in their program. They feared the changes for the new GED math test, which will now include calculus.

Some women didn't like schoolwork (like doing history reports) because it was boring or not relevant to them. Sometimes teachers assumed students would be interested in a topic but when they weren't. One African American woman described a history report she had to write. It was on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. She was having a hard time. Her friends in the group couldn't understand why she found it so hard. They too thought she should be interested in "her" history. Finally, she admitted that reading about slavery is too painful for her.

 

In the U.S., we go to school to learn English. It is different here because we are adult. In Tibetan culture, married women would be teased if they went to school. One woman said, "In India, I did not go to the school. My father taught me to read the Tibetan language." Another woman said, "In Vietnam, we did not read. There was war. We worked hard. We did not have time to read."

 

Some immigrant women talked about how they had never been able to go to school.

 

 

 

Language and Literature

Women discussed some things they wanted to learn about books and language. One woman wanted to learn how to find the beginning, middle, and end of a book.

Books with bigger type and simpler words. It's ok if we don't know all the words. But we don't like those books where the words are real big in half the sentences!

Women wanted books with easier vocabulary so they wouldn't be frustrated when they tried to read. However, women wanted to improve and enrich their vocabulary as well. Understanding abbreviations is also important. One woman says she likes to read home magazines but she can't understand the abbreviations.

I like books to enhance my vocabulary. I want stories with more vocabulary words in context. I want to know about same words with different meanings -- and how words have different pronunciation.

 

Several Spanish-speaking women wanted books to be bilingual in English and Spanish. It's helps them to learn and understand the English better. But it's important for the translations to be good.

Writing was as important for some women as reading. One woman said it was hard for her to write because she was unsure of punctuation. She wanted to know "where to put the periods and stuff." Some ESL learners found it easier to read and write English. Speaking and listening were harder. One woman said the conversation circle was hard for her because she "can't say in English." She liked participating by filling in a form with questions.

 

Discussion and Group Work as a Way of Learning

In many of the groups, women had many discussions that did not seem connected to the questions asked. Some people might call this "off-task" or "disruptive." But these discussions often reconnected to the original questions. After sharing advice or chatting informally with each other, women would get new ideas about things that they wanted to know more about.

One of the groups had been participating in a regular book discussion group. They thought the group had helped them with their reading. By reading aloud, one woman slowed down when reading and no longer rushed. The discussions helped women to better understand the vocabulary and content of books or materials.

Immigrant learners like discussion opportunities because it helps them with pronunciation.

Written question: Do you think it is important for women to have time to read and talk together? Why? Written answer: Because I can heard how you read. And after I can pronounce close by you. For me it is very important to read together because when I make mistake you could help to me.

 

It's hard to stay focused and read a whole book, especially alone. We might be able to read a whole book with a group. We couldn't take it home to read it because we would never have the time to finish it. It's better to read it together in the class.

 

In one of the conversation circles, women said they did not have time to read at home. They liked being able to read together in a group. For the most part, they were reading short articles. They wanted to try to read a whole book though. Reading and discussing together might help them finish a whole book.

 

Other Strategies

And I used to read to my kids when they were little only because they didn't know and I would read the picture. And they thought I knew the story but I just read the pictures and when they got older, my oldest took over. So then he would read when they were learning to read and now both of my kids know now that I have a reading problem. It's a lot easier to be open at home.

Using pictures to create text helped learners with their reading. One woman described using pictures to act like she was reading with her children.

Later, when she could read better, she became a peer tutor. She remembered her own use of pictures and now uses this technique with her tutee.

I like to use picture books because I like him to read the picture first and then if his prediction of the story is going to come out and that would get him more intrigued in reading the book. If he would read the picture first and then we would make a suggestion about what is happening in the picture and does the story relate to the picture. So then it gets his mind going about does the story say anything about the picture or what he thinks the picture is.

Writing answers to questions challenged some ESL learners. They were taking a class focused on memoir writing. They would read a passage in a story about women. They were then asked to write answers about similar experiences they had. They said it was a difficult thing for them to do. In the past, they read a story then answered questions about the reading. It was a new experience to think about their lives and write similar things about themselves. They found it hard to do. However, it gave them a chance to think about many different things and write them.

Some women suggested being able to take home literature. These women attended programs that did not allow women to take materials from the premises. They felt being able to take materials home would help their education. They could have more time to read what interests them.

---

Choose another theme by selecting a button or Return to Learners Page

Women

READING

FICTION

AUTHORS

REAL LIFE

CONCERNS

FORMATS

ADVICE