Student Self-Management in Adult ESL

Abstract

Most Adult ESL students have the desire and potential to rely on them­ selves and meet their own needs. To this end, adult ESL students, particu­ larly those who seek an English professional or para-professional role, can benefit from the opportunity to "bridge" from traditional language learning to actual involvement in English community processes. This article will look at one way for students as a group to meet some of their own needs, and at the same time improve their ability to communicate and function in this society. It will be exemplified by a non-profit organization made up entirely of adult ESL students. The underlying principle is derived from Karl Krahnke's (1987) concept of a task-based syllabus. He suggests that tasks are "activities with a purpose other than language learning", but tasks are approached in a man­ ner that fosters language development. Tasks are normally things that a learner needs to do anyway, such as applying for government health insur­ ance, getting a driver's licence, choosing a daycare centre, applying for a job, completing income tax returns, writing papers for classes other than ESL, or gathering information on college job training. The purpose of the lesson is completing the task. Language learning is incidental.' (Krahnke, 1987) This task-based approach has been applied at the Central Public Adult ESL Program, a community ESL programme that operates five hours per day, five days per week in Brampton, Ontario. The student body includes many different ethnic groups, full- and part-time students, and all levels of English proficiency. Krahnke' s thesis suggests that students in the Cen­ tral programme could simultaneously serve themselves and learn ESL in accordance with the task-based learning concept. I proposed to my Advanced class that a student organization be formed to 1) advise staff on what and how they should learn, 2) operate projects like social events, the coffee stand, a student library, a bookstore, a babysitting service, or a newsletter, and 3) take political action such as lobbying Bell Canada for a pay-phone in our building. The students were most interested in the special projects because of the convenience and savings that would result. The organization was also justified to the students as a learning activity.