I Speak English

by Ruth Johnson Colvin

INTRODUCTION

This book of basic, professionally accepted techniques and principles is written for those who wish to help people with limited skills in English and non-English-speaking people communicate in English. Detailed instructions are provided for tutoring English to speakers of other languages on a one-to-one basis or in a small group setting. It contains simplified methods that, if applied, allow volunteers with no teaching experience to tutor effectively. I Speak English can also be useful to paraprofessionals and professional teachers. It is intended to be a resource to which you will want to refer as you progress as a tutor or teacher.

I Speak English is intended for instructors of ESOL worldwide. Because its primary use will be with LVA's affiliates across the United States, I have related discussions about culture essentially to this country. If you are teaching or tutoring ESOL in another country or region of the world, you will need to substitute examples of culture from those areas where I have made reference to the United States.

The need for ESOL instruction is significant. As it has been since its colonial beginnings, the United States is a country inhabited by millions of people who do not speak English. They want to learn English for many reasons: for school, work, citizenship, or for more effective interaction in environments that require proficient English communication.

In response to the increasing needs of various groups, LVA decided to include a program of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in 1974 to complement its Basic Literacy (BL) program, which began in 1962. Periodically, LVA updates its training materials to keep up with innovative scholarship and practice. This revision of I Speak English was stimulated by the research on the communicative competence theory, which focuses language learning on real-life experiences. Although it can be used independently or with other ESOL training materials, it is specifically designed to accompany LVA's tutor training workshop and will provide you with

• a theoretical and attitudinal base from which to tutor
• descriptions, demonstrations, examples, and discussions of needed skills for approaches to tutoring
• opportunities to expand these skills through practice and training.

Interwoven throughout the text and the training are six underlying themes that you can put into practice as you tutor:

1. respect for students as individuals
2. a view of tutors and students who are engaged in learning and teaching
3. sensitivity to adults' needs for immediate relevance
4. a view of tutoring and learning as collaborative activities
5. integration of language components
6. respect for individual cultures and a sensitivity to cultural differences

I invite you to join me and thousands of others across the country as we work together with people who have asked for help communicating in English. As you help others, you will also learn about other countries, other customs and traditions, other peoples, other languages. You will make new friends. You will be a part of a world building bridges between individuals, between communities and between nations. As a multicultural society, the United States is strengthened by its diversity. A truly pluralistic nation like the United States requires a good deal of tolerance and respect among all of its residents in order to flourish as a society. You will be an important link in the chain of mutual understanding between cultures.

To order a copy of I Speak English, call toll free 1-800-LVA-8812.

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