Inquiry Project final report

Michele Rajotte, The Genesis Center

When the media focused all coverage on the Iraq conflict; I used the weekly newspaper, News For You and The Providence Journal for dictations. The ESOL newspapers, News for You and Easy English News are excellent tools to teach current events, cultural differences, and life skills. All learners favored dictations and I tried a variety of techniques to utilize different styles of learning.

Journal Entry: ( 2/7/03) The next day I used The Providence Journal to create a dictation concerning the reports after the Colon Powell's UN speech. Although some of the students were new, they liked the activity. For those who were here, they made the connection and remembered vocabulary words such as "weapons of mass destruction". After lunch we read a story about Cesar Chavez and discussed human rights, workers rights and rights of people living in the US. I will continue to focus on this and connect it to justice and other aspects.

I chose a biography of Florence Nightengale because a learner from Puerto Rico was a nurse and studying for the LPN exam to allow her to work in this country. It would also be engaging for others who were considering the NurseÕs Assistant program. I used the enriching "What A Life" series of biographies. This story and the other biographies we had read led to a discussion considering the meaning of a hero or heroine is in this culture and in their cultures. What qualities do they possess? What is success? What adjectives would we use to describe heroes and heroines? Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and firefighters were discussed and the class brainstormed the following adjectives to describe them: peaceful, brave, great, kind, polite, strong, nonviolent, live simply, friendly, helpful, trustworthy, intelligent, and confident. Mandela was unknown to some learners so others volunteered to describe his life and international recognition. Discrimination and segregation were also integrated into this discussion. One learner contributed her story about an issue that occurred in a local hospital. She said, "My husband was upset, but I don't care, they have a problem Ða bad day, maybe." Hospital security helped them with this incident and the nurse apologized. It was a good example of what happens everyday to many learners; I am fortunate that they are open to this kind of discussion. The following week, groups of learners from the same countries chose a hero or heroine to research and wrote a story together. They utilized the Internet for information and cut and pasted pictures from magazines that represented their cultures.

The Dominican group chose "The father of the fatherland", Juan Pablo Duarte. The Laotian learners chose Souphanouvong, the former president. The Guatemalan learner chose King Tecun Uman, the legendary hero of peace. The Haitian learner admires the present President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide The French chose the hero of the French Liberation forces, Charles D Gaulle.

To learn about their personal thoughts on success, I found a Wall Street Journal/American Dream survey conducted by the Roper Organization in 1987. Although it was dated, I liked the elements of success that were presented here. I did not give them the American survey results until they had completed one individually, and then again in groups of three, they had to agree on the top five. Table 2 shows the class group chart with the top five most important elements of success:

Table 2: Learner Elements of Success

In Table 2, education was a priority for all three groups, but the most important for two. Jobs that paid well were also a priority for all three groups. Parenting was important for two groups, but there were some learners without children in this class. Religion was also a priority in two groups, but in the group three, wealth mattered more. This priority raised questions when I asked the class as a whole to choose the five most important elements. During their decision, the term ÒatheistÓ was learned and discussed. One very religious learner could not comprehend that a person could deny the existence of God. It was difficult for the class to agree as the majority wanted religion to be first. The results of the class are as follows:

Table 3: Class Elements of Success

Table 4: American Elements of Success:

In Table 4, parenting and having happy relationships are the priorities of the Americans in this survey. They focused on job performance rather than the salary.

The attack on Iraq began on March 19th, and another class decided to have its own Peace Rally in downtown Providence. Signs needed to be made and art class would have been a perfect time, unfortunately, Americorps members cannot get involved in anything political. Marybeth said "no" to the signs in our class, and my personal struggle appeared once again:

Journal Entry: ( 2/13/03) A choice of making posters for the peace rally or reading our completed newsletter is todayÕs dilemma. Should I give them a choice? Yes, I would want one. We talked about the rally tomorrow and I brought the learners upstairs to see what the other room had created. Marybeth had decided that she could not do the Peace posters as she had signed a contract that states Òno politicsÓ. Room 12 was enthusiastic and adamant about protecting their children during this sad time. Their vibrant, colorful posters will be seen from afar. My class said itÕs okay to march, but that the terrorists would be looking for large groups of people. Later we practiced writing questions. I asked them to write 3 questions concerning the war.

Examples: Why did he want to attack Iraq?
Why does he want a war?
Where did they attack?
Where will they attack?
What did Osama do in the US?
What are they going to do?
When did they attack? When will they attack?

