DOCUMENT RESUME ED 289 343 FL 017 057 TITLE Passage

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 289 343 FL 017 057

TITLE Passage: A Journal of Refugee Education, Volume 3, Numbers 1-3, 1987. INSTITUTION Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC. Refugee Service Center. SPONS AGENCY Department of State, Washington, DC. Bureau of Refugee Programs. PUB DATE 87 NOTE 196p.; Photographs will not reproduce well. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Serials (022) Reports Descriptive (141) JOURNAL CIT Passage: Journal of Refugee Education; v3 n1-3 1987

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Acculturation; Artists; Children; Community Services; Drama; Elective Courses; Elementary Secondary Education; English (Second Language); *Ethnic Groups; Foreign Countries; *Indochinese; Job Search Methods; Land Settlement; Language Proficiency; Language Tests; Literacy Education; Maps; Medical Services; Mental Health Programs; On the Job Training; *Orientation; Paraprofessional Personnel; Photography; Poetry; Puppetry; *Refugees; *Relocation; Resumes (Personal); School Newspapers; Second Language Instruction; Simulation; Staff Development; Student Developed Materials; Translation; Vocational Education; Writing Instruction

ABSTRACT The three 1987 issues of the Journal of Refugee Education'include articles on the following topics: on-the-job training; preparing refugee children for elementary school programs; examining attitudes and stereotypes through video; older teenagers at the Bataan (Philippines) refugee site; developing a survey course in Indonesian culture for secondary school students; the refugee translator's perspective; intercultural communication; a traditional medicine center; English as a second language (ESL) curriculum development; refugee hesitancy to ask questions; refugee artists; teaching community services; a conversation with two Lao monks; variety and choice in cultural orientation courses; the Dega people; job interview simulation; fluency building; cultural orientation for and special problems of Eastern European refugees; Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages annual meeting session summaries; drama for secondary students; a writing program; resume writing; developing ESL literacy in young children; mental health service delivery; student newspapers; staff development; the Cao Dai religion; U.S. resettlement status; ESL reading for young children; the Black Tai; informal language testing; student map making; new teacher experiences; history instruction; preparation for bureaucracy; native language literacy; the community as a language resource; low-level ESL teaching techniques; and visits to overseas refugee sites. (MSE) "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY

passage R a journal of refugee education teN TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENT :R (ERIC)."

INNPassage is a joint project of the agencies Volume 3, Number 1 CT' implementing the Overseas Refugee Train- Spring 1987 ing Program.

Implementing Agencies CONTENTS FEATURES A Consortium:Experiment in Interna- tional Living, Save the Children Federa- On-the-Job Training: An Approach for Advanced Students tion in Work Orientation by Privan "Maew" Limpanboon 6 Galang, Indonesia Preparing Refugees for Elementary Programs: The InternationalCatholic Migration The PREP Program by Lois Purdham, with Margo pfleger, Commission Rose Bowery, Karen Harrison, Susan Reynolds, and Barbara Wolf 11 Bataan, Philippines Examining Attitudes and Stereotypes through Video The Consortium:Experiment in Interna- by Allen L. Nixon 16 tional Living, Save the Children Federa- tion, World Education A Survey of 17- to 19- Year -Old Students at Bata... Phanat Nikhom, Thailand by Ben McDonald 19

The Refugee Service Center, Center for Developing a Survey Course in Indochinese Culture Applied Linguistics for PASS Students by Richard Lamlrecht 23 Manila, Philippines The Refugee Translators' Perspective Washington, D.C. by Nguyen Dinh Thang 24 Editorial Staff "I don't know how to show it so that you know me" by Anna Velazco and Team 27 BataanLauren Crawford Phanat Nikhom Tom Van Blarcom The Traditional Medicine Center by Christina Herbert 30 Ken Westhusing Manila Douglas Gilzow ESL Curriculum Development at PASS Washington, D.C.Donald A. Ranard by Timothy Maciel 34 To Ask or Not to AskThat Is the Question Passage has been developed and printed by Chusak "Lek" Pattarakulvanit 38 under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau for Refugee Programs of the U.S. The Silversmith and the Painter: Refugee Artists Department of State. The material appear- at Bataan by Heidi Youtcheff 41 ing herein does not necessarily represent the policy of that agency, nor the endorse- Teaching Community Services: " We Built This City" ment of the Federal Government. by Lourdes Ruth Roa 44 Passage is published three times a year and distributed by the Center for Applied A Conversation with Two Lao Monks Linguistics with offices located at 1118 by Carl L. Bankston III 46 ti22nd Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 and The Victoria Bldg., 8th floor, 429 Elective Day: Variety and Choice in Cultural Orientation United NationsAve.,Ermita, Metro by Yssa Mapanao and Team 50 Manila, Philippines. Passage is available to subscribers at The Dega: People of the Cloudlands $9.00 a year.For information, write to by Cycle 80 Teams, Cultural Orientation Component 52 0the Center for Applied Linguistics. The contents of this publication are in DEPARTMENTS U.S, DEPARTMENT OF ECUCATION _Lthe public domain and may be reproduced. Office of Educational Researchand Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION In This Issue CENTER (ERIC) 3 'filhos document has been reproducedas eceived from the person or organization Passage is funded by the Bureau for Letters originating 4 O Minor changes have been madeto improve Refugee Programs of the U.S. Depart- reproduction quality, Update 4 ment of State. Points of view°, opinions state din this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy, 3 In This Issue

"Student-centered," "focus on the learner," and services for a hypothetical city. Through this "start from where the students are" are all phrases exercise she learned that, for one thing, most of her associated with sound, humane classroom students were not proponents of welfare. instruction. The belief underlying these phrases is Students will provide useful insights about that teachers can be more effective when they are themselves as they learn to ask questions, says better informed about their students' backgrounds, Chusak Pattarakulvanit, a PASS instructor at Phanat expectations, and feelings. In this issue of Passage, Nikhom. He suggests several ways for teachers to writers take a look at refugee students from several encourage their students to ask questions in class in perspectives, providing a wealth of information "To Ask or Not to Ask That Is the Question." about the Indochinese learners in the classrooms at Techniques for learning about the feelings of A- Bataan, Philippines, and Phanat Nikhom, Thailand. level students are explained by Anna Velazco and Over a year ago, it was decided that the Overseas her team of CO instructors. In "I don't know how to Refugee Training Program should be tailoring show it so that you know me," they describe the instruction to refugees with special needs. One results as students express themselves, gaining group targeted was the 17- to 19-year-olds. As confidence and building an atmosphere of Trust in curriculum developers, teachers, and administrators the classroom. tried to implement that decision, it became apparent Other articles in this issue provide close-up looks that there were many gaps in their knowledge about at individual refugees in the Overseas Refugee this group. In this issue, Ben McDonald reports on Training Program. Carl Bankston's interview with the results of a survey of 17- to 19-year-old two monks from Laos provides insights about Vietnamese and Lao conducted at the Philippine traditional religious practices in Laos and how they Refugee Processing Center (PRPC). The survey have been affected by the post-1975 regime there. In looked at these refugees' family backgrounds, work "The Silversmith and the Painter," Heidi Youtcheff and educational experience, and their expectations describes two individuals with exceptional artiadc about life in the U.S. skills and their hopes for continuing to use and In the Preparation for American Secondary develop those skills in the U.S. And in "The Schools (PASS) program, Timothy Maciel looked at Traditional Medicine Center," Christina Herbert a slightly younger group and found that their offers a profile of a Khmer healer. background and expectations had to be taken into In the previous issue of Passage, readers learned account in designing the ESL curriculum for that about the Cham, Muslim refugees from Vietnam. program. "We have ...learned that many students Another ethnic minority from Vietnam is described expect and want tests and homework," he reports, in "The Dega: People of the Cloudlands," written by but he also cautions, "... wehave learned not to instructional staff in the CO component at the assume that what works for a teacher in one class PRPC. will work in another." His article discusses the PASS students learn about their own heritage in a many areas considered in writing a curriculum recent addition to the curriculum, Indochinese flexible enough to accommodate these findings. history and culture. Richard Lambrecht's article is The new PREP program at the PRPC, described an account of how that curriculum was developed by Lois Purdham and co-authors, serves an even with significant contributions from the refugees younger group of children. PREP stands for themselves. In this area, teachers as well as students Preparing Refugees for Elementary Programs; its learn about Indochinese cult -, as refugee assistant purpose is to develop the language, academic, and teachers provide the instruction. social skills of refugee children bound for U.S. "Student-centered" is not simply a current catch elementary schools. We look forward to healing phrase; it is an educational philosophy that has been more about PREP in the future. adopted by many in the Overseas Refugee Training Lourdes Ruth Roa, a Cultural Orientation (CO) Program, as this issue of Passage demonstrates. instructor at the PRPC, learned a great deal about Through r " of these efforts to learn about and from her students through a simple classroom exercise. In our stuck' ,it is hoped that instruction of refugees "We Built this City," she describes the results when will be ii,Toyed. groups of Khmer refugees design community Editors 3 4 PASSAGE Letters

Nguyen Van Thong is a 46-year-old Vietnamese graduate of Bataan's training program. Thong works as a carpenter at Erol's, a video club in Arlington, Virginia, and studies ESL in Erol's in-house ESL program. In his ESL class last March, Thong saw a copy of Passage. A photo essay on life at Bataan led Thong to write this letter to Passage.

To 'he editor:

Please send my letter to Bataan. I am Vietnamese. If you know Mr. Phat, the father at the church, ask I was in Bataan from January to July 1981. When I him if he remembers me. He was very good to was in Bataan, I made everything for the Catholic me. church there. I made the cement path outside the church and the furniture inside. The church was Sincerely, beautiful, like a pagoda. Nguyen Van Thong Now I am a carpenter at Erol's, Inc. I have a good 746 South Florida job. I make shelves and cabinets and use plastic, Apartment 2 too. Arlington, VA 22204

Update

Roger Harmon Regional Consultant, Intergovernmental Committee for Migration

Join me in a mid-March scene in Neighborhood begins tapping a code onto his left wrist. The other Nine of the Philippine Refugee Processing Center. ex-soldiers understand him immediately. They We are observing a low-level ESL class of Lao men struggle to help him find the words to tell their and women between the ages of 40 and 55. They teacher about sending Morse code from an army are a willing group, but language learning obviously camp in the Laotian jungle 12 years ago. does not come easily for them. We leave the classroom enthusiastic about what we The class is working on literacy skillsin this have seen. The increased emphasis in the program case, English alphabet recognition and use. The on providing the foundations of reading and writing teacher has brought a manual typewriter to class in Englishto complement speaking and listening and, with a little help from their classmates, students skillsseems to be working in this class and in the are taking turns typing out their names. When the others we have observed that morning. Lessons are teacher asks if students have used the English difficult for students of that age and language alphabet before, a broad, knowing smile of proficiency, but there is a lot more natural speech in understanding crosses the face of a 43-year-old classes now compared with only a few months ex-soldier. With two fingers of his right hand he back. 4 Update 5

During breaks in our classroom observations, we The Level A classroom scene exemplifies efforts usually have soft drinks from one of the small, being made to refine our approaches in working refugee-run neighborhood shops, where we talk with low-level learners. Increased emphasison with students, teachers, and supervisors. But today basic reading and writing skills is viewedas one is different. We go instead to the AB-level Work tool for improving speaking and listening skills, Orientation (WO) quad, where a Mister Donut shop which have remained the central focus of the is being simulated. The training room has been program. In addition, English language literacy transformed to look very much like the real thing. skills provide the foundation for continued learning Trained the previous day by genuine Mister Donut in the U.S. This relates directlyto a clearer supervisors imported from Manila, refugee students understanding that although we are doingmore to are serving up the 5,000 doughnuts donated lay a solid foundation in the 20 weekswe have, we especially for this simulation. also need to help students develop key skills and The doughnut shop is effective, not only as an strategies for continuing to learn independently and entry-level job for the WO students working and with others when they are in the U.S. observing, but also as a Cultural Orientation (CO) This A-level class also exemplifies the current simulation for the refugee customers purchasing effort to meet the needs of specialgroups. This doughnuts and coffee. As for cross-cultural effort has involved, among other things, grouping incidents, one student actually apologized as he cut students with similar needs, making selected directly in front of me in the line. In the conviviality additions to the basic curriculum, developing of the ,moment, I didn't 'know whether to simply teaching techniques appropriate to thegroups, and accept his apology, to do my duty and send him to referring students to other agencies for further the back of the line, or to explain how to sneak into assistance. This is happening in both the Thailand line using my own "American style," which and the Philippines training sites. includes no apologies. By the end of the day there In late spring, a small task force will be convened wasn't a doughnut left, and a lot of learning had to share the two sites' approaches in meeting the taken place. needs of special groups. Emphasis will beon the These two glimpses of the program illustrate needs of 17- to 19-year-olds, pregnant women and several areas of emphasis in the last several months. women with children under six, and older learners. Simulations like the Mister Donut one are rather The new program at Bataan which meets the needs rare; nonetheless, it is representative of the growing of another group, the 6-111/2 year olds, is described effort to involve U.S.-based businesses operating in in an article in this issue. The first cycle of that Southeast Asia in the training of U.S.-bound program, PREP (Preparing Refugeesfor refugees. Less elaborate simulations are organized Elementary Programs) begins in April of thisyear. by camp program staff every day in regular classes. In addition, imitation supermarkets, employment agencies, and clinics are often set up in classroom buildings to be used by numerous classes over Correction: In the Update section of the last issue of several days. The largest on-going simulation in the Passage (Vol. II, No. 3), we neglected to name the program is now almost 18 months old. That is Experiment in International Living as the co-implementor PASS (Preparation for American Secondary (along with Save the Children) of the UNHCR-funded Schools), an attempt to simulate an American high regular English program on Galang. We regret the school for 111/2 to 16-year-old students. omission.

5 6 PASSAGE On-the-Job Training: An Approach for Advanced Students in Work Orientation

Privan "Maew" Limpanboon Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

Upper-level refugee students at Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp complete 100 hours of Work Orientation instruction within a five-week period. They receive four hours of instruction per day: an hour each of math and language instruction and two hours of on-the-job training (OJT). In the OJTs, concepts and language learned in the math and language classes are practiced in a simulated workplace setting. There are four OJTs: sewing assembly-line, electronics assembly-line, restaurant, and wood working. This article describes activities in the sewing assembly-line OJT.

"Can you put these two posters on the board? floor plan. So move whatever furniture you won't Here's the masking tape." One student comes for- be using to the back of the room. Clear?" "Yes," ward and hangs the Safety Rules poster (Figure 1) some respond. "Good. Let's get started!" Every and the Sewing Assembly Room Floor Plan student begins carrying out the instructions given by (Figure 2) on the board at the front of the room. the teacher, who now has the role of foreman on the "Now, you guys, look at this floor plan. You have sewing factory assembly-line. to set up an assembly-line for our sewing factory. This is the situation on the fourth day of our week- The sewing stations are to be on my right, and the long sewing OJT of our E, E+ (Advanced) Work other stations will be on the left, according to the Orientation (WO) curriculum. In this OJT, students follow assembly-line procedures to make cloth seat Figure 1: covers that will eventually be used in another training activity, the airplane walk-through simulation. (See Lewis 1985.) SAFETY RULES On the first day of the OJT, students are intro- 1.No Smoking. duced to safety rules and general information about 2.No horseplay. the company. After learning about the proper use 3.Dress for work:wear proper safety clothes and care of tools and sewing machines, they practice tie back long hair do not wear loose or dangling jewelry using them. Students also learn to work quickly wear footwear at all times while maintaining the quality of the product. The 4 Keep the work area neat and orderly, clean up at the teacher introduces the Timing a Task Form (Figure end of the day. 3) and has students practice on the manual sewing 5. Do not overload circuits. machines. They time themselves as they follow 6.Check for broken parts before using power tools. simple zig-zag and wavy patterns with no thread in 7.Unplug machines when finished working. the machines. 8.Employees' children are not allowed in the work area. On day two, students use measuring skills learned 9. Work quickly and accuratelydon't waste time and in the math classes to make a usable pattern, based materials. on the specifications of a half-scale sample pattern 10. Any problems or accidents should be reported to for the seat covers (Figure 4). They learn to fill foreman immediately. out and follow a Work Order Form (Figure 5). 6 Li mpanboon/On-the-Job Training 7

Figure 2: Figure 4:-1

EOMMAN 21Ya. 01/51( SUPPLY ROOM 342'

STATION 1 CUT 1ST FOLD

STATION 4 SELVIN 9 2 > SOWIN0 STATION 2 1 TRACE 2" FOLD 21Yi. 'NX1/4TSTATION 3 Sstiti9 3 SEAMSTRESS 1:1471N ENDS

21Y4a

r 1/2" STATION 5 SEAMSTRESS .11=11...... 5M SIDES PATTERN 4 Half scale drawing 3'2"; j."

STATION 0 QUALiTy CONTROL

Figure 3:

TIMING A TASK FORM

Name Date Figure 5:

Task WORK ORDER FORM Name NOW "lidi Date 194G. ii /986 Time Started Description jratiol- Time finished /1'30 Time Finished Quantity la Time started )0: 56- Number of minutes to complete task: Total time g5: 1/5" minutes seconds ********************************* Instructians QUALITY CONTROL ,mow-Irs4t) Aided.

Number of errors 11I'Recorded by Checked/Approved by 7 8 PASSAGE

Sometimes the foreman prepares an incomplete or (Figure 6), to be used when one of the workers unreadable Work Order Form, so the students have breaks a posted safety rule. to ask for clarification. Problems of this sort are Before using a machine or power tool, students planted throughout the OJT, so that students learn to have to check for broken parts and report any solve them independently and to request assistance problems. After these routine safety procedures when necessary. have been completed, they can start their own work. On day three, the teacher will judge how well The foreman monitors how well the students work, students are able to perform the necessary tasks and what they do when they have problems, and decide whether or not they need more practice. If whether they ask for help when they don't additional work is needed, they can practice understand. An assistant foreman, a student who threading the machine or sewing neatly with thread; has demonstrated an understanding of assembly-line if not, assembly-line procedures can be introduced, procedures, serves as the intermediate authority and work stations assigned, based on performance between the foreman (teacher) and the workers. during the two previous days. If enough students Directions to the workers sometimes go through the have had experience on an actual assembly-line, assistant: "Hey! Assistant Foreman, why aren't they work can begin on this day. working at Station 3? Send them over to me. And tell Station 2 to work faster. They're making the other stations wait." On the Assembly-Line Once the assembly-line has been set up, situations are created to help students learn to initiate communication, solve problems, and react On day four, students work on the assembly-line, appropriately on the job. The foreman may ask functioning in a work system quite different from workers at one station why they aren't working, or that in their own cultures in Laos or Cambodia. even yell at them when they make a mistake on tl.eir They learn to work on just a single part of the piecework, arrive late, or leave the workplace product at each work station, doing only cutting or without asking for permission: "Hey! This isn't examining finished pieces for flaws. What they are right! Look at the pattern and check it again." accustomed to, of course, is doing everything, from "Where's Mr. Chee? He was supposed to be here first step to last, until they have a finished product. ten minutes ago. When he comes back, tell him to During the simulation, students have to punch in at see me immediately." The language used is the WO office time clock, pick up baskets of tools "un-teacherly" and can be pretty rough, depending and materials, check inventory, and set up the on the situation. Students' responses and their other factory in a double-sized classroom. Some students uses of English are recorded on a language grid are assigned to clean the work area, while others form (Figure 7), and will be discussed during the open windows and turn on lights and fans. When processing session (follow-up discussion) the next the furniture has been rearranged and the rules and day. posters are put up, students can start their jobs. The foreman walks from station to station Jobs are assigned through the Work Order Form checking on the quality of work and asking how the each day. Students have to request tools and work is going. The foreman may be kind and under- materials orally or fill out a request form, depending standing or picky and bad-tempered, depending on on the OJT. Besides simulating typical workplace the kind of problem-solving the teacher wants to procedures, this provides an opportunity to practice emphasize in the OJT. Throughout the OJT, the the language needed to make requests, and students teacher notes incidents to be discussed by the group can demonstrate that they know the names of the the following day, but does not step out of the tools and materials. foreman role during the work simulation. There are also some unwritten rules that the foreman explainsatthe beginning of the assembly-line simulation: Don't drop the scissors and don't push the sewing machine pedal too hard. Processing the OJT Experience When a worker slips up, the warning .is direct. For a first offense, the foreman might yell, "Hey! Be The final step is the processing session, in which careful!" But when the scissors are dropped a students discuss and evaluate their OJT experience. second or third time, the foreman may threaten to The teacher (no longer a "foreman") starts the ses- transfer the worker: "If you drop those scissors sion with questions about the work system: "How again, guy, you'll go to work at the seamstress did the factory organize its work?" "Can you de- station. Got it?" There is also a Violation Form scribe the work?""What did you do at your station?"

8 Limpanboon/On-the-Job Training 9

Figure 6: Figure 8:

Date E, E+ WO WORK HABITS AND ATTITUDES: SEWING VIOLATION 1. Check yes or no: Yes No

Name: can cut cloth

can fold and pin cloth Safety rules and procedures are posted in the work area in order to protect your health and safety. can trace pattern

This is your (first, second, last) warning. can sew on machine

Explanation: Did you learn this during the OJT? Yes No You are willing to learnt

2. Did you come to work on time? Did you do the work at your station? Were you careful to do your job well? If you answered yes to all the questions, you are dependable! If you disagree with this repnrt, you can arrange a meeting to discuss it with your supervisor or union representative. 3. What station did you work at? Who told you what to do? If your explanation is accepted, this report will be removed What did you do at that station? from your file.If your explanation is not accepted, this You can follow orders! report will become part of your permanent work record. List three work habits that you have:

This report has been filed by: 1.I am .

.I am . Position: 3.I can .

Figure 7:Observation of Language in OJT

Asking for Asking forReportingRequesting Acknowledging/ Name Clarification Feedback Problems Information Apologizing for errors Socializing

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"Oa,. PI--tO-.- ar alKwpo44vov?i,s#0\\svoiovcIZ

9 10 PASSAGE

Next, the teacher relates some of the incidents of directness. They learn that it is all rightto speak observed the previous day. "One worker seemed up about the problems they are having on the job, idle, just sitting and waiting at his stationhow did and that, in fact, the foreman wants themto do that happen?" "How did you feel when I criticized so. They understand that the rough language and you?" The teacher encourages the students to blunt directions are aimed not at humiliating them, compare their OJT work experience with work but at realistically simulating a certain kind of U.S. situations in their own countries: "What would you workplace. do in Laos if at one stage of a job there wasn't The processing step helps the studentsput their anything to do for a while? What should you do at OJT work experience into context. Thereasons your work station (in the American workplace) if behind the organization of tasks and the workplace you don't have any work to do?" They compare interactions become clearer. At the end ofevery other workplace cross-cultural problems and discuss cycle, advanced-level students tell teachers that possible solutions. "What did you do in Laos when through the OJTs, they have learneda great deal your tools broke? What did you do in the sewing about the safe use of tools and machines and the factory?" cultural influences that affect on-the-job behavior. The next step is to review the Work Habits and They have also learned to speak upmore than they Attitudes evaluation form (see Figure 8, page 9), would in a traditional classroom. Many refugees filled out by the teacher during and immediately after have asked if they could spend more timeon OJTs. the work simulation, noting students' performance, work habits, and attitudes. The teacher encourages students to continue the good work in areas they REFERENCES have done well, e.g., keeping busy, asking questions, working carefully. Problem areas, such Lewis, Dorothy. 1985. The airplane walk-through:a simulation as inaccurate work or failing to request work when for low-level students. Passage 1(2): 35-39. the station is idle, will be given greater attention Williams, nregory. 1986. The D-E Work Orientation pilotpro- during the next OJT. gram in Phanat Nikhom. Passage 2(3): 6-9. In the last step of processing, students talk or write about their work experience, describing the skills and responsibilities they had during the OJT. At this point, the teacher can also introduce specific infor- Privan "Maew" Limpan- mation about assembly-line jobs in the U.S. boon has been a Work Orien- Students are now ready to learn about such concepts tc'ion instructor at Phanat Ni- as piecework payment and probationary periods, khom Refugee Camp in Thai- topics that would have been incomprehensible land since 1985. She has without their hands-on OJT experience of the taught at all levels, A through preceding day. E. Previously, she held mana- The OJT approach has been successful in encour- gerial and training positions aging students to initiate communication. Inter- in youth programs and in the tourism industry. She holds a actions between foreman and workers may seem BA in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University in rather rough and even rude at first, but students Bangkok. quickly become accustomed to this American style

10 11 Preparing Refugees for Elementary Programs: The PREP Program

Lois Purdham, with Margo Pfleger, Rose Bowery, Karen Harrison, Susan Reynolds, and Barbara Wolf Philippine Refugee Processing Center

IPreparing Refugees for Elementary Programs at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center is the most recent addition to the Overseas Refugee Training Program, which is funded by the Bureau for Refugee Programs of the U.S. Department of State.Serving refugee children six to eleven - and -a -half years old, PREP has been initiated to ease these youngsters' transition to schools in the U.S. The first PREP students began in April 1987 and will graduate in time to enroll in U.S. schools in September. This article describes the process of starting the PREP program, t'e curriculum design, the educational principles on which it is based, and the courses that the students attend.

Sivilay, a nine-year-old Lao farmer's son, spent under the auspices of the United Nations High two years in refugee camps in Thailand, where he Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The new, had his only schooling. He can just barely read and expanded program is called the PREP program write his name in Lao script, and he can sing the (Preparing Refugees for Elementary Programs). The familiar "ABC" song. Now resettled in a large U.S. goal of the PREP program is to prepare refugee city, Sivilay is surrounded by children who speak, children six to eleven-and-a-half years old for read, and write a different language. He cannot successful entry into U.S. schools. In PREP, these understand much of what his teacher says in class, children develop language, academic, and social and he feels isolated from the other students, who skills to ease their transition to new schools. are laughing, answering questions, and enjoying themselves. As time passes, he makes a few friends, but the difference between Sivilay and his American classmates widens as he falls further and Initial Development further behirld. "Sivilay" is fictitious, but his situation unfortunate- In October 1986, the Bureau for Refugee ly has been a common one for refugee children Programs at the U.S. Department of State brought resettled in the U.S. The World Relief Corporation together U.S. elementary educators of refugee (WRC) has recently been funded by the U.S. children and representatives from refugee resettle- Department of State to implement a training program ment and overseas refugee training agencies for a for these refugee children in the Philippine Refugee conference at the Center for Applied Linguistics Processing Center (PRPC) in Bataan, Philippines. (CAL) in Washington, D.C. At that conference, WRC formerly offered a small-scale program of participants shared their expertise and made recom- elementary education, the Youth Guidance Program, mendations on the design and content of the PREP t. t 11 12 PASSAGE program. The following summarizes the group's English proficient (LEP) students for later use in recommendations: curriculum development. 1. Affirming the distinction between second language "learning" and "acquisition" (Krashen and Terrell 1983), the curriculum should provide for Curriculum Development developing English language skills through the teaching of content. 2. While science and social studies need not be A work team of representatives from WRC, CAL, studied intensively, activities should be developed to The Experiment in International Living (EIL), and help prepare the children for these content areas. the Northwest Educational Cooperative/Illinois Resource Center met during November and December 1986 to begin designing the curriculum. This team developed a 20-week program schedule -mm11111__ and lesson plan format, and identified learning skills and interpersonal skills to be included. They chose content area topics that would promote students' language learning while familiarizing them with 0 typical U.S. school subject areas. In the process of curriculum development, the team identified guiding principles that form the . , 1464.4:41A-4A,, 1Z(,),.:- foundation of the PREP effort. The PREP program tkevtN ,,A,,-.!...... involves students in activities that present whole, ....".1-4.,,..,4 natural instances of language use. Since children ". ,.....' learn language best whep they are involved in activities requiring language use (Harnayan 1987), the PREP curriculum offers a wide variety of interesting activities that engage. the children and stimulate them to use English meaningfully. A second principle underlying the curriculum is that childrenat least those in the age range served by PREPare still developing both conceptually and linguistically, in contrast to adults, who have already developed the cognitive skills of classifying, comparing, sequencing, and inferring. So that children understand new concepts before dealing with the..1 in English, many activities are arranged like the lesson on "senses": Students first learn the concept of classifying by placing items that are smooth and rough into two different piles; afterwards they are introduced to the language that compares the items. The third principle underlying the PREP curric- lw ulum is that for these refugee children, success in PREP students and their teacher read together from one big U.S. schools involves not only thinking and P% racy book. skills, but also the study skills and interpersonal Photo by Lois Purdham. skills possessed by most American children at that age. The PREP curriculum addresses these needs 3. Reading and writing from a whole language through activities involving teamwork, cooperative perspective (Goodman 1986) should receive par- tasks, and competitive games and sports. Students ticular attention, with special literacy activities for learn study skills through completing homework non-literate students. assignments, doing projects, taking tests, and using 4. Study skills and interpersonal skills should the library. be stressed throughout all components of the A fledgling staff began full-time curriculum work program. in January 1987. Curriculum work was done in two Participants also shared copies of materials and phasesthe first in Bataan, Philippines, the secorid curricula from elementary programs for limited- in the U.S. Assisted by a staff member from CAL's 12 Purdham et al./The PREP Program 13

Refugee Service Center, the curriculum team wrote book, Yes! English for Children. The latter is a detailed activities and designed appropriate materials supplemental resource that helps prepare children for classroom use. A consultant from the Illinois for using and handling textbooks. Classrooms are Resource Center (IRC) trained PREP staff in provided with sets of The Rainbow Collection, up-to-date conL opts and methodologies in language Experiences in English, and sets of library books acquisition and literacy, and helped develop the for students to use during the reading periods. The literacy curriculum as well. The curriculum team at sets of library books are rotated among classrooms, so the children have exposure to a wide array of current children's literature. Spectrum Math workbooks are also provided to the students, but theyare used only after preparatory work in the classroom.

Program Design

All children attend 20 weeks of instruction in cycles that parallelthe language, Cultural Orientation, and Work Orientation courses their parents attend. Children eight to eleven years old study four hours every weekday morning, for a total of 400 hours of instruction. It is expected that six- and seven-year-olds will soon be included in PREP, attending two hours of class per day. Students use gestures to tel and re-tell stories. To further ease students' transition, it was felt that Photo by Lois Purdham. the school schedule and the activities should be typical of those in the U.S. In PREP, students learn

Bataan also included PREP supervisors and teachers and two Preparation for American Secondary Schools (PASS) teachers on loan from the Inter- national Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). 11111111461 In the second phase, the work that was completed in Bataan was further refined by consultants from IRC and CAL Washington staff. The curriculum team worked for approximately four months, developing instructional activities for English language, mathematics, literacy, and enrichment activities such as art, music, and sports. ti kt, Topics for learning English were selected to provide experience at the different stages of language a acquisitionpreproduction, speech emergence, and fluency. Activities for each topic were correlated with a variety of commercially available texts and materials to allow teachers greater flexibility in their lesson planning. A materials development team was Refugee children in PREP classrooms discoverthat learning is established to create and mass produce visuals and fun. resources required for each activity. Pilot testing of Photo by Lois Purdham. the curriculum began in April 1987, with teachers providing daily feedback to the curriculum coordinator on revision needs. Additional activities are to be produced as required, and these will what to expect of schools in the U.S. and develop be tried, reworked, and tried again. confidence in their ability to handle new situations. Each child in the PREP program is provided with The PREP schedule includes reading and writing, copies of a picture dictionary and a student work- language/conceptual development, math, recess

13 14 PASSAGE

(guided play), and enrichment. A preliminary The English Language Units are taught through a version of the schedule is seen below. wide variety of activities that integrate listening, The first ten minutes of each day are spent on speaking, reading, and writing. Since science and "warm-up." This is when the teacher sets the tone of social studies are not separate subjects, activities in the day, discusses calendar information, takes these areas are incorporated in units on Weather, attendance, collects homework, and so on. On Food, Community Places, Animals, and Plants. Monday mornings, students and teacher have a During the English Language Units, students also "sharing time," when they can talk about events that learn how to use such academic materials as charts, are important to them. This period is also a good graphs, maps, and scales. opportunity for the teacher to evaluate informally the Sixty minutes each day are devoted to developing language proficiency of the students. English literacy, one half-hour for reading activities, The largest single block of time, nearly two hours, and the other half-hour for writing. The literacy is for the 33 English Language Units, which deal class aims to make the link between oral language with familiar elementary school topics: and print as natural and enjoyable for the children as possible. Using the Whole Language approach, these classes offer children an uninterrupted span of Personal information Personally Significant Dates time to read and then to express themselves through Classroom Personal Attributes writing and pre-writing activities. Students actively Calendar Size participate in sustained silent reading, language School Location Feelings experience activities, dictated stories, journal. Weather Field Day Activities writing, and creative writing in the English literacy Seasons Animals classes. School People Shopping Students study math for eight 30-minute periods Clothing Plants per week, participating in many large- and small- Family Maps & Globes group activities. Lessons are carefully sequenced so Home Directions that students not only develop mathematical Safety Community Places concepts, but also learn to talk, read, and write Body Parts/Senses Community Helpers about mathematics in English. Some concepts are Time Telephones introduced outside the math classes through English Daily Routines Transportation Language Unit topics, such as those involving Weekly Routines Food (Nutrition) money or measurement. Food Transit In the seven 30-minute periods allotted to recess Health and enrichment, youngsters discover that learning

PREP WEEKLY SCHEDULE Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

8:00-8:10 Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up Warm-up

8:10-8:40 Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading

8:40-10:00 English English English English English Language Language Language Language Language Units Units Units Units Units

10:00-10:30 RECESS RECESS RECESS RECESS RECESS

10:30-11:00 Math Math Math Math Math

11:00-11:30 Math Writing Math Writing Math

11:30-12:00 Writing/ Enrichment Writing/ Enrichment Writing/ Wrap-up Wrap-up Wrap-up

14 Purdham et al./The PREP Program 15

can be fun.Through guided play and sports, adjustment. We believe that PREP will offer children develop social skills for successful peer children like Sivilay the boost they need to succeed, interaction: sharing, turn-taking, and cooperating. In and do so through activities that are meaningful, addition, music, art, drama, puppet shows, board effective, and fun. games, and video activities serve to develop motor skills and introduce aesthetic experiences. REFERENCES As in other components of the Overseas Refugee Training Program, each PREP teacher works Bowmar/Noble. 1987. Experiences in English. Oklahoma closely with one supervisor and seven or eight City, Oklahoma: Author. teammates. At formal and informal training Goodman, Kenneth. 1986. What's whole in whole language? sessions, and through class observations followed Exeter, New Hampshire: Heinemann. by feedback sessions, teachers learn to evaluate Hamayan, Else. 1987. Developing literacy in English asa themselves and improve their instructional skills. second language: a handbook for teachers of young children. Formal training sessions focus on such areas as Unpublished ranuscript. Krashen, Stephen D. and Tracy D. Terrell (Eds.). 1983. The language acquisition, lesson planning, classroom natural approach: language acquisition in the classroom. management, discipline, and theory and teaching Oxford: Pergamon Press. methodologies for literacy and math. Richards, Thomas J. 1984. Spectrum mathematics. Riverforest, Illinois: Laid law Brothers. Santillana Publishing. 1984. The Rainbow collection. North- Acknowledgments and Goals vale, New Jersey: Author. Walker, Michael. 1983. Yes! English for children. Reading, Massachussetts: Addison-Wesley. During this start-up period, the World Relief PREP staff have benefited from the assistance of other agencies: International Catholic Migration Commission, The Experiment in International Living, the Center for Applied Linguistics, and the Illinois Resource Center. The assistance from U.S. elementary LEP educators has been invaluable. Dialogue with these agencies and U.S. educators will continue, in order to receive. feedback on the program's success. PREP marks a significant and exciting development in refugee training for young children. Findings from current research and new methodologies have been incorporated into the program design. As a result, the PREP staff hopes to contribute to, as well as profit from, the body of knowledge about second language acquisition and literacy, particularly in respect to this unique group The authors (from left to right): Margo Pfleger, program not yet immersed in the target culture and language. associate, Center for Applied Linguistics Refugee Service Of course, PREP's most important goal is to Center,Washington, D.C.; Rose Bowery, PREP prepare refugee children for the difficult transition supervisor; Karen Harrison, PREP supervisor; Barbara Wolf, director of PREP; Susan Reynolds, PREP awaiting them. PREP should provide significant supervisor; and Lois Purdham, training and evaluation assistance to U.S. teachers in their task of bringing specialist for PREP. these children up to "grade level" while easing the

