Amelia T. Correa
Professor B. Gleason
ENG C0855
May 12, 2015
ESOL
at Bronx Morris Park Library Branch
The
Site
The English for Speakers
of Other Languages (ESOL) Program located at the Morris Park Library Branch in
the section that bears its name in the Bronx, is part of the New York Public
Library (NYPL) organization.
Why
I chose this site
Ø I
am very motivated to learn what teaching English really entails
Ø I
want to learn about learning English as a Second Language from a perspective
different than that of the student’s
My
Research Approach
After trying to get in
touch with someone at the CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP) at Bronx
Community College to no avail, I proceeded to look for an English as a Second
Language class at the NYPL website within or close to my zip code.
I opted to observe an
ESOL class at the Morris Park Library because of its accessibility: The teacher
agreed to allow me to observe his class and also this branch is minutes’ drive
from my neighborhood.
Then I proceeded to get in touch with Ms. Dawn
Holloway, the Branch Manager, via email.
On this email, I requested to be allowed to observe an ESL class at
least twice for an hour and a half each. My email was forwarded to the Hub
Manager, Eric Rosenbaum who emailed me (and all parties involved) the following
in a timely fashion:
On
my first day observing the class I took plenty of notes, for there were lots of
activities going on in the classroom. My notes encompassed a comprehensive
description of both the classroom’s layout and the interesting heterogeneity of
the class –culturally and in terms of age. I also included the oral exchanges
of some of the students among each other and with the teacher.
I
did a headcount of the students in class: the attendance on my first day was
over twenty-one, on the second day, it was over twenty-three. Regardless of the
large amount of students and the rather small classroom, Mr. Ivan Obregon made
students participate in lesson exercises and in return they showed a high level
of engagement. I was particularly
fascinated with the rapidity cohesiveness and rigorousness with which the
teacher taught his lesson.
My
notes specifically included both the work students were doing in pairs and then
as a group, through drills the teacher used.
My conversation with Mr.
Obregon happened in a rather informal way and was concomitant to his class
lesson.
Connections
of this program to other programs within NYPL and the larger community
Ø Morris
Park Branch Library ESOL program along with the NYPL Center for Reading and
Writing –tutoring for English speakers of 16 years and over, the Book
Circulation program in 5 NYC correctional facilities, and the Daddy and Me (a
program where incarcerated fathers record themselves reading a book to their
children and a weekly book club for incarcerated patrons) are all part of the
New York City Public Library literacy programs
My
learning experience
Ø I
was able to dispel my own misconception that English learning was only
effective in certain contexts
Ø To
“not underestimate the power of choral drills” (this happens to be part of Mr.
Obregon’s teaching philosophy) when teaching basic ESL
Ø The
ESOL program at Morris Park was implemented October 2014, as opposed to other
branches which have been hosting these types of programs for longer periods of
time
Ø Although
NYPL website states this program is for people over 50 years of age, the truth
of the matter is that there were students in this class as young as 19
Ø This
program is a gateway to other higher levels of ESL for some students, and to
college for others
Ø
The
Gist of an Ethnographic Research
· Notes taking with
the purpose of producing a cohesive written report
· Interviewing
“reporters” (ELL, teachers and hubs) as explained on Field Working
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