The Peace march was held in downtown Providence on a Friday morning. A few learners from my class as well as another provided needed voices and support for room 12. It was a very cold day, but the enthusiasm and passion kept us warm. I had hoped that everyone in my class could have participated in this experience; it would have given them more confidence in the future when confronting other civic issues.

I particularly liked A West African fable from the book, The Multicultural Workshop, and so I introduced All Things Are Linked (Blanton & Lee, p.166). I admired this story because of its message of connection, and also that it used insects, reptiles and people to convey this message. The word, "linked" was a new word for everyone and other vocabulary included the following: species, endangered, croaking, exterminate, marshes, miserable, larvae, folk tale, and swarms. The reading strategies utilized were prediction, scanning, finding the main idea, and making inferences. Months later a learner made me smile when she answered someone's question in class utilizing the phrase, "all things are linked."

In the computer room I referred the class to the United Nations site to have them read The International Declaration of Human Rights. This 1948 declaration is translated into over 300 languages on the Internet. Their task was to choose one of the rights that they felt expressed something important to them. This site involves much reading and comprehension, but the vocabulary is not difficult. Once they had decided, each learner read the number and sentence so others could follow along. They were not as excited about this site as I was; it could have been the amount of information presented. I also had them read part of an adaptation for children from the book purchased at the UN.

Other assignments given in the computer room that focused on this project were: Write 4 sentences beginning with Peace is ... Examples of these include:

Peace is people are happy to do business.
Peace is people will love and care for each other.
Peace is people have to respect other people, laws, and nature.
Peace is big everywhere and wonderful.
Peace is big happiness of everyone.
Peace is our dream.
Peace is the word the people in the world like.
Peace is for all people to live with love, without violence.
Peace is to love all people, without discrimination of race, religion, education and the freedom to think.
Peace is to give love, help, compassion and counseling if the people need it.
Peace is communication with words, not with weapons.

Another assignment was the question: How do you feel about the war in Iraq? A few responses below:

About the war in Iraq; I think it has to stop because there are people dying. Also, I think it could be avoided and look at other solutions with dialogue.

If war continues, it will be awry in the future, more will be dead, and the economy in the world will be difficult for all. I am feeling concerned for my family, for me and for all the people. I hope God gives us his sacred blessing.

The war is not necessary, never; this is my opinion. It is very sad for the families who lose their members. It is just because somebody wants to take the power and control. Why does everybody want to be God?

I was pleased at the writing this assignment created. The learners were passionate, honest and forthright.

Recycling should be one of the highest priorities in our materialistic culture. We have a blue bin in all the classrooms and occasionally juice bottles have been taken out the garbage and placed in the blue bin when I witness the mistake in action. Rhode Island encourages one of the best free tours of the Rhode Island Resource and Recycling Center. The class first took a test on what they knew or didn't know about ecology (Sterling), defending their choices and discussing issues before visiting the center.

Journal Entry: ( 4/3/03) Went to the recycling center today after spending all morning yesterday on an activity learning reduce, reuse, and recycle. They worked in groups during this activity and enjoyed the tactile and visual tasks. They presented their work and asked questions. I thought it might be childish, but I was wrong. We discussed what they do with the garbage in their countries and if they have a bin at their home in Providence. At the center they were extremely interested and listened carefully. They asked questions and remembered information from yesterday.

A learner came in the following day and said, "I put my recycling directions on my refrigerator." They also recognized t-shirts that had been made from plastic water bottles.

Native American history is a continuous part of the curriculum during the Thanksgiving holiday, but our school also visits the Pequot Museum in Connecticut each year. The film depicting the history of the Pequot tribe is graphic and reveals the slaughter of men, women, and children by the English. One learner mentioned the film upon returning, "It is the same thing that is going on now in Iraq." We also visited the Heffenreffer Museum in Bristol, Rhode Island, and gathered for a nature walk. Then, we viewed cultural artifacts collected from around the world and many learners were able to teach others about specific items found there.

This year passed quickly and I had not used as much music as I would have liked. "Imagine" was the perfect song of peace to introduce at the end of the year.

Journal Entry: (4/08/03) I asked what could be done to create peace in the community as we have a variety of languages and cultures in a small area. The following answers were expressed: education, helping each other, volunteering, teaching about your culture and learning about other cultures. This led into fear and what happens when we donÕt understand another culture. This led into violence and on to forgiveness. Can we forgive other people if they have hurt us? What happens to us if we don't forgive?

"Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people sharing all the world." Not only were the lyrics fitting; John Lennon's life and death were symbols of social change. The activities surrounding the song led into another form of poetry called, "Cinquaine Poems". This form uses specific grammar to create the meaning.