1.1 15 16 PASSAGE Examining Attitudes and Stereotypes through Video

Allen L. Hixon Philippine Refugee Processing Center

Just one day after the 1986 Statue of Liberty styles to suit a variety of teaching objectives and commemoration and Fourth of July celebration in learner situations. the U.S., videotapes of the event reached the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC). The quick availability of videotape on almost any topic Spotting Stereotypes and the recent addition of audio-visual facilities at the PRPC raise several challenging instructional issues. There is obviously a great potential for Stereotyping is largely a process by which integrating videotape into the Cultural Orientation individuals categorize and structure the world in (CO) and Work Orientation (WO) curricula. It is which they live. When videotape attempts to less clear when and to what extent this should be replicate reality, some aspect of that reality is done, or what material is most suitable. Teachers necessarily distorted. Filming is not a simple, should be prepared to use videotape creatively, not objective recording of events; choice of subject, simply as a means to communicate information, but camera angle, and lighting express an individual also to help refugees develop the skills to become point of view. Gumpert and Cathcart (1982) suggest active learners in their new cultural environment. that as the ability of a medium to replicate reality One important CO topic in which videotape can increases, so does the appearance of truth. For play a role is that of stereotypes and prejudices. example, the ideas conveyed in a hand-drawn Sometimes an otherwise useful videotape presents caricature may be laughed at, but are not likely to be damaging stereotypes, distorting rather than accepted as real. A stereotype presented in a clarifying reality. The Statue of Liberty festivities, documentary film is much more likely to be for example, were meant to celebrate fundamental believed, because it appears real. American ideals: freedom, equality, and equal We have all heard people exclaim, "Look, just like opportunity for all. Despite these intentions, critical on television." The abstracted media image is viewers noted that Indians, Black Americans, perceived as "more real" than the reality it Hispanics, and other minority groups played only a reproduces. In this case, reality is judged against the minor part in the videotaped account of the television image rather than the other way around. celebration. It presented a "mainstream stereotype" Learning how stereotypes are formed, both on video of Americans. and in people's minds, may help teachers determine This video and others can be valuable in the when deceptive stereotypes are presented and how classroom when teaching about American values. to neutralize them. To use videotape effectively, several skills must be developed. First, teachers must be able to distinguish when and to what extent stereotypes are Ways to Use Videos being projected. After carefully identifying the messages that the video is presenting, teachers must Four successful methods for using videos in a determine how to integrate the videotape creatively lesson involve watching only a portion of a given into their lesson plans. Finally, teachers must videotape. This approach helps keep students' develop a repertoire of presentation and discussion attention focused on the instructional points 16 Hixon/Examining Attitudes and Stereotypes through Video 17

rather than on other aspects of the documentary or family's first visit to the grocery store, where story. conflict and misunderstanding arise. Studentsare then assigned io act as the sponsor, refugee family members, and the shopkeeper. They re-enact the The Repetitive Method scenes and then discuss or play out different outcomes, depending on the methods they invent to In the "repetitive method," the teacher selects a resolve the problems. short segment, introduces it briefly, and shows it once after a limited introduction. The segment is then discussed with some guiding questions and Juxtaposition viewed a second time. This method allows students to view the film once without the bias of the "Juxtaposition" is a fourth method for using presenter, and the repetition gives them a second or videos when teaching about attitudes. As thename third chance to analyze complex patternsor suggests, the teacher shows the students two short, relationships. contrasting film clips. CO teachers at PRPC have used a documentary film about Martin Luther King, Jr., and the development of the civil rights The Silent Treatment movement in the U.S. Vietnamese students watching this video have found interesting and A variation of the first method might be called the significant parallels for Indochinese people who "silent treatment." For example, the teacher has the might be denied educational opportunities or basic class view a 60-second clip from "The Cosby human rights. A short clip of quiet, domestic life in Show" with the sound off. This forces the viewers rural New England provides the contrasting to pay close attention to facial expressions, jumping-off point for discussion of stereotypes, interpersonal space, and other nonverbal cues regionalism, and ethnocentrism. This method is essential for successful communication. While particularly useful to highlight specific valuesor providing interesting substance for discussion, the attitudes, but the sections of contrasting footage silent treatment avoids the difficulty of finding must be very carefully selected. material with an appropriate language level fora All four suggested methodsrepetitive viewing, low-English proficient audience. silent treatment, focused viewing, and juxtaposition provide significant opportunities to examine values and attitudes such as freedom, prejudice, and Focused Viewing self-reliance. All these methods involve careful preparation, but they do not necessarily require A third method might be called "focused viewing." more classroom time than would viewing a film in When introducing the film segment, the teacher its entirety. provides background information on the idioms used, the historical setting, dress styles, or other pertinent focus points. This becomes the window through which students view the film. For feature Follow-Up films, the teacher can divide the class and assign students to roles in the film. Watching from the Teachers must develop a range of techniques for perspective of the main characters, viewers identify follow-up discussion and reflection after showinga mole closely with the emotions expressed, and they video. It is up to the instructor to choose the are better able to discuss the characters' attitudes approach that best suits the class size and level of systematically and thoroughly. students. Probably the most common, yet This technique,could be used with "The Girl Who ineffective method of following up a video is for the Spelled Freedom," a story about the adjustment of a teacher to show the firm in its entirety, turn it off, Khmer family resettling in the U.S. While and ask students what they saw and how they felt seemingly appropriate for Indochinese refugees, this about it. This type of class discussion is easy to film may communicate inaccurate information about manage, but it is not very useful, unless the resettlement. For example, most refugees will not objective is limited to communicating information. move into upper-middle-class suburban American Thorough discussion must move beyond the housing like that shown in the film. Rather than observation of behavior to that of attitudes and show the film in its entirety, the teacher should values, which in turn can lead to a discussion on select an appropriate and realistic scei such as the how to develop strategies for coping with various 17 18 PASSAGE situations. One simple, effective follow-up tech- and assisting them in re-evaluating their own nique is to turn the video off at various points and closely-held views are the first step. Only then can have students suggest how particular problems the full potential of the medium be realized and put might be resolved. The opportunity for problem- to constructive use in the classroom. solving may be lost if the discussion is postponed until the entire film has been viewed, when seats are REFERENCES particularly hard and the audience is thinking about leaving. Brislin, Richard W. 1981. Crosscultural encounters: face-to- Small-group discussion in the students' native face interaction. Oxford: Pergamon Press. language can be very fruitful. Teachers may hesitate Gumpert, Gary,and RobertCathcart.1982. Media stereo- to use this method for fear of losing control of the typing:images of the foreigner.In Larry A. Samovar and class, but this difficulty can be overcome by having Richard E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural communication: a an assistant teacher (classroom translator) help guide reader. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co. and monitor discussions. The results of the discussion are often surprising. Refugee students frequently have insightful observations on points that may have seemed peripheral or unimportant to Allen L. Mixon is the act- the Filipino or American presenter. ing program officer of the The teacher's ability to improvise and change Training Department at the Philippine Refugee Processing direction in order to build on the students' interest Center. Previously, he was a may allow for valuable learning beyond the original trainer on Cultural Orientation lesson objectives. With higher-level students, a topics in that department. Be- short writing assignment may be appropriate. A fore joining the International teacher should be able to switch techniques in order Catholic Migration Commis- to find the method that will involve students most sion staff, Nixon was assis- effectively. tant director of theBusiness Council for International Careful attention is necessary at each stage: Understanding in Washington, D.C. He has conducted and spotting stereotypes while previewing the video, evaluated training programs in the Middle East, Asia, and integrating the video into lesson planning, and Latin America. He holds an MA in international training from the School for International Service at American carrying out classroom discussion after viewing. University in Washington, D.C., and a BA in cultural Helping teachers develop the analytical skills to anthropology from Middlebury College in Vermont. understand when stereotypes are being presented, 1

18 19 A Survey of 17- to 19-Year-OldStudents at Bataan

Ben McDonald Philippine Refugee Processing Center

When the Overseas Refugee Training Program A survey questionnaire was developed with input was revised in 1986, students were placed into more from teachers and supervisors andwas then homogeneous age and interest groupings. One such translated into Lao, Vietnamese, and Chinese. To grouping resulted in the creation of "youth classes" ensure that the translations were accurate, it was for students 17 to 19 years old. Because therewas "back translated" into a new English versionfor little information about this age group, itwas comparison with the original. Numerous individuals decided to design and conduct a survey at the assisted in the overall survey effort, including Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) to refugees who translated the questionnaire into Lao learn more about the students' backgrounds and or Vietnamese, one teacher who translated the attitudes. With more accurate information,we can answers into English, and other teachers who structure an educational program based on real helped summarize the data. needs, rather than relying on guesses and intuition. The questionnaire was given to all 17-to 19-year- Although the results provided few surprises, the old students in cycles 74-77 during their last 'week survey gives a clearer and more realistic picture of in the training program. Therewere 356 respond- this particular age group than was available before. ents; 132 were Vietnamese and 224 were from For some, the data may verify previous impressions Laos. There was quite a difference between the and experiences, but for others, the resultsmay responses of the Lao and those of the Vietnamese, provide new insights about an age group which has so their responses are reported separately. To com- much potential for successful assimilation into life in bine them would be less informative and couldeven the U.S. Because the respondents included all 17- to be misleading. 19-year-olds in four cycles (large in-coming groups) The survey is divided into four sections. The first of refugees, the number of respondents is sufficient section, "Demographics," gathered information to make the data statistically reliable. about gender, marital status, family size, and amount of time spent in refugee camps. The second section asked about the refugees' educational back- Survey Design ground, their opinion of the trainingprogram at the PRPC, and their future plans for education. The third section of the survey dealt with refugees' skills In developing an instrument to collect data, we and work experience, and job plans in the U.S. A faced the problem of keeping it short enough to final section asked them about their expectations of minimize the time it would take students to complete life in the U.S. the form, but at the same time making it comprehensive enough to obtain sufficient data to make the study worthwhile. We wanted to collect enough Summary of Results demographic data to provide an adequate profile of the age group. We also hoped to get reliable samples The results of the demographic section showed of the refugees' opinions of their educational that our sample group of 17- to 19-year-old refugees experience here and their expectations regarding life is almost evenly divided between males and in the U.S. females. Twenty-nine percent of the Lao are married

19 20 PASSAGE compared to 10% of the Vietnamese. As might be The work-related section of the survey yielded expected, 75% of both ethnic groups have relatives some unexpected information. Sixteen percent of the in the U.S., but the Lao have spent considerably Lao students and 33% of the Vietnamese held full- more time in refugee camps than their Vietnamese time jobs outside of the home before becoming counterparts. refugees. Roughly one-third of each ethnic group The Lao and Vietnamese differ in educational reports having a special skill such as dressmaking background. The average number of years of and goldsmithing. Virtually all of the students schooling is 6.5 for the Lao and 8.1 for the Viet- expect to look for a job, but they don't anticipate an namese. Both groups seem satisfied with their easy time of it. classes at the PRPC; only a small percentage agreed Regarding life in the U.S., respondents have that there were class topics which they regarded as realistic impressions and expectations based on what unnecessary. Virtually 100% of the survey they hear from relatives and friends. However, the participants want to go to school in the U.S., and Lao anticipate more difficulty in some aspects of life they say they plan to go to work as well. The vast in the U.S. than do their Vietnamese peers. The majority believe that increased English language following survey data provides detailed information skills are necessary to obtain a job. on the above points as well as others.

Survey Data

Demographic Data Educational Data Lao Vietnamese Lao Vietnamese Sex 1. Past Education Male 48% 52% Female 52% 47% Have attended school 96% 98% 0-3 years of schooling 11% 8% Language Level (average) 1.7 2.4 Years of schooling, average 6.5 8.1 (Level A = 1; Level E = 5) In each group there was one person who had 16 years of Marital Status schooling. Married 29% 10% Widowed 2% 2. Educational Experience at the PRPC (The remainder are single.) Three questions were asked about the students' attitude toward Family classes. There is an intentional similarity in the questions, in With relatives in the U.S. 75% 74% order to verify the answers: Of those with parents in the U.S., Lao Vietnamese percent who will join them 73% 84% a) When in class: Those accompanied by parents 1) I am glad to be there 99% 98% 36% at PRPC 41% 2) I wish I were some place else 1% 2% Of those unaccompanied by parents, parents in Vietnam, Laos, or U.S.81% 84% b) When my friends are in class: Number of siblings: 1) they are glad to be there 98% 96% average 5.6 5.9 2) they wish they were range 0-12 0-14 some place else 2% 4% Number of siblings at PRPC: average 3.7 2.8 c) When I am in class,most of the time I feel: range 0-10 0-10 1) bored 2% 2% 2) very interested 98% 98% Number of Years in Refugee Camps: less than one year 16% 79% Three questions were asked about subject area and course 1-2 years 69% 17% content: more than 2 years 15% 4% a) Was anything taught in your classes that you would like Yes Note: Some percentages total 99 or 101 because of rounding error. to learn more about? 79% 58% No 21% 42%

20 McDonald/17- to 19-Year Old Students 21

Topics most frequently mentioned: Lao Vietnamese Jobs most frequently mentioned: LaoVietnamese

ESL and related topics 54% 38% Tailor 20% WO and other job related 23% 23% Teacher 13% CO/life in U.S. 12% 15% Farmer 13% Sports, games 7% (Others mentioned by the Lao were typist and midwife.)

b) Which class helped prepare you the mostfor life in the Mechanic 13% U.S.? Fisherman 12% ESL 43% 51% Dressmaker 12% CO 11% 30% Tailor 7% WO 46% 19% (The remainder mentioned by the Vietnamese covered a gamut of jobs from the menial to professional. There was one c) Was there anything taught in your classes which you dentist, an optician, two goldsmiths, a factory manager, a think was unnecessary? compass maker, and a helper/porter.)

No 92% 94% The respondents were asked if they have any special skills, Yes 8% 6% such as jewelry making or electronics:

Those who checked "yes" listed the following: dishwashing,Special skill listed 35% 34% asking for help, family planning, and songs. Skills most frequently listed: 3. Future Educational Plans Embroidery 19% Percent who say they want Eoressmaking 6% to go to school 99% 98% Weaving 12% (Others included by theLao were masonry, carpentry, and Courses they plan to study: hairdresser.) The Lao respondents listed 25 subject areas or vocations and the Vietnamese 29, covering a broad spectrum from dress- Dressmaking 44% making to law and medicine. The most frequently mentioned Embroidery 14% were: Goldsmithing 7% English 50% 27% (Others included by the Vietnamese werebaking, flower Electronics 6% 16% arranging, photography, and electronics.) Vocational courses 21% 13% Dressmaking 5% 8% 2. Impressions and Plans Regarding Jobs /Work Math 5% in the U.S.

There is a correlation with the two items above and the two Will look for a job in the U.S. 99% 100% following questions, which sheds light on the 17- to 19-year- (only one respondent checked "no") old refugees' plans and also verifies the data: Regarding the perceived difficulty of finding a job, there is a To get a job in the U.S.: difference between the two ethnic groups: a)I will have to study more English 98% 97% In the U.S., it will be: b) I will not have to study more a) easy to find a job 14% 37% English 2% 3% b) difficult to find a job 86% 63%

When I am in the U.S., I think itwill be possible for me to: Believe that many jobs will be a) only go to school 2% available 94% 92% b) go to school and work also 98% 98% c) only go to work 2% Data Related to Life in the U.S. Data Related to Work Experience and Expectations In the U.S., respondents expect Lao Vietnamese to have: 1. Work Experience Lao Vietnamese a) no American friends 4% b) a few American friends 44% 26% Held full-time jobs outside of home 16% 33% c) many American friends 52% 74%

21 22 PASSAGE

Nine additional questions were asked about the It is easy to find a job if you refugees' expectations about life in the U.S. As the speak good English 10% chart below indicates, the responses of the two Time is money, we are very busy ethnic groups were significantly different. and work hard 8% In America we are free to do what QUESTION: When you are in the U.S.. do you we want; it is democratic 8% think it will be difficult for you to No English, no job 6% Welfare is available 5% Life is pleasant 5% Life is difficult for finding a job, friends 5%

100 Finally, the students were invited to write com-

SO ments regarding their classes at the PRPC. The majority of the comments were laudatory. They said BO the classes were good for the following reasons: 70 LAO Learned more English 24% Percent who 60 checked "Yes" Learned about the U.S. 19% SO Teachers are good 19% VIET 40 Learned about working and job in WO 11% - 30 The critical comments were limited, and made 20 mostly by one person, except for four who said that 10 WO was not real and should be shortened to three or 0 four weeks. Two students said classes were boring, PERCENT one wanted ethnically separate classes, and another student said he didn't like homework or being called An open-ended question was posed, asking what lazy and bad by the teacher. the respondents hear from friends in the U.S. about life there. The answers from both ethnic groups are markedly similar in i:zquency and subject matter, so they have been combined. It should be remembered Ben McDonald has been that of both groups, 75% have relatives in the U.S. the program officer for evalua- The answers to this question. then, are probably tion at the Philippine Refugee based on information actually received from friends processing Center since 1984. Previously, he was chief of and family in the U.S., and are not simply the Survey Branch of the conjecture. Social Security Administra- tion. McDonald holds a BA in What They Hear Frequency philosophy from Ken: State University and a Master of It is difficult to find a job 16% Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. It is easy to find a job 10%

22 23 Developinga Survey Course in Indochinese Culture for PASS Students

Richard Lambrecht Philippine Refugee Processing Center

In the Preparation for American Secondary Schools program, teenage refugee students attend classes in math, English, and American Studies. In American Studies, they develop such skills as choice making, problem-solving, and conflict resolution, while they gain information about U.S. society. Now PASS students at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center are also learning about the cultures and histories of their own countries. This article describes the development of this course unit and provides a sample from the curriculum.

There are few things more intimidating to a teacher unit on Indochinese culture became a low priority. It than attempting to teach unfamiliar material. How was accepted as a commendable notion, but we much more intimidating for an outsider to attempt to could not agree on how to develop it. teach a nation's culture to its sons and daughters! The solution to this dilemma came with the arrival This was one of the difficulties encountered in of an especially well-qualified group of Indochinese trying to formulae a curriculum about Indochinese translators from "AT World," the International culture to be taught by Filipino instructors in the Catholic Migration Commission training program Preparation for American Secondary Schools for assistant teachers (ATs) at the PRPC. ATs are (PASS) program at the Philippine Refugee Pro- refugee students with advanced English language cessing Center (PRPC). skills who act as translators and teacher aides in the Because many PASS students have never attended classroom. This exceptional group of ATs was school before, few have been exposed to any asked to review historical outlines of Indochina and history of their own countries. In an effort to discuss the movements, events, and individuals. remedy this situation, we decided to devise a course Since some of the translators had been researchers, on Indochinese culture. It was also hoped that teachers, and administrators at the university level in cultural studies could help lessen the occasional their native countries, it was hoped that they would friction generated by ethnic prejudices and arrive at a sound agreement on the items that had misperceptions among the refugee groups. A third been so troublesome to others. Their task was fairly benefit of the course was that it would introduce, in straightforward to create an outline of Indo- a familiar context, social studies concepts students chinese cultural history accompanied by lessons would need in U.S. schools. specifically for PASS students. But how to go about it? Neither teacher-created Since the PASS Filipino teachers had little or no courses nor pre-packaged materials on this subject background in Indochinese cultural history, we had were available. Even reference materials were not to find an alternative role for the teachers, one that easy to locate. The few reliable references at hand would recognize their talents as professional contained differences in historical emphasis and educators while taking full, advantage of the refugee perspective that were difficult to reconcile. Attempts translators' expertise. It was decided that for this by PASS staff to construct an outline of history curriculum unit, the ATs would teach the lessons in were also eroded by staff disagreements about the refugees' languages, and the teachers would act emphasis and even word choice. Consequently, the as their supervisors. In the other American Studies

23 24 PASSAGE

The Refugee Translators' Perspective Nguyen Dinh Thang

In selecting curriculum developers for the PASS certain corrections were agreed on, and the first Indochinese history and culture class, it was de- draft of the curriculum was completed. cided by the refugee translators themselves to in- Everyone involved with this project felt a strong clude only individuals over 25 years old. We knewsense of responsibility for the education of the that those under 25 learned Indochinese historychildren. As refugees, we have lost our home- with a strong Marxist perspective and were there- lands it.will be spending the rest of our lives in fore less reliable resources. Also, older individuals a country with a history and culture not originally have had more experience in cultural matters. our own. We will be learning a great deal about Naturally, Vietnamese individuals handled the American culture and history and will be adapting section on Vietnamese history, Khmer handled theaccordingly. This is important. But it is also one on Khmer history, and the Lao dealt with important that the children take pride in their own Laotian history. Each nation's history was furtherhistory and culture, so that they have a sense of divided into various periods, which were thenidentity and connection with their past. The assigned to those translators with the most suitable Indochinese people have a glorious and dramatic. backgrounds. Each translator was in charge ofhistory and have triumphed over many past researching his or her assigned period andobstacles. With the knowledge of such a history, providing translations of appropriate texts and the children of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos can documents. Finally, all material was compiled and bring a pride in their ancestors with them to their discussed among the curriculum developers, new homeland.

units, the classes are taught by Filipino teachers coming months. Still, it is a good beginning, and with translation assistance from ATs as needed. PASS is proud to have taken this opportunity to To facilitate the writing of lessons for the assist Indochinese refugees pass knowledge of their curriculum, attention was first focused on content, heritage to a younger generation. i.e., the history of each country and the values and customs shared by all Indochinese. Among the topics to be considered were geography, climate, INDOCHINESE CULTURE national symbols, legends, traditions, and religious beliefs. Decisions about format and instructional level were deliberately delayed until the crucial work Rationale on course content was under way. Many of the students coming to PASS have had little formal The group of translators completed the curriculum education in their native countries; consequently, few have in late 1986 and then began preparing translations any knowledge of the history of their own country or its for the incoming ATs. The outline and lessons culture. needed to be available in Chinese, Lao, Vietnamese, and Khmer, as well as in English. The text selected Purpose for the course was The Peoples and Cultures of The unit is intended to: Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (Center for Applied give students a basic knowledge of the geography of Linguistics 1981). Southeast Asia, focusing on the three countries of Indochina: Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; familiarize students with the major ethnic groups of the region, 'ncluding important aspects of their cultures; Course Outline provide an overview of the significant features of Indochinese history; The following is an excerpt from the first part of promote in students an understanding of and a positive the curriculum. This outline will no doubt be revised attitude toward their own cultural heritage and those of other as it is used in American Studies classesduring the Indochinese peoples;

24 Lambrecht/Indochinese Culture for PASS Students 25

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Truong Vu Trung, Duong Huu Hank, and Kao Long, PASS history curriculum developers and teachers. Photo by Dan Parnintvan.

provide an introduction to mythological of native 1. How effective do you think these methods are for changing history for use in making comparisons. people's opinions? 2. Whose position do you favor? Student Objectives 3. Did working on the posters affect your opinion? The student will be able to: trace the development of his native country and Southeast Using the text: The purpose of the textbook is to acquaint Asia; the teacher with specific elements of culture that should be compare/contrast historical origins and mythological explained to the class. Most of the text is too difficult for the origins; students to be able to read with confidence or understanding; identify factors contributing to major historical change; hence, the teacher will need to condense the information and recognize the values of cultural differences among national explain it in the native language. The students, however,can loyalties. benefit by "following along" and by reviewing the pictures, inasmuch as many of the pictures are examples of specific Activities cultural events or symbols. (The following is a selection of activities used with this wilt.) B. Changes in Power. In what order would the students put these ideas? Have them number them on a piece of paper from A. In order to dramatize the struggle between two political "the one you believe most (number one) to the one you forces as evidenced in contemporary history, divide the class believe least (number four) ": into two groups. Assign one group the job of making Leaders should do what the people want. posters, poems, and songs for one political force. The other Leaders should do what they think is best for the masses of group must d3 the same assignment from the opposite point people. of view. When the groups have completed their tasks, the People who have the most intelligence and talent should be posters can be displayed to contrast their positions. The songs the leaders. and poems can be recited in alternating order, as in a People who are like the average person should be the competition. The teacher can ask: leaders.

1 25 26 PASSAGE

After the students have listed their order, discuss: What would happen to the growth of a country if it were led by a person of average understanding? 1. Leaders should do what the people want. Are the people always correct in what they want? Note: Are the people's interests selfish and demanding? Did tin, students recogniz that each of the statements could What about the other people (the minorities) who do not be in the people's best interest? agree with the majority? Did the students recognize that much depends on the What do you think is the biggest problem in dealing intelligence and the morality of the leaders in any system? with the people's interests and desires? Did the students recognize that any qualification for leadership (even mvjority rule) might exclude someone? 2. Leaders should do what they think is best for the masses of people. C.National Boundaries. Is the leader then a puppet of the people? Points for Discussion: How can one determine what the people want? L Why do people who live within national boundaries live What might the people do to get what they want from a by the same rules and participate in the same political leader? system? Are the people always right in what they want? 2. Why isit important for nations to choose their own boundaries? 3. People who have the most intelligence and talent should be 3. What are some causes and effects of revolution? the leaders. 4. What is the usefulness of international cooperation? How can intelligence and talent be determined? Intelligent 5. What are the benefits of the people using the world's in what subjects? Talented in what areas? Who is to be the resources for all peoples, rather than for national self-interest? judge? 6. If you were a farmer in one of the remote areas of Are intelligence and talent good ways to measure a Indochina, spending most of your time working to make leackl? enough money to support your family, what difference could Have the best leaders been those who have been the most it make to you if the country were governed directly by a intelligent and talented? more powerful country or by a national government? What other problems are there with intelligent !cadets? REFERENCES 4. People who are like the average person should be the leaders. Center for Applied Linguistics. 1981.The Peoples and Cultures Who determines what the "average" person is like? of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.Washington. D.C.: Center How do you measure "average"? for Applied Linguistics.

Richard Lambrecht, who has been involved in the PASS program at the PRPC since January 1986, is the curriculum developer and evaluator for American Studies in Ma program.Ills previous experience includes working with refugee and migrant students as district reading supervisor in southern California, and teaching native American students in Montana. Lambrecht has .nn MS in guidance and counseling and a BS in education from Eastern Montana University. Ile also holds an MA in English from the University of California, Los Angeles. Nguyen Dinh Thang was an assistant teacher at the PRPC from May until November 1986. In Vietnam, he was a bank manager for 13 years and for four years acted as chief of the Bureau of Legislation in the Department of Agriculture. Nguyen Dinh Thang is fluent inEnglish, Vietnamese, and French. Ile now lives in Garden Grove, California.

26 27 "I don't know how to show itso that you know me"

Anna Velazco and Team Philippine Refugee Processing Center

In the course of revising the Work Orientation Activities (WO) curriculum, our team consisting of one supervisor and seven teachers decided to look more closely at the needs of Level A students. We 1. The instructor put up a poster of caricatures were concerned that we might be harboring pre- depicting basic human emotions (Figure 1). Stu- conceived notions about Level A students that dents were asked to point out the figures that most would interfere with our efforts in the classroom. closely resembled their feelings on the first day of Too often, even before entering the classroom, school and to explain why. The range of feelings Level A students are stereotyped as low in compre- included happiness, fear, frustration, anger, and hension, lacking education, or labelled as slow confidence. This gave students an opportunity to learners. As a result, teachers may unconsciously discuss contradictory or complex feelings. lower expectations of them or even treat them like children. Certainly, we fail to understand exactly what they are facing in the classroom. When entering the program, refugees are placed in Level A if they are unable to read or write in any language. For many of our Level A students, the time in the Overseas Refugee Training Program is their first exposure to formal education or their first attempt to learn to read. Some of these refugees believe that they are too old to learn. Sometimes they feel responsible for the teacher's frustration when they forget the previous day's lesson or cannot pronounce a word clearly. Because of the language barrier, these students are unable to express their worries or concerns, and teachers usually do not ask them what they feel. Teachers simply assume they know what is best for them. Our team addressed this problem by designing activities in which students expressed their feelings about facing school, a new language, and a new teacher. The assistant teachers, refugee translators, were of great help in these activities. They translated taped 2. In another activity, the teacher displayed a conversations and native language prose into variety of magazine pictures of people, objects, English. They transcribed the comments of students flowers, and animals, and asked students to choose who were unable to express themselves in English, an image that represented how they felt on the first and they offered helpful suggestions for carrying day of class. As the students looked at the pictures out the activities. and discussed them, their reactions were recorded 27 28 PASSAGE on the tape recorder. The tape was later transcribed use these poems in our classes as a starting point for and translated into English. students to discuss their experiences here in camp 3. Strips of manila paper with a single word on and their feelings about resettlement in their new each "school," "teacher," "book," "read"were country. These are some of the things our students placed around the classroom. Students were asked are trying to say to us: to move 91)out the room, look at the words, and then write down any feelings or impressions they I felt the weather associated with those words. This was done partly Is not good. in the native language with an assistant teachera The sky is dark refugee translator writing down the students' And is raining. comments whenever necessary. After a discussion It is nearly cold. of this exercise, students were asked to complete But my hearthappy similes such as "The first day I went to school I felt Not like rain and cloud. like...," "My teacher looked like .. .," and "My I have very pleasant heart felt like.. ." This especial day. 4. The following letter (Figure 2), composed of short phrases and images, was posted.Students +++ were asked to react to it by comparing their own feelings with those presented in the letter. They My heart look like could write their own letter if they wished. Sound of song, Students were urged to be creative and were Very happy, surprised allowed to choose whatever language they wished. I found my old friend Students could submit drawings, s., eak with the And new teacher. assistant teacher, or submit written works in the No anything to compare form of short phrases, sentences, or paragraphs. I do not worry Some of the student comments were very Because my teacher poignant. We were surprised by the intensity of Is a good teacher. what our students were experiencing and the eloquence with which they expressed themselves: +++ "I am a withering bud getting water and can blossom"; "I feel like a car without a driver"; "I feel Very worried like a small boy.I don't know enough to Because everybody looks strange understand"; "I am a lost bird from the jungle." Even things Later, we assembled these comments into poems, Even my teacher. using only the students' own words. Some of their comments were written directly in English; others I felt shy were translated from the native language. Now we And why? I don't know. flow to speak English? I know a little. +++

I am worried about my children. Can I bring Tai Phi to school? I think of my family. I don't know how to show it So that you know me. +++

Born for the second time I don't feel a change Talk like a child Who don't know enough Nor understand. 28 Velazco & Team/So that you know me 29

heel very old I feel useless My English is not enough. Like a seed Planted in unfamiliar grounds Not sure if it will Grow or die. Afraid, a little nervous I am worried of all things Strange and new.

4. 4. 4.

I live to learn quickly This article was written by the team of AB-level Work My first day Orientation (WO) teachers at the Philippine Refugee Maybe Processing Center.Front row, from left to right: Cesar I can't remember all, "Say" Carino, Jerry Ocaya, Layla Perez, Ernil The next time Denamarquez, Anna Velazco, WO supervisor, and I can remember more. Victor Ambat.Back row, from left to right:Olive Pagkatipunan, Chona Gonzales, Adelina Lidawan, I think myself and Lilibeth Cheng. Two or three years I can speak better English Than this.

4. 4. 4.

Everyday I go to school to learn English I don't understand Teacher try and try again On me I don't understand

I look like the rising sun From the mountain Shining to all body Around the world.

29 30 PASSAGE The Traditional Medicine Center

Christina Herbert Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

To step from the ultraviolet glare of refugee camp banks the fires beneath several steamy cauldrons life into Phanat Nikhom's traditional medicine center containing more herbs. The focal point for all this is to be comforted by something coolly spiced and preparation is the room where several healers sit on quiet. It is here I would come to catch my breath woven mats and treat their patients. At either end of while working in the camp. And when I had the this room is a place for patients to take saunas and delightful task of showing visitors around the camp, steam baths. I would bring them here to witness a timeless Asian Any of the 10,000 Cambodian, Lao, or Vietnam- practice still flourishing despite the unusual setting. ese refugees in Phanat Nikhom RefugeeCamp, We would always be greeted with smiles by the Thailand, can choose to come here or to the Western many workers in the center, a place where all were medical facilities in camp. Many choose a combina- welcome, regardless of nationality or status. On tion of the two for purely practical reasons; others several occasions, I was given a massage by see the healing center as a way of retaining their Cambodian women healers and left with every sore culture while sampling the new experience of muscle in my body relieved. Western medicine. A small green courtyard leads out to the four The first traditional medicine center was opened in rooms of the healing center. From one of these 1979 in a refugee camp on the Thai/Cambodian 20-foot rooms comes the dull thud of mortar and border, after a French doctor saw many refugees pestles, as several Cambodian refugees sit in a circle with severe mental disturbances who were not on the dirt floor, pounding herbs into powders. responding to Western medical treatment. Since Once the herbs are prepared, they are labeled and there were traditional healers already treating the stored in another room. In a nearby room, a refugee camp population on an informal basis, why not form a center where the healers could practice their medicine and share their expertise? In addition to its practical value, the center was seen as a way to help refugees retain their own culture, preserving a great medical tradition that might otherwise be lost in the chaos caused by the Vietnamese war. When Colette Landrec, a clinical psychologist from France, visited the center at the border camp, she was so excited by it that she went home, re-packed her bags, and returned to Thailand to form another center at Phanat Nikhom. Ms. Landrec recalls that people would ask, "Why start a center that people will soon leave? Why encourage a kind of treatment that probably won't be available to refugees in the West?" Ms. Landrec had an answer for the skeptics. "We told people we felt that it was especially important in 10074rii, such a setting for the refugees to keep their own culture, because it has been proven everywhere that The traditional medicine center, Phanat Nikhom. those who cope best in a new culture are those deep- Photo by Charoensak "Kaew" Chongcharueyskul. ly rooted in their own. Even if they're leaving soon,

30 Herbert/The Traditional Medicine Center 31

we still believe there is a needespecially at this The benefits of the center extend beyond the moment when many have been waiting for years to confines of the refugee camp. In a project initiated go but have trouble when it actually happens. It is a by the Thai camp commander in the fall of 1985, the time of the fulfillment of one hope and the loss of traditional medicine center began to offer its services another: the hope of returning to their own country." to local Thai villagers, many of whom could not The center's four main rooms were quickly set up, afford to pay for medical care elsewhere. The herbs were obtained from Chinese pharmacies in success of this program has been phenomenal. Bangkok, a number of Cambodian and Lao healers Many Thai farmers who have had diseases all their were recruited, and the Phanat Nikhom traditional lives are now cured. Thais and refugees have had a medicine center opened in 1982. Since then, chance to meet in a normal setting, which has served thousands of refugees have come for treatment of a to foster understanding between the two groups. range of ailments. For example, most Cambodian The opportunity to be of use outside the artificial women see a healer regularly during and after a confines of the camp has given many of the healers pregnancy; in fact, they feel that if they do not see a a renewed zest for life. Their sense of purpose has healer, their pregnancy will not be successful. Many kept them up until all hours preparing medicines to older people come for steam baths and massages. treat the Thai villagers. Most patients, though, come for treatment of skin and digestion disorders. As the refugee population has waxed and waned over the last five years, the center has seen many healers leave, but its services have always been in demand. The healers and workers at the center, who receive the standard wage of approximately 50 cents a day, provide their services at no cost to the patient. "What is unique about this center is that here you have healers of different nationalities working together, whereas in their own countries they would have worked alone or perhaps with a mentor," said Ms. Landrec. "All together they have a full body of knowledge. This has resulted in a great deal of sharing, as well as an easing of racial tensions." This collective wisdom has resulted in steady improvements in the center over the years. Doctors and A healer applies ointment to a skin rash. specialists from all over the world have visited the Photo by Charoensak "Kaew Chongcharueyskul. center to observe the healers. One day I sat with a French doctor observing a healer treat a wound with betel juice and saliva. The doctor told me that this was as effective an antibiotic as anything our Western cultures could concoct.