Line 1 Ð 1 Noun
2 - 2 related adjectives
3 - 3 gerunds
4 Ð 1 complete sentence
5 Ð 1 noun (synonym of line 1)

Below are learnersÕ examples:

Universe
Infinite, Wonderful
Looking, enjoying, imagining
The world is a wonderful planet
Space

Laos
Small, Hot
Farming, planting, hunting
My country is small and beautiful.
Genesis

Earth Day was upon us and there were various stories printed explaining how this day came to be. The ESOL paper, Easy English News, complimented information from other publications. We had planted herbs for our school's future community garden and revisited other environmental issues and asked the following questions to groups after the reading:

We have found that environmental activities support language learning. For this reason, we advocate that the environment be one key theme in language instruction and that instructional methods actively engage students in meaningful use of language about the environment and haw it can be protected. This is in line with current trends in language instruction for both native speakers and second- or foreign-language learners. (Jacobs, Kumarasamy, Nopparat, Amy 1998, p.11)

Conflict resolution in the workplace is expected. I believe that role-play is a successful learning tool integrating language and presenting possibilities of problem solving. In ESL for Action, the authors utilize FreireÕs educational process of dialogue called problem-posing. This critical thinking and action method used in an adult classroom, allows the learners to transfer skills learned here to real world problems. Fairness of the rules and defining the responsibilities in this culture was an issue I focused on. Introducing a problem and providing a dialogue for the class to read together is presented. Discussion concerning this problem and possible solutions were discussed and in pairs they were to act out three different endings to the dialogue. During this discussion one learner wanted our thoughts on her problem at work.

Journal Entry: 4/30/03 There was one learner with a problem. She works in a company that employs about 100 people. A No Smoking sign is hanging on the wall. The employees do not smoke, but the supervisor does. The class was asked to think of a solution to this problem. She has tried talking to the manager, but she said would not ask him to quit. She has expressed her feelings at a meeting, but the employees were afraid to speak out, as many are undocumented. This was a problem that could not be solved in our class. The class mentioned a union and Maria said that they had voted against one. Some solutions were discussed, however, the best solution was for Maria to spend more time searching for a new job. She has an internship every Tuesday, and this may lead to a new position in the future.

The Roger Williams Park Greenhouse is our refuge when the winter is long and cold and we crave a peaceful place. We delight in the extraordinary cacti and lush plants that have traveled from the same places learners have left. I wanted the learners to document and become aware of their feelings before leaving Genesis, and then again after relaxing in the green environment. Were the thoughts similar? Was there an obvious change in their writing? What kinds of change occurred? Below is an example:

At Genesis: I feel homesick because I miss my family and my parents too much. If I could be, I would love to be in France, but now I canÕt, and as a result, IÕll enjoy myself.

At the Greenhouse: I feel in a good mood. It smells so good. I feel like my house. I say that because my mother used to take care of her plants and flowers. This place is quiet and warm.

Many times we are not aware of how our surroundings affect us. It is difficult to recognize this feeling without comparing it to another place. This exercise allowed the learners to see the positive change that a peaceful environment and nature can provide.

An exercise that is used in many elementary education classes, the trust walk, is one that I feel encourages empathy. "Empathy can also propel students to grapple with issues of fairness, a riveting issue for students in their own daily lives. They might ask: Is this person or group being treated fairly, the way I want to be treated?" (Dulberg, Maestre, Skolnick, 1999, p.6). Also, it is a cooperative and motivating lesson for language learners. With a partner, one learner is blindfolded while the other leads them around the room, or outside in nature. This requires vocabulary, question formation, directions, and commands. Below is an example of a learnerÕs reaction to this activity:

I felt lost when I closed my eyes. On the other hand, I feel more sensitive from other senses. I always need help and to find a person to trust. Because everywhere is so dark and I felt unsafe. If I had to choose either sight or hearing, I prefer to lose hearing because sight is more important to me. I can learn sign language to communicate. But I can still see everything going on in the world. I would like to enjoy the view and nature. 4/30/03

Furthermore, we discussed the fact that sign language is indeed another language. We agreed that it would be wonderful if children were taught sign language in school.

We spent a morning at the Providence Superior Court and experienced Small Claims Court. We heard five cases including some that were done through video conferencing from the state prison. The class agreed that the judge was a fair man and they thought he seemed kind and friendly. The judge explained that the video was cost efficient and easier than transporting the prisoners to Providence. I had hoped that the learners were witnessing justice in action. In class we discussed some of the dialogue used during the court procedure:

"If you don't follow the rules, you get punished."
"This is a good report. If I get a bad report, you know whatÕs going to happen, you go to jail."
"I donÕt enjoy sending people to jail. You need to have a good attitude."
"I have 150 cases a day here. What do you want me to do?"
"Am I a fair-minded judge?"

On April 24th, the U.S. Postal Service honored Cesar Chavez with a special stamp ten years after his death. This story was printed in News For You, the ESOL newspaper mentioned above. "This stamp will remind us to sow the seeds of justice, as Cesar did," said California Governor Gray Davis. It validated his fight for the farm workers' union, and his rights as a Mexican American. The class remembered his biography and realized how important this man had been in American history.

The final project would consider all we had learned throughout the year. A learner-created book stemming from an idea I had found on the UNESCO website months before. Using critical thinking, previous knowledge, creativity, and photography skills, the learners brainstormed answers to the questions:

Peace is . . . and can be many things to many different people, what does it mean to you?
Where do you find peace?
Does everyone deserve peace?
What do you feel when you are at peace?
Is world peace possible?
(UNESCO)

The learners' ideas: Peace is . . . early morning, children, garden, park, beautiful women, beach, restaurant, and museum

I purchased cameras and provided each learner with 24 exposures and a week to take the pictures. We had a lesson on a "Way of Seeing", and used pictures from magazines and photography books to focus on various aspects of a photograph, and then critiqued them. We learned how to take a better picture, when to use flash and how to use these cameras. They could decide to take photographs of anything or anywhere that made them feel peace.

In art class we designed and made the books out of cardboard and wallpaper samples (from the recycling for education center) before the pictures were developed. They were excited to see the outcome of their work and were eager to write their descriptions of the pictures they chose to use. They utilized Microsoft Word to type their stories and each learner discovered their unique ability to create an interesting story. One learner's introduction is below:

I have peace in my heart and God blesses my house. He is present all the time. I share a lot of sunsets with my family and all of us walk in the woods and look at the color of the flowers. We walk in the middle of the tall trees. We breathe fresh air and enjoy the waves in the sea. The most important part is enjoying this beauty with my family.

Their exceptional writing bloomed out of their creative energy and a desire to share their stories with the class. They had become friends. When someone had finished, they offered to help. This was a successful activity for all aspects of language learning and peace education.

Finally, I gave the learners a survey of the Project Opportunity II class and included ten questions; eight concerned the subject matter. Nine learners completed the survey.

Table 5: Class Content Survey

Computer skills was highly rated, 7 out of 9 learners wanted instruction daily. World News, Nature/Environment, Job Skills and the Grammar Book were high priorities for 3 of the learners. War and Peace was interesting for most learners 1 or 2 times a week. Grammar was also a priority for most.

Findings and Implications

I am encouraged by the survey responses that indicated the learners do appreciate language learning through these content areas, although the preferences differ. However, this project was too broad and did not allow enough time to learn if this content was more beneficial for learning English. According to Dulay, Burt and Krashen (1982) ÒWhile some aspects of language may need conscious study, the acquisition of the basics of a language is best accomplished in contexts where the learner is focused on understanding or expressing an idea, message, or other thought in a the new language. Concrete "here-and-now" topics are essential for language acquisition" (p.4). One learner expressed himself on the last day of class by answering the question: "Did you like learning English by studying peace, the environment, nature, cultural and other issues that we focused on in this class?" He said, "I didn't like it at first. I wanted grammar, but then I saw that I was learning grammar through this." Other learners said that they liked what was presented while they were in this class.

I believe that it is essential to teach to the learners' needs, and that it is important to teach all aspects of social responsibility if time allows and if the learners choose to do so. I strive to meet Freire's teaching ethics: Some are stated below:

It is a posture of unconditional respect for the students, for the knowledge they have that comes directly from life and that, together with the students, I will work to go beyond. My coherence in the classroom is as important as my teaching of contents. A coherence of what I say, write and do (p.94 Freire).

Respect for each other and all life is the key to peace. To understand and remember that we are all connected, and that what we do affects everything is primary. Teaching English language skills through social responsibility was a challenge, yet a valuable learning experience.

However at the end of the day, teaching is a moral activity. Therefore, the judgments we make must be grounded in commitments that are both visible and equitable Ð visible so as to make transparent the values on which judgments are based, and identify intentions and beliefs that we can stand upon, publicly as well as privately, to articulate our commitments and justify our actions. (Pratt, p.11)

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