::01.4110

Herbs are boiled in cauldrons. Herbs are pounded, then sifted into a tine powder. Photo by Charoensak 'Kaew" Chongcharueyskul. Photo by Charoensak "Kaew Chongcharueyskul. 31 32 PASSAGE

Clod SengTraditional Healer

Clod Seng is an agile, limber man with bright brown eyes and skin the color of walnut stain. At 58, he is an old man by Khmer standards. Recent events have caused him terrible hardships, as well as unthought-of opportunitites. His mentors would never have dreamed they would be preparing him to practice his trade in a refugee camp. Clod grew up in Battambang province in western Cambodia, where his father and grandfather were traditional healers. He has come a long way to get to the traditional medicine center in Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp. Yet his profession has remained the same for most of his life. To his patients he is kru (doctor), someone highly respected. To a Westerner, he is known as-a traditional healer. When Clod describes his work in Cambodia, he Clod Seng in Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp. looks down, as though trying to conceal something. Photo by Christina Herbert. There is something like sadness on his shadowed face, but then one realizes that he is actually concealing pride. Minutes later, he tells of his fame cure everything from coughs to depression. I learn in Cambodia for treating headaches and chills. He from Clod and other healers that the knowledge and was paid on a sliding scale basis for his work, he power of a healer is almost always linked with says. magic and Buddhism. As a young person, Clod was After Pol Pot came to power in the early seventies, considered a good candidate for the healing arts Clod, like millions of other professionals in because of his receptivity to magic spells. Most Cambodia, had to pretend he knew nothing of other healers from Cambodia and Laos were chosen traditional healing, or risk persecution and death. because they also exhibited special powers while Along with the majority of people in Cambodia at still young. the time, he was forced to do manual labor. When Agreeing to become a healer is like agreeing to asked if he still practiced his medicine in any form become a monk, I am told. The healer must always during these years, Clod nods his head curtly and show strong moral qualities: It is a common cultural says, "Of course, but secretly." belief that if a healer does something ethically In 1979, Clod left Cambodia with his wife, six wrong, he (very rarely "she") will lose his curing children, and one grandchild. Their first stop was powers. Consequently, the healer's job must draw Kao-I-Dang refugee camp on the Thai border, on a vast body of both herbal and spiritual where Clod was able to practice his healing once knowledge. again. Clod had a private practice there for six The most common problems Clod treats are years, and his fellow refugees paid him if his stomach pains, diarrhea, coughs, and pregnancy- treatments were successful. related problems. After he examines and talks with Since May of 1985, Clod and his family have been each person, Clod usually sits back and reflects for in Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp preparing for a few minutes. Then, chanting, he begins to apply departure to the U.S. Most family members attend the proper ointment or mix of herbs. For treating English and Cultural Orientation classes, but Clod is many of the tropical skin problems he sees, Clod ineligible for these because of his age, so he spends relies on a concoction made from tobacco, sesame every day working at the traditional medicine center seeds, and coconut oil. Workers at the center burn for twelve dollars a month. the sesame seeds and smoke them together with the While working at the center, Clod sits on a straw tobacco in a large bamboo pipe, until they are able to mat v.th large plastic containers spread before him collect the resin. This resin is then mixed with coco- like an elaborate set of drums. Inside each container nut oil to create the final product: a medicine that are the herbs he will mix with hot water to treat his consistently clears up even severe skin problems. patients. When I ask Clod about any unusual cases he has His patients also receive his spiritual treatment treated, he looks flustered and implies that he has translated as "magic spells" by the interpreterto never had any problems. When I ask again if there 32 Herbert/Ile Traditional Medicine Center 33 is any case he is particularly proud of or finds memorable, he again denies it flatly. He considers it Christina Herbert, former bad form to boast or to single out any particular Phanat Nikhom site editor for case. Passage, was an ESL super- And what about Western medicine? Pride makesa visor at Phanat Nikhom from brief appearance when he says, "Sometimes the 1984 to 1986. From 1981 to clinic in camp sends patients to me after they have 1982, she taught EFL in tried everything and failed." And does it work the Japan. She has also taught Indochineserefugees in other way around? "Never." Boston. Since returning to the In a few weeks, Clod will leave Phanat for his U.S. in 1986, Herbert has new home in Richmond, Virginia. I ask him if he been teaching English andhistory to dyslexic students at will practice traditional medicine there. Landmark College, Putney,Vermont.She has a BA in "Yes," he says, "I hope so." literature from Reed Collegeand an MAT from the School "And your sons, will they learn to be healers?" I for International Training. ask. "Not now," he says. "The modem school ismore important. But later, I want them to learn."

33 34 PASSAGE ESL Curriculum Development at PASS

Timothy Made! Philippine Refugee Processing Center

In order to develop a successful curriculum, a number of factors need to be taken into consideration. This article describes the areas looked at by curriculum writers for the English as a Second Language classes in the Preparation for American Secondary Schools program at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center. Besides looking at program goals and instructional materials, the curriculum developers also considered the students' background, the characteristics and qualifications of the teaching staff, and current theory and research in the field of language teaching and language acquisition.

In the Preparation for. American Secondary learned that Indochinese students are interested in a Schools (PASS) program at the Philippine Refugee wide range of topics, from health and sports to Processing Center (PRPC), we are using a new countries of origin. We have also learned that many curriculum in the English as a Second Language students expect and want tests, homework, (ESL) classes. This ESL curriculum is for a unique instruction in grammar, spelling bees, and long programone that prepares 111a- to 16-year-old vocabulary lists to study. We have learned that they Indochinese refugees for entry into American often prefer to sit in rows rather than in circles, that secondary schools. In determining the content and they need work on pronunciation, and that, for approach to take in the ESL curriculum, there have many of them, answering comprehension questions been four major areas of consideration: the about a reading passage is as unnatural as raising a characteristics of our students, the background of hand to answer a question. We have learned about the instructional staff, current research in second discipline and consistency, about pencil sharpeners language acquisition, and the developmental goals and group work, and about our students' feelings of of the PASS program. fear and joy in ESL classes. But in addition to all this information about our students, we have learned not to assume that what Characteristics of PASS Students works in one class will work in another. Nonethe- less, we have found that a curriculum offering enough choices, while following certain principles During the early days of the PASS program, many and notions of language learning and language questions were raised: What do the students want to education, can work with the great majority of our learn? What do they need? How much should we students. deal with "here and now" topics and how much with the students' past and their unknown futures? What teaching and learning strategies would be best for these students? How closely should we simulate the Background of the Instructional Staff kind of instruction they will receive in the U.S.? Should we prepare students for ESL programs in Just as we took into account the unique student U.S. schools, or for mainstreaming, or for both? population and its diversity of age, schooling, and These questions and others will continue to be background in developing the ESL curriculum, so debated, but we have learned a great deal. We have we also had to consider the people who would 34 Maciel/ESL at PASS 35 implement it. There are differences among the languages of their students and spent a day living Filipino teaching staff at PASS, but there is much with refugee families in the camp. In short, they they have in common. have had extensive, high quality teacher training. First, the Filipino ESL teachers at PASS are But training is not always applied in the bilingual in English and a Philippine language classroom, and that is why we took a close lookat Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilongo, or Ilocano. Filipino the teaching taking place each school dayat PASS teachers have acquired English language skills from as we were designing the ESL curriculum. their environment: In the Philippines, high school Numerous classroom observationswere carried out and college courses are taught in English; local TV to see how teachers were using the draft curriculum programs, films, and newspapers are available in and the techniques and activities suggested in it. English; and there are many interpersonal situations Teacher improvisations on those techniqueswere in which English is used as a lingua franca. Our also noted. We found that successful curriculum teachers' strong background in English has writing had to be accompanied by regular and influenced how our curriculum has been written and extensive observations of the teachers and students what demands it makes on them. using the draft curriculum at eachstage of its Second, we have found that our Filipino staff development. come from an educational system generally more structured and formal than the U.S. systems our students are likely to find themselves in. On the other hand, the Filipino school system bears many Use of Research Findings likenesses to the American system with its gym classes, libraries, and course unit schedules. This In his article, "A Role for Instruction in Second similarity is not surprising, since the systemwas set Language Acquisition" (in press), Michael Long up by Americans during their colonization period in writes: the Philippines. Next, we can assume that the Filipino teachers will When designing a language teaching program, curriculum establish rapport with their students, an atmosphere developers make sure the curriculum includes statements of mutual respect, admiration, and friendliness in about what is to be taught, and how. These statements the classroom, and a no-nonsense professional typically take the form of choices in syllabus type and attitude toward work. We make these assumptions teaching method, respectively. These in turnare realized at because of personality traits that are typical of the classroom level through the material adoptedor written Filipinos. In designing the ESL curriculum, we kept for the courses. in mind that the characteristics of the teacher very often have a direct impact on what content should be Too often, proposals for syllabus design and included, as well as how content is to be treated. teaching methodthe "what" and "how" of the Furthermore, we considered the training that our curriculumhave ignored the findings of psycho- teachers receive during in-service programs at the linguistic research. The PASS ESL curriculum, PRPC. Courses, training sessions, and workshops however, represents an evolution in curriculum are provided on topics specific to ESL, Math, and design, in that its development has drawn on recent American Studies. Most teachers who began the SLA research, a psycholinguistic rationale fora first cycle at PASS, for example, received training reading program, and current hypotheses and in basic applied linguistics, second language theories in the field. For example: acquisition (SLA) theories, interlanguage theory, There is an emphasis on comprehension-training analyzing communication in the classroom, rather than on speech production for beginning-level communicative methodology, and testing. Most students. Thus, for the first days or weeks of ESL have had at least one workshop on questioning classes, the curriculum suggests activities suchas techniques, student-centered teaching, and group Total Physical Response, in which students respond work. They have seen and discussed videotapes of to spoken instructions and listening-discrimination themselves and of supervisors teaching. They have activities. analyzed supervisor or peer observation records There is a greater focus on meaning thanon taken in their class, done peer teaching, and shared linguistic form. Activities such as 30- and 60- ideas and problems with colleagues and consultants. second non-stop impromptu talks, two-way student- To supplement this, they have had an almost equal to-student tasks, and open-ended stories and dia- amount of training in Southeast Asian studies, logue all emphasize meaning and communication Filipino-American work relationships, and refugee rather than form and precise grammaticality. The resettlement in the U.S. They have studied the concept of a "creative-construction process" is 35 . 36 PASSAGE endorsed. According to this notion, the student's The ESL curriculum is organized around acquisition of the rules of a language is largely functions and notions rather than situation-specific unconscious and deductive (Littlewood 1984: competencies. These functions provide more 69-73). However, the curriculum does suggest flexibility for teachers to make appropriate some grammar exercises in order to meet the instructional choices. They are less restrictive than expectations of some teachers and students. competencies (Auerbach 1986), but still provide A suggested sequence for teaching grammatical clear, organizing categories (Wilkins 1976). structures is based on theories of natural order, Acceptance of non-target forms is encouraged, reflecting Pienemann's (19C2) theory that a second since we agree with Selinker (1972) that such language is acquired in stages that take place in a telegraphic forms as "no have money" are part of a natural sequence. For example, since studies necessary stage of language acquisition before (Johnston 1985) show that auxiliary do /does occurs native-like accuracy is attained. The curriculum in a later stage of language development, the urges the teacher to respect the validity of these curriculum reserves practice of this language item forms and to refrain from correcting errors that for later units. occur because the students' acquisitional stage has Language input is from a variety of sources and not yet reached native-like grammaticality. at a level slightly higher than the student's level of competency, as advocated by theorist Krashen (1982). Thus, the PASS ESL curriculum presents Developmental Goals grammatical structures and vocabulary in different modesreading, writing, listening, speakingand through a variety of activities. For example, The PASS program is clearly an ESL program, but students learn weather vocabulary by recording and as its name states, it is also a preparatory program comparing temperatures, rainfall, or the times of for American secondary schools. Children and sunset and sunrise. Providing input at a level adolescents who have had little or no previous slightly higher than the student's proficiency level schooling learn how to be in school. Those who cannot be written into a curriculum, but teachers are have had some years of schooling in their native trained in how to adjust the difficulty level of their countries learn how toget alonginan classroom activities and lesson content. American-style school setting. Therefore, the ESL Cooperative learning, group work, and pair work curriculum takes into account what we call are preferred over individual, independent learning. "developmental goals"aspects of the students' Anxiety levels rise when individual students are put overall social and academic development. on the spot by their teachers ("Lam, please answer The socialization goals include interaction with number five"), and anxiety interferes with success- people from other ethnic groups, appreciation of ful language acquisition, according to Stevick one's own cultural background and that of ethers, (1980). Pair work and group work also help to pro- courteous behavior toward peers and adults, and a vide the appropriate level of linguistic input, since healthy and respectful attitude toward education. there are usually a few students who are a stage The academic goals include note-taking, test - taking, beyond the others in the natural order of acquisition. using textbooks and workbooks, working and The PASS ESL curriculum suggests involving reading independently, completing and submitting students in genuinely comm,....icative activities, such homework assignments, and following U.S. as conducting surveys and explaining their drawings classroom behavior, such as raising hands and and projects to others. Such activities have been heading papers with name and date. advocated by Littlewood (1981), Johnson (1982), and others. The language experience approach (LEA) to reading instruction is fully endorsed by the Other Considerations curriculum. This approach involves the students in reading stories they create themselves. It is based on In addition to the students, teachers, research, and the psycholinguistic principles familiar to many developmental goals, other considerations and from the writings of reading specialist Frank Smith constraints have influenced the design of the PASS (see Hall 1981). We recommend silent, un- ESL curriculum. interrupted reading periods, following Smith's Technology had to be considered. What place (1985) belief that children learn to read by reading, should a language lab, video equipment, tape rather than by doing workbook exercises in recorders, slide projectors, and other equipment vocabulary building or phonics. have in the curriculum? 36 MacicIfESL at PASS 37

What criteria and procedures for evaluation are .1984.Foreign and second language learning. Cam- planned, mandated, or possible within the structure bridge:Cambridge University Press. of the school? Long, Michael. In press. A role for instruction in second lan- Coordination was an important factor. How guage acquisition: task-based language teaching. In K. would the ESL curriculum fit with the other PASS Hyltenstam and M. Pienemann (Eds.), Modelingand asses- components, Math and American Studies? sing second language development.Clevedon: Multilingual Time and funding are always constraints. How Matters. much time will there be for such things as teacher Pienemann, Manfred. 1982. Psychological constraints on the teachability of languages. Revised version of a paper pre- training, observation, and actual writing of the sented at the Second European-North American Cross-Linguis- curiculum? What funds are available now and in the tic Second Language Acquisition Workshop, Gohrde, West future for curriculum development and evaluation? Germany. At PASS in Bataan, ESL curriculum development Se linker, Larry. 1972. Inter language. InternationalReview of has reached a high level of quality through careful Applied Linguistics10: 201-231. consideration of all these factors. Many decisions Smith, Frank. 1985.Reading without nonsense(2nd ed.). New are made before a single draft page is written, York: Teachers College Press. rewritten, or handed to the teacher to use. We are Stevick, Earl W. 1980.Teaching languages: a way and ways. confident that the program will continue to succeed Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House. as long as this process continues. Wilkins, D. A. 1976.Notional syllabuses.Oxford: Oxford Uni- versity Press.

REFERENCES Timothy Maciel has been a Auerbach, Elsa Roberts. 1986. Competency-based ESL: one curriculum developer in the step forward or two steps back? TESOL Quarterly20 (3): 411- PASS program at the Philip- 429. pine Refugee Processing Cen- Hall, Mary Anne. 1981. Teachingreading as a language experi- ter since 1985. Since joining ence(3rd ed.). Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publish- the International Catholic Mi- ing Company. gration Commission staff in Johnson, Keith. 1982.Communicative syllabus design and 1983, he has also beet. an methodology.Oxford: Pergamon Press. ESL supervisor, a trainer, and Johnston, M. 1985.Second language acquisition in the adult 1.1.1,.. i '4. a supervisor trainer. Maciel's migrant education program. New South Wales, Australia: previous experience is as an ESL teacher and materials Adult Migrant Education Service. developer in China, Smith Korea, Europe, and South ICrashen, Stephen D. 1982.Principles and practice in second America. He holds an MAT from the School for Inter- language acquisition.Oxford: Pergamon Press. national Training and a BA in English literature from Littlewood, William. 1981.Communicative language teaching: Gonzaga University in Washington state. an introduction.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

37 38 PASSAGE To Ask or Not to Ask-That Is the Question

Chusak 'Lek' Pattarakulvanit Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

Resettled refugees sometimes make cross-cultural There are other factors as well. Living in refugee blunders that can become disastrous mistakes, camps for a number of years, refugees often simply because they did not ask questions. In develop a passive attitude toward their life and helping to prepare refugees for their resettlement in surroundings. Free will and choice are very the U.S., teachers must deal with three issues: Why circumscribed;their lives are subjected to don't the refugees ask questions? What role does circumstances over which they have no real control. asking questions play in their future? How can Just about everything is provided for, decided upon, teachers motivate the refugees to ask questions? and prearranged. They are told exactly where to live, and when and where to collect donated food and other supplies. These measures are necessary Why Refugees Don't Ask Questions for the smooth operation of the camps, but they encourage passivity. Refugees must accept their situation as it is and not ask questions. Acts of One obvious response to the first issue is to note individual initiative generally are not rewarded in a that refugees often lack the necessary command of refugee camp. English to ask questions. Learning a new language usually involves two types of skills, passive and active. Learners first acquire the passive skills involved in understanding spoken and written Why Refugees Should Ask Questions language. With this understanding, and through repeated practice, learners develop the active skills Why should we encourage our students to ask of speaking and writing. Many refugees have not questions? The simple answer is that asking yet fully acquired these active skills, so it is difficult questions will help them in resettlement. Student for them to answer questions, even though they questions not only create a more dynamic classroom understand what they are being asked. atmosphere, but will also help them cope in the Lack of active English language skills, though, can U.S. and even begin to restore self-esteem. only partly explain why refugees do not ask In the classroom, encouraging students to ask questions. It does not explain why fairly fluent questions is one way to build an atmosphere for speakers are still reluctant to ask questions. To a student-centered learning, and since students' large extent, the problem is cultural: In the refugees' questions often reveal how they see themselves and homelands in Southeast Asia, questioning is the world around them, they can help teachers regarded as doubting, or even defying, the authority understand their students better. In fact, a teacher of the other person, and is therefore considered can often learn more about students from their disrespectful. Because this attitude has been questions than from their answers. For example, on ingrained, many refugee students would rather sit in hearing that a poem was written 300 years ago, a uncomprehending silence than ask the teacher a PASS student in Phanat Nikhom asked, with question. One can easily understand their similar obvious surprise, "How come the paper looks so reluctance to ask a supervisor for clarification. new and is not torn up?" The question revealed

38 Pauarakulvanit/To Ask or Not to Ask 39 much about his perception of time and reality. In the mainstream of American life, they also workat another case, an adult student was learning how to retaining their own identities and cultures. use a vending machine and asked, "How does a man get into the machine to sell the drink?" His perception of reality was made clear to the instructor. Classroom Suggestions In the U.S., refugees' ability to ask questions helps them develop self-reliance. One of the big There are many activities that can be used to resettlement problems for refugees who have spent motivate and encourage refugee students to ask most of their lives in very rural areas is adapting to questions. When possible, it is helpful, especially the complexities of a technological society. The with low-level students, to allow them to ask cultural differences are so large that no amount of questions in their native language before attempting classroom time is enough to prepare fully for such a to practice in English. When introducing a new drastic change. For a teacher, there is so much topic, the teacher may first allow the students to ask critical informationabout language, employment, a series of questions about that topic. In this way, housing, law, food, etc.that it is impossible to the students work on basic questioning skills, while pass it all on to refugees. By training refugees to ask the teacher gauges their knowledge of the subject to questions for information or clarification, teachers be taught. An approach that has worked well with can help them solve a variety of problems rising teenage students is to set up a target number of questions for each student to ask during the week. Every time a student asks a question, the teacher marks it on a student list posted in the classroom. In asking questions, refugees Students are thus motivated to ask as many questions as possible. Giving rewards to those who move into a more assertive stcuwe, ask the most questions in a given week will help making their existence felt and further encourage them. The teacher can also include games to increase the their needs known. students' "question awareness." For example, the teacher can have the students play "20 Questions," in which they compete to identify somethingor someone by asking no more than 20 yes/no from living in an unfamiliar setting. For example, it questions. In a "Jeopardy" variation of this game, is not possible to train refugees how to use all the teacher provides a statement, then has students vending machinesthere are far too many kinds. ask the question for which the statement is the Therefore, the emphasis must be on helping them answer. develop problem-solving skills for encounters with With advanced students, the teacher can have them modem gadgets and appliances. Students should be pia) a game in which they can only ask questions encouraged to ask questions to find out how the of each other. I borrowed the idea for this game machines operate, and how to use them safely and from one that was played in Rosencrantz and correctly. With an ability and willingness to ask Guildenstern Are Dead, a stage play by Tom questions, refugees can become independent and Stoppard. Those who answer with a statement solve more of their problems on their own, with less instead of another question lose a point. The game dependence on sponsors, friends, or voluntary might sound like this: agencies. An ability to ask questions can also help to restore A:Where are you going? self-esteem. Asking questions implies a thirst for B:Why should I tell you? knowledge and a taking of initiative, as well as a A:Why won't you tell me? need for specific information. In asking questions, B:What makes you think I won't? refugees move from their passive, dependent roles A:When will you stop talking like this? into a more assertive stance, making their existence B:Does it bother you? felt and their needs known. With the information A:What's the matter with you? acquired by asking questions, refugees are able to B:What do you think? make more of their own decisions, molding their surroundings to fit their own preferences. Their Along with activities that practice asking assimilation into American society thus works in questions, the teacher can set up different situations two directions. While they try to adapt themselves to in which the students must ask questions for 39 40 PASSAGE clarification or to obtain certain information. For example, the teacher might deliberately give a Chusak"Lek" Pattarak- confusing assignment to the students, and later silvan': has been a teacher in the Preparation for Ameri- discuss the consequences of not asking questions can Secondary Schools (PASS) when necessary, a technique used with particular program at Phanat Nikhom success in Work Orientation classes at Phanat Refugee Camp in Thailand Nikhom (see Williams 1986). In this way, students since 1985. Prior to joining begin to learn from their own experiences the the Consortium program, he importance of asking questions. was information assis:ant for the Norwegian Save the Chil- dren Program, "Redd-Barna," also at Phanat Nikhom. Pattarakulvanit has received the First Certificate and the Certificate of Proficiency in English from Cambridge REFERENCES University. He holds a BA in English literature from Thammasat Universityin Bangkok. Several of his Williams, Gregory. 1986. The D-E Work Orientation Pilot Pro- translations of American and Briish literary works have gram in Phanat Nikhom. Passage 2(3): 6-9. been published in Thailand.

40 41 The Silversmith and thePainter: Refugee Artists at Bataan

Heidi Youtcheff Philippine Refugee Processing Center

The Silversmith

A letter arrived from Viengkham.I opened it "I do none of the work, but each piece hasmy name excitedly and began to read through it: "Oh Heidi, on it!" can you please send me the Paris Vogue which I left Many evenings I would show them jewelryde- in the camp?" I smiled. Viengkham mustwant to signs from U.S. magazines. Theywere baffled as see the jewelry designs in it. to why anyone would want to wear such simple I stopped to think about Viengkham and her past. designs, ones which, in their opinion, requiredno Viengkham and her family are Lao refugees,now great workmanship. Often they would study the resettled in California. They were the first refugee design and look at each other andat me. Finally artists I met while working at the Philippine Refugee they would ask, "American people like this?" Processing Center (PRPC) in Bataan. Inan effort After two months of watching these craftsmen and to be self-sufficient, Viengkham and her family seeing their raw silver transformed into stunning began a jewelry business at the Napho Refugee forms with seeming ease, I asked if I might havea Camp in Thailand. They continued their business lesson in jewelry making. Duringmy instruction, I during their stay in the Philippines, creating and learned two painful truths:first, don't touch selling their unique and well-crafted silver jewelryto freshly-heated silver, and second, silver doesn't the PRPC staff. miraculously form itself into great creations afterall. Viengkham ran the family business, but her three One slip *with the hammer orsaw can send the brothers, Khamtuen, Saisamone, and Khamsee, apprentice artisan (with her smashed thumbnail!) were the silversmiths. Working with the simplest back to the beginningto remelt the silver and start devices long replaced in the U.S. by modern again. machinerythey created very intricate silver jewelry In the cool evenings at the PRPC, Viengkham with workmanship finer than I had everseen any- would often tell me of her hopes for her familyto where. Amazed, I would often watch themturn continue their work as jewelers in the U.S. and raw silver into fine bracelets, earrings, and neck- eventually to open their own jewelry store. Once in laces using just a hammer, saw, tweezers, anda the U.S., however, Viengkham realized that torch. To make silver wires, the boys would transferring the family business from the refugee laboriously pull a piece of silver througha perforat- camps to the U.S. was far more difficult than she ed metal box. The silver was pulled repeatedly had imagined, and her letters tome dese,ibed her through holes of smaller and smaller diameter until it frustration: became a fine thread of silver of the desired size. This silver wire was then twisted and bent into Truly I tell you that if I think I want to doeven just a intricate patterns. The family had high standards; small business (very small) it will take one hundredyears to each piece had to be perfect and would be pains- save enough money. L.A. is a very big, spreading, and takingly reworked until it passed inspection. When beautiful place. Though the buildings are notas tall as they it was finally completed, the brothers would stamp are in other states, housing is very expensive. In downtown the inside of the piece with their label, "Viengkham L.A. there are buildings full of gold jewelry and shown in silver 100%." Vierozkham would smile andsay, full casesnot one, two, or twenty cases, but hundreds of 41 42 PASSAGE

Above: At Thanh Tri's billet, a staff member sits for a portrait on silk.

Below: Before painting on silk, Thanh Tri first does a rough version on paper. Photos by Dan Pamintuan.

42 Youtcheff/The Silversmith and the Painter 43

cases full of fine, machine-made jewelry that looks very ready to demonstrate her artistry. Using smooth, clean and smooth. All the cases look like this. In onlyone graceful brush strokes, she paints on the damp silk, case there is about 20 kilograms of gold jewelry. Maybe I layering the colors over each other tocreate an effect and you and my whole family could work hard for allour that is three-dimensional. The result isa painting lives without eating; then we can save that much. Oh, Iam with a soft, fluid appearance andno harsh lines. so disappointed about the plan we had figured out in the When the painting is completed, the silk is taken off camp. I think that I will learn about beauty salons when I the rectangular stretchers and pastedto backing have a green (permanent resident) card. That will helpus to paper.It is then hung to dry for 24 hours before earn more money. Maybe we will only make a little being matted with a silk border and framed. jewelry for family and friends. Still, I will try to memorize During the first two months in the Philippines, the proverb, "Where there is a will, there is a way!" Thanh Tri painted avidly whenever she could. At the suggestion of some staff members and with their Several staff from the camp wrote to encourage financial backing, she decided to exhibit her work in Viengkham to continue with her jewelry making her own camp-wide show. Paintingswere finished, through non-traditional ways, such as specialty matted at home, and sent to Manila for framing. shops and boutiques. They hoped that Viengkham's The resulting art show at the PRPCwas attended by family would find ways to begin their business 150 people and was a greatsuccess. The atmos- again in the U.S. Months passed before I heard phere was festive, with good food and classical from Viengkham again. Recently, a mutual friend music. Eighteen of Thanh Tri's paintingswere sold visited the family and learned that two of the within the first few hours. brothers had been offered jobs in jewelry making. Today I listen to Thanh. Trias she explains her Viengkham's family is finding its way and begin- plans for painting and holdingan exhibition in the ning again. U.S. Her dreams are lookingmore and more like reality. She is avidly searching for silk and matting materials, and may even haveextra frames made in The Painter the Philippines to take with her to the U.S. Like Viengkham, Thanh Tri hopes that her family can maintain their artistic traditions as they begin Nguyen Thi Thanh Tri and her family left Vietnam their new life in the U.S. She speaks through the Orderly Departure Program and arecur- often of rently studying in the PRPC. Like Viengkham, they continuing her painting there,so that she may are continuing the family art traditions. A quick communicate the beauty and sadness of Vietnamto glance into their billet reveals large watercolor-on- Americans. 11k paintings hanging on the walls to dry. Rolls of As I watch Thanh Tri's family preparingto leave, I water color and ink paintings on rice paper lie on worry about the difficulties that lie ahead. But then shelves, along with photos of paintings from past I recall Viengkham's words,"Heidi, where thereis a exhibitions. Art books, tubes of watercolor paints, will, there is a way." I look forwardto the future and brushes lie around the room. I later learned that with great anticipation and hope that Viengkham's these were all donated by well-wishers at the PRPC. words come true, not only for her and Thanh Tai, Thanh Tri graduated from art school in Vietnam, but for all refugee artists. where she specialized in painting watercolorson silk. Like Viengkham's family, everyone in Thanh Tri's family was involved in art.Tri's husband, Huyen, would mat Thanh Tri's paintings. The Heidi Youtcheff has been a children took art lessons, and each Sunday they Cultural Orientation supervisor would all paint together. at the Philippine Refugee I found the softness of the watercolor on the silk Processing Center (PRPC) since 1985. Previously, site so striking that I asked Thanh Tri if I might learn the L technique from her. She gladly agreed, and over the was a teacher at the PRPC in next twelve weeks I studied the process of painting the program forrefugee on silk. First, Thanh Tri stretches the silk over a children, which is administered rectangular frame. Next, she lightly sketches a by the World Relief Corpora- ...-.e t'4 , lion.Youtcheff holds an MA drawing directly onto the silk, which is then wetted in organizational/cross- cultural communication from Penn- on the reverse side to create a porous surface for sylvania State University and a BA in speech communica- paint to run and blend into. Now Thanh Tri is tion from Wheaton College.

43 44 PASSAGE Teaching Community Services: "We Built This City"

Lourdes Ruth Roa Philippine Refugee Processing Center

During their third week of studying Cultural After this discussion, they were ready to begin the Orientation (CO), students at the Philippine Refugee activity I've named "We Built This City." The Processing Center (PRPC) learn about community students were divided according to their back- services in the U.S. These services range from the grounds into three four-person groups. Each group police to welfare, recreation parks to rape crisis had to deal with the same hypothetical problem: centers. The idea of a government providing such a President Reagan has decided to accept an additional diversity of community services is not easily 5,000 refugees in 1988 because of an unexpected comprehended by students coming from back- surplus in refugee aid. The refugees will be accepted grounds where help from the government meant, at on the condition that they receive noadditional aid, best, a steady supply of fertilizer and a decent road so they cannot use any community services.With to transport it on. the money and 200 hectares of land in Arizona, the Letting refugees know that these services exist, refugees will plan a self-sufficient community with and can be used when necessary, is the primary its own system of services. The students had to purpose in teaching this topic. With this in mind, I design the layout for this city. They were given five piloted an activity that satisfied this objective and minutes to plan it and 15 minutes to draw the gave the students a chance to share their own ideas blueprint on sheets of manila paper. about what a government should provide. My class was made up of 14 Khmer adults whose ages ranged from 17 to 55. Not all of my students were at a high level of English language proficiency, Two ofthe three groups rejected so I relied on an extremely competent bilingual welfare because they felt it assistant teacher. First, I asked the students to explain what they encouraged laziness. understood by the term, "community services." Getting no response, I asked them to define the words separately. Some students defined "community" as "people talking" or "communicating," but The results were unexpected and original. Group we eventually decided that "community" is "people One, composed of male heads of families, rejected living together," and "services" means "helping the idea of calling their city "Little Phnom Penh" in people." So our definition of "community services" favor of "City of Freedom." Their plan focused on was "organizations that help people who live an elaborate agricultural system based on rice and together." rubber. They had an extensive transportation system Then the class looked at slides illustrating commu- and even a river for irrigation. Group Two, nity services in the U.S., such as the police, composed of older women and young mothers, had firemen, mail service, social security, and public different ideas. Their city plan was dotted with assistance. Afterwards, the students discussed what schools and dispensaries, clearly indicating that community services had been available in Cambodia education and health services were a priority. They and who could make use of them. I learned from also had a welfare office and sources of food. them that a form of social security exists in Cambo- Group Three, composed of students aged 17 to 21, dia, but only for the military and civil servants. drew up a plan which did not include welfare, but 44 RoalTeaching Community Services 45 focused on pre-employment training, vocational before them. I will certainly use this activity again as centers, and employment offices. This group de- a superior alternative to lecturing on the topic. vised a budget: 15 percent for utilities, 15 percent for education, 5 percent for the elderly, 3 percent for the handicapped, 2 percent for war veterans, and 60 percent for savings for future needs. LourdesRuthRoa has The plans represented the students' ideas of what been teaching at the Philip- services are necessary for a community to have a pineRefugeeProcessing better life. Many services were rejected as being Center since 1985, first as an superfluous or even detrimental to the community. ESL instructor and more All groups gave a high priority to education, health, recently as an instructor of and a system of agriculture. One interesting point Cultural Orientation. Previous- was that two of the three groups rejected welfare ly, she was a teacher of liter- because they felt it encouraged laziness. ature at the Ateneo University inManila, where sheis This exercise was particularly worthwhile because earning her master's degree in language and literature. Roa it actively involved the students in the topic. They holds a BA in comparativi literature from the University of thought carefully about community services, making the Philippines. decisions about them while solving the problem 46 PASSAGE A Conversation with Two Lao Monks

Carl L. Bankston III Philippine Refugee Processing Center

This interview is edited from my translation of a So why do they do it? What are they afraid of? You taped conversation with two refugee Buddhist might know the answer. The communists can be monks from Laos, the Rev. Angsakada and the harsh in enforcing discipline. So, the monks go Rev. Ban lid Thitaban. The conversation took place along with them and work the rice fields. They November 17, 1986, on the grounds of the Lao- also work in gardens, plant root crops and a variety Cambodian Buddhist temple in the Philippine of other things. For a Buddhist monk, that's wrong, Refugee Processing Center (PRPC). The Rev. but the communists say we don't do anything. They Angsakada, an elderly man, is currently the abbot of say we exploit the people; they say we're useless, the temple. The Rev. Ban lid is much younger and, that we just sit around and do nothing.They say we as can be seen from our conversation, much more use the sweat of others to do our planting (laughter). talkative. Although they have been away from Laos for a number of years, their information appears to CLB: Are the Sanskrit and Pali languages still be fairly up-to-date. The Rev. Angsakada left in studied?2 1984, and the Rev. Ban lid in 1981. Ban lid: That might be just about finished. For The remarks of Rev. Angsakda and Rev. Ban lid the most part, they [the authorities] encourage a are valuable for several reasons. First, they offer worldly education, especially in their ideology. insight into the changing social conditions that have Buddhist education is decreasing in every respect. forced Indochinese refugees to flee their homelands. Second, they can help us understand the present CLB: Aren't there monks who agree with situation of religion and religious leaders in Laos. Communism? Third, they help us better grasp the anxieties and Ban lid:Well, there are some people, some aspirations of our students. groups. Before, when there was war in our country, a number of monks probably supported the CLB: How would you describe the attitude of communists, but today I think they know there's no the present government of Laos toward Buddhism? point to it. If they have a chance, they might flee the Ban lid: The new government isn't at all well- country. How could they stay? Everything is being disposed toward Buddhism. I'm afraid there won't taken away: our teachings, our principles, our rules. be any religion at all in the future. Why do I say It isn't being done by direct orders. The government that? Well, the government surely knows the role of uses its own subtle methods. The officials speak Buddhism in the lives of the Lao people. And look softly to us. But when we think about what they're at the way they treat the monks. Once he's ordained, doing... ourdiscipline is a mess. a monk has to study the Buddhist Way, as you I'm afraid the people won't understand the monks. know. A monk can't work in the fields or do all of In the old days, people had sincere respect for the the things that laymen do.1Today, monks are religious, right? We were the example. Now it's forced to plant and harvest rice. In their hearts, really bad. The monks aren't being allowed to do though, they don't want to do it. That's the truth. what they're supposed to do, and the people are just getting tired of it all. So, how can we continue? If 1. According to the precepts of Theravada Buddhism, the the system doesn't change, the monks of Laos will branch of Buddhism that predominates in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma, monks are forbidden to engage in 2. Sanskrit and Pali, ancient Indian languages, are the classical physical labor or trade, since these are secular activities and languages of Buddhism. are assumed to increase ones worldly attachments.

46 Bankston/A Conversation with Two Lao Monks 47

go down to just five percent ...just five percent CLB: Were you in jail or in re-education camp? of the present number. Banlid: No, all monks were required to stay in the temple and do gardening. During the day, we CLB: Are the Lao people still devoted to their had to get out and work. In the evening we had to religion? go back and stay in the temple. We had to do what Banlid: They're still Buddhists to this day. The they said and were afraid to do otherwise. But after communists are trying to do away with the religion we followed their orders, eve realized that we gradually. They can't be too harsh because the couldn't stay. How could we? We still believed in people still treasure it and consider it their national Buddhism. We couldn't live like the lay people and religion. do everything the lay people do. It was all wrong; it wasn't the Buddhist way. They had us plant ba- CLB: Do the authorities allow the monks to nanas and root crops. Even the abbot here (gestur- preach sermons? ing toward the abbot) would have to work in the Banlid: About sermons... westill have them, fields. but the teachings are different now. The teachings that we had before came from our studies of books; the communists are getting rid of them all. They're CLB: So you felt you couldn't fulfill your printing new publicatioas based on their own religious duties? ideology, and they're mixing their ideology with Angsakada: Yes. We couldn't live according to Buddhism. You can't teach about making merit or the Dhamma.3 In Buddhism, monks can't raise about sin. They won't give their peimission.. . Those who are well-educated in the tenets of 3. Dhamma refers to law, rule, cosmic order, righteousness, and Buddhism are rare even today. the teachings of the Buddha.

,. r

Reyerend Banlid, Buddhist Temple, PRPC. 47 Photo by Dan Pamintuan. 48 PASSAGE

animals. If you raise chickens, you raise them to kill what we're going to do. Sometimes they let us do and eat, or sell and get money. what we want, but they make it so we can't do it Ban lid:We [monks] shouldn't be in the right. business of selling or oppressing animals. We should show charity and mercy toward all living CLB: You can't take the day off for religious things, whether they're human or other creatures. holidays? Buddhism teaches us that. The Dhamma applies to Banlid: No, you can't. You can only celebrate at all creatures equally. They all have the right to night. Ceremonies begin at 6:00 and end at 9:00. freedom. Everything has to be over by 9:00. They say everything has to close down, and the people obey CLB: Can all the monks still go out with their because they are afraid. The monks are afraid, too. begging bowls?4 Ban lid:Yes, but it's not like it used to be. CLB: If I were a Lao and I wanted to become a Nowadays, very few lay people will come out to monk ... make offerings. They still believethey really do. Banlid: Well, you usually can't get permission But they don't have anything to offer because to become a monk. Those who have already been everything is in a shambles. Farming and business ordained can stay, but those who haven't just don't aren't moving at all. There's order now, buc it's a have the chance. confused, messed-up order. You can't do what you want; you can't say what you want. If you say or do CLB: In other words, no one in Laos is entering anything wrong, they know right away and they the monastery today? make you suffer for it. That makes it hard to do Banlid: If you want to be ordained, you need to anything at all. It's the same for us and for the have permission. But there aren't many who can get laymen. it. Not like before. CLB: Can the people still make donations to the CLB: How do authorities decide who gets temple? permission? Ban lid: They have to ask permission first. Banlid: They know who they want. They just ask, "Why do you want to go into the monkhood ?" CLB: From the government? If you answer correctly, you can do it. If you give Ban lid: From the government. They have to ask the wrong answer, you can't. If you only want to be permission from the village headman. If he is afraid a monk for a short time,6 they will usually let you, to give permission, he passes the matter to a higher but it is difficult to get permission for a long time. official. Often the bureaucrats can't make a decision about the offering ceremonies because there's no CLB: What is your feeling about the future o: support for these ceremonies from the state. So they Buddhism in Laos? pass the decision from this person to that person, Banlid:I think that if the communists stay in and it doesn't happen. They tell us, "Yes, you can, Laos, Buddhism might disappear. Their way of you can. We're just going to ask our superior first." thinking doesn't go well with Buddhism. They don't refuse directly. Then they say, "Oh, Angsakada:They don't give us our rights. now you can't." They make us live like lay people. It's against the rules...Against the Dhamma. They make us carry guns and carry knives. CLB: If I were to ask if I could make merit...5 Banlid: You can. You can ask. But there are only a few who do. There isn't much merit-making CLB: Why do they make you carry guns? For now. They [the government of Laos] watch to see hunting? Angsakada: For protection, they say. Because 4. Theravadin monks are required to walk with a begging bowl our temple was out in the country. There weren't to receive their food. This is an act of necessity, since they any soldiers or policemen to keep order. So they cannot work or have an income, but it is also an act of told us we had to protect ourselves. But monks humility. can't do that sort of thing. We can't kill anything, 5. An important aspect of Lao Buddhism isits system of people or animals. spiritual credits and debits. Virtuous acts such as feeding the monks or giving then robes, showing charity to the poor, or 6. Theravada Buddhism allows, and even encourages, temporary being kind to animals, increase one's credits, or merit. Evil monasticism. Traditionally in Lao society, a male serves as a acts decrease one's merit. monk for at least a short period before marrying. 48 Bankston/A Conversation with Two Lao Monks 49

Ban lid: Also, the communists use the temples for teaching their ideology. But they won't let us Carl L. Bankston 111 has use our own temples for religious ceremonies. been an ESL supervisor at the 4 Philippine Refugee Processing Center since 1985. He has six CLB: Do you think Laotian Buddhism can be years of teaching experience preserved in America? and has also worked as a Ban lid: That's our dream, but who can say? It's translator, historical research- something that worries me, because it's our tradition 'ler, and archivist. Bankston since the time of our distant ancestors. For myself, '%-tt,e holds a BS in sociology from though, I have no problems. I'll just continue to live 1 Southern Methodist University according to the precepts of Buddhism. Buddhism and an MAin history from the University of California at teaches us to be free and to live peacefully. Berkeley.

49 50 PASSAGE Elective Day: Variety and Choicein Cultural Orientation

Yssa Mapanao and Team Philippine Refugee Processing Center

It is 10 a.m.In an airy classroom with a pan- method of presentation are up to the teacher. oramic view of the Bataan landscape, Chanh and a Creativity is encouraged; the only restriction is that group of fellow Vietnamese students are awkwardly the elective topic be related to U.S. culture. attempting to master dance steps of the "boogie." The variety of Elective Day courses reflects the The music blaring from the speakers of the cassette teachers' diverse backgrounds as well as the player is so loud that the teacher's frantic directions refugees' interests and concerns. American are nearly inaudible: "one and two and backand entertainment topics such as dance, music, and two ..." Time passes quickly, and soon the group cinema are popular with younger students. More has to return home to eat lunch. Upon reaching practical courses, like "Opening a Small Business" home, Chanh realizes that today he had not been and "Buying a Car," attract older students. Some bothered by the 90-degree heat or even the chalk course topics appeal to all age groups: fashion and dust in the classroom air. He pauses for a moment make-up, physical fitness, sports, cooking, and first and realizes how involved he had been in the day's aid. Courses of a more academic nature, such as lesson. "Freedom and Democracy" and "U.S. Educational Elective Day was conceived about a year ago by Opportunities," have also been offered. The course Carrie Wilson, former program officer of the Cul- on educational opportunities was found to be of so tural Orientation -',CO) component. She envisioned much interest that the CO component has integrated it as an opportunity to develop refugees' decision- it into the regular curriculum. :naking skins while tapping teacher creativity. Teaching an elective course sounds simple, but Elective cc.rses were first offered in several pilot preparation usually has to start weeks in advance, as CO classes early last year and proved to be a pop- teachers research their topics and develop ular success. Consequently, CO now devotes one instructional materials. Depending on the course, day in the curriculum entirely to elective courses. resource people may have to be invited, and special Unfortunately, day-to-day activities in a refugee materials (films, tapes, realia, etc.) need to be camp give students little opportunity to direct their acquired. Due to teacher interest, research and own affairs.Classes are mandatory, work is development of a specific topic is usually extensive. assigned, and individuals are required to follow the Presenters also have to make arrangements for the numerous rules and regulations necessitated by .he venue.This is especially crucial for courses on massive size of the Philippine Refugee Processing sports and physical fitness, which require areas Center (PRPC).Refugees may feel that their outside the classroom. Additional equipmentbats options are limited or nonexistent, and too often and balls, for examplemight also have to be students are heard saying, "Yes, yes, no, no, six secured in advance. months we go!" (i.e., Say what the authorities want Logistics can become complicated. The team of to hear; we will be able to leave after the training teachers has to decide what courses are to be program classes end.) Elective Day is one small offered, basing their choices on their own opportunity for students to be part of the decision- qualifications and their students' interests.Since making machine. Students sign up for subjects that Elective Day is offered late in the curriculum, really interest them, and the result is a highly teachers already know their students and can motivated class. anticipate their choices fairly well.Usually, the Teachers are also free to select or create courses students are offered five or six courses from which they wish to present.Course content and the to select their first and second preferences. Then, 50 Mapanao et al./Elective Day 51 adjustments in class lists are made in order to limit small scale, it manages to link Aniaican culture, class size. classroom application, decision-making skills, and Perhaps the biggest problem during Elective Day is creativity in one enjoyable process. the shortage of translators. Since students are free to choose any course they wish, classes are a mixture of different ethnic groups with different languages. Some students' English is limited, so instructions, questions, and explanations need to be translated. To solve this problem, translators are borrowed from CO classes in other cycles. Response to Elective Day has been enthusiastic. Teachers find it "a break from the usual classroom set-up" and "an opportunity to teach something different."They are pleased that it provides opportunities for interaction among students of different ethnic groups, since CO is generally divided into separate classes for Lao, Vietnamese, and Khmer. Student reaction has matched teacher The authors (from left to right):Naomi Rey, Lynn enthusiasm; many have said they would like an Mendoza, Ager Antonio,YssaMapanao, Emy additional Elective Day. Loanzon, Marivic So liven(CO supervisor), and With reactions like these, it seems that Elective MonetteSantos. Day will continue for the cycles to come. On a

51 52 PASSAGE The Dega: People of the Cloud lands

Cycle 80 Teams, Cultural Orientation Component Philippine Refugee Processing Center

A group of 213 tribal people from the mountains of Vietnam recently completed the training program at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center. The following article provides information about the history and culture of this unique group of refugees, the Dega. Information in the article was obtained through interviews with the refugees themselves.

"Half happy, half sad," was the sentiment After seven centuries of peace in the Vietnam expressed by many of the Dega prior to their highlands, the Cham, who occupied the lowlands, departure from the Philippine Refugee Processing began extracting tribute from the Dega tribes. The Center (PRPC). They were looking forward to Cham eventually lost their kingdom to the people of beginning their new life in the U.S., but were sad to Annam, to whom the Dega were also forced to pay say good-bye to the close friends they had made in tribute until the French arrived in the central the camp. During the five months that the Dega highlands in 1890. During their colonization, the lived and studied in the Philippines, the PRPC staff French set up schools and hospitals, helped build enjoyed the unique opportunity to learn about their roads, and established Dega military brigades. In culture. This was the first group of Dega people to 1946, the French recognized the autonomy of the leave their homeland as refugees. Dega by creating the territory known as Peuple Moatagnard du Sud, i.e., Mountain People of the South. After the division of North and South Vietnam in History 1954, the Dega struggle for independence began anew. Under former Emperor Bao Dai and then The Dega, also known as Montagnards, consist of under Ngo Dinh Diem, the autonomy of the thirty different tribes from the central highlands of highlands was revoked, and the area was annexed Vietnam, the "cloudlands" as they call it. The four by the government. Vietnamese policy toward the tribes represented in the PRPC were the Bahnar, Dega became one of forced integration: The Dega Jarai, Rhade, and Kaho. Some Dega groups, such were forced to adopt Vietnamese nationality and as the Rhade and Jarai, are descendants of the names, use of the Dega language was prohibited, Malayo-Polynesian race, which originated in eastern Dega place names were replaced by Vietnamese India around 2,000 B.C. They migrated to the ones, and historical documents and books written in Malaysian Peninsula, where they lived for 15 the Dega language were destroyed. centuries, Around 5 B.C., there was a second wave As a result, the Dega formed a resistance group to of migration, as the Dega moved to the Vietnamese re-establish their autonomy and halt the oppressive central highlands. Other groups, such as the Bahnar policies of Bao Dai and Ngo Dinh Diem. The and the Kaho, belong to the Mon-Khmer ethnic and resistance continued until the Vietnam Civil War linguistic group, which originated in the northern began in 1961. The Dega fought against North valleys of the Mekong River in Yunnan Province, Vietnam and were closely allied with the U.S. China. special forces. 52 Cycle 80 Teams/The Dega 53

The fall of South Vietnam in 1975 meant the Dega they were accepted to resettle in the U.S. and were people would not realize their dream of autonomy. sent to the PRPC for English and cultural orienta- Dega leaders were jailed and sent to re-education tion. The U.S. State Department arranged for their camps. Many of the youth were forced by the resettlement in North Carolina as a single 213- Vietnamese to fight in Cambodia, Laos, or on the member group following the completion of their Sino-Vietnamese border. Property was confiscated studies. as still more Vietnamese settlers arrived in the highlands. After 1975, Hanoi periodically sent soldiers to sweep through the highlands in an Traditional Cultural Practices attempt to crush the resistance group. The Vietnam- ese also tried to prevent food from reaching the and Values Dega fighters by sending Vietnamese soldiers to live in the villages. About 5,000 of the Dega fled into the Living in a remote, mountainous region of central jungle to escape. Vietnam, -the Dega practiced slash-and-burn 'The struggle for freedom turned into a struggle for agriculture, moving the sites of their villages every survival. Food in the jungle was scarce, and the few years. A typical village had a population of 100 Dega were forced to eat.leaves and insects. Water to 150 people. The leader,,chosen by-the-villagers 'supplies-Were:inadequate;-since.the-Vietnamese-had for-hiS **Worn and wealth, made all the important poisoned many iiiiers-and-streams.Life in the decisions, such as when and where to move next. jungle meant illness and bullet wounds 'from- The Dega lived in or near buildings made of thatch skirmishes with Vietnamese troups. There were no and bamboo, callediong_houses. The houses, built doctors, and the only medicines available were what without rafters or beams, measured- from-40 -to -100 they could extract from leaves and herbs. Many meters in length. Many families lived together under died of starvation and disease.Clothing was one roof. The entrances faced toward the east, and insufficient; many men had only the fatigues given exits faced the west. Traditional Dega belief holds to them by the Americans ten years earlier. There that good spirits always come from the east. wert blankets or extra clothing to keep them The Dega who lived in or near villages dressed in a warm. Bonfires might have signalled the manner similar to Vietnamese. In more rural and Vietnamese of their whereabouts, so they usually isolated areas, however, the women wore sarongs had to bear the darkness and cold. They were made from the fibers of tree bark that had been frequently harassed by the Vietnamese and survived soaked, dyed, and woven into cloth. They wove by continuously running and hiding. intricate baskets for household use. When the Americans left Vietnam in 1975, the As a result of the long missionary presence in Dega fighters lost their supplier of weapons. The Vietnam, most of the Dega today are Christian, both military leaders began to send groups to the Thai/ Catholic and Protestant. Many animistic rituals Cambodian border to get weapons. These groups remain, however, including an occasional animal would return through Cambodia to the central sacrifice made to the spirits during marriages or highlands to continue their struggle. For security burials. reasons, the Dega civilian leaders remained in the Among all Dega tribes, honesty is highly valued border camp of Dong Rek rather than journey back and is expected of others. Someone caught stealing and forth.In December 1984, the Vietnamese hag to return three times the value of whatwas launched an all-out offensive-against the Khmer stolen. If one chicken is stolen, three chickens have resistance_ forces on the Thai/Cambodian border. to be returned to the victim. Known to be fierce, The Khmer were defeated, and the Vietnamese loyal fighters who would give their lives to protect troops remained camped close to the border. The others, the Dega won the admiration and respect of Dega civilian leaders, along with groups of Dega Americans who worked with them in the military. resistance fighters who had come to Dong Rek to re-arm, were trapped on the border. Their safety was further endangered when Dong Rek camp came Experiences at the PRPC under attack from the Viet Cong. As a result, the group, nuiribc:ring 213, moved into Nam Yun District, Ubon Province, Thailand. At last realizing During their stay at the PRPC, the Dega often the futility of their struggle, the 1#)aders decided to expressed doubts about their future, worrying about lay down their arms and stop fighting. They their lack of formal education, skills, or job experi- contacted the U.S. government through the Inter- ence. Most of them were young men who had national Red Cross. After a brief waiting period, grown up fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. Their 5 3 54 PASSAGE

ve -t

Photos by Canty

During their stay at the PRPC, the Dega presented two cult'iral shows of music, drama and dance.

54 Cycle 80 Teams/The Dega 55 teachers pointed out the students' strengths, such as their survival skills and ability to adapt. As the Dega gained self-confidence, they became more eager to learn about American culture and language. Throughout their stay in camp, the Dega showed themselves to be unusually industrious and hard- working. They organized extra evening ESL classes, which were taught first by English- r. speaking Dega and then by staff volunteers. The women set up a small weaving industry, making blankets and bags to sell to the staff. In order to share their culture, the Dega presented two cultural shows of music, drama, and dance for the staff at the PRPC. Those who worked with them during their brief Cycle 80 CO staff at the Philippine Refugee Processing stay in the PRPC agreed that it had been both a Center in Bataan: Front, from left to right, Helen Santa challenging and rewarding experience, and were Marfa,Sharon Forrence,Jackie David,Mae grateful for the opportunity to work with this unique Arcilla;back, from lefttoright, Jean Coloso, group of refugees. Sammy David, Gil Acuiia, and Lauren Crawford. Not shown: Tet Racelis and ChitLanag.

55 56 PASSAGE passagestaff

Lauren Crawford, Bataan site Doug Gilzow, Manila editor, is editor,has been a Cultural a program associate a:the Orientation supervisor at the Refugee Service Center in Manila. Philippine Refugee Processing Gilzow's experience in the field Centersince January1986. includes teaching English in Previously, she was assistant to Laos, Iran, anti the U.S.For the director of the New .7ngland three years he directed an ESL regional office of World Relief program in Lansing, Michigan. Corporation (WRC).She was Gilzow holds a Master's degree in also the editor of that agency's linguistics from the University of regional newsletter.From1982 to 1983, she taught 7- to Michigan. 16-year-old refugees in WRC's Youth Guidance program at the PRPC. Crawford holds a BA in religion and English from Kalamazoo College.

TornVan Blarcom, Phanat DonRanard,Washington Nikhom site co-editor,is the editor,is program associate at component staff developer for the Refugee Service Center in ESL, before having been an ESL Washington, D.C.Ranard has supervisor for two years.His worked in refugee programs in the previous experienceincludes U.S. and in Hong Kong as a teaching military officers and literacy specialist, materials cadets in Saudi Arabil, and for and curriculum developer, CO several years he was an EFL specialist, and UNHCR program teacher and teacher trainer in west monitor.Prior to this, Ranard and central Africa. Formerly on the staff of U.S. Senator S. I. taught EFL in Taiwan and, as a Fulbright grantee, in Laos and Hayakawa, Van Blarcom has a BA in political science from Thailand.He holds an MS in linguistics from Georgetown Wagner College in New York. University.

Ken Westhusing,Phanat NellyKurfehs,Washington Nikhom site co-editor, has been production assistant, is a staff an ESL supervisor in the Prepara- member of the Refugee Service tion for American Secondary Center in Washington, D.C. She Schools program since June has worked as a translator and a 1986.Previously, he was the proofreader for non-profit organi- assistant resource specialist for zations in the U.S. and as a the ESL /Bilingual Program in French teacherinEngland. Portland (Oregon) Public Schools, Kurfehs holds an MA in English "*".1`..r tr_AIR 11.1,where he also served as an ESL from the Paul Valery University - .4 teacher and ESL department chairman at the secondary level. in Montpellier, France. Westhusing spent two years teaching English in Botswana as a Peace Corps volunteer.He holds a BS in education from Oregon State Unive,...ty and an MAT from Lewis and Clark College. INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Passage: A Journal of Refugee Education was Articles should be accompanied by a brief bio- established to provide an exchange of information graphicalstatement and two black-and-white among the staffi implementing. the Overseas Ref- photographs of the author. ugee Training:Protrain and service providers in the U.S. Contributions come from individuals Determination of articles to be included in Pas- working in programs overseas, as ' well as from sage is made by the editors. The editors reserve writers in the U.S. The articles are written fora the right to make changes to enhance clarity or wide range of readers = the Work Orientation style in any manuscript accepted for publication. teacher or English as a Second Language super- The author will be consulted only if editing has visor in Southeast Atia, the volunteer tutor or been substantial. Social service worker in the U.S., and others whoare directly involved in refugee education. Articles appearing in Passage are not copy- righted. They may be reproduced or reprinted The following types of articles comprise the without permission, provided that Passage and the main part of the journal: author are credited.

Theoretical articles related to refugee educa- At Bataan and 'Phanat Nikhom, there are site tion in the. training sites or U.S. programs editors who can provide additional information Descriptions of projects and activities related and assist contributors to Passage. Elsewhere, to refugee educ3tion programs . contributors may contact: Practical teaching and training articles Reviews of books, articles, reports, and audio- Passage Editor visual materials relevant to refugee education Refugee Service Center Center for Applied Linguistics Photographs illustrating aspects of the educa- 8th Floor, Victoria Building tional program will also be published. 429 United Nations Avenue Ermita, Metro Manila, Philippines Articles should be in English and should not exceed 5,000 words. Where appropriate, authors Or should submit graphics or suggestions for graphics Passage Editor (charts, illustrations, etc.) to accompany their Refugee Service Center articles. Center for Applied Linguistics 1118 22nd Street, N.W. Washington, D. C. 20037 U.S.A. passage a journal of refugee education

Passage is a joint project of the agencies Volume 3, Number 2 implementing the Overseas Refugee Train- Summer 1987 ing Program.

Implementing Agencies CONTENTS The InternationalCatholicMigration FEATURES Commission World Relief Corporation A Job Interview Simulation for Upper-Level Students Bataan, Philippines by Jesus Diaz Israel 6

The Consortium:Experiment in Interna- Fluency-Building with Grids by Christopher B. Reznich 10 tional Living, Save the Children Federa- Cultural Orientation for Eastern European Refugees: tion, World Education An Update by Kathleen Hamilton & CO Staff Phanat Nichom, Thailand 12 TESOL '87 by Refugee Service Center Staff The Intergovernmental Committee for 16 Migration Just Between You and Me: Student Drama at PASS rrem Europe and Botswana by Jovito L. de la Paz with Richard Lambrecht 23 The Refugee Service Center, Center for Learning to Write: A Demonstration Project Applied Linguistics by Cesa Alojado with Candelaria Tolentino and Sharon Snyder 27 Manila, Philippines Washington, D.C. What can you do? Developing Résumés in A-B Work Orientation Classes by Lolita Calaycay 32

Editorial Staff FROM PASS TO PRESENT a photo essay 36 BataanLauren Crawford Developing ESL Literacy in Young Children: A Whole Phanat Nikhom Tom Van Blarcom Language Approach by Else Hamayan and Margo Pfleger 44 Ken Westhining Bad Soden, GermanyRobert Waterbury Mental Health Service Delivery for Refugees: Manila Douglas Gilzow Training Paraprofessionals Washington, D.C.Donald A. Ranard by Irene C. Felsman and Rebecca Verdun-Lanes 47 Student Newspapers: A Communicative Technique for Passage has been developed and printed under a cooperative agreement with the Language Development by Candido M. Magnaye, Jr. 53 Bureau for Refugee Programs of the U.S. Staff Development: An On-Going Process by Sandra Hunt 56 Department of State. The material appearing herein does not necessarily represent Electives: A New Beginning for Student Activities the policy of that agency, nor the endorse- at PASS by John B. Hoover 59 ment of the Federal Government. Passage is published three times a year A Call for Unity: The Great Way of the Cao Dai and distributed by the Center for Applied by Emily Herrick 62 Linguistics with offices located at 1118 22nd Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 and The Victoria Bldg., 8th floor, 429 DEPARTMENTS United NationsAve.,Ermita, Metro Manila, Philippines. In This Issue 3 Passage is available to subscribers at Letters 4 $9.00 a year.For information, write to the Center for Applied Linguistics. Update 5 The contents of this publication are in the public domain and may be reproduced. Reviews A Review by Douglas Gilzow of Pre.lave Mental Health in the ESL Classroom: A Handbook for Teac ers 65 Passage is funded by the Bureau for A Review by Carol Leviton Wetterhahn of The Hmong in Refugee Programs of the U.S. Depart- Transition 68 ment of State. 58 3 In This Issue

The ideal teacher in the field of refugee education culture. An article in this issue describes how the would have a linguist's grasp of theory, a practition- Community Mental Health Services trains refugees er's common sense, an anthropologist's keen at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center to be- insight into culture, and a counselor's sensitivity to come mental health paraprofessionals. the nuance of stress. In cultural orientation (CO) classes, a common This issue of Passage reflects the multi-disciplin- teaching method is to introduce a new piece of ary nature of refugee education. It includes articles information by way of the culturally familiar an on language learning theory, classroom practice, approach requiring knowledge of the students' refugee mental health, and specific features of Indo- culture. This issue presents an article on the Cao Dai chinese culture and history. faith, a little-known religion with origins in Viet- "Language is learned, not because we want to talk nam. There is also a review of a book of essays on about language, but because we want to talk about, the culture, history, and resettlement experiences of and learn about, the world," an educator has said. the Hmong a timely subject, since more Hmong This issue shows students learning language as they refugees will resettle in the U.S. in 1987 than in any take part in a job interview simulation, write ré- other year since 1980. sumés, produce a play, and put together their own As every issue of Passage shows, refugee educa- newspaper. tion brings together professionals from many dis- Two articles describe approaches to literacy ciplines, all working together toward a common instruction that reflect current theory and research. goal. The final beneficiary of their efforts is the ref- One article is concerned ,with literacy development in ugee. This issue's photo essay features three Prepa- children, while the second describes a literacy pro- ration for American Secondary Schools (PASS) gram for adults. Both articles advocate a meaning- graduates, among them Oanh and Chinh Nguyen. centered, whole language approach. Oanh was 15 years old, and Chinh 14, when they The close relationship between teacher and student enrolled in PASS in early 1986. Both had had about makes the ESL classroom a natural place to deal five years of education in Vietnam. They could with the stresses that accompany the refugee speak, read, and write only a few words of English. experience. This issue includes a review of a Last May, less than a year after their graduation recently published handbook that offers practical from PASS, Oanh and Chinh finished the tenth advice to ESL teachers on how they can help their grade at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, students deal with some of these stresses. The Virginia. Their experience corroborates what social authors of the handbook caution teachers to direct providers all over the U.S. say, and what two their c fforts toward prevention rather than treatment. studies show: The overseas training program makes Treating someone who is emotionally disturbed is a difference. always difficult all the more so when treatment requires lin understanding of a very different Editors

59 Letters

To the editor:

We would like to tell you how much EROL'S ESL Work Orientation components described in Passage. staff enjoys and appreciates Passage. Our students have successfully entered the American EROL'S, Inc., is a company with video clubs in workplace. Some of them have been here five years five states. At our headquarters here in Springfield, or more, and several are working as supervisors or Virginia, we have 90 limited-English employees, managers. many of whom are Vietnamese. Of these, 60 Nevertheless, cultural misunderstandings and employees are currently enrolled in our in-house differences still arise between American and ESL ESL program. Since so many of our students are employees in the company. EROL'S ESL program refugees, itis important for us to know and bridges this gap both on a daily basis and in understand their refugee camp experiences. Your seminars for American and ESL employees. We descriptions of life at Bataan and Galang make us emphasize many of the language and CO points realize how much they have accomplished since that taught in the WO classes, such as asking for transitional stage in their lives, and seeingour clarification, giving feedback, and the importance of excellent photcgraphs gives our students a feeling of making suggestions and interacting socially with continuity in their lives.In fact, one employee, co-workers. Teamwork and individual initiative are Nguyen Van Thong, was so excited by a photo especially valued at our company, where an essay about a family at Galang that he wrote you a Employee Stock Ownership policy is being imple- letter (published in the Spring 1987 edition). mented. Job ownership is an exciting concept for In addition, there are many useful teaching ideas in all employees, and job mobility is a reality for Passage. Like the teachers in the camps, we are refugee employees here. These innovations and often required to he resourceful and flexible in our challenges at work require further cultural adaptation methc is, so we are particularly appreciative of the on their part. practical "learning by doing" approaches. We have We look forward to future issues of Passage and been impressed by the ingenious simulations, to sharing information relevant to current trends in providing realistic settings for language use, and by refugee education and employment. the many other sensitive and realistic articles describing such topics as keeping dialogue journals, Sincerely yours, learning how to "keep the ball rolling" in a conver- The ESL team (Kathy Kirk, Susan Joiner, sation, and even English through poetry! Lien Ngo, and Tammy Hilton) As English for the Workplace teachers, we are EROL'S, Inc. especially interested in the Cultural Orientation and Springfield, Virginia

so 5 Update

Roger Harmon Regional Consultant, Intergovernmental Committee forMigration

I have been looking at some photographs I recently special PASS classes for 17- to 19-year-oldswere took of classroom activities in the overseas training begun as a pilot projnt at Phanat Nikhom. program in Southeast Asia. A number of the photos It has been increasingly evident thatyoung adults from the training site at Phanat Nikhom show face a unique set of difficult choices upon resettle- Hmong and Mien students relaxing during a five- ment. A survey is now being conducted of refugees, minute"break between classes in the Preparation for Mutual Assistance Association leaders, employers, American Secondary Schools (PASS) program. and educators in both the U.S. and the training sites These hilltribe students are a little older than their to learn more about what decisions these refugees PASS schoolmates, whose pictures show them have made or could be advised to make in playing energetically in the open quad during the such areas as secondary and post-secondary school- class break. I remember chatting with these 17- to ing, employment, and roles in the family. Thesur- 19-year-olds while taking their pictures. A few vey results will be used to develop regional instruc- were married and shyly pointed out their spouses tional guidelines for young refugee adults, and sitting on the other side of the room. course content will be adjusted for them at Phanat Among my photos of 8- to 111/2-year-olds in Nikhom and Bataan. Preparing Refugees for Elementary Programs The start-up of PREP in Bataan was described in (PREP) at Bataan, the most eyecatching ones are of the previous issue of Passage. As of this writing, a ball game being played under a huge mango tree. four cycles of students have begun the PREPpro- I can't recall the name of the game, but it's the one gram, and there will eventually be nine cycles of where kids stand in a circle, facing inward, and the students participating at any given time. Ofcourse, player with the ball races around outside the circle, there is still much to be done in order to bring the then surreptitiously deposits the ball behind another program to full operation. New staff will have to be player and races "home" before being caught by the recruited and trained, and additional curriculum and new ball carrier. The photos show it to be a lively teaching materials for the 8- to 111/2-year-oldsare game. They also show the children lining up at the needed in the areas of reading and writing, language end of the game in the straightest rows I have ever and conceptual development, math, recess, and seen. They maintained these lines pretty well all the school culture.Since PREP will soon include b- way to the classroom. There, they sat at six tables, and 7-year-olds, the development of curriculum, four students to a table, resting and waiting their materials, training plans, and other essentials for turn to get a drink of water. The class was said to that eventuality will be an additional major area of have discipline problems, but there were none work.Teacher training and evaluation of he apparent on this day, perhaps because the teacher current PREP curriculum and staff are well under was being assisted by a PREP supervisor, recently way.Modification of existing facilities is also arrived from the Des Moines, Iowa, school system. progressing, with help from agencies inside and These two group, young adults 17 to 19 years old outside the camp. and children 6 to 111/2, are the main focus for recent As I was leaving the Philippine Refugee Proces- development efforts in the Overseas Refugee Train- sing Center in June, a PREP staff member flagged ing Program. Readers may recall that when PASS down my van. I rolled down the window, and he was conceived in late 1985, it was designed for 13- hollered from 20 yards away, "Hey, the Seebees to 16-year-olds. After U.S. educators recognized from Subic Navy Base just agreed to bringover the success of pre-entry training for young people, their grader and make us some playgrounds!" I'll the age range of PASS students was expanded to certainly remember to bring my camera to PREP on include refugees as young as 111/2, end in 1986, my next visit to Bataan. 61 6 PASSAGE A Job Interview Simulation for Upper-Level Students

Jesus Diaz Israel Philippine Refugee Processing Center

The job application process in the U.S. is a new An important function of WO is reinforcing and and often intimidating procedure for recently consolidating employment-related material previous- resettled Indochinese refugees. In pre-communist ly studied in the ESL and CO components. Finding Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, getting a job meaningful and innovative ways to do this has depended largely on making the right personal posed a challenge how can the WO teacher focus contacts; this tended to be much less formal or on what students have already learned, using the performance-based than U.S. employment proce- skills necessary for the transition from the class- dures. One of the primary educational goals of the room to real-life application? Overseas Refugee Training Program, therefore, is to Two weeks before the end of one class cycle, I familiarize refugees with the American job noted that although my D- and E-level students had application process, from the initial job hunting pretty well mastered the important language and stage up to and through that formidable, crucial job attitudinal points, most were still quite apprehensive interview. about going through an actual job interview. I The American job interview poses both language therefore decided to plan an activity that would as and cultural problems for Indochinese students. As much as possible replicate a realistic job inter- there is no single standard interview format, view and also provide students with a post- applicants must be prepared to cope with unexpected interview evaluation of specific techniques in which language. The ESL component deals extensively they excelled or needed improvement. After doing with language appropriate for job interviews some preliminary research and getting suggestions through brief role plays, pronunciation practice, from supervisors, staff, and other teachers, I grammar and vocabulary exercises, and eventually a designed such a simulation and decided to try it. language-focused classroom job interview simulation. Cultural Orientation (CO) classes touch more on cultural and attitudinal factors involved in Preparing Interviewers "selling oneself' to a potential employer. Students learn what looks good on an application form, how to present all past experience relevant to the target Before conducting the simulation in class, I visited job, interview protocol with or without a translator a number of International Catholic Migration present, and the impoktance of projecting "saleable" Commission (ICMC) offices in camp Training, personality traits during an interview. Students also Operations, Registration, Recreation Hall, Motor participate in a classroom simulation that focuses on Pool, Maintenance, and the library to see what why applicants were or were not hired, based on positions would theoretically be available. I talked both the submitted application form and the simulat- with the head of each office, describing the ob- ed interview. The ESL and CO job application jectives of the simulation and the importance of the lessons therefore complement each other. At the interviewer's role.I asked if they could take a few Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), the minutes to act as interviewers, and explained how two programs run simultaneously for 12 weeks, they would use the Interview Rating Form, which I after which refugee students move on to their adapted from the Janus Job Interview Kit (Jew and concluding six-week Work Orientation (WO) class. Tong 1976). 62 Israel/A Job Interview Simulation 7

Revised Teacher-made Form adapted from the Janus Job Interview Kit INTERVIEW RATING FORM

Very Satis- Needs SKILLS Good Good factory Fair Improving Poor Points I.Communication Skills .... Preparation

Language

Voice Quality

Questioning Ability

Answering Ability

II. Personal Characteristics

Assertiveness

Attitude

Potential

Appearance

Manner

Scoring:Very Good 15 points TOTAL POINTS

Good 12 points

Satisfactory 8 points Needs Improving 2 points Fair 5 points Poor -- 0 Remarks:

Applicant's Signature Interviewer's Signature

1,00 63 8 PASSAGE

The two major areas of observation by the inter- In the Classroom viewer are the applicant's communicative skills and personal characteristics. Under each of the major During the week before the job interview, the areas, there are five specific skills to consider. students were briefed on the objectives and proce- Applicants' skills are rated in six categories ranging dures for this activity. To help them prepare, we from Very Good to Bad. Applicants receive a point reviewed and discussed some of their questions score in each category, and the final evaluation is the about undergoing a job interview in the U.S. total point score from all categories.In addition, Students had varied opinions and feelings about the interviewer is asked to comment on the participating in the job interview simulation. How- applicant's performance in a "Remarks" section. ever, their willingness to try was clear. After reviewing the rating form with the inter- Students used the knowledge and job-seeking viewer, we discussed its three main purposes or skills gained in their ESL and CO classes as they uses: First, it serves as a guide for the interviewer chose appropriate entry-level jobs. Signs and ads to identify the criteria for job qualification. Second, on the bulletin board listed various job openings it could be used as an assessment tool by the teacher within the ICMC offices, and a small "Employment to determine students' strengths and weaknesses in Agency" was established in a corner of the class- the actual interview. Third, it can be used by the room.During the activity, students had to be student for self-evaluation of his or her interview counselled to keep their choices as realistic as skills and as a basis for improving less-perfected possible. A former mechanic, for example, might skills for future job interviews. find more appropriate work in the Motor Pool Office than in the library. Next, students reviewed their résumés, following a step-by-step procedure from the résumé packet A. Communicative Skills (Jew and Tong 1976). Students were encouraged to ask questions about their own résumés and to 1. Preparation The résumé and job application, consult each other, submitting their résumés for plus any other necessary papers. review by both peers and the teacher. This gave 2. Language The applicant's English ability in them a chance to practice the language and other spoken and written communication. skills required in the job interview simulation. After 3. Voice quality The tone, clarity, volume, and a week of briefing and preparation, students were pitch of the applicant's voice while talking with the ready for the interviews, held during their last week interviewer. of WO classes. 4. Questioning ability The sensitivity and content of the applicant's questions to the interviewer. 5. Answering ability The applicant's manner of Day of the Job Interview responding to the interviewer's questions. Are the answers meaningful, direct, and relevant? The entire activity was scheduled to last four hours.During the first hour, we reviewed the topics that had been discussed during the previous B. Personal Characteristics week, and students prepared the items they would need for the remainder of the activity. 1. Assertiveness The applicant's ability to "sell Then it was time for the students to leave the himself," to show willingness and qualifications for classroom for the interviews. Our group was the job. composed of 12 students between the ages of 25 2. Attitude The applicant's general outlook and 35, both men and women. I could feel their toward the job. nervousness as we left the classroom.I wisbd 3. Potential The applicant's "trainability" or them luck and instructed them where to meet me willingness to participate in improvement and skills after the interview. training. The students located the offices where they were to 4. Appearance The general physical appearance interview. Only the student and the appropriate staff of the applicant, including dress, grooming, neat- member were present during each interview, which ness, and posture. lasted about 30 minutes. After what seemed a long 5. Manners The appropriateness of nonverbal time, I finally saw two students approaching our behavior, i.e., gestures or body movements, such meeting place. One had a glowing face and was as facial expressions and hand signals. talking excitedly{ rut his experience, but the other Israel/A Job Interview Simulation 9

student was silent and appeared troubled. When the Looking back on the activity, I would say it is well rest of the class joined us, one by one or in pairs, worth doing again. For one thing, it makes good we all sat down in a shaded area to talk about the use of the resources at the PRPC, where we are experiences. fortunate to have so many English speakers. As each student discussed his or her experience, I Although some of the interviewers were Americans, nodded my head or gave a short response.It was others were Filipinos, for whom English is a second not necessary at this point for me to comment or ask language. Being interviewed by another non-native questions about their feelings and experiences; these speaker is, of course, not an unrealistic experience. came out automatically as the students discussed and After all, many employers in the U.S. are His- compared their experiences. panics, Europeans, or Asians whose native lan- The fourth hour was set aside for follow-up guage is not English, either. discussion of the interview simulation. We re- I would probably simplify the rating system next mained at our meeting place and used the techniques time around, so that it can be used more easily by of comparison and contrast, brainstorming, and the volunteer interviewers and so that the results individual assessment to discuss the morning's from one interviewer to another are comparable. activity. (Depending on the class, another teacher Next time, I will have them rate the student's skills might choose to limit the discussion to simple as Excellent, Satisfactory, or Poor. The skills cate- sharing of experiences.) gories may need to be changed for othergroups as The next day, I solicited feedback from each well. office, and received warm and positive responses There were two unexpected results from this from the interviewers. Each student's Interview activity.First, it provided a closer understanding Rating Form was collected, and I thanked the and friendship between the teacher and the various personnel in the ICMC offices for their assistance. office personnel. Second, it created an atmosphere The completed forms were used for additional class of cooperation among the different offices in the discussion. Each student was able to see where program. The instructional staff can become quite improvement was necessary and which skills were isolated from the others in the refugee program, and strengths to be capitalized on. this activity bridged that gap. If our pool of volunteer interviewers were larger, I would suggest this activity for all upper-level Work Student Responses Orientation classes. The students certainly found it challenging and worthwhile. In addition, it contributed to our goal of consolidating the skills and "I felt afraid about the interview, but as I got along knowledge acquired in their ESL and CO classes. with the American interviewer, that feeling began to die." REFERENCES "I'm very happy, because I got the job as a janitor, but I'm sad because when I went out of the Training Jew, Wing and Robert Tong.1976. Janus job interview kit. Office, I realized it's impossible for me to keep the Hayward, CA: Janus Book Publishers. job. I'll be leaving next week for California." "I hope I have the same experience when I go to U.S.A. I look around the technical office and everybody was looking and listening to my English. Jesus "Jess" Diaz Israel I know Fm not so good, but I feel like I'm in real has been an instructor at the work place." Philippine Refugee Processing "Very sad, teacher Jess, because no job. Ameri- Center since 1984.He has can very strict, no skill, no job. If English not very taught ESL in 'he adult pro- good, cannot be assistant library aide." gram there and in the Prepara- "I forgot some English words, because I'm very tion for American Secondary afraid for interview. In Vietnam [during a job inter- Schools program. Heis currently teachinginthe view I was asked] only [my] name because [I got if upper-level Work Orientation the job through] my friend. Some questions very component. Previously, he taught communication arts and hard, some I can understand. But tried to speak English at the secondary and college levels.Israel holds a because I like the job. The interviewer accept me. I BA in political science from Catanduanes State College. begin tomorrow."

65 10 PASSAGE Fluency-Building with Grids

Christopher B. Reznich Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

Students in the English as a Second Language When the teacher feels that students are ready to (ESL) component of the Overseas Refugee Training concentrate on production when they've worked Program are introduced to a staggering amount of on listening skills and have begun to use the information. In addition, as language educators we language under study he or she can introduce the expect to prepare our students to develop a degree of grid. One procedure for using the grid above is to: fluency in their speech a smoothness, or coher- ence, of speech production. There are several ESL a) Point to all the cues in turn, eliciting talk from techniques that promote student fluency, and the use the students. This is a preliminary comprehen- of "grids" is a particularly effective one. sion check to make sure the students under- A ,grid is a systematic arrangement of pictures, stand what the cues represent. drawings, punctuation markers, and other cues that serve as prompters for student talk and two-way b) Point to one cue from above the double line, exchanges. Examples and models abound Story then to one below the double line, to allow Squares: Fluency in English as a Second Language students to ask questions. For example: by Knowles and Sasaki (1980) and America, In Sight by Ligon and Herman (1982) are excellent sources. One method I have used successfully with Figure 2: a variety of student levels is described here. With this method, a grid is usually introduced after initial practice activities for a given curriculum unit. Shopping For example, students may have studied basic whoi Howo many English language structures and vocabulary related , 2 to shopping, and are able to say such things as Color siie "What does he want (to buy)?" "What size (do you 0 Max la Si5 want)?" and "I want a blue shirt." The grid in You They Figure 1 would be suitable for a C-level class studying this unit: wha4 do you -- wont fobuy Figure 1:

7 ? %Wiwi- How many c) Encourage student-to-student interaction and 7 .7. Color Sme freer expression. After a bit of practice, students may on their own initiative generate Cis M a x a sis more than the single-cued question, leading to three- or four-question/answer exchanges. Go You They with the flow! This is where students can demonstrate the fluency that the grids have helped them achieve. 66 Reznich/Fluency-Building with Grids 11

d) Turn the pointer over to one of the participants tive technique for promoting fluency and increasing to cue other members of the group. The teacher students' self-confidence.It accomplishes this by is then free to monitor the students' speech for presenting a variety of cues prompting student talk future learning possibilities or error correction. in a systematic manner.

Adapting the Grids REFERENCES

Knowles, Phillip B. and Ruth A. Sasaki.1980. Story squares: Grids are flexible and can be adapted for any level fluency in English as a second language. Boston, Massachu- by decreasing the number of cues used for lower- setts:Winthrop Publishers. level classes and increasing them for higher levels. Ligon, Fred and S. K. Herman. 1982.America, in sight. Another adaptation would be to rely more on picture Brattleboro,Vermont: The ExperimentinInternational cues for lower levels, and to use more abstract cues, Living. such as grammatical function words and punctuation, with the higher levels. Staff who train teachers in ESL teaching tech- ChristopherB.Reznich niques may want to begin the training on the use of has been a staff member of grids with a brief demonstration, followed by a the Overseas Refugee Training discussion of the technique. Some questions to ask Program since1980. On teachers after the demonstration include: Galang, Indonesia, he was an ESL supervisor and teacher How many possible questions/answers can be trainer. At Phanat Nikhom generated? Refugee Camp in Thailand, he Where did the students focus their attention? has been an ESL supervisor, What procedure did the teacher follow? A, dr& materials developer, and, most Why would the teacher turn the pointer over to recently, the documentation specialist in the Staff Develop. ment Office. Reznich has taught English in Mexico and, as the students? a Peace Corps Volunteer, in Chad. He is the author of Teaching Teachers: An Introduction to Supervision and Promoting fluency smoothness of speech is Teacher Training. He holds an MAT in ESL from the School a necessary goal of ESL instruction preparing stu- for Internaional Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. dents for resettlement. The use of grids is one effec-

67 ba 12 PASSAGE Cultural Orientation for Eastern European Refugees: An Update

Kathleen Hamilton & CO staff Intergovernmental Committee for Migration

The Intergovernmental Committee for Migration and extremely high expectations about life in (ICM) in Geneva, Switzerland, operates a Cultural America. Orientation (CO) program for Eastern European Refugees leaving Eastern European countries refugees in four sites: Austria, Ge-inany, Italy, and might endure years of harassment in their native Yugoslavia. The program in Yugoslavia began in country, life-or-death escape situations, imprison- February of this year. Refugees from Eastern ment, forced repatriation, or the loss of fan.ily mem- Europe admitted to the U.S. in Fiscal Year 1986 bers and property. Once refugee status is granted in numbered 8,713. Approximately half that number countries of asylum, expectations for a better life be- participated in CO classes. gin to grow. The difference in the standard of living Our program's major theme is that the American between Eastern and Western Europe is marked. system involves choice and decision-making, and Refugees are often able to work in the underground that this way of life entails individual responsibility. econom:. of the asylum country, where they begin Our overall pros, am objectives are to provide to have options for material goods unobtainable in refugees with a realistic picture of America, to their native countries. Thus, during the four to six describe in general the resettlement process, to months or longer that refugees wait for resettlement, zncourage self-sufficiency, and to prepare refugees they develop incrasirigly unrealistic visions of an for the diversity of American society. affluent life in America. It is in the interim between Before discussing how we meet these objectives, it the acceptance for entry to the U.S and their depar- is important to note that just as the term "Southeast ture that our CO program intervenes to prepare Asian" or "African" is relatively meaningless when participants for ,!:e initial steps of resettlement. addressing cross-cultural issues, so, too, is the term Most refugees come from societies where their "Eastein European." In other words, a Polish experiences have led to a genera' distrust of otiv. refugee is as different from a Romanian refugee as a people and contempt for authority. For example, Vietnamese refugee is from a Cambodian refugee. the following exchange took place during an A typical first impression of this group of refugees employment-related lessor, while the instructor was is, "They seem just like Americans, they will fit helping one of the refugees fill out a job application right in." This view, in fact, is one of the imped- form. iments to their successful resettlement. In contrast to the high profile of Asian refugees (82.4% of tot. ii Teacher:Are you married? refugees admitted to the U.S. in F.Y. 1986), the Refugev,Well, should I be married? unique problems of Eastern European refugees are Teacher:What was your occupation? not particularly well known by many resettlement- Refugee:What job pays the best if America? related programs. Teacher:What skills do you have? Although Eastern Europeans cannot be considered Refugee:Well, I was a driver, a locksmith, a doctor, a homogenous group, they do share some charac- a gardener, and a mechanic. teristics, and these have become central to our program. Some of the traits that Eastern Europeans The refugee above was clearly trying to determine share include the similarity of their refugee status in what the "correct answers in the U.S. would be. In Western Europe, their similar escape experiences, their home countries, refugees learned that they 68 Hamilton & CO Staff /CO for Eastern European Refugees 13

h, ...alic,-01,"

CO classroom, Bad Soden, West Germany. Photo by Kathleen Hamilton.

Examining American money in CO class, Maria Schutz, Austria. A lesson from the consumerismunit in Camp Kosutnjak, .Photo by Kathleen Hamilton. Yugoslavia. Photo by Kathleen Hamilton.

tivir; 111)ti

P1N:IV. '114

AS. CO classroom, Rome, Italy. Photo by Delbert Field. 0 .69 14 PASSAGE

U.S. voluntary agencies, and the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). Based on five years of Cultural Orientation instruction in Southeast Asia, the curriculum has been in use for more than three years. A resettlement guide originally written by CAL and later revised by a committee of representatives from U.S. voluntary agencies. Produced in Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Czech, it details the resettlement process. Copies are provided to refugees for independent study and reference. Phrasebooks produced by CAL in the four refugee languages to serve as a handy reference for survival English and keyed to CO topics. Refugee living quarters, Camp Kosutnjak, Yugoslavia. These phrasebooks, which include bilingual Photo' by Kathleen Hamilton. glossaries, are also distributed to the refugees. needed to give the answers that were deemed correct. For many, this was true not just in employ- CO CURRICULUM TOPICS ment situations but even in everyday conversations. Introduction/Classroom Orientation As a result, we advise refugees that Americans Transit Process expect answers be straightforward and factual. We Resettlement and Sponsorship also advise refugees not to fear Americans whom Geography, History, Government. and Law they will encounter in official procedures, and not to Community and Social Services; Health Care System attempt to pay bribes. Family and Social Relations In addition to the staffs expertise in cross-cultural Economy/Consumerism training and experiential learning, our most valuable Employment resources are materials produced especially for our Education program. These include: Housing Communication A curriculum developed by ICM staff and with Transportation assistance from the U.S. Department of State,

In addition, there are three very important pn,gram resources supplied by refugees themselves: student course evaluations, which give us immediate feedback, follow-up questionnaires completed several months after the refugees arrive in the U.S., and letters sent to the program by refugees discussing their experiences in America (see Solon et ai. 1986). There is no more effective teaching approach thali Alt having "new" refugees read ti, ,se letters from their peers, which often begin, "I didn't believe you when you said.. ." The question most frequently asked of CO staff is, "What can you accomplish in four days?" We straightforwardly answer, "A lot!" A list of our

° curriculum topics, typically covered in four days, :+? appears above. In addition, an English version of t. 4 the Resettlement Guide has just been produced by the Center for Applied Linguistics for istribution to Leaving for the U.S., Rome airport, Italy. Photo by Delbert Field. voluntary agencies and service providers in the U.S. /0 Hamilton & CO Staff /CO for Eastern European Refugees 15

This will enhance understanding of the scope of ge...eral information refugees receive prior to their Kathleen Hamilton is the departure to the United States. cultural orientation coordinator for the ICM's Eastern European refugee program. Previously,she was the REFERENCES deputytechnical program director in the Consortium's Solon, Kathryn et al.1986.Letters from Eastern European Bangkokoffice.Hamilton refugees. Passage 2(3):10-14. has a BA in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley, with teaching credentials in English, art, and adult education. 16 PASSAGE

TESOL '87

Refugee Service Center Staff

The following are summaries of selected sessions at the 21st Annua; Convention of Teachers ofEnglish to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), held April 21 -25, 1987, in Miami Beach, Florida,and attended by over 4,000 ESL educators. The sessions discussed here were.acted for their relevance to the Overseas Refugee Training Program.

ESL at the Elementary and remember important concepts. The presenters Second, ry Levels identified three types of learner strategies: 1. Meta-cognitive strategies, such as judging how It is estimated that by the year 2000, language- well one has accomplished a learning task and minority students will constitute a majority in 53 checking one's comprehension during listeningor metropolitan school districts. The task facing Eng- reading. lish as a second language (ESL) educators is how to 2. Cognitive strategies, such as note-taking,sum- prepare limited-English proficient (LEP) children marizing, and using visual images to understand many of whom are entering our schools with little or new information. no previous education for mainstream classes. 3. Social-affective strategies, such as working To the extent that the TESOL Convention is a together with other students to solve a problem, or barometer of developments in the field, this year's reducing anxiety by using mental techniques to convention signals a growing interest in content- bolster self-confidence. based ESL, an approach that facilitates students' entry into the mainstream by teaching language through the study of subject matter. Other areas of Social Studies: The ESL Way interest were reading and writing, parent involvement, and whole language approaches to learning. Myron Berkman, Newcomer High School, San Francisco

P., Cognitive Academic Language Learning Berkman gave a geography lesson in Lao to show Approach for Bilingual/ESL Students how ESL techniques can be used to teach social studies concepts. He demonstrated how abstract Anna Uhl Chamot, Nation(' Clearinghouse for terms, such as "coastal" and "tropical," can be made Bilingual Education concrete and comprehensible through the use of J. Michael O'Malley, George Washington gestures, pictures, and other visual aids. Berkman University emphasized the importance of the "silent period" and "lowering the affective filter" by giving participants The presenters discussed the Cognitive Academic plenty of time to hear the new language and by not Language Learning Approach (CALLA), an requiring them to produce it immediately. Berkman instructional model that combines English language advocated an approach that moves from the development with content-based ESL and adds culturally familiar to the new. Students are eager to learner strategies that help students understand and talk about their native cultures, he said, and are 72 RSC Staff/TESOL '87 17

more apt to retain information when it relates to on the concept, students simultaneously acquire the what they already know. language of math. In discussing math word problems, Dale emphasized that language skills are a prerequisite tosuc- Finding Your Way to Elementary ESL cessful problem-solving. Students identify the parts Social Studies Activities of a word problem in terms of the information the problem gives, what the problem asks, and what the Caroline Linse, Harvard University student needs to find. This activity can lead students Karen Natus, Lower Kuskokwim School District, to a discussion of whether a problem includes irrel- Eek, Alaska evant information, insufficient information, or just enough information to solve the problem. Dale also The presenters demonstrated social studies activi- demonstrated how students can act out word ties developed for elementary-level LEP students. problems, such as this one: "If a studentgoes Among the many activities were two designed to forward two steps and back one, howmany steps teach the concept and language of directions. In will it take to reach the other side of the room?" "Race to the North Pole," students stand on a 20-foot by 20-foot square on the floor, labeled with compass points N, S, E, W. The teacher then reads Integrating Content Reading into ESL directions from cards, such as "Go west three An L2 Preview Approach steps." Each student takes a turn following the directions, and the first to reach the North Pole wins Dennis Terdy, Illinois ESL /Adult Education the game. Service Center A second game, "Map Toss," has students take turns throwing a bean bag at a large map of a city, Since reading is now viewed as an interaction town, region, or state. The student calls out the between what's on the page and what's in the name of a place and throws the bag. A student who reader's head, one of the tasks of the reading teacher hits the target gets ten points. The student with the is to make sure that students are prepared for the most points wins. reading task. Terdy demonstrated the L2 Preview Approach, which prepares students for cognitively demanding texts. The approach includes foursteps: Teaching Mathematical Concepts and 1. Write a word on the blackboard that: 'elates sig- Problem Solving in ESL, K-6 nificantly to the reading material. Have students tell what they know about the word. Leslie Kirshner, McKinley Elementary School, 2. Identify three or four "personal questions" fof Philadelphia students to discuss before their first reading. Theresa Corasaniti Dale, Center for Applied 3. Identify one question that will help students Linguistics focus on tne subject matter. 4. Assist students with "SQ3R" (Survey, Ques- This workshop demonstrated activities to teach tion, Read, Recite, Review) techniques. basic math concepts and operations, as well as the language of math word problems. Kirshr N. presented activities to teach place value, pre-number Young Children Composing: skills, and the four basic operations, using Cuisen- A Web of Interconnecting Elements aire rods, flats, and cubes. Cuiseuaire rods are introduced to students by Virginia Allen, Ohio State University having them select by colt,:, classify by length, Joy Kreeft Peyton, Center for Applied Linguistics complete a sequence, and show relationships Katharine Samway, Multifunctional Resource tasks that start students thinking about concepts Center /Northern California basic to math. At a slightly more advanced stage, Carole Urzfia, University of the Pacific students use rods, cubes, and flats to learn place value and basic math operations. This colloquium focused on the waiting processes For example, to learn the concept of addition, the of elementary-level LEP students. Joy Kreeft teacher shows students a purple ma', which is twice Peyton discussed the results of her research the length of a red rod, and then makes a "train" concerning the effects of dialogue journals on the with two red rods. The teacher then points out that writing development of first graders. Peyton looked "Red plus red is equal to purple." While the focus is at the use of dialogue journals in light of three 73 18 PASSAGE questions: Would dialogue journals work with this is a predictor of reading comprehension and critical age group? What resources would the children use to academic success. Allen's findings: in their writing? How would their writing develop over time? 1. Both groups made an effort to connect meaning One month after school began, the children started to words. to write and draw in their journals. The students 2. Learning the definition of words does not help used sightword labels posted around the room and in learning the meanings. eventually began using printed matter from home, 3. Word meaning can be culture bound. For ex- such as words on shopping bags. No spelling was amnle, the verb phrase take over meant one thing corrected by the teacher. The children advanced ("to take something to someone") to the native- from copied words through invented spelling to English speakers and another ("to take control correct spelling, and, over time, their sentence through military action") to the Southeast Asian structure increased in complexity. Toward the end students. of the year, the students began to write longer 4. Narrative context helps students figure out and pieces, such as lengthy & zriptions of personal remember meaning. Students hearing or reading a problems. Their progress was attributed to an word for the first time are more likely to grasp and environment rich in the printed and spoken word, remember its meaning when the word is part of a and opportunities to write on subjects that interested narrative. them. Katharine Samway reported on her investigation of how children evaluate peer writing. LEP second/ Home and'" I:ool Collaboration: Involving third graders and fourth/fifth graders were placed Parents in Literacy Development into small groups where they read and discussed each other's stories. The children then put each Maudry Viola, Barbara Murphy, Anna Gray, and story into one of three piles not so good, good, Susan Tompkins, Chinle Primary School, Arizona and very good and were asked to explain their choices. All comments were put into one of ten The presenters discussed the Navajo Parent-Child categories, such as retelling ("It's about a bird and a Reading (NPCR) program, which encourages witch is putting a spell on them"), liking ("Because parents to get involved in reading with their I like satellites and space .."), value-related children, both at home and at school. The rationale ("Exciting to learn.."), and crafting ("It didn't for the project is a growing body of research explain too clearly"). Among Samway's findings: showing that children who have pleasant reading experiences at home do well in reading at school. 1. Older children had more crafting comments. Children who read at home tend to view reading as 2. Younger children had more retelling and liking an enjoyable activity, learn that print represents comments. speech, and learn to ask questions and talk abut 3. The more effective writers had more crafting what they have read. comments. In the NPCR program, both native-language and 4. Teachers were more pleased with the crafting English materials are used. Interest is sustained by type of comments than the liking type of comments. using reading materials about Navajo history and culture. Carole Urztla presented a model of the writing process that describes the writer as madman (creator), architect, carpenter, and judge. Emphasizing that Meath,- gful ESL Activities for a writers need readers, as well as editors, Urztla Whole Language Approach encouraged teachers to help students with their writing in a non-judgmental, supportive manner. J. Wesley Eby, Wingate Elementary School, Discussing each draft with the student, asking Navajo Reservation questions about the piece, helping with word choice, and asking about the student's satisfaction Eby discussed the whole language model he uses with the product all support the students in their in teaching ESL to elementary-level Navajo revisions. students. The whole language model puts into Virginia Allen reported on her stugy.of how ESL practice many of Krashen's theories of language and native-English speaking elem9fitary-level chil- learning. It provides plenty of "comprehensible dren acquire vocabulary an important question, input," p .esents "whole language" in meaningful since research indicates that vocabulary knowledge contexts, and lowers the "affective filter." Whole

74 RSC Staff/TESOL '87 19 language activities begin with the concrete, and are Mental Health Issues based on the students' own background and experiences. Eby demonstrated several activities exemplifying Past TESOL presentations on refugee mental his approach. In one, students i.'ce print from their health have tended to be descriptive, outlining the own environment to make reading materials such stages of resettlement that refugees typically as a TV guide or an ad for a supermarket. In experience. This year there was more attention paid another, students work with a collection of objects to what the teacher can do to promote mental health such as eating utensils that have at least one and alleviate stress. common attribute. Students talk and write about the objects in terms of their functions, similarities, and Promoting Mental Health: differences. In a third activity, students take a shape An ESL Teaching Approach for Adults (the letteri3) and transform it into something else (a hill). Michael Paul, American Council for Nationalities Service J. Donald Cohon, University of California, Assessment of Limited-English Proficient San Francisco Students: A Whole Language Approach Refugees and Immigrants: An Eye to Else Hamayan, Eleni Ko Hein°, arcl Judy Kwiat, Mental Health Illinois Resource Center Clifford T. Meyers, YMCA ELESAIR Project, The presenters discussed the application of whole New York City language principles to assessment. Whole language assessment is based on the following premises: All three presenters agreed that the close relationship between teacher and student makes the 1. There is a need to assess the whole learner ESL classroom a natural place to dcal with mental that is, to take into account the social, academic, and health issues. The sensitive and informed ESL physical environment of the student. teacher can help students deal more effectively with 2. Testers should attempt to capture the student's stress, but teachers were cautioned to direct their array of skills and abilities. efforts toward prevention, rather than treatment. 3. Assessment should consist of activities with an In their joint presentation, Paul and Cohon dis- authentic communicative function. cussed two general categories of preventivestrategy: promotion of mental health and development of Assessment instruments with these characteristics coping skills. (See p. 66 of this issue of Passage.) tend to be informal, direct, and integrative. Such an approach demands considerable sensitivity The presenters then described assessment to the cultural backgrounds of individual refugees, measures currently being used in Illinois. To assess the presenters emphasized. One person's approach oral proficiency, an oral interview or a story to reducing stress confronting the source of the retelling task can be used. Samples can be rated stress, for instance might serve only to increase holistically according to a set of criteria that describe another's discomfort. proficiency in five areas of oral language: accent, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Literacy can be measured with a cloze test and a Reading functional dictation test, in which large chunks of prose related to a single topic are dictated to For years, the debate in reading has been between students. It was suggested that a writing sample two models of reading: the top-down model and the such as a language experience approach (LEA) story bottom-up model. In the first model, ths. reader also be obt fined, and rated accorded to holistic processes text in a letter-by-letter, word-by-word, criteria. phrase-by-phrase, and set -nce-by-sentence fa- The presenters strongly recommended that shion. According to the second model, the reader native-language proficiency be assessed with the processes large chunks of meaningful language:. The same kind of informal measures used to assess knowledge the reader brings to the reading task English proficiency. The assessment of content-area contributes more to comprehension than what is knowledge was also recommended. visually displayed on the page. 20 PASSAGE

In recent years, reading theorists have proposed a we are in a state of confusion over how to teach third model the interactive model which takes reading," he said, "one thing is clear: reading is a into account both top-down and bottom-up learned activity." processing. Given what we know about reading, a reading Several presentations at TESOL this year dis- program should include intensive practice in the cussed the relative merits of these three models. The skills and strategies needed to become good readers, following session included a concise, comprehen- as well as plenty of opportunities ix extensive sive summary of what is now known about the reading, Grabe said. In discussing instructional complex process of reading. practices for low-level learners, he recommended the language experience approach (LEA) and the whole language approach (which generally incorpo- What Every ESL Teacher Should Know rates LEA activities), along with skills development. about Reading Like other reading specialists, Grabe questioned the value of basal readers, which tend to use William Grabe, Northern Arizona University material culturally and linguistically unfamiliar to ESL learners. Use of phonics may also be of limited Grabe began by defining the reading process. value to students who lack an extensive oral Reading is rapid (we normally read over 200 words vocabulary. per minute), purposeful (we read something because it interests us), comprehending (we read to find meaning), and interactive (both the reader and the The Overseas Refugee Training text contribute information), and it develops gradually (it takes a long time to become a fluent Program reader). After discussing six skills involved in reading Four sessicns at TESOL gave refugee educators in word recognition, knowledge of vocabulary and the U.S. an opportunity to learn about the overseas grammar, knowledge of the world, ability to program. evaluate critically, and awareness of language itself Grabe turned to a discussion of reading models. U.S. Department of State Pre-Entry Training: Neither top-down nor bottom-up models adequately Update explains the complexity of the reading process. The bottom-up model ignores the contribution the reader Pat Hunter and Nina Jaico, International Catholic makes to comprehension, while the top-down model Migration Commission is too quick to dismiss lower-level processing (such William He lz, the Consortium as reading in a letter-by letter fashion) which we Kathleen Ha:. ilton, Intergovernmental Committee now know that even good readers employ when for Migration faced with unfamiliar words. The interactive model Lois Purdh.., World Relief Corporation proposes a synthesis of both bottom-up and top- Cao Anh Quan, Florida International University down processes. According to this model, we use Kathleen Corey, Center for Applied Linguistics all skills as needed, and we often use more than one Ed Geibel, U.S. Department of State simultaneously. Grabe noted a fourth model, the developmental This colloquium focused on recent developments model, which tries to explain how a child develops in the overseas training program. William Helz, into s fluent reader. One theorist, Jeanne Chall, Nina Jaico, and Pat Hunter described how the pro- suggests that children learning to read pass through gram serves refugees with special needs: 17- to 19- six stages: pre-reading, initial decoding context- year -olds, the elderly, pregnant women and women driven reading (as in the language experience with young children, and low-level learners. approach), reading to learn, recognizing various Nina Jaico, an ESL supervisor at Bataan, de- viewpoints, and critical, controlled reading. sciibe I a literacy program for low-level learners. A fifth model which Grabe called "The Garden The high-interest, low-level reading material in- of Eden" model assumes that "books are every- cludes stories written by the students themsees. where, hanging from every tree and bush, just William Helz, ESL coordinator at Phanat Nikhom, waiting to be plucked" and that "if we just give described Phanat's native language literacy program students books, they will figure it out on their which teaches low-level students how to read and own." Grabe disputed the notion that learners write their own language as a basis for English acquire reading without formal instruction. "While language development. 7. RSC Staff/TESOL '87 21

Pat Hunter, Bataan's Work Orientation program problem-solving skills and emphasizes the language officer, talked about programs for women, older of mathematical operations. American studies focus- learners, and young adults. Women learn about es on the values and skills teenagers need in order to pre-natal care, day care, and employment opportuni- adjust to a U.S. high school. ties while instruction for the older learner includes Over the 20-week period, students are exposed to topics on secondary wage earning and changing common school experiences, such as extracurricular family roles. Instruction for 17- to 19-year-olds is activities, eating in a cafeteria, going to the library, designed to help ; ,ung adults make appropriate and going to homeroom. Other ways in which the educational and employment choices. program simulates an American school are by Lois Purdham, technical director of Preparing Ref- requiring students to do homework, take tests, ugees for Elementary Programs (PREP), discussed change classes at the so,-nd of a bell, carry hall this newest addition to the overseas training pro- passes, and interpret report cards. gram. Offered to all 6- to 1!1/2-year-old Laotian, Parents are encouraged to get involved in their Cambodian, and Vietnamese children, PREP gives children's education. They attend parent-teacher sbuients the language, academic, and social skills conferences and read and sign notes from school. In they will need to succeed in U.S. elementary the case of discpline problems, parents may be schools. The PREP schedule includes reading and asked to see a counselor or the principal. writing, language/conceptual development, math, PAS S's Counseling Department acknowledges recess (guided play), and enrichment. that refugee students, regardless of background and Kathleen Hamilton, coordinator of the cu:tural family strength, are experiencing the extraordinary orientation (CO) program for Eastern European ref- stress that comes with being both a refugee and a ugees, talked about that program's efforts to prepare teenager. Students are encouraged to talk with the Eastern European refugees for resettlement in the counselors about personal, family, and school U.S. The overall objective of the program which issues. takes place in sites in Germany, Yugoslavia, Aus- Margo Pfleger reviewed the preliminary results of tria, and Italy is to give refugees a realistic a tracking study conducted by the Center for Ap- picture of life in the U.S. The program emphasizes plied Linguistics. The study compares the academic that the American system involves choice and achievement and social adjustment of PASS grad- decision-making and entails individual respon- uates with those who have not received PASS sibility. training. Preliminary findings show that PASS- Quan Cao, a guidance and counseling specialist, trained students did significantly better than un- gave a personal account of a recent visit to Bataan trained refugee students in all skills, including from the complex perspective of a bicultural in- English, school and study skills, computation, and dividual returning to Asia after a 20-year absence. cultural orientation. PASS made the most difference for students with little or n D previous schooling. A student profile that a;companies every PASS PASS: Preparation for American graduate was shown. This profile includes general Secondary Schools background information about each student, such as previous educational background and vaccination Joseph Mak."Acle, the Consortium records, as well as a general rating of the adoles- Richard Lambrecht, cent's school and academic skills. It was suggested International Catholic Migration Commission that teachers request this profile from each PASS Margo I'fleger and Kathleen Corey, graduate, since many students do not give it to Center for Applied Linguistics school personnel. Joseph MacAde, PASS principal at Phanat Nikhom, and Richard Lambrecht, American Studies Survival English for Deaf Refugees: Educating curriculum developer for PASS at Bataan, provided Students and Families an overview of a program that prepares refugee youth for U.S. high schools. Ginggaew Lewis, the Consortium The 20-week program provides instruction in ESL, math, and American studies. The ESL Ginggaew Lewis, an ESL teacher and curriculum curriculum teaches survival oral competence as well developer at the Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp, as grammar, reading and writing, and includes discussed Phanat's educational program for deaf content-area instruction. The math curriculum refugees. Through the use of international sign exposes students to basic computational and language, deaf refugees are given many for the 77 22 PASSAGE first time the experience of "talking" to others. In Cultural Orientation and Pre-Employment fact, one of the problems in the deaf class is trying Training for Refugees to keep a cap on "conversation." The program's ESL and Cultural Orientation curriculum is a simpli- efonghon Arhardwipard, the Consortium fied version of the competency-based curriculum in the mainstream adult program. The focus of this presentation was Phanat Ms. Lewis gave a moving profile of two of her Nikhom's Work Orientation (WO) component. The students: Toua Xiong, a 27-year-old married presenter, a WO supervisor, showed slides that Hmong man, and Narin Moth, a 23-year-old .ngle included scenes from the fast food, wood working, Khmer women. Both have been deaf from birth. and sewing simulations. Time carefully structured Neither has allowed their handicap to interfere very simulati ins give students a chance tD practice job- much with their lives. A farmer in Laos, Toua takes related language, basic skills, and CO points, in a care of his mother and son and enjoys dancing and setting that replicates an American workplace. social activities. A skilled jeweler, Narin takes care A discussion period gave refugee educators in of her rrother and enjoys karate. In a first asylum U.S. programs a chance to talk about the successes border camp, Narin learned Khmer sign language. and difficulties they have experienced in preparing Like many of Phanat's deaf students, Narin is eager their students for the workplace. to learn, and works hard to prepare herself for her new life in the U.S. TESOL '88 will be held in Chicago, March 8 -13.

This report was written by Don Ranard, with contributions from Refugee Service Center staff members Margo Pfleger, Elizabeth Tannenbaum, Flor Mejorada, and Kathleen Corey. Neil Anderson, former staff member of the Refugee Service Center, also contributed to the report.

78 t. I 23 Just Between You and Me: Student Drama at PASS

Jovito L. de la Paz with Richard Lambrecht Philippine Refugee Processing Center

I was using a series of workshop-like drama During the performances, the students were the activities in my advanced ESL class in the Prepara- ones running the show; I just sat with the rest of the tion for American Secondary Schools (PASS) audience. The teamwork was obvious throughout program at Bataan.After students heard some the performances, and stage dlscipline was carefully sample dialogues and were introduced to short observed. Although the c...., and crew were all stories, they tried transforming a story into a play. amateurs, they handled their jobs in a professional At other times, students modified a picture story by way, making quick on-the-spot decisions as minor supplying the dialogue, deleting a scene, creating a problems arose. At one performan_ e, the audience more colorful character, or altering the ending. stayed seated at the end of the production, ap- Eventually, the students asked about putting on a parently waiting for more. To resolve the situation production, and I enthusiastically agreed. It would with minimum embarrassment, one of the students be the culminating activity for this part of the ESL stepped out front and made an impromptu an- course. nouncement, saying, "thank you for coming to the To begin the work on acting, I created exercises to show." help students shed their inhibitions. They joined in Several performances of the student production group work, beginning with simple concentration were given for student and faculty visitors from exercises and going on to other activities involving George Dewey High School and Subic Naval more movement, using their bodies to create emo- Station, as well as at the International School of 1, tions and portray characters. Simple dialogue was Manila, as a part of student exchanges. Through used to develop a situation or scene. The students them, viewers were able to understand some of the defined the relationships of created characters problems that refugees encounter, matters they through voice pitch levels and body movement. would later share through a pen-pal letter exchange. Soon, they were able to convey a range of emotions The student drama productions allowed thc. convincingly. students from the American schools r ) empathize I began work on the script. The students preferred with refugee students on a personal level, which situations similar to their own life conditions and created a lot of comment and publicity.This characters with whom they could easily identify. It reaction has resulted in a regular exchange program was Christmas break when I wrote the script of between the schools, emphasizing different subject "Just Between You and Me." As I wrote, I already areas of school curriculum and student life: drama, had two actors in mind for the play. This guided me ESL classes, art exhibits, musical presentations, in limiting the scope of the production and tailoring cultural shows, school dances, sports events, and the script to these students. class visits. The stage design was entirely the work of the students, using only the resources available in the camp. Two students were trained to light the play, and cue sheets were made for them. At one of the Responses from the Actors rehearsals, I asked one student to provide appropriate background music. The next day, he played a Truong Vo Hoang Dung: I was so nervous Bach prelude, which certainly intensified the mood when I was chosen to act in the play, but I couldn't of the play. refuse that job. I thought that it would be difficult 79 24 PASSAGE

for me, because I had never acted. For me, the it was a performance with a big audience. Itwas not most important thing was not to be shy, but I'm smooth, but as I acted longer, the show became always shy. It was so hard for my ESL teacher, the smoother and better. After each performance, I'ma director of the play, to teach me not to be shy. He little less shy, and a little better in conversation. If always told me to forget that I'm Dung, to be the I'm asked to speak in front of people, I'll be ready character in the play.It was really hard for me to to talk. It improved my English. get into the character, because I always forgot what Tran Xuan Tien: In class, when I was chosen to do while I was practicing the play. Sometimes I to act in the play, I was so afraid, because I had didn't give the correct feeling for what I said. The never done any acting before. And also I found it rehearsals went for quite a long time, and I think very difficult to memorize all the lines in the script, that was a good thing for me so I wouldn't be shy as well as how to deliver the lines in an acceptable when I was in the seal performances. The first time way. Not only that, I had to act so the audience

Right and Below: PASS students Tran Xuan Tien and Truong Vo Hoang Dung as the "Just Between You and Me" brothers at an outdoor drama performance at the PRPC.

Photos by Dan Pamintuan.

NIm't_.:1

80 de la Paz/Just Between You and Me 25

would understand us easily.I tried to refuse, but Luan:My kite is a good one.It can go up against the my teacher (also my director) encouraged me. Final- wind. How I wish our friends could see this. I'm sure they'd ly, I agreed to act, because I wanted to experience it. envy me, Come, little brother, help me fly the kite. You'll When we had all agreed, we started our work and like it, too. This one is different, not like the others. They tried our best to practice. The director did many could not get up high and would not even glide. But look at things to make us understand the story. He helped this one. It looks like a fighter in the sky. (Glances at his me correct m, pronunciation and other things, too. brother.) What's the matter with you? Come here and join As days pa , A by, I got tired of practicing. We me.I'll let you hold the string as long as you like. Come did so many rehearsals! But because of this, we on. What takes you so long getting up? Hurry up, while the were able to finish our work, and the practice wind is at its best. became polished. After the shows, I became a self- Dung: I'm not interested. confident person.I am not so shy now when I Luan:Did I hear right? (Dung does not answer.) What's speak to another person. And after the show, I find wrong with you? You used to like flying kites. You even myself improving with my English. asked me to rush making this one. Stand up and join me now. I want you to enjoy flying this one. Dung:I said I'm not interested. Luan:Are you sick?(Looks at his brother.)I don't JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME1 think you are. You're strong as a bull. (Coaxes Dung.) Just by Jovito de la Paz take a good look at this. With just a shake of the hand, it soars like a jet plane. It goes higher and higher as long as Cast: you've got the strings. Why not give it a try? Dung:I don't like it. Tran Xuan Tien as the Big Brother Luan:You'll life it. Truong Vo Iloang Dung as the Little Brother I'll teach you how tc make it glide better.I told you this is not the same as the ones we had Production Staff: before. This one is stronger and lighter.It's also easy to handle, just like chopsticks. Jovy de la Paz Stage Director Dung:I don't care. Sammy Salter Stage Manager Luan:You're in a bad mood. Why? No answer.)I Ly Vinh Phuc Music Manager think I know. (Teases his brother.) You're in love. Ileng Kim Sung Light Manager Dung: No! Truong Ai Phan Light Manager Luan:Yes, you are. May San Juan Make-up Manager Dung: I'm not! Valerie Ilaugen Publicity Manager Luan:Then come and join me flying the kite. You used Tran Nsoc Kim Anh Stage Crew to love this. You wouldn't even need an invitation to hold Le Thi Thy Xuan Stage Crew the string. You'd just grab it.(Dung grunts.) Maybe it's Chhieng Muy Chheng Stage Crew true. (Teases -his brother again.) You don't like to fly the .1111...a.a...... -SoeungPhannarith- -Stage Crew kite because you're thinking of someone else someone Pheng Rithea Stage Crew very special. Nguyen Bui !Thai Stage Crew Dung: That's not true! Luan:Tell me. Who is she? The play had eight performances at the PRPC andtwo Dung: Stop it! performances at the International School in Manila. Luan:All right then, but don't shout at me. I only want you to enjoy this kite.Look again.It dives like a real Excerpt from Just Between You and Me fighter. There. There it goes again! See? I told ycu this is (A one-act play in two scenes by Jovito de la Paz) real fun!If Quang would sec this, he'd surely envy me. I don't like him.He's selfish and he envies anybody who Characters:Luan, the big brother (14 years old) outsmarts him. (To Dung.) Keep away from him. Quang is Dung, the little brother (13 years old) a troublemaker. (Looks back at his kite.) Hey, look at this again.It's so steady now. This time it looks like a hawk! Scene I.Palawan, PhilippineFirst Asylum Camp The wind just keeps it there. It is so nice to look at! Come, (PFAC). December 1983.One windy afternoon at the little brother, don't miss the fun! Stand up and join me here. seashore. A small, old outrigger with bamboo poles on both Dung: You go on and leave me alone. sides is in the background. Luan flies his kite along the Luan:I can't understand you. You were in such a hurry shore.He's in high spirits and is enjoying flying the kite. for me to finish this kite. Now that it's up in the air flying Seated close to the boat is his younger brother, Dung. He with all its might, you won't even stir from your scat. "lu're has a sad, far-away look in his eyes. so strange today. What's wrong with you? 81 26 PASSAGE

Dung:Nothing is wrong with me. fly the kite. But I won't. Luan:Nothing? How come you're acting like that? Luan:Sometimes I don't know what to do withyou. (Dung does not answer.)All right. If nothing is wrong You're so stubborn. with you, come and hold this for a while. You'll enjoy Dung:I want to see Father and Mother,our little brothers this. and sister. I want to go home. Dung:I can't! Luan:Then go home and leave me alone! Luan: Why not? Dung: (Starts to cry.)I want to go home. Dung: I don't like. it! Luan:Come on, don't cry.I'm sorry I shouted at you. Luan: It's true then. But please don't make it so hard forme. I was only teasing Dung:What? you.I don't want you to be sad. We'rea thousand miles Luan:You're in love. away from home. Our parents told me to take goodcare of Dung:No! you. I do, don't I? So please, don't cry. Luan:With whom? Tell me. Dung:Each time I think of home, I become sad. Dung: Stop it! Luan:Who.isn't? I, too, become sad whenever I think of Luan: I won't tell anybody. home.-Bift it won't help usany. We've got to do something Dung:Please! else something that will keep is busy like flying this Luan: Just between you and me. kite. That's why I want you to jJinme. I know how you Dung:Please stop it! feel. But we need to be strong, likeour kite that flies in the Luan:(Continues teasing.)Trang? Is it Trans? sky.If we arc, we'll always be up high. Don'tyou see? Dung:No! Father and Mother want us to b. here. We haveno future in Luan:Now I know. our land. Our parents sacrificed a lot. Four bars of gold isa Dung:What do you know? fortune. We're lucky we made it here. Others I heardwere Luan: Trang. She's the girl you're in love with. not lucky enough to reach the shore. But wearc. Dung:That's not true! Dung:Why didn't Father and Mother come with us? Luan:Yes, it's true. You don't want to fly the kite Luan:They'd like to, but we still have little brothersand a because you're thinking of her. I saw you in class looking at sister. Our parents cannot afford to pay the boatman forall of her many times. Then you became very quiet. Maybe you're us. So they decided we go first. dreaming of her. Dung:We've been here for such a long time. Dung:That's not true! Luan:And not long from now, we'll be in Bataan. Luan:Not true? Then why don't you stand up and join Dung:We always keep on waiting. me here? Luan:While-wevidiCwe can fly the kite. Look,now it's Dung:That's it!You're saying that so you.. make me moving swiftly and beautifully.

Jovito de la Paz has been Richard Lambrecht, who has an ESL instructor in the PASS been involved in the PASS pro- program at the Philippine Refu- gram at the PRPC since January gee Processing Center since 1986. .s the curriculum develop October 1985. Previously, he er and evaluator for American taught communicationarts, Studies in that program. Ilis i creative writing, journalism, previous exper;ence includes and t. eater at secondary schools workingwithrefugee and in Manila. Besides writing and migrant students as district read- directing many student producing supervisor in southern Cali- tions, de la Paz has performed in dramas produced by Teatro fornia, and teaching native American students in MoNana. Pilipino at the Cultural Center of the Philippine:. Ile holdsa Lambrecht has an MS in guidance and counseling anda BS in BA in English from Far Eastern University c J is a candidate education from Ea.e:ern Montana University.Ile also holds Ifor a Master's degree in Philippine literature at Ateneo de an MA in English from the University of California, Los Manila University. Angeles.

82 27 Learning to Write: A Demonstration Project

Celsa Aloj ado with Candelaria Tolentino and Sharon Snyder Philippine Refugee Processing Center

When I asked Bonxou to go to the board, her sessions; on the contrary, they were integrated to classmates rushed to defend her, warning me, mutually support each other. This has been calleda "Bonxou no write, no write!" Indeed, during that holistic" approach to language instruction. The first week of classes, Bonxou could not do much purpose of this experimental class, then, was to with pencil and paper. She struggled for over an show that the four language skills could be given hour copying her first name from her name tag, equal emphasis without sacrificing oral/aural resting after each letter as if she had completed a proficiency. long, exhausting walk. She could write, but it was The first day of class was videotaped. Candy an ordeal for her. operated the video equipment, and Sharon took Bonxou, a 53-year-old Lao woman, was one of 14 copious notes, documenting my initial lesson. The students in my r vel A class. There were nine other lights glowed and Sharon scribbled away as I tried Lao students in the class, and four from Vietnam, to find out about the students in the class:their two of whom spoke Chinese as their native needs, interests, background knowledge, and lea:.!- language. The oldest was 55 years old, and the ing strategies. From then on, this diverse group of your gest was 41. All were placed in Level A, but students and I got used to observers and visitors in some had rudimentary writing skills. the classroom. The days when I would be alone Although I had several years of experience teach- with the class were so rare that the students would ing beginning-level refugees at the Philippine Refu- greet me with, "Celsa, only one teacher today? gee Prou.ssing Center (PRPC), I had quite a few Where's Candy? Where's Sharon?" apprehensions about this class, and so did my su- After class each day, Candy, Sharon, and I met for pervisor, Candy Tolentino. The experimental class a reflection session. We analyzed what had occurred was a bit different from the usual low-level ESL in the day's class, looked for likely points of depar- classes. This was to be a demonstration/experi- ture for the future, and discussed tile next day's mental laboratory class for an instructional approach lesson. These were supportive, interesting sessions, that had been described to us by our program and I looked forward to them. I believe they have officer, Sharon Snyder. been a great help in my professional growth. Although the four language skill areas of listening, Candy and I both grew more at ease and more speaking, reading, and writing are all taught in confident about the project as it progressed. The Level A classes, reading and writing skills have rather abstract concepts we were using as a basis for traditionally been given less emphasis than the the class began to take shape, as we prepared others. More time in A-level ESL classes has been materials for the lesso :: and tried out teaching spent developing the oral communication skills that techniques. The materials were high-interest illus- would enable students to survive in the U.S. trated books, magazines, and brochures. We em- Reading and writing have generally been limited to a ployed a range of techniques, all of them aimed at few sightwords and form-filling exercises. promoting student independence (from the teacher) In this demonstration class, reading and writing and integrating language skills instruction. The skills played an equal role with the listening and students, at fir :t uneasy in this non-traditional speaking skills. The four skills were not handled classroom, eventually showed satisfying progress separately in reading/writing and listening/speaking and enthusiasm. 83 28 PASSAGE

Figure 1:Two students retrace Tii their journeys.

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Rat onale not only from the students' varied pasts, but also from occurrences in the classroom. Instructional The rationale underlying our holistic approach to strategies must be designed to provide such expe- literacy instruction can be summarized in seven riences (Eisner 1982). points. 4. Learning is social. Language learning is sup- 1. Written language is learned in the same way ported by peer and other interpersonal interactions. and with the same ease as oral language, when Individuals participating in group literacy "events" occurring in a functional context. In other words, are able to collaborate with one another, share literacy instruction is to be approached not as simply experiences, and support one another's literacy decoding symbols, but as a way of accomplishing experiments. This means that there will be talking in things.Official forms, street signs, and student- the classroom as students read, write, or draw created writing play an important rc:e in this (Halliday 1978). approach (Harste, Woodward, and Burke 1984). 5. Literacy is a lifelong process. All participants 2. Meaning is central to both oral and written in the holistic classroom teacher, supervisor, and language. Imagine how difficult it would be to learn students are involved in adding to their current to speak if one were mostly exposed to only the store of literacy knowledge (Harste, Woodward, random sounds that English uses if one heard and Burke 1984). sounds like eeeee or zzzzz and were somehow 6. A low-risk environment encourages learning. expected to turn them into words. Similarly, literacy The learners should feel that they have the frt.,,dom learners can he confused by materials that divide to experiment and that they are the most important lang,in ;-,.., into meaningless segments. They learn monitors of their learning. They need to develop more readily when the reading materials are based self-conridence and trust in themselves as they lam on their language use and current experiences with to read and write (Graves 1982). the language (Goodman and Goodman 1980). 7. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking 3. Background knowledge and experiences are interact in a mutually supportive way. It does not key contributors to written and oral language confuse the student when a!: these language skills comprehension. These experiences can be drawn are used in class from the very beginning. Rather, 84 Alojado et al./Leaming to Write 29

each reinforces understanding of the languageas a These ma' rials were always available forstu- whole (Weaver 1980). dents who ./ad finished working on their assigned tasks ahead of their classmates. Gradually, they developed the habit of reading and browsing Classroom Activities through the materials in theirspare time befcre, after, and during the class. One ofmy students would always be at the classroom early, awaiting Even in the early classes of our demonstration my arrival to ask, "Teacher, you have new books project, activities attempted to reflect the expressed today?" needs and interests of the students, encouraging Book exploration helps the teacher know whatthe them to take responsibility for their learning. At class interests are, and aids in planning lessons for first, students had a very difficult time expressing subsequent sessions. The books that generated the themselves in English, so they used gestures and most interest in our experimental classwere drawings to communicate. We encouraged thisso illustrated books about sewing, gardening,transpor- they would understand that it was all right to askus tation, and the U.S. Students also liked picture dic- how to say the things they wanted to talk about in tionaries, maps, news magazines, automobilemaga- English. From the practice of asking the teacher to zines, and even story books intended for children. help, students gradually became used to relyingon The bilingudi dictionaries kepton hand were in other resources, such as dictionaries, notes, phrase- constant use. books, and their peers. In the activity called "news reporting," the students Teacher-made stories were developed and used to initiate, and the teacher guides. A Vietnamesestu- introduce topics for class discussion. An example dent, Nhung, wanted to share what he had wit- illustrates how such stories serve not onlyas a nessed in his neighborhood the previous evening. demonstration of conversational English, but also Two Amerasian youngsters had gotten intoa scuffle as a springboard for student-initiated language and were eventually apprehended bycamp author- development. On the third day of class, Candy told ities. Nhung, pantomiming a fighter'smovements, the class about a trip she had taken to Hong Kong. told us that they had been "bming." "Thetwo When she described her problems at the customs Amerasians were fighting," I explained. "Boxing desk in the airport, the students reacted with and fighting are the same?" another student wanted emotion, recalting their escape from their countries. to know, so I explained the difference. A Laoman Since they could not explain their feelings in wanted to know what an Amerasian is. After I English, various facial expressions were drawnon explained, the students blurted out that therewere the board. Later, the students tried to shareexpe- many Amerasians in the room next door. Similar riences about their journeys from Laos and Vietnam incidents were recorded regularly inour news to their countries of first;ylum. We encouraged reporting activity. Students sharednews they got them to use gestures, fawal expressions, illustra- through the grapevine in their neighborhoods, letters tions, and such English expressions as "Please from friends and relatives, or things they'd read write," "Please read," and "What is this in English?" about or heart'. through news media. Students were able to illustrate their journeys, The news reporting procedure begins, with the showily, how they travelled, who their companions students recalling what interesting events they've were, and how they felt (see Figure 1). Some stu- heard or seen recently. These might be shared dents were more interested in illustrating the kind of through p:ctures and gestures, as wellas words. lives they had in their homelands. There is usually a great deal of peer teaching at this Another way the teacher initiates, and then allows point, as well. The teacher supplies the English the students to guide, is through the use of books in terms needed and then guides a re-telling of the the classroom. "Free reading and book exploration" news in English. Summarizing after each student's was one of the activities we used in the class. contribution, the teacher writes the newson the During this time, students were free to read any of blackboard, being sure to include the reporter's the books, atlases, pamphlets, and magazines that name: "Last night at 7:00, Nhung saw two Amer- had been placed on tables in the room. Students asians fighting. A soldier came and took them to were given an hour to explore the reading materials. jail." The collected news items provide worthwhile, They looked over all the covers and chose whatever h:gh-interest reading material for the entire class. they wanted to browse through. Those who could When selecting any technique for use in the class, not yet read the materials enjoyed looking at the vie use Snyder's (1987) standard set of criteria: illustrations, and asked me or their classmates the 1.Will this connect with the students' uack- English words for the pictured items. grounds? 10 PASSAGE

figure 2:Record of an average student's progress during the 12 weeks of instruction.

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88 Alojado et al./Learning to Write 31

2. Are supponing communication systems (e.g., with the class sessions they visited and have illustrations with text, reading while listening,peer incorporated the new approaches into theirown consultation while writing) built in? lessons. Throughout ESL classes at A and B levels, 3. Will this allow students to discover something teachers are showing that reading and writing donot about language? Will it extend their present knowl- have to be delayed until there is substantialoral edge about language systems? proficiency in English. Our refugee adult students 4. Will the student succeed? Is the activity open- are learning all the language skills in a supportive ended? Can the student respond a* his/herown and responsive classroom atmosphere. level? REFERENCES

Conclusion Eisner, E.W. 1982. Cognition and curriculum:a basis for deciding what to teach. New York: Longman. The example of an average student's progress Goodman, K.S. and Y.M. Goodman. 1980. Learningto read is natural. In Theory and practice of early reading, L.B.Res- during the 12 weeks of instructio:l (see Figure 2) nick and P.A. Weaver (Eds.), Vol. 2. Hillsdale, New Jersey: shows clearly how successful our approachwas in Erlbaum. helping students learn to write. The students' speak- Graves, D.H. 1982. Writing: teachers and childrenat work. ing and listening skills were also affected. The Portsmouth, New Hampshire: illeinemann. Work Orientation MO) instructors who taught them Halliday, M.A.K. 1978. Meaning and the construction ofreali- for the six weeks before departure to the U.S. ty in early childhood. In Modes of perceiving and processing noticed some particularly assertive, independent information, H.L. Pick, Jr. and E. Salzman (Eds.),Hillsdale, learners in their Cycle 76 classes. Thesewere our New Jersey: Erlbaum. 14 "experimental subjects." In our class, students Harste, LC., V.A. Woodward, ar.d C.A. Burke. 1984. Language stories and literacy lessons.Portsmouth, New Hampshire: learned that they need to play an important and Heinemann. influential role in the learning process, and now they Snyder, Sharon. 1987. Unpublished workshop handout. Bataan, were letting their WO teachers know it. Philippines. One of the unforeseen outcomes of the demonstra- Weaver, Constance. 1980. Psycholinguistics and reading: from tion class has been the production of new materials. process to practice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Winthrop. Our large-format, illustrated story bookswere particularly popular. The stories, based on folk tales and legends from our students' own countries, Celsa Alojado became a provided easy reading and built student confidence. Learning Resource Center co- The large format allowed the entire class to follow ordinator at the Philippine the story together, and the familiarity of the tale Refugee Processing Center allowed the readers to predict what words would (PRPC) after six years of appear. Now a whole series of these story books is teaching A- and B-level ESL planned, and production is already under way. classes. P. :or to joining the The demonstration class fulfilled its purpose. International Citholic Migra- Many instructors and supervisors were impressed tion Commission staff at the PRPC, she taught elementary Alojado holds a Master's degree in special education from the University of the Philippines. Sharon Snyder is the program officer for instruction of the A and B levels of ESL at the Philippine Refugee P-o- Candelaria "Candy" To. cessing Center in Bataan. lentino has been an ESL Before joining the staff there st.pervisor at the PRPC since in 1986, she was a reading 1982. She was also an ESL instructor at Indiana Universi- instructor there from March ty, where she earned her PhD 1981 to November 1982. Pre- in reading education.Snyder viously, s,',e was a language has done reading tutoring j..r beginning readers and ESL coordinator for the US. Peace students in the U.S. and has conducted research on reading Corps Philippines and taught instruction and literacy.In addition to her doctorate, she ESL at a private secondary holds a BA in German from Bluffton College in Ohio and school in Hawaii.She holds a BS in education from the an MA in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania. University of SanAgustin in Iloilo City, Philippines.

87 32 PASSAGE What can you do? Developing Résumés in A-B Work Orientation Classes

Lolita Calaycay Philippine Refugee Processing Center

According to at least one survey, the most confidence. This arrangement also helps teachers common problem for Indochinese refugees in oversee the writing of 8-24 student résumés, one getting a job is their inability to identify and describe step at a time. their past woric experience (Literacy 85 1983). This Each résumé has five sec:ions: Personal Data, work-related information is necessary to provide a Work Experience (paid or unpaid), Summary of basis for appropriate job development, counseling, Skills, Personal Qualities, and Education and and placement for the refugees in the U.S. Special Classes (see Figure 1). The schedule below The A-B level Work Orientation (WO) component was suggested for completing the résumés in two at Bataan considered this information and put weeks' time. together a series of activities that enables students to produce a comprehensive résumé by the end of their six weeks in WO classes. When the idea was first SCHEDULE suggested, reactions ranged from "A résumé for A-B students, that's great!" to "What will an A-B Résumé Section Se-luence Time Allotment student do with a résumé? It might work for C-D-E, Personal Data First Week One Segment* but not for A-B." The negative reactions did not stop us from Work Experience Second WeekTwo Segments pursuing the idea, sime we believed that if anyone needs a résumé, it's the A-B student who Summary of Skills Second WeekThree Segments because of nervousness and limited English too often reverts to saying, "I don't have any skills," Personal Qualities Second WeekTwo Segments during interviews with U.S. employers. A well- written résumé given to the job developer, case- Education and Second WeekOne Segment worker, or American employer provides a compre- Special Classes

hensive employment profile of the refugee, and 'One segment equals one hour. betters his or her chances fo:. employment. The main factors we consider 1 when designing the activities were the characteristics and needs of our refugee students. Most had been housekeepers, The résumé is introduced at the beginning of the students, farmers, or self-employed in their home- "Finding W irk" unit during the first week of WO lands, and many had been unemployed since 1975. classes. The concept of a résumé and its importance Because many don't have recent paid work are discussed. At this time, students fill out the expe_ence, they feel limited in what they can offer Personal Data section of the résumé forms, and the employers in the U.S. Therefore, the activities we teacher collects them. They are to be returned to the developed for the résumé packet help students class each time information has been prepared for identify the many marketable skills they may have that day's resume section. acquired in paid or unpaid settings. We decided to Students start identifying their marketable skills spread the activities over two weeks of classes, in through hearing stories about men and women who order to give the students time to understand the lack paid work experiences. This activity also content thoroughly, while gradually building their enhances the students' self-esteem They come to 88 Calaycay/What can you do? 33

Figure 1

RESUME

NAME

ADDRESS :

WORK EXPERIENCE (Include paid and unpaid):

1. Title'

Name of Company:

Address:

Dates Worked:

Duties:

2. Tt le:

Name of Company:

Address:

Dates Worked:

Duties:

3. (repeat for each position held)

SUMMARY OF SKILLS:

PERSONAL QUALITIES:

EDUCATION:

Special Classes: Three (3) months of Intensive English as a Second Language and Cultural and Work Orientation Training.

realize that although they may not have experience and cooks meals for her family. She sews her at paid work, they still have skills that are market- family's clothes. Anh has a flower garden she is able in the U.S.In telling the stories, the WO proud of. She takes care of the garden and sells teacher is assisted by a bilingual assistant teacher, as extra flowers to a flower shop in Saigon. needed. 2. Son is a student. He lives with his parents and five brothers in Vietnam. His grandfatht... lives Sample Stories with them. His grandfather is 75 years old and partially paralyzed. Son helps his mother at home 1. Anh Truang is 40 years old. She lives in by taking care of his grandfather. He feeds him Saigon with her husband, four children, and her and helps him bathe. Son loves to tell stories to parents. Anh's husband works from 8:00 a.m. his grandfather about school and the things he to 5:00 p.m. She goes to the market every day saw on his way to and from school. He also

1. t4. .+,.... 89 34 PASSAGE

Figure 2

Mr. HUYNH VAN TRUONG 650 Washington St., Apt. B9 Grandview, MO 64030

WORK EXPERIENCE: Janitor, Warehouse Philippine Refugee Processing Center Bataan, Phiiopines December 1986 to April 1987

Duties: Cleaned baskets, followed orders, sort-Nd and filed baskets according to size and colors.

Tailor Pulau Bidong, Malaysia 1985 to 1986

Duties: Sewed shirts and pants, repaired clothes, designed clothes, measured and cut clothes.

Tailor Soc Triang, Hau Giang 1980 to 1984

Duties: Sewed shirts and pants, measured and cut Both.

SUMMARY OF SKILLS: Sewing, washing dishes, designing clothes, measuring skills, cooking Vietnamese food, following directions, organizing people, supervising, making simple electrical repairs

PERSONAL QUALITIES: Honest, punctual, can acc ct criticism, yet along with people, task-oriented

EDUCATION: Grade 12, High School graduate Saigon, Vietnam

SPECIAL CLASSES: Three (3) months Intensive English as a Second Language and Cultural and Work Orientation Training

helps his father on the farm with planting, several skills. Teachers have observed that ex- weeding, harvesting, and preparing food for the perience in buying and selling is often identified by poultry and pigs. the Vietnama,t, farming and fishing by the Lao and Khmer, and sewing and weaving by women of all The teacher can then ask, "What can Son and Anh ethnic groups. The data gathered during this activity do?" and, "What jobs can they apply for?" After is entered in the Summary of Skills and Work Ex- discussing the stories, the students are asked to list periences sections of the résumé. their owl, ;kJ's. This activity is very helpful for the Working through the Multiple J,,v) Skills checklist students, and they are usually able to identify from the Refugee Assessment Packa6t (AIR 1985) 90 Calaycay/What can youdo? 35

is the next activity. This checklist helps students 3. Use pesticides identify the kinds of tasks theycan do well and 4. Butcher animals those they can do with some assistance. This information is entered in the summary of Skills The information resulting from this checklistis section. Among the skills included on the checklist entered in the Work Experiences section of the are managing time effectively, teaching facts or résumé. skills to others, and learning a new skill quickly. The information for the Education andSpecial Studer:., identify their interests related to employ- Classes sections of the resume is elicited byasking rnent with the use of the Personal Interest Checklist, the students about their educational background also derived from the Refugee Assessment Package. and classes they attended in the camp. Thiscompletes They add the resulting information to the Personal the résumé. (A sample completed résuméappears in Qualities section of the résumé. With this checklist, Figure 2.) students can identify their interests, such as working Although the emphasis in all the activitiesis with people, things, or data. Careful explanation is eliciting the necessary data for the résumé, the needed here stu- many teachers find that students ',re dents acquire other skills along theway. They learn confused, because they associate the concept ..)f the language needed to "sell oneself,e.g., "I can "interest" with free time activities. Class discussion ...," "No, tut I can...," "No, but I am...." of the work-related interests included in the check- The activities also make the students feel goodabout list generally helps reducc: the confusion. In addi- themselves as they realize that their skillsare useful tion, teachers use a list of jobs categorized by in the American workplace. interest group, as in the following example: At present, each WO teacher eithertypes the résumés or prints them clearly. Studentsare instructed to have the printed résumés typedas soon JOBS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO as they arrive in the U.S. It is our goal at Level A-B PERSONAL INTEREST Work Orientation to send every refugee studentto the U.S. with a typewritten résumé. With tb;s People Jobs Activity Jobs Data Jobs document, their resettlement will havea be chance for a successful beginning. Public relations Gardener/ Records/logistics landscaper coordinator REFERENCES Hotel worker Farmer Bookkeeper American Institutes for Research, Refugee Demonstration Restaurant worker Assembly worker Computer Project.1985.Refugee assessment package.Palo Alto, programmer California:AIR. Literacy 85.1983.ESLIemployment survey: job-related problems identified by employers of Indochinese.Saint Paul, Minnesota:Author. The next activity in the series helps students identify skills they have acquired from their work experience. This is done by giving out a list of typical jobs the students had in their native country or in the camp, with corresponding skills listed for Lolita "Lita" Calaycay each. The material is translated into the native lan- has been a supervisor in the guage. The foil , ving (English) examples illustrate: A-B level Work Orientation component at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center Business/Sales since 1986. Since 19:1, she 1. Count supplies has also served as a Cultural 2. Keep records Orientation (CO) instructor 3. Use calculators, cash registers and supervisor including 4. Negotiate credit :4 ts 1..,,, two years as a COsuper./isor S. Formulate prices of merchandise in the training program for Ethiopian refugees in the 6. Supervise other employees Sudan. Previously, she was a project director for Peace Corps Philippines and a college instructor. Calaycay holds Farming an MA in education from Philippine Normal College and is a candidate for a PhD in administration and supervision 1. Repair tools and equipment from Centro Escolar University. 2. Choose quality seeds 91 .11.41111=1. FROMPASS70PRESENT MINI=IMMr

The Preparation for American SecondarySchools (PASS) program prepares Indochinese refugee youth in Bataan and PhanatNikhom for the American high school experience. The photographs in this photo essay showwhat that experience has been like for three recent PASS graduates:Pasith Sivilay, an 18-year-old Lao boy; Oanh Nguyen, a 16-year-old Amerasiangirl; and Chinh Nguyen, Oanh's 15-year-old uncle.

Photographs by John Ranard and Maryan Milam. Text by Donald A. Ranard. Steven Epstein also contributed to the text.

Photo by John Ranard

Oanh (far left) and Chinh (second from right) in a beginning-levelESL class at Vocational Technical Center called VoTech which houses Virginia Beach's high school ESL program. "Atfirst they were shy," says their ESL teacher, Nikki Galantis,"but in a few days 25 in the U.S., has about 100 Indochinese studants; they felt at home."The Virginia Beach school system, considered one of the top Oanh and Chinh are its first PASS graduates. , 92 At 7 a.m., Chinh boards the school bus a few blocks from his apartment. Virginia Beach's 285 square miles is a mixture of urban, suburban, and rural. It takes Chinh 30 minutes to get to school. Photo by John Ranard

Pasith in an advanced-level ESL, class at Patrick Henry High School. Patrick Henry has about 200 Lao students nearly 10 percent of the student population. They are bused to Patrick Henry considered on of the better schools in San Diego from low-income neighborhoods, as part of an effort to achieve racial balance in the school system.

Photo by Maryan Milam

Accompanied by his parents and two brothers, Pasith arrived in San Diego in the summer of 1986, joining his uncle, who had resettled there ten years earlier. Because of its mild climate and proximity to Camp Pendleton one of three reception centers for the 1975 wave of Indochinese refugees San Diego has one of the largest Indochinese communities in the United States. Its population of about 2 million includes over 40,000 Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao, and Hmong refugees. That same summer, Oanh and Chinh, along with Oanh's mother and younger sister, arrived in Virginia Beach,Virginia, sponsored by a local Catholic church. A medium-sized (population 360,000) coastal city irt southeasternVirginia's Tidewater area, Virginia Beach has a small and largely self-sufficient Vietnamese community. A few months after their arrival in the U.S., Chinh and Oanh became sophomores at Virginia Beach'sKellam High School. In San Diego, Pasith entered the tenth grade at Patrick Henry High School. 93 Photo by John Ranard '

Holding a lollipop a Valentine's Day gift from teacher Nikki Galantis Chinh leads his ESL class in an exercise. Earlier, the class gave the teacher a bouquet of fluwers.

Below left: Pasith asks bilingual consumer math teacher Khampeng a question about an assignment. Khampeng,a Lao refugee who came to the U.S. in 1975, says Pasith is on.. of his best students. He will recommend Pasith for algebra next year. Below right: Pasiih's art teacher shows him a pottery tech ique. "Lao students often add inter ling designs to their clay pots,"says the art teacher.

Se sit "all -suit- tl

.Photo by Maryon 1.4bam Photo by Mogan Mlam 94 " They're eager to learn."

"If Oanh and Chinh are any indication, PASS is a great program," says Virginia Beach ESL teacher Nikki Galantis. "They havea ways to go, but they're very enthusiastic. And they know to speak up when they don't understand something." At Patrick Henry High School in San Lego, ESL teacher Jane Person says Pasith is "highly motivated, a top-notch student. Youcan see that he's been in an academic environment," she says. "He's accustomed to the discipline of going to school every day." Her three best students are PASS graduates. Pasith's bilingual math teacher Khampeng Phabmixay, a i..no refugee who came to the U.S. in 1975, is equally enthusiastic about the PASS program. "I've dealt with kids who went through PASS and those who didn't," says Khampeng, "and 95 percent who went through PASS are much better prepared and better behaved. They have much more preparation in English. And they know how the u system works how to read a class catalogue and when to 111=1 go b a counselor's office." Eighteen-year-old Pasith, who was an advanced-level ift 3: 1111 student in PASS, plans to graduate from Patrick Henry in two years. San Diego's age limit for high school students is 19, but school authorities say that in some cases the age limit can be extended for a year. After graduation, Pasith would like to study computer programming at a junior college an ambition his teachers say is within reach but is torn between continuing his education and getting a job to help support his family. In Virginia, the age limit for high school students is 22, which gives Oanh and Chinh more time but they have further to go. Both Chinh and Oanh were beginning-level students at PASS. "They'-f: got a chance to graduate," says fi w ESL teacher Nik..i Galantis, "but it won't be easy."

Chinh works a math puzzle in a general math class, where he is an A-student. Chinh's math teacher says that Chinh has enough math for algebra but needs to improve his English.

Below /aft: Oanh and Chinh receive three hours of ESL a day, for which they get credit. Here ESL teacher Nikki Galantis works with Oanh."She works very hard," says Galantis."She gets very upset if she gets less than a C." Below right: ESL teacher Jane Person with Pasith, who receives two hours of ESL a day. Person uses a content.based approacl., teaching language in the context of subject mailer units, such as U.S. history and geography.

Photo by John Ranard Plato by Maryut Mims ss. .. Phob by Maryan Milam

New Kid in School

013.uptat It's hard to be a new kid in school even hard-r if you're from another country. For the most part, Pasith, Oanh, and Chinh spend their free time alone or with other Indochinese students.

All three say they would like to make friends with their classmates. "The Lao at Patrick Henry want to fit in,"says photographer Maryan Milam, "but most of them don't know how."

"Maybe, when my English is better, I can findsome Amer- ican friends," says Pasith.

,AN

Photo by John Ranard

96 Photo by John Ranard

Ott

Left: Standing in the cafeteria line, Chinh shares a joke with another Vietnamese student as Oanh looks on. School in Vietnam was not a happy experience for Oanh, an Amerasian. ra, -c "In Vietnam, they call me number ten," she says. In Vietnamese, "number ten" means "very bad."

"4-7-91115Photo by John Ranard

Facing page, top:Pasith heads for his ceramics class.Left, jacing page:At the end of the school day, Chinh gets a book from his locker.

Photo by John Ranard

Above: During lunch time in the school cafeteria, Chink and Oanh sit with other Vietnamese students. Left: Oanh with another Vietnamese girl on the school bus.

97 Photo byMaryanNam

Pasith in a coed game of touch football."I saw more mixing between the two groups in Pr. than anywhere else," says photographer Maryan Milam.

School offers opportunities for Pasith, Oanh, and Chinh to Making New Friends mix with other students. In sewing class, Oanh works on a project with several classmates a black American student, a Filipino, and a Vietnamese. In math class, where Chinh is the top student, a classmate has asked Chinh to teach him Vietnamese.

Sports seem to offer the most opportunities for interaction. "There's no language barrier on the football field," says Pasith's PE coach, who gives his Lao students high marks for athletic ability.

98 Left: Oanh in PE class. Lashella McKenzie, one of Oanh 's classmates, often talks to Oanh about Vietnam. "My father is an MIA there, so I ask Oanh a lot of questions about Vietnam," Lashella says. Oanh also asks Lashella a lot of A questions.Some of the kids think Oanh is quiet," says Lashella, "but she's not. She's always asking questions like 'What do you call this in English?' She wants to learn so much sz fast."

Photo tr! John Ranard

Right: Oanh and two classmates in sewing class. The class uses a task-based approach, which provides Oanh with opportunities to interact with other students.

Photo by John Ranard

Right: Chinh and a classmate after a soccer game in PE class. Chinh's skill at soccer has gained him the admiration of his classmates. "He's small, but fast," says one classmate, who has encouraged Chinh to go out for the school soccer team.

Photo by John Ranard 99 44 PASSAGE

Developing ESL Literacy inYoung Children: A Whole LanguageApproach

Else Pramayan,Illinois Resource Center, Arlington Heights Illinois Margo Ifleger,Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington,D.C.

This article is the first of a two-part series on ESL literacy developmentin limited-English proficient children from non-literate or low literacy backgrounds. Fartone describes the way that literacy emerges naturally in children in a literate society andargues for a whole language approach, which encourages the natural development of literacy. The article is adapted from a handbook developed for teachers in Preparing Refugees for ElementaryPrograms, a program in the Philippine Refugee Processing Center that prepares refugee children forentry into U.S. schools.

During "story time" every evening, little Sally one, a child learns two very important things about cuddles up to her mother to listen once again to her reading. He or she learns that reading is enjoyable favorite story, The Three Little Pigs. At other times, cuddling up to a parent who brings alive the Sally sits on the floor of her bedroom and fillsup wonderful world of fantasy can be a joyful time for page after page of computer printout paper her a child. And, by seeing mother point to the same father is a computer programmer with multicol- configuration of symbols when shesays (for ored squiggles made with felt pens. Her "writing" is example), "the three little pigs," the child learns that lavishly praised and put on a wall for everyone to print represents speech. see. In literate environments, the ability to write devel- In contrast, there is no "story time" in young ops easily in children, who seem to have an intrinsic Bounma's house, because his parents cannot read or desire to produce written language. Their initial write. There are no books, felt pens, or writing attempts at writing usually take the form of squig- paper in his house. By the time Bounma starts gles and lines; these eventually turn into pictorial school, he does not realize that reading and writing representations and then into forms resembling can be fun and that written symbols represent words. This is the stage some researchers call meaning. "mock writing" (Graves 1982). Ata later stage, children invent their own spelling, but doso sys- How Children Learn to Read tematically and in a rule-governed way. and Write The awareness of literacy that comes naturally to children raised in literate homes may be out of reach for children from non-literate backgrounds. For this Most children in literate societies are introduced to reason, it is crucial that literacy programs introduce reading in a very natural and pleasurable way: by reading and writing in ways that encourage their seeing a parent immersed in books and magazines, natural evolution. Yet traditional methods of and through the immensely enjoyable experience of teaching ESL literacy to children from non-literateor "story time." A parent who obviously values read- low literacy backgrounds not only do not encourage ing teaches children by example to value reading literacy to develop naturally, but sometimes counter- themselves. By sharing "story time" with a loved act it.

- .2. 100 Hamayan & Pfleger/A Whole Language Approach 45

The failure of traditional methods has caused many difference in how L2 literacy develops: Olderstu- teachers to turn to more innovative methods that dents (ages 11-15) are able to think logically about promote reading and writing by taking into account abstract notions and are better preparedto analyze the child's total language needs. A whole language language forms. As a result, theycan benefit from approach does just that. And since it includes explanations of language riles and from tasks that various methodologies and strategies, a whole promote reading and writing for their own sake. But language approach provides teachers with the with younger students, such an approachmay be flexibility to find the most effective combination of frustrating and lead to negative attitudes toward activities. reading and writing, which in turnmay lead to poor A whole language approach is guided by three literacy habits. principles that promote the natural emergence of Ll literacy also makes a difference in theway that literacy in young children: L2 literacy develops. Students literate in their native I. Introduction to literacy should be meaningful language transfer to the second languagemany Ll (Goodman 1986). Reading something that makes literacy skills, such as theawareness of the con- sense is much easier than reading something that nection between oral language and print. But with does not, since meaningful text provides a rich non-literate students, even those whoare older, context that allows the child to make intelligent literacy should be allowed toemerge in the natural guesses and to predict what lies ahead. Similarly, stages described above. With the exception of older children should begin to write for a meaningful literate students, teaching reading and writing in L2 purpose expressing a thought or a feeling should be based on the same principles that underlie since writing to communicate is easier and more the development of literacy in young children. enjoyable than writing for the sole purpose of improving writing skills. 2. The link between oral language and print is easier to make when awareness of it emerges Failure of Traditional Teaching naturally, rather than when that link is explicitly Methods to Develop Literacy in 12 taught. Children seem to pick up the association between symbols and sounds rather easily from Traditionally, reading in ESL has been taught their environment. In contrast, when rules that through so-called "readers." These readersvary in govern written language are taught formally to the extent to which they incorporate different children, the process is tedious and not alwaysvery teaching methodologies, but they sharesome com- successful (Holdaway 1979). mon characteristics: 3. Affect plays an invaluable role in reading and 1. The focus of reading in traditional readers is writing. A child who enjoys reading is motivated to usually the act of reading, rather than the content of read, will read more, and by doing so, will be a the reading material. This usually results in reading better reader. Similarly, a child who enjoys writing material that is not only uninteresting to children, is motivated to write, will write more, and by doing but often meaningless (Goodman 1986), suchas so, will become a better writer. And since reading this example from a reader written for English- and writing are interrelated, writing frequently speaking children, but used in ESL classes: "Aman improves reading, and vice versa (Smith 1982). can nap. A man can nap in a pit. A cat can nap in a pan." Or this "story" from an ESL basal series: "Yesterday, the elephant drove her car to the beach. How Children Develop Literacy The bear flew his plane. He wore his glasses." The in a Second Language reduced role that meaningful content plays in traditional ESL readers can create an unusually tough burden on children, who often lack the background Developing literacy in a second language (L2) fol- knowledge needed to understand the text. lows the same principles as developing literacy in a 2. Traditional ESL readers generally use phonics first language (L1). An ESL student learning to re' methods, which tend to reduce reading (and writing) and write needs to be introduced to literacy in a to a matter of matching letters with sounds (Good- meaningful way, to make the link between oral lan- man 1986). Unfortunately, the English language has guage and print as naturally as possible, and to have a low ratio of sound/symbol correspondence. Many the opportunity to enjoy reading and writing. symbols represent more than one sound; similarly, However, two additional factors age and liter- many sounds are represented by more than one acy in the first language may play a significant symbol. In addition, it is so rare to have to rely only role in the development of L2 literacy. Age makes a on phonics rules to comprehend written language, : 1..) .1. 101 46 PASSAGE that it is almost not worth the time it takes to teach Using a Whole Language Approach specific rules. 3. Visual recognition of words in isolation is also to Teach Literacy in L2 typical of traditional ESL readers. This not only makes the task of reading much more difficult than it The focus of instruction in a whole language needs to be, but it also contradicts the way in which approach is on meaning. Activities revolve arounda language naturally evolves in children. Children specific content in a real communicative situation don't begin with isolated words (parts) and put them (writing letters to real people) rather than activities together to make a whole (Goodman 1986). Young with no authentic communicative function (copying children repat stories that have just been read to words or tracing letters). In a classroom environ- them by pointing at single words and "reading" ment that makes use of the way language is used in whole chunks of language. For example, the child real life, children are encouraged to take risks and to will point to the word "pig" and say, "the three little use language in all its varieties and at all levels of pigs," rather than the single word "pig." Besides, proficiency. unfamiliar words that occur in natural language are Whole language strategies and activities have the almost always "recognized" or understood through following characteristics: context. Prediction of meaning and guessing the 1. They build on the child's oral language. meaning of a word from the larger context, rather 2. They are intrinsically meaningful and have than teaching the recognition of isolated words, are communication as their primary purpose. skills that we need to encourage young L2 learners 3. They increase motivation by providing reading to develop. material and writing tasks that interest the child. 4. Traditional ESL readers contain language so different, both in form and content, from the learn- In the second part of this article, to be published in the next er's oral language, that prediction of meaning by the issue of Passage, the authors will describe some of the learner is often impossible. methods used in a 21e language approach. Traditional methods of teaching writing can also interfere with the natural development of literacy. Traditionally, we start children with tracing and REFERENCES copying isolated letters and words activities that do not have intrinsic communicative value. More- Goodman, Kenneth. 1986. What's whole in whole language? over, children are, explicitly discouraged from Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. Graves, Donald. 1982. Writing: teachers and children at work. making errors. Accurate spelling is one of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. earliest goals in a traditional writing instruction Holdaway, Don. 1979. The foundations of literacy. Ports- program, though we now know that invented mouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann. spelling is a stage through which the child naturally Smith, Frank. 1982. Understanding reading (3rd ed.). New and necessarily passes (Holdaway 1979). York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Else Hamayan is coordinator Margo Pfleger is a program of Training and Services at associate at the Refugee Service theIllinois Resource Center, Center in Washington, D.C. ArlingtonHeights,Illinois. From 1982 to 1983, she worked She served as consultant to at the PRPC as an ESLIPET the PREP program at the Philip- supervisor and, from 1983 to pine Refugee Processing Center, 1985, served as a staff member where she trained staff in curric- at the Refugee Service Center in ulum development and teaching Manila. She holds an MA in methodology. Hamayan holds a linguistics from Georgetown PhD in Psychology fromMcGill University. University.

102 47 Mental HealthService Deliveryfor Refugees: TrainingParaprofessionals

Irene C. Feisman and RebeccaVerdun-Lanes Philippine Refugee ProcessingCenter

Refugees arrive at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center having experiencedenormous stress in their recent lives. Some are able tocope with this stress through strong, supportive relationships with family, friends, or spiritual leaders. Others lack traditionalsupport systems, and turn to the Community Mental Health andFamily Services program for support and assistance. This article describes howthat agency trains and utilizes the skills of refugee paraprofessionals to helpmeet the social service needs of those less fortunate than themselves.

For Mr. Trang, the dangerous boattrip from concerns common among refugees. The organiza- Vietnam had gone well he, his wife, and three tion giving the presentationwas Community Mental children, along with 17 others, had allarrived in Health and Family Services, Inc. (CMHS). Malaysia safely. Many in thecamp had been less At the end of the presentation, fortunate; stories of family members lost CMHS asked at sea or refugees to volunteer to be trainedas paraprofes- wives and daughters beaten and raped bypirates sionals, working as interpreters and social were common. Additional difficult family situa- service assistants in the program. Mr. Tranghad been a tions had arisen in thecamp: Married couples teach?r in Vietnam and had often been experienced conflicts over role changes, there asked for were advice by neighbors in the first asylumcamp in adolescent pregnancies, andmany were severely Malaysia. Although he had laughed depressed over the loss and separation from loved at the humor in the puppet show, he realized the seriousnessof the ones. For me ,t, these problems had been unfamiliar message. Believing that he could help others and in Vietnam or had been handled by talking at with wise the same time improve his English skills,he signed relatives or respected elders in theirown com- up to be interviewed as a participant in the Para- munity. But in a refugee camp, to whom coulda professional Training Program of CMHS. troubled family or person turn for advice and consolation? After two long years of waiting, Mr. Trangand his family were accepted for resettlement in the U.S. Program Description and sent to the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) for training. During Mr. Trang's Community Mental Health and Family Services, orientation to the PRPC, one organization began its Inc., funded by the Norwegiangovernment and the presentation with, of all things, a puppet show. In United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees, the show, a mother and daughter argued heatedly provides comprehensive psycho-socialservices to over the daughter's behavior. The situation rapidly Indochinese refugees at the PRPC. Its servicesare deteriorated as the mother puppet began beating the aimed at the prevention and detection ofmental daughter severely. Then colored illustrationswere health problems, as well as therapeutic intervention shown to portray other family conflicts and when appropriate. CMHS has developed threeunits 103 48 PASSAGE

to carry out its mandate. First, there is the Guidance This process of "reconditioning" is actually a and Counseling Unit, which is responsible for three-month training program, which is divided into therapy or "casework." Second, there is the Mental a one-month theoretical phase and a two-month Health Education Unit, which informs the PRPC practicum period. The theoretical work consists of refugee community about preventive mental health two basic levels of classroom instruction. Level One practices, stress reduction, and the mental health includes an introduction to basic mental health services available in the camp and in countries of concepts and skills, including techniques of com- resettlement. Third, there is the Paraprofessional munication, interpreting, locating and using commu- Training Program, where refugees are trained as nity resources, and daily operational aspects of a social service paraprofessionals to assist profes- mental health center. Paraprofessional trainees who sional staff in the CMHS programs and in other are more interested and suited to administrative and PRPC programs. organizational work within the agency end their formal classroom training at this point and begin their field placement. Level Two involves more advanced mental health and social service concepts and skills, such as interviewing, casework methods, report writing, and public speaking. Classes for both levels are organized into five 3112-hour daily sessions per week, for a four-week period. A third level, consisting of three additional days of training, is provided to those who will be watching over hospitalized mental health clients in crisis, i.e., persons who might harm themselves or others. Instructors' methods of instruction include lectures, dialogues, role plays, simulations, small-group discussions, and individual case analyses. CMHS wiL 1 trainers use a range of classroom materials, in- New ',rivals attend an orientation session, conducted in their cluding slides, posters, a training manual, a mental own language, informing them about common mental health health glossary, and the usual instructional aids. A problems of refugees and the services available at the PRPC. number of the materials are in the trainees' lan- Photo by Dan Pamintuan. guages: Khmer, Lao, Vietnamese, and Chinese. Volunteer paraprofessionals are recruited in a number of ways: through the orientation sessions for new arrivals, as in the case of Mr. Trang; through the adult English as a Second Language r" classes; through the PRPC's job placement office; and through the personal contacts of CMHS staff members. The participants come from a wide range of backgrounds. They are parents, former teachers, physicians, college and high school students, soldiers, and military officers. They all must have a high level of English proficiency (Level D or E), and there is a screening interview in which applicants must demonstrate English language comprehension and expression. Participants in the program report that they gener- A CMHS-produced puppet show dramatizes parent-child conflict. ally began the training with only a very vague Photo by Dan Pamintuan. expectation of "helping our fellow refugees." One CMHS paraprofessional has said, "We viewed the familial conflicts as trifling problems and were full Difficulties Encountered in Training of doubt toward CMHS .but gradually, a period of 'reconditioning' took place ...and a new hori- zon to the understanding of human nature opened to Although the Paraprofessional Training Program our minds." generally runs smoothly, it has its share of prob- 104 Felsman & Verdun-Lanes/Mental Health Service Delivery 49

lems. Despite careful screening of applicants, the further instruction and training for the specific language barrier is still apparent during classroom paraprofessional tasks demanded of them. sessions. This problem is aggravated by the fact that During this phase of training,many paraprofes- the subject matter and concepts are new and strange sionals are enthusiastic at being useful and for the majority of the trainees. Instructors ack- productive, and feel a genuine sense of helping. At nowledge that it is a challenge for them to keep the same time, there are sometimes feelings of terminology and concepts simple, practical, and inadequacy. "My English is stillso poor," wrote meaningful. Vo Thi Kha Na. the first Amerasian paraprofes- In particular, training sessions reveal the many sional to participate in the program. Anotheryoung cultural differences regarding the expression of paraprofessional wrote, "If I had been 25years feelings and beliefs. Some refugees place a high older, or if I had a larger knowledge about psychol- value on saving face, so instructors encounter ogy and sociology, I would have done my duty resistance to volunteering in class. Trainees try to better." avoid making mistakes, being ridiculed by their classmates, or being labeled a "show-off." On the other hand, passively waiting for the teacher to ask directly does not cause embarrassment, even if the elicited answer is incorrect: "After all, the teacher asked me to respond; I didn't volunteer to speak." Trainees receive constant encouragement to be more assertive in the classroom. Sensitivity in the selection of training methodologies is also required. For example, in one class the instructor used a group dynamics game focusing on " the trainees' perceptions of their own personality ti traits and characteristics. When the participants were then asked to share their insights with one another, the facilitator soon sensed uncomfortable, conflicting reactions.Finally, a number of the L refugees revealed that they were former military The psychiatrist's treatment plan is interpreted toa client officers and had spent two to seven years in re- through the assistance of a trained paraprofessional. education camps where similar methods had been Photo by Dan Pamintuan. used by the communists in Vietnam and Laos. The outcome of that "sharing of their selves" became the Trainees' response to the practical phase of the basis for promotion or demotion within the camp. training is frequently one of empathy with the client. The facilitator acknowledged that intense feelings One said, "In our contact with the clients,we often had been reawakened by the exercise and told the find ourselves in similar situations, andwe are group (as convincingly as possible) that there was astonished at how we were able to cope with these no political intention in the present lesson. problems." "Some paraprofessionals are sensitive ...they are affected by the agony of the clients, especially when the agony is something like their Field Placement own situation," wrote Tran Dinh Vinh, a paraprofessional himself. "Sad stories of clients make me very sad,". said Nguyen Thi Bich Lien, a "In the field placement, we got a first-hand view of 21-year-old Vietnamese paraprofessional whowas the client's mental health problems," said a Viet- assistant to one of the psychiatrists in CMHS. namese paraprofessional. The field placement, or Some paraprofessional trainees' language difficul- practical phase of training, lasts from eight to ten ties naturally create frustration not only for them- weeks. Trainees are placed as office assistants to selves, but for their supervisors as well. One the administrative support staff of CMHS. Those in caseworker stated that his paraprofessional aide the Guidance and Counseling Unit assist the case- sometimes just answered "yes" when asked whether workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists; trainees the client understood the caseworker's questions. with the Mental Health Education Unit work as As the interview progressed, however, the client's assistants to the Community Education Specialist. translated responses did not match the questions A few are recommended to other agencies in the very well, indicating that the paraprofessional had PRPC, including the hospitals where they receive not understood the caseworker, either. .. 105 50 PASSAGE

On the Job property. A PASS guidance counselor finallyre- ferred Phoung to CMHS, where he beganto see a After completion of the classroom training and caseworker assisted by Dr. Nguyen. After a particularly serious incident, Phoungwas practical phases, paraprofessionals work six daysa placed in the camp stockade. Dr. Nguyen week,31t2hours a day, until they depart for reset- and the tlement. Specific paraprofessional responsibilities caseworker visited Phoung every day in the jail, vary, depending on the skills of the individual para- often after working hours. They also made periodic professional and the CMHS unit to which he or she home visits to assess the whole family situation. is assigned.The following descriptions by individual Their sessions with Phoung's mother focusedon caseworkers illustrate the importance and range of possible changes the family could maketo help their duties. Phoung adjust to a new life. When Phoungwas scheduled for his court hearing, Dr. Nguyenwas there again, interpreting for the CMHS caseworker and providing support to Phoung and his family. Dr. Nguyen's willingness to help during regular hours and during his limited free time, dayor night exemplifies the dedication of the CMHSpara- professionals. A Lao paraprofessional, Mrs. Onechand,was placed with the Mental Health Education Unit after her training. With other paraprofessionals in this unit, she conducts orientations for new arrivalsto the PRPC regarding CMHS services in her native language. Mrs. Onechand also assists at the refugee neighborhood meetings in which heads of house- holds discuss mental health andstress issues relevant to the experiences of refugees at the PRPC. In these meetings, Mrs. Onechand emphasizes the preventive measures a family can take totemper and Through home visits, the caseworker and her paraprofessional deal with stress in their daily lives. These include assistant are better able to assess the needs of a refugee client. paying attention to the spiritual needs of the family Photo by Dan Pamintuan. through continued involvement at the Buddhist temples or Christian churches; participating in recreational and social activities; setting aside time In the particularly difficult case of an adolescent out of the hectic PRPC day to spend together asa boy in trouble, Dr. Nguyen, who worked as an family; and generally recognizing signs and interpreter with the Guidance and Counseling Unit symptoms of stress before they become a serious during his six-month stay at the PRPC, showed a problem. deep sense of caring and commitment, his supervisor recalls. The boy, Phoung, came from a family with many problems; his father was a soldier who was killed in the war when Phoung was an infant. 4 Phoung's mother worked hard to support the family 0 as a street vendor, but this left her very little time to be at home with her three children. Phoung attended school for only four years before dropping out, because he didn't have enough money to purchase books. From then on, he worked with his mother on the streets. By the time he fled Vietnam and came to the PRPC, Phoung was 16 years old. He was enrolled in the Preparation for American Secondary Schools (PASS) program at the PRPC, but had a difficult time concentrating on his work and relating socially Paraprofessionals assist outreach workers giving presentations to other teenagers. He began skipping classes, about refugee mental health in Cultural Orientation classes. starting fights in the neighborhoods, and damaging Photo by Dan Pamintuan. 106 Felsrnan & Verdun-Lanes/Mental Health Service Delivery 51

Opportunities for Paraprofessionalsupon Resettlement

During his visit to CMHS in February 1987,Dr. The Spring Institute for InternationalStudies, a Tran Minh Tung, a psychiatrist from Washington,training and consulting firm in Wheat D.C., said, "The major problem that Ridge, we have in theColorado, specializes in cross-culturalprograms States is that we don't have enough native Indo-for refugees and mental health workers,and it chinese mental health professionalsor paraprofes-serves ten Midwestern states. In establishing sionals." contact with CMHS, the Institute's president, To address this problem, severalstates haveMyrna Ann Adkins, expressed theneed for programs to train Indochinese mental health para-"keeping track of refugees you trainso they can be professionals. One of these is at the Boston Univer-used and given more opportunities afterthey arrive sity School of Social Work, and another, accordingin the States." Likewise, theRefugee Mental to Dr. Tung, is at a school of social work inHealth Resource Development and Technical Rochester, New York, which hasa number of slotsAssistaace Center at the University of Minnesota set aside for Indochinese students interested inhas "placed an immediate priorityon identifying pursuing a career in social work and related mentaltrained mental health professionals andpara- health fields. professionals...for programs serving refugees." However, highly motivated and qualified refugeesThis particular agency serves 12states: California, considering careers in social service fields stillColorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minne- encounter a lack of funding for undergraduate andsota, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, graduate education. Washington, and Wisconsin.

There are, of course, occasional difficulties strengths. Whenever possible, CMHS experienced on the job. The paraprofessionals' provides the paraprofessionals with addresses of mentalhealth common background with the clients can com- agencies in their state of resettlement.Through the promise objectivity, which in turncan result in assistance of the Joint Voluntary Agencies, "editing" while interpreting, over-identification with voluntary agencies in the U.S. receive listsof the the client, and, occasionally, episodes of breaking CMHS-trained paraprofessionals. It is hoped thatin down emotionally. Thus, paraprofessionals and this way both the individual paraprofessionaland their supervisors try to establisha close col- the refugee communities in the U.S. will benefit. laborative relationship in order to minimize such Many paraprofessionals wish to continue working problems. in social service settingsupon resettlement in the Despite difficulties, the CMHS professional staff U.S., and a number have managedto find employ- have been greatly aided by the paraprofessionals ment in the field. Chau The Ton, who servedas an without them the professional staff would be unable assistant to CMHS caseworker Nancy Lee,found a to communicate at all with most clients. Much- good paying job after only nine weeks in Seattle. needed social and mental health servicesare thus As a counselor for the Southeast Asian Refugee effectively and widely extended to the refugees Foundation, he follows up with refugees inthe area through these "human bridges." who have expressed difficulties in adaptingto the U.S. Tran Tu Sum, a multilingual (Khmer, Viet- names' Chinese) assistant of CMHS psychologist Follow-Up Sonia Margallo, reports that he isnow a case Yorker in Greensboro, North Carolina, thanksto the placement assistance given by his sponsoring In response to the need for recognition and voluntary agency, which learned of his trainingat placement of trained refugee social service CMHS. Other success stories include Mr. Song,a paraprofessionals, CMHS awards a Certificate of Khmer paraprofessional, who is now employedas a Training to paraprofessionals upon completion of counselor in Chicago, and Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, the training program. Refugee paraprofessionals who is working with Vietnamese refugee youth in also receive a letter of recommendation from their Rochester, New York. A follow-up study of individual supervisors outlining skills acquired and resettled CMHS paraprofessionals isnow under describing the paraprofessional's particular way to determine how many are workingor 107 52 PASSAGE studying in /elated fields, and what recommenda- for us to become your paraprofessionals. We tions they have for the CMHS Paraprofessional couldn't help our fclo v refugees without your Training Program. help." CMHS is indebted to refugee paraprofessionals Yet the staff of the Paraprofessional Training for helping the agency carry out its mandate of pro- Program has always been aware that we are only viding comprehensive psycho-social services to the building upon refugees' demonstrated strengths as, camp's refugee population. In any one day, there again and again, we have witnessed the intelligence, are as many as 75 refugee paraprofessionals taking humility, and commitment of our trainees. We take responsibility for various tasks and contributing a some satisfaction in the collaboration that evolves certain vibrancy to the atmosphere of the agency. between CMHS and the paraprofessionals a In her graduation speech, Ms. Nga expressed her relationship not of mere dependence, but of feelings in these simple words: "It is a great honor interdependence based on mutuality and respect.

NMENNIM.... Irene C. Felsman is a re- Rebecca Verdun-Lanes has search associate in the Depart- been a training specialist with ment of Psychitury at Dart- CMHS at the PRPC since 1983. mouth Medical School. From Previously, she was an admin- March, 1986 through October istrative and research assistant 1987, she is serving al a con- at the Human Resources Center sultant to Community Mental of Ateneo de Manila University, Health and Family Services, where she is currently a candi- Inc., at the Philippine Refugee date for a Master's degree in ProcessingCenter (PRPC). psychology. Verdun-Lanes has Previously, she helped plan public health training programs also been a counselor and psychometrician at a secondary for Guatemalan refugees and village health workers in Mex- school, and she holds a BA in psychology from Silliman ico. She has also held administrative positions in pediatric University in Dumaguete City, Philippines. health care programs in New Hampshire. Feisman holds a Master's degree in public health from Boston University.

108 53 Student Newspapers: A Communicative Technique for Language Development

Candido M. Magnaye, Jr. Philippine Refugee Processing Center

LARCH 1987 OFFICIAL' ORGAN OF CYCLE 89 CLASS 40VOL. I NO.2

One student in my B-level ESL class did not and writing it up. When someone was unable to believe that writing was a useful activity.Story start an article, I immediately suggested a topic to writing, news writing, poetry writing, journal develop. With some of the less proficient students, writing, letter writing, and descriptive writing all I asked them to draw a picture and write something just a waste of class time, according to Tran Xuan about it, or to write something about themselves and Ti. He would complain long and loud whenever I to accompany their paragraphs with photos of asked students to write, even if it was about themselves. themselves. I observed a similar although more As the students finished their articles, I typed them restrained response from others in the class. in the classroom so that they could observe me. I They would rather read a story than write one. did not edit or make any corrections in their English Then one day, I decided to bring their stories back I just copied the articles as submitted. The next to my dormitory and type them up. Afterwards, I step was to do the layout.I asked the students to mounted each on heavy black cardboard, labelled write the headlines, but I did the layout for the first them with titles and the authors' names, and posted issue as they watched.I made sure to give them them on our classroom walls. When the students pointers as I went along, and they did the layout for saw their work on display, they were visibly proud the second issue on their own. As one group laid of themselves. After this positive response, I out the stories, recipes, opinions, and news articles, thought of trying a class newspaper. others did the artwork, and I just supervised. I began the project by asking my supervisor to When it was all put together, the original copy of allow my students to devote Saturdays to the class the class newspaper, The Future, was forwarded to newspaper. From then on, my students spent four our Instructional Media Services office for printing. hours every Saturday writing stories, news, The printed copies were distributed to the class, and dialogues, and poems, or drawing pictures for this I asked the students to read their own articles.I project. They were provided with paper, crayons, asked comprehension questions to check whether pencils, and other necessary materials and were told they understood what they had written. Then we to choose their own topics.I was glad to see that looked at their stories for errors of form, and they almost all of them had little difficulty finding a topic made the corrections themselves. We discussed the ,..,1 109 54 PASSAGE

4 THE FUTURE MARCH /q87 STORI

Son &Thuv EARLY TOMORROW KING HUNG VUONG 'MORNING SON TINH WAS SON TINH TOOK HIS WIFE AND MOVED XVIII HAD A BEAUTIFULTHE FIRST TO BRING DAUWER. SON.TINH AN OFFERING TO T4E NIGHER UP THE MOUN- TAIN TO ESCAPE THE WAS KING OF THE MOUN KING LATER, THAT DAY TAINS, THUY TINH WAS THE YOUNG MAN MARRIDRISING FWOD WATERS. THE KING OF THE SEA. THE PRINCESS. THUY TINH COULD SON TINH AND THUY SON TINH TOOK NOT REACH THEM, THEY TINH BOTH WANTED TO HIS WIFE TO THEIR WERE SAFE HIGH ON MARRY THE DAUGHTER OF NEW HOME HI'74 ON THE THE MOUNTAIN EVERY THE KING. MOUNTAIN THUY TINH YEAR WHEN THE WIt1DS ONE DAY THE KING BEGAN VERY ANGRY AND RAIN AND FLOODS SOME GAVE THE TWO YOUNG JEALOUS. HE CAUSED TO CENTRAL VIETNAM. MEN A PROMISE. THE THE RAIN TO FALL ANDSON TINH AND THUY FIRST MAN TO BRING THE WIND TO BLOW THE TINH CONTINUE THE WOULD BE ALLOWEN TO FLOOD WATER ROSE FIGHT THAT WAS BE- MARRY THE BEAUTIFUL HIGH AND HIGHER. GUA HUNDREDS OF YEAR. The MAN Et The HATS THERE WAS A MAN HEAD, THEY CLIMBED THEN ALL THE MONKEYS WHO BROUGHT THE BAS- BOHN TO GET THOSE WERE AS SAME AS THE KETS, THERE WERE MA HATS FROM THE TREE, MAN AT LAST. THE NY HATS MIT HE WE HATES, THE MAN HIKE MAN WAS HAPPY TO LEA NT ACROSS THE MOuN- UP ANDFELT VERY HOT VE THERE AT ONCE. TAINS, WAIT A WHILE AND THEN HE FASSED THE MAN STOPPED TO HIMSELF WITH HIS HAT TAKE A REST UNDER WHEN HE FOURD ALL CP THE BANANA TREE. HIS HATS THAT HAD THERE WERE ALSO LOST WHILE THE MON- MAO MONKEYS WHICH KEYS WERE FAMING WERE EATING THE BA- THEMSELVES TO FALLAw NANA ON THE TREE, HIM, WHEN THE MAN SLEPT THE MAN WAS VERY THE MONKEYS SAW MAN ANGRY, HE PUT HIS HAT WORE A HAT ON HE 111 THE BASKETS AND

110 Magnaye/Student Newspapers 55 MY LIFE IN.... PRPC LAOS

BECAUSE WE KNOW, MOTHER AND FATHER THE FIRST TIME I LIFE IN LAOS. WOULD LIKE TO RECOM- WE ARE PEOPLE WHO LO WAS I'M 7 YEARS OLD OLD BROTHER OLD SIS MEND WITH ALL OF YOU ST OUR COUNTRY AND RE I GOES TO SCHOOL TER AND GAUNGLE SIS COGNIZ! DEEPLY OUR TER NOW I'M THING ARE LIVING IN PRPC. WAS I STUDY IN CLASS OWN SORROW IN THE RE- AVERY DAY WAS I LIVE I AM VIETNAMESE REFU- ROOM I'M VERY HAPPY FUGEE CASE, WE HAVE IN PRPC I MANY MANY GEE. I AM TWENTY YEAR BECAUSE TEACHER OF OLD.I HAVE BEEN IN IN OUR MIND VIETNA- ME TEACH VERY WELL THING. PRPC CAMP ABOUT FOUR MESE, WHO ARE STILL I'M LIFE STUDENT MONTHS TO DAY IHAVE LIVING IN VIETNAM IN LAO I'M VERY HA- THAILAND SOME OPINIONS ABOUT PLEASE DO NOT FORGET PPY BUT I'M VERY SAD OUR COUNTRY AND OUR THE LIFE IN PRPC CAMP WAS COUNTRY MY OF ME I LEFT FROM MY Om- PEOPLE WHEN WE ARE BEFORE THAT I NOT YET BUT I DON'T LIKE CO- ON APRIL 19, 1985 BY COME HERE.I REALLY LIVING IN THE UNITED MMUNIT COME IN LAO BOAT.I ARRIVED IN STATES OF AMERICA, DID NOT KNOW ABOUT I GET MARRIED WAS THAILAND ON APRIL 21 AND WE'LL NEVER FOR- THE LIFE IN PRPC BUT 1974 BUT I NOT COME 1987, I LIVE IN

WHEN I CAME HERE I'M GET THE DAYS WE LINit TO THAILAND BECAUSE THAILAND REFUGEES HERE, TOO, BECAUSE VERY HAPPY AND I FEEL I DON'T HAVE TIME CAMP , WHEN I LIVE PHILIPPIN PEOPLE. THE LIFE IN PRPC VERY WAS I HAVE TIME WAS THERE I HAD TO THEY ARE HELPING FOR COMFORTABLE THAN ANY 1985. I COME TO THAI LEARN A BOUT DRESS-

OTHER REFUGEE CAMP. US . MANY INTERESTING LAND I'M VERY SAD MAKER AND STUDY ENG- WHEN WE ARRIVE IN A AND I HOPE ALL OF YOU BECAUSE I THING SO LISH, LIVE IS DIFFI- THINK THE SAME ME TOO.NEW COUNTRY WE CAN VILLAGE IN LAO WITH CULT IN THE CAMP.

Above and facing page:Excerpts from The Future. articles, exchanging opinions about the "news." writing, and in their attitudes, as well. "Teacher, The students colored in the drawings and the when I go to America, I want to work in a nameplate of the newspaper and distributed copies newspaper agency.I want to write stories so my to other classes. Our newspaper was also used as friends will read my name," said Tran Xuan Ti.I supplementary reading material in the other ESL just sodded my head and smiled. classes. The class newspaper is a very practical, student- centered activity providing students with the opportunity to write as much as they want on topics Candido "Boy" Magnaye of their own choice. In this activity, writing is has been an ESL instructor at approached in the most straightforward and least the Philippine Refugee Pro- threatening fashion possible. The writing involves cessing Center since 1983. every student, and they tend to write better when Previously, he was an instruc- they know their articles are going to be published. tor and guidance coordinator Since writing is the most difficult language s101 insecondary school pro- for most of our students to acquire, teachers need to grams. He holds Bachelor of accept the fact that there will be many errors. In this Science degreesin food activity, the teacher needs to stay in the background, technology and education from Araneta University.He is a Master's candidate in offering supervision and occasional assistance. educational managementand supervision at Philippine After my experience with two issues of the paper, I Christian University. was satisfied with the improvement in my students'

111 56 PASSAGE Staff Development: An On-Going Process

Sandra Hunt Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

It is hard to pin down the exact date and time of meet those needs. This form of evaluation and birth of the Staff Development Office (SDO), and it professional development is described by Ann is even more difficult to determine when the idea Wederspahn in "Self-Designed Training: An Ap- was first conceived. However, by May 1, 1986, proach to Teacher Development" (Passage 1:2). In our staff was in place, defining its tasks and this part of the training plan, the Staff Development explaining them to the rest of the Consortium Office played a supportive role, providing staff with operation in Phanat Nikhom, Thailand. Our staff resources and assistance when requested. consisted of a staff development specialist, a docu- The Teacher Training Nan directed the develop- mentation specialist, four staff developers, and a ment activities of not only the teachers, but of the secretary. supervisors as well, and this feature became the soil We began by sifting through the documentation for from which our present office sprouted. On alter- the recently-implemented Teacher Training Plan. nate weeks, supervisors met either program-wide or This plan had been devised to provide consistent by component to share in development activities, teacher training, as well as guidance and support for and our office was responsible for schedulingor supervisors. One of the main elements of the plan presenting program-wide training sessions. In addi- involved placing teachers into one of three phases: tion, each staff developer worked with component beginning, intermediate, or advanced. When a coordinators and supervisors to implementsuper- teacher mastered certain skills or competencies, she visor training. or he could apply for promotion to the next training In addition to arranging and presenting training phase. Teams of teachers from various phases met sessions, staff developers worked with supervisors four times a week to train with their assigned super- one-on-one, frequently observing supervisors' visor, but on most Wednesdays, teams were training sessions and giving feedback to help them grouped by phase. During these training sessions, identify and work on specific training skills. These supervisors gave workshops on topics described in observations were carried out formally four timesa an 18-month training curriculum. Three sessions year, as well as informally upon request. During were devoted to each topic, such as student culture, this time, the Staff Development Office also played classroom evaluation, and formative evaluation. an integral part in new supervisor orientation and pre-service training for all teachers. We were also responsible for scheduling and documenting the Initial Responsibilities training of outside consultants visiting Phanat Nikhom. The Teacher Training Plan pulled together a lot of The role of the Staff Development Office was to loose ends.It provided teachers with consistent, support this training by making the necessary high-quality training based on their level of logistical arrangements and sharing resources and expertise, and at the same time created opportunities ideas with trainers when requested. We also for individualized development. For the first time, presented training workshops on a rotational basis supervisors were receiving training on a consistent with supervisors. basis, and they received individual attention through The other major element of the Teacher Training the observation and feedback process. The Staff Plan was the Evaluation and Planning Conference. Development Office provided the support necessary At this conference, each teacher's professional to maintain this system from May through October needs are determined, and a plan is developed to 1986, when the system was revised. 112 Hunt/Staff Development 57

Revising the Teacher Training Plan reflect common needs of staff members in the Consortium. These areas are 1) Communication, 2) Professional Development, 3) Human Relations, We also gathered feedback from teachers, 4) West Meets East, and 5) Intercultural Communi- supervisors, and core staff on the effectiveness of cation/Relations. Again, specific offerings are the Teacher Training Plan: Was it meeting its selected by the Staff Development Office, based on original goals and objectives? Were training topics suggestions from the teachers.In addition, each useful and relevant? Had the training plan decreased component provides team- and component-wide the supervisors' workloads? Through question- training sessions, as needed. naires and formal and informal meetings, our office The Staff Development Office is also responsible gathered staff members' views and suggestions to for four Inservice Days for supervisors during each review and revise the plan. 20-week cycle. On Inservice Day, there is supervi- Basically, we learned that the broad outline of the sory skills training in the morning; in the afternoon, plan was effective, but the details needed to be participants choose one of two workshops presented modified in order to make it more efficient. We on the five topics mentioned previously. Specific found, for instance, that the phase placement of topic selections for these are based on feedback teachers had been handled less consistently than had from supervisors and other staff. Because of a large originally been intended. This was due, in part, to influx of refugee students in the latest cycle (April teachers' misunderstanding of the phase movement through September), a senior teacher position has process and of their responsibilities at higher been created to assist the staff of supervisors. They phases, as well as their reluctance to stand out from receive two additional trainings during the cycle to fellow teammates. In addition, supervisors and help them develop their own training skills. coordinators had used different standards when All these trainings have been documented and are making decisions on phase placement and move- available to staff in the Teacher Training Resorrce ment criteria. Consequently, the process has been Center at the Consortium Office in Phanat Nikhom. modified so that teachers now automatically move In addition, the documentation specialist keeps from the "inexperienced" to the "experienced" group records on program-wide training histories for each after completing two 20-week cycles. This replaced teacher and supervisor, so their supervisors and the three-phase system. coordinators know which trainings they have Under the new plan, teachers are grouped attended. according to these two categories for six (rather than Teachers, supervisors, and other staff receive 12) two-hour training periods per cycle. Staff had direct supplemental support from the Staff generally felt there was too much program-wide Development Office. Through their coordinator, training, and supervisors and teachers also felt that staff can request training, observation/feedback, an 18-month training curriculum was too inflexible demonstration teaching or training, and other to respond to changing needs. Assigning super- developmental work as needed. We continue to visors as trainers on specific topics sometimes respond to informal requests involving locating resulted in their giving workshops on subjects that resources, job application and résumé preparation, were new to them. Due to already heavy work and help with other writing tasks. schedules, many were unable to devote adequate time to research and preparation. Therefore, a decision was made to change the focus of the Staff Development Office, making us responsible for Consortium Networking Center program-wide training. The Staff Development Office now trains both A major project for the Staff Development Office inexperienced and experienced teachers six times per has been designing and implementing the cycle, on alternate Wednesdays. Both groups Consortium's Networking Center. This center receive two "Technical Skills" trainings on teaching encompasses a wide variety of resources designed skills appropriate for teachers in all components. to make professional and personal development We select topics based on needs expressed by materials more accessible to all staff. These include teachers, supervisors, and coordinators. Recent over 750 training write-ups, handouts, and training sessions have been on "Processing Skills," background information papers found in the Teacher "Giving Directions," "Problem Solving in the Training Resource Center. Along with these, most Classroom," and "Motivating Students." The four library books and videos have been catalogued and remaining two-hour sessions in each cycle are on cross-referenced under 50 subject areas, so that staff topics taken from five general categories that can quickly locate pertinent materials. An "In-house 113 58 PASSAGE

Consultancy List" prominently displays areas of revised this year, and therein lies the strength of the expertise for which individual staff are willing to act office and the plan. By continually seeking feed- as resources. A centrally-located bulletin board back and responding to it, we will be ableto meet keeps staff abreast of training news, refugee issues, the ever-changing needs of the staffat Phanat and job openings around the world. The newest Nikl'om. addition to the Staff Development Office's Network- ing Center is a Newsletter/Passage site editor posi- REFERENCES tion. This person will reinforce the sharing and integration among all components of the program, Wederspahn, Ann. 1985. Self-designed training:an approach as well as provide another format for up-to-date to teacher development. Passage 1(2):8-12. information. Looking back over the past year, it has beena fascinating process to create a training office and integrate it into such a lair. and diverse program. Sandra Hunt has been a As our role has been directed, in part, by the staff developer at Phanat Teacher Training Plan, the revising of this plan has Nikhom Refugee Camp in helped us better meet the needs of individuals and Thailand sincetheStaff groups within the Consortium. From this revision DevelopmentOfficewas came a new goal for the Staff Development Office: formed in 1986. In 1985, she "To provide program-wide training and component was a supervisor there in the support within an environment of professional Cultural Orientation component. Previously, she was respect, creativity, and enjoyment." Technical involved in refugee resettle- Trainings, Workshops, Supplemental Support, and ment in Seattle, Washington. She holds a BA in anthropol- the Networking Center have been established to ogy from the University of Washington. help meet this goal. These will be reviewed and

114 .,.z. 59 Electives: A New Beginning for Student Activities at PASS

John B. Hoover Philippine Refugee Processing Center

Every Friday in my school, each period has only thirty during the last period on Friday afternoon. During minutes, because after the sixth period, we'll have the ExCA their time at PASS, students were asked to select time. Every period passes very slowly, and all students are one activity each semester from a list of courses, hoping and waiting for the ExCA time."Ring, ring .. ." ranging from poetry and math clubs to ping pong That's the sound of the bell. It tells us that now is ExCA and soccer. Activities requiring special equipment time. In the ExCA time, my class does aerobics, so when the could not be offered or had to be adapted for bell rings, we hurry to change clothes, and when the class conditions at PASS. returns, everyone is wearing shorts. The teacher asks, "Are As time went on, shortcomings in the ExCA you ready?" If everyone is ready, we start to play aerobics. In program became apparent. The quality and content aerobics, my class has a warm-up of the shoulders and legs. of the classes depended totally upon the background Sometimes we use the mat, and while we exercise on the mat and personal initiative of each teacher, so there was we practice English. Half-way through the ExCA period, we no consistency in what was being taught or how. have a break, maybe for five minutes. Everyone can go Many teachers lacked the background for teaching outside to rest, breathe fresh air, and after we return, continue such extracurricular activities as art, singing, and the aerobics. When the :ime is nearly finished, we stop the outdoor games, and there was no curriculum or music and play some small games and wait until the bell training to help them. ExCA was scheduled as the rings. last period of the day on the last day of the week, Nguyen Luong My Hoa, Cycle 89 and it took last place on the teachers' lists of professional priorities. Besides, as someone ob- Since the inception of the Preparation for American served, ExCA bore little resemblance to anything in Secondary Schools (PASS) program at Bataan, U.S. secondary or middle schools. Extra Curricular Activitie3, known as " ExCA," has Yet there were bright moments. A number of been one of the most popular, but least developed, excellent plays were produced during ExCA time, as parts of the program. The three other components was a school yearbook. The first PASS sports English as a Second Language, American Stud- teams were organized during the ExCA period, and ies, and Math were staffed by education special- they used that time for weekly practice. It was ists and curriculum developers who put together apparent that in order to preserve the benefits of comprehensive courses, designed or ordered the ExCA, the program content needed to be more necessary instructional materials, and conducted structured, and it would have to be rescheduled at a training sessions for the professional teaching staff. time more convenient for staff and students some ExCA, on the other hand, was seen as a of the late morning ExCA soccer games had been non-instructional extra, and thus was not as fully played in 100-degree heat! developed. In 1986, a plan to revise the structure of ExCA Every Friday, each of the six regular class periods was proposed and approved. This plan called for a was shortened by ten minutes, creating an hour-long number of major changes.First, these activities seventh period at the end of the day. During this would become a legitimate part of the PASS period, each classroom teacher was responsible for instructional program in terms of both staffing and supervising an "extracurricular" activity.Since curriculum.According to this plan, a team of ExCA was scheduled for all students at the same teachers would be hired specifically to plan and time, the PASS campus was a rather chaotic scene supervise these activities for all PASS students. t,.11 115 .60 PASSAGE

Each teacher would have the background and The woodworking course teaches students how to teaching experience in at least one of the offered build simple wooden objects, such as bookends, electives. Each course would have a written bookstands, benches, and other items that the curriculum, and adequate equipment and materials school can use. Again, safety and the properuse of would be supplied. As of May 1987, ten instructors hand tools are emphasized throughout thecourse. had been selected, the curricula were undergoing final revisions, and the first classes had begun. In order to reflect more accurately the nature of these classes, the name has been changed from Extra Curricular Activities to Electives/Physical Education (PE). Class times were also rescheduled. Each 18-week cycle is divided into two nine-week semesters. Students are required to take one semester of PE; during the other semester, they select one of the four electives: cooking, woodworking, performing arts, and fine arts. Electives/PE is scheduled for different s. groups of students throughout the week, either during the first period of the morning or the last one of the afternoon. The PE course offers students both personal physical fitness, through the "President's Council on Physical Fitness Testing Program," and the Students copy recipes for American dishes in the cooking experience of participating in team sports that are course. played in the U.S., such as basketball, softball, and Photo by Dan Pamintuan. volleyball. Safety and good sportsmanship are stressed throughout the course. Performing arts provides students with brief exposure to such areas asspeech, drama, pantomime, music, dance, and musical plays. The culminating activity of this course is a public Agaill11111V performance by the students for their peers. The fine arts course teaches students how to express their artistic skills and creativity through several media, including pen and ink, poster paints, papier-mâché, and origami (paper folding). Students also receive instruction in making practical use of their artistic skills in the U.S. They are taught to make posters, draw illustrations, make gifts, and create items that can be sold. These courses share some common goals: to expose students to different kinds of language, concepts, and learning styles; to require students to 1.4$ work independently, asking for assistance only Itja7:;;;e4.4 when needed; to build confidence through demonstrated mastery of skills; and to provide an All PASS students are required to take anine-week physical environment where students are eager to use English education course. in order to participate in the various activities. Photo by Dan Pamintuan. The new Electives/PE course design has a number of benefits. Teachers in this program spend only half their time teaching classes. The rest of their In the cooking course, students prepare and sample hours are devoted to developing and overseeing a some of the most common U.S. foods, such as core of truly extracurricular activities offered outside sandwiches, pizza, chili, stews, salads, cereals, regular school hours. At present, the Performing quick and yeast breads, and cookies. Safety and the Arts teachers are organizing a Drama Club and proper use of kitchen utensils and appliances are Choral Society, and the Fine Arts teachers are taught throughout the course. forming an Art Club. There is a Woodworking 116 Hoover/Electives at PASS 61

Club (perhaps to be affiliated with Junior Achieve- ment) and a Science Club led by the cooking John B. Hoover has been teacher. The PE teachers are organizing school involved in the Preparation teams. All of these will be involved in school --6forAmericanSecondary assemblies and exhibits at PASS; some have already Schools (PASS) program at led to exchange programs in the performing arts Bataan since March 1986, with American high schools at nearby U.S. military first as a teacher and most bases and the International School in Manila. An recently as supervisor of the PASS electives described here. additional benefit is that other PASS teachers now Hoover holds a BA in phil- have one more hour per week to prepare 1 osophy from Earlham College simulations, write report cards, or hold meetings. in Indiana, and has been a camp director and counselor in Of course, the greatest benefit will be to the refugee Japan, Haiti, and the US. students in PASS.

117 62 PASSAGE A Call for Unity: The Great Wayof the Cao Dai

Emily Herrick Philippine Refugee Processing Center

There is a common misconception that all Indochinese refugees are Buddhist. Although the majority are of that faith, many refugees belong to the Christian, Muslim, and other faiths. In this article, the history and beliefs of the Cao Dai religion of Vietnamare described. Much of the information is based on the author's conversations with Vietnamese refugees of the Cao Dai faith at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Bataan in early 1987.

Of all the religions co-existing in the Indochinese different faiths turned against each other, and refugee camps, the Cao Dai faith from Vietnam is humanity fell into turmoil, materialism, and sin. probably the least known and least understood. Sensitive to the suffering of humanity, Duc Cao "My teacher didn't krow about Cao Dai," reported Dai called a meeting of Christ, Buddha, Moham- one Vietnamese student at the Philippine Refugee med, Confucius, and Lao Tzu, and declared God's Processing Center (PRPC;. "She was surprised, but Third Universal Amnesty, a sort of third and last I tried to explain it to her." If the name Cao Dai is chance for the human race. The many branches of recognized at all, it usually conjures up bizarre, the Great Way were to be reunited. In 1925, Duc comical images of the vast Cao Dai panoply of Cao Dai revealed himself through a medium toa saints which includes Joan of Arc, Victor Hugo, group of Vietnamese spiritual's ..s and civil servants. and Sun Yat Sen or the Cao Dai symbol for God, A subsequent "Advent of Cao Daiism" ceremony, the Masonic eye that appears on the back cf the which had been planned to be only three days, U.S. one dollar bill. lasted three weeks, and a new religion a synthesis of all religions was born. The Cao Dai built a Holy See near the Cambodian Cao Dai Beliefs border in Tay Ninh province and developed a hierarchical organization similar to iitat of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as a secular Despite the saints and symbols that inevitably seem administration that provided public works and peculiar to non-believers, the Cao Dai religion education, owned land, and dispensed welfare grows from the same deep longing for unity and (FitzGerald 1972). Messages received from the harmony that underlies almost all Asian cultures. In spirit world continue to guide the Cao Dai, who the beginning, the Cao Dai 1 tlieve, Duc Cao Dai have compiled the messages into the New Canonic (God) created multiple branches of the one Great Law, a constitution (which resembles the U.S. Way. He endowed each branch Confucianism, Constitution), the Book of Rites and Prayers, the Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Book of Mystic Meditation, and Collections of God- and Geniism with the mores, rituals, traditions, Selected Messages. and organization best suited for its particular niche The vegetarian, non-smoking, non-drinking Cao in that primitive world. As modernization brought Dai are quintessential eclectics. They believe in the the world's religions into contact, people of brotherhood of all mankind, the occult realm of 118 Herrick/Cao Dai 63

spirits, the laws of evolution and cause and effect, absence of any viable central authority in Vietnam the wheel of reincarnation, divine justice, the devil, during or after World War II, the Cao Dai factions and a compassionate, forgiving, omnipotent God figured prominently in the competition forpower, or who created the world and is the father of humanity. at least survival, along with the French, the Viet The single overriding emphasis in Cao Daiism is Minh, the Hoa Hao, warlords, bandits, and a large unity, a call for humankind to return to the Great number of secret societies (Karnow 1984). Way. "The mission of Cao Daiism is to cal' upon all The Cao Dai turned to the French for support existing religions to work together to serve humani- when the Viet Minh implemented their policies of ty and not to compete against one another," explains "scorched earth" (burning crops and villages in their Rt. Rev. Minh Ly of the Cao Dai Temple Overseas path) and selective terror against the sects. The in Los Angeles. "It is unity in diversity. It is inclu- French, eager for Vietnamese allies against the sive, all encompassing" (personal communication). communists, subsidized the sects throughout World A Cao Dai believer, then, could retain the traditions, War II, even though the sects fought not only the mores, and ceremonies of any other religion and still Viet Minh, but each other and the French, as well. be Cao Dai. However, even though the Cao Dai In the chaos of Saigon after World War II, the Cao recognize the deities of other religions, they worship Dai continued to fight the Viet Minh, but they also only Duc Cao Dai, for they believe that is the way to refused to integrate their troops with the national break out of the wheel of reincarnation. army of Vietnam and would not allow government officials on their land. If the time had notyet come for Vietnam to be united under Cao Daiism, they at History of the Cao Dai least hoped to retain control over their own territory. By the 1950s, the sects controlled large chunks of the South Vietnamese countryside (Spector 1985). The .new religion was born into a fragmented society. In Fire in the Lake, Frances FitzGerald (1972:76-80) explains how the introduction of modern, Western ways invalidated the ancient values Cao Dai temples are scattered in and ways of life. French colonialism, with its finan- such disparate placesas PulauBitiong ces and bureaucracy, destroyed the "spiritual com- in Malaysia and Palawan in the munion between man, heaven, and earth" (p. 77) on which Vietnamese village life rested, and left Philippines, as well as in Paris, nothing to replace it. Because of their all-encompas- New Orleans, Los Angeles, Thailand, sing eclecticism, the Cao Dai seemed to provide a and Australia. link between the old Vietnam of Confucianism and the colonial Vietnam of the French with their saints and authors. Peasant-based, traditional, anti-colonial, and mystical, the Cao Dai, along with another The French colonial administration, fearing the new sect called the Hoa Hao, were, in their way, the growing power of the sects, ended its subsidies to "real voices of the Mekong Delta" (p. 80). In an them, and in 1954, passed the problem on to Pres- atmosphere of disintegration, the new sects offered ident Ngo Dinh Diem. Diem's attempts to disem- substance to fill the void and rapidly gained power the uncooperative sects were only partially adherents, mostly peasants, with a scattering of successful. merchants and civil servants. By 1932, there were During the American phase of the war in Vietnam, 100,000 Cao Dai; 300,000 by 1938; and over 2 the sects continued to operate independently, but million after World War II (Nguyen 1983:195). played only a minor role. Many Cao Dai believers The Cao Dai, whose proclaimed spiritual mission were drafted by the South Vietnamese army, but the was to bring a splintered and quarrelsome world to official Cao Dai church stance was one of neutrality unity under Duc Cao Dai, itself broke into several (Nguyen 1983). Even though very few Cao Dai factions, each with its own leader. Although the joined the communist forces, the Saigon govern- Cao Dai retained a central church authority and ment was unable to rely upon their support. Thus, identity, rivalries broke out among the factions. potentially one of the strongest anti-communist These factions developed private armies numbering forces of South Vietnam remained divided and over 30,000 troops who operated largely for the virtually untapped. benefit of the leaders. Together, they constituted a When Saigon finally fell to the communists 20 formidable military and political threat to both the years later, the spirit of a deified Cao Dai elder French and the communist Viet Minh. In the attributed the defeat to the lack of unity. "The

r't 119 64 PASSAGE

catastrophic self-destruction has happened," hepro- universal unity they seek, they will be ableto work claimed during a seance, "it is beyond repair" toward that goal by retaining their own culture and (quoted in Ly, pers. corn.). beliefs as they learn from and adapt to theirnew The Cao Dai remaining in Vietnam today face the country. same sort of religious perseeptiori that occurs in other totalitarian societies. The Hanoi government REFERENCES has desecrated their Holy See, destroyed their holy writings, closed dioceses and temples, forbidden Fitz Gerald,Frances.1972.Firein the lake.New York: people to worship, jailed religious leaders, and tried Vintage Books. to "discredit and dishonor the faith" (Ly, pers. Karnow, Stanley. 1984.Vietnam:a history.New York: corn.) by refusing to allow one of the Cao Dai Penguin Boe leaders to be buried with the appropriate rites. "All Lomperis, Tin, sty. 1984. The war everyone lost and these are monotonies," writes Rt. Rev. Minh Ly won. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. (pers. corn.), "they are to be expected froma Ly, Rt. Rev. Minh. 1987. Letters to author, Mar. 7 and Mar. communist regime. There is nothing unusual about 20, 1987. it. But the facts are nevertheless painful, hurtful, Nguyen Van Canh. 1983. Vietnam under communism, 1975- revolting, disgusting." 1982. Stanford, California:Hoover Institution Press. Spector, Ronald H. 1985. The early years: The U.S. army in Estimates of the total number of Cao Dai believers Vietnam. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, vary widely, from 3 to 8 million. Because of the U.S. Army. refugee exodus, Cao Dai temples are scattered in such disparate places as Pulau Bidong in Malaysia and Palawan in the Philippines, as well as in Paris, Emily Herrick has been an ESL supervisor at the Philip- New Orleans, Los Angeles, Thailand, and Aus- pine Refugee Processing Center since 1986. Asa Peace tralia. Plans have recently been approved to builda Corps volunteer in Costa Rica, she was co-director ofan Cao Dai temple at the PRPC. assistance program for the mentally retarded. Herrick holds Many resettled Cao Dai co-sponsor U.S.-bound an MA in TESL, from Arizona State University, where she Vietnamese refugees. Although it is doubtful that taught English to foreign students, and an MA in history the Cao Dai in the U.S. will find the sort of from the University of Nebraska.

120 65 -/.. Reviews

Preventive Mental Health in the ESL Classroom: A Handbookfor Teachers J. Donald Coition, Moira Lucey, Michael Paul, and JoanLeMarbre Penning. New York: American Council for Nationalities Service,1986. Pp. viii+ 54.

Here's a slim resource book that belongs in the preventive; secondary and tertiary prevention collection of all ESL instructors. Preventive Mental involve treatment and rehabilitation. The authors Health in the ESL Classroom (PMHESLC)was rightly emphasize that the teacher's role is in produced as part of the Preventive Mental Health in primary prevention, promoting students' mental the ESL Classroom Project, implemented by the health through "enhancement of self-esteem, coping American Council for Nationalities Service under skills, and adaptive behavior" (p. 5). contract to the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Nevertheless, it is disappointing that the authors Despite the formidable string of titles and agencies, don't offer teachers guidelines for spotting serious this is a clear and concise handbook. It providesan cases or for deciding how or when to refer students expert analysis of refugees' emotional difficulties, for outside help. They fail to make clear when, in but its most valuable contribution is its straight- their terms, secondary rather than primarypreven- forward, practical advice to ESL teachers on how tion is required. The authors merely advise teachers to make their classrooms more humane and to approach involvement in identification and effective. treatment of mental health problems, i.e., secondary Following an introduction and foreword, the book prevention, "with great caution" (p. 5). More is divided into three main sections "User's Guide informative discussions of this topiccan be found in to Primary Prevention Theory," "Application of works such as Social Adaptation of Refugees: A Primary Prevention and Promotion of Mental Health Guide for Service Providers by the Center for in the ESL Classroom," and "Resources." Russell Applied Linguistics, and T.C. Owan's Southeast Jaibert's thoughtful, well-researched foreword helps Asian Mental Health: Treatment, Prevention, clarify the book's purpose and scope. Jalbert not Services, Training, and Research, which are listed only introduces and summarizes the book's main in the "Resources" section of Preventive Mental themes, but also synthesizes recent research data on Health. Both contain useful material about how and refugees and mental health not found elsewhere in when to make referrals to outside agencies. the text. The statistics comparing Americans and A particularly valuable feature in the "User's Indochinese experiencing emotional stress are quite Guide" section is the outline of the kinds of startling. strategies teachers can use in the ESL classroom to In the foreword and the introduction, teachers are enhance students' self-esteem and develop their warned not to assume the role of counselor or coping skills. Although outlines are generally more therapist: "The outside helper role is not advocated often skimmed than read carefully, the outline of for teachers who lack skills in cross-cultural preventive strategies (see page 66) is worth counseling, have time limitations, and lack examining closely. By providing examples for each necessary support for this type of work" (p. vii). strategy or coping skill, the authors stimulate the These warnings are expanded upon in the first kind of thinking that translates into worthwhile section of the book, which also provides the classroom activities. For example, looking under theoretical rationale fir the kind of preventive mental the coping skill heading of "Skills to change the health work the authors say is appropriate for ESL meaning of events," one finds "Asking evaluative teachers. A distinction is made among "primary," questions (e.g., is life better now than a year ago)." "secondary," and "tertiary" prevention in mental A simple group discussion or writing assignment on health, Only the first is what the layman would call this topic would be quite rewarding for ESL 121 66 PASSAGE students and their teachers. Other headings are contention that students learn better when their equally provocative and provide useful starting self-esteem is enhanced. Mental health expertsare points for curriculum writers and textbook authors, also in agreement on thes.c. points. as well as for classroom instructors. The second and lorigest section of the handbook In their brief discussion of adult language learning deals with the application of principles of primary as a coping skill, the authors indicate that the beliefs prevention in the ESL classroom. There isa about language teaching and learning expressed by discussion of the teacher's rob as a good listener, language learning theorists Earl Stevick, Stephen mediator between cultures, and provider of informa- Krashen, and Charles Curran particularly as they tion. Teachers are asked to consider many elements deal with the affective aspects of language learning of their refugee students' environment, ranging are compatible with the approach advocated in from the teacher's own strengths and weaknesses Preventive Mental Health.Teachers concerned to local community and agency relationsh:ps. The with preventive mental health will certainly agree questions provided thelp teachers look at the with Krashen that there is a need for a low anxiety r. '.ationship of their curriculum to their own teaching level among their students, and with Stevick that approaches are very helpful. It was good tosee the itis important for learners to know how they critical question, "How do I combine ESL subject feel about their learning.Although not all ESL areas (e.g., transportation). with students' emo- professionals endorse Curran's Community Lan- tions, feelings, and anxieties (e.g., fear of taking guage Learning in tow, few would argue with his the subway)?" (p. 14). In other words, howcan

The following outline is excerpted from pages 6-7 of the "User's Guide" section ofPreventiveMentalHealth in the ESL Classroom: A Handbook for Teachers.

Categories of Preventive Strategies

1. Promotion of mental health petition) Questioning authority (e.g., what are acceptable ways Enhance self-esteem (e.g., name five good things of disagreeing) about yourself) Help develop a feeling of success (e.g., point out b. Skills to change the meaning of events improvement) Finding commonality between people (e.g., all people Help develop pride in cultural heritage (e.g., holding have hardship at certain times) cooking or folk dance demonstrations) Asking evaluative questions (c.g., is life better now Help develop a support system (e.g., sharing informa- than a year ago) tion and rehearsal in low-anxiety situations) Ordering of priorities (e.g., should you get a telephone Help develop a sense of security (e.g., making friends or buy a television) and knowing neighbors) Developing realistic expectations for adjustment in the United States (e.g., given previous occupation and 2. Enhancement of coping skills (drawing on education, what are likely job opportunities) existing coping skills and acquiring new skills) c. Skills to manage stress Understanding and preparing for hardship (e.g., eating a Skills to modify the situation and sleeping well) Identifying options/alternatives (e.g., what are the Avoiding unnecessary confrontation (e.g., how to different ways to solve this problem) evaluate the meaning of personal interactions) Negotiating (c.g., finding compromise) Using valued support systems (e.g., spending time Clarifying (e.g., how to find out more about the with family and friends) situation) Finding humor in difficult situations (e.g., comparing Help-seeking (e.g., use of community resources) present circumstances to analogous ones that had Developing collective action (e.g., organizing, funny outcomes) 122 Reviews 67 humanistic approaches fit into a competency-based Few of the activities could be directly carried out curriculum? in the classrooms at Bataan or Phanat Nikhom, After discussing student needs assessments and because they rely on U.S. community resourcesor community resources, the authors provide some students' experiences with doctors or employers in answers to this question under the heading "Imple- the U.S. Nonetheless, some of the activities could mentation." Using examples from the Competency- be adapted for overseas use, and all are valuable for based MELT Core Curriculum, they describe how suggesting general classroom approaches. These the teacher can integrate com2etencies in such areas activities make one curious to see some of the as transportation, housing, and employment with unfamiliar sources such as Good Days, Bad Days relevant mental health goals. For example, among by Mueller, Conway, and Noren, and to examine the approaches related to the competency "Respond again Wallerstein's Language and Culture in to supervisor's comments about quality of work on Conflict: Problem Posing in the ESL Classroom. the job," the authors suggest "Depersonalize The handbook's concluding section, "Resources," criticism," "Find balance between questioning is a very useful nine-page annotated list of materials authority and avoiding confrontation," and "Identify arranged under the headings of "Refugee Cultures possible causes of workplace harassment." Al- and Their Influence on Subsequent Adaptation," though these areas may be seen as the responsibility "Mental Health Theory," "Community Resources," of the Cultural Orientation instructor, it is the ESL and "ESL Theory and Approaches." Among the teacher who can help students express themselves in rest it was gratifying to see materials English in the given situations. developed for the Overseas Refugee Training The second section concludes with detailed Program: Shapiro and Ligon's Settling In and procedural descriptions of ten classroom activities to Phillips and Cribbs's article, "Meeting Friends and help students deal with such stressful problems as Bumming Cigarettes: Training Teachers to Teach isolation, inadequate housing, and trouble with Social Language," from Passage, Vol. 1, No. 3 (not telephones. The activities appear to be appropriate, No. 2, as stated in the handbook). The "Resources" and most of them use the "problem-posing" section also includes suggestions on how to locate approach advocated by Nina Wallerstein (1984) and some of the rarer items referred to, and where to others. Each activity suggestion is keyed to specific look for additional material. "stressors," the environmental changes or demands In an abbreviated listing, there are bound to be that may cause difficulties for resettled refugees. omissions of favorite titles.Still, it is surprising There are three activities, for example, keyed to that Moskowitz's Caring and Sharing in the Foreign "Inadequate housing." In one of these, the students Language Class is not included. As the standard perform a brief role play in which a tenant tele- sourcebook on "humanistic techniques" since 1978, phones a landlord to request help. When the land- it certainly merits some attention in this handy ,k. lord's secretary (the teacher) tells the tenant (the All in all, Preventive Mental Health in ti.. ESL student) that the landlord is out, the student says he Classroom is a fine resource. Although its sample or she will call back later. activities are most relevant to teachers of adult refugees in the U.S., many can be adapted for use with On the third or fourth try, the student finally gets through other students in other situations. The principles, to the landlord and must give/spell her or his own name, guidelines, and taxonomies should prove useful to street address, apartment number, and a statement of the just about all ESL professionals: curriculum and problem. The landlord will attempt to put the student off materials writers, teachers of children and adoles- several times.The student, however, insists on the cents, and others who deal with students who are problem being responded to "SOON," with a specific date adjusting to an alien culture while learning English. and time being agreed upon by both parties. (p. 35) In Southeast Asia, copies of Preventive Mental Health in the ESL Classroom are in libraries at the Each activity is followed by a paragraph labeled Phanat Nikhom Consortium office, the Philippine "Comments." Here, the authors identify the kinds Refugee Processing Center, and the Refugee of students who would benefit most from the activ- Service Center in Manila. ity, describe the activity's strengths and limitations, and suggest follow-up activities.Following the The handbook can be purchased by writing to: activity described above, for example, the authors American Council for Nationalities Service, 95 suggest that students learn about tenants' rights Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA. "using information and/or resource people from The book costs $6.50 prepaid. It's worth that much local agencies" (p. 36). and more. 123 68 PASSAGE

REFERENCES bumming cigarettes:training teacherstoteachsocial language. Passage 1(3):19-23. Center for Applied Linguistics.1982. Social adaptation of Shapiro, T. and Ligon, F.1985.Settling in.Brattleboro, refugees:a guide for service providers.Washington. D.C.: Vermont: Experiment in International Living. Center for Applied Linguistics. Wallerstein, Nina. 1984. Language and culture in conflict: Moskowitz, Gertrude. 1978. Caring and sharing in the problem posing in the ESL classroom.Reading, Massa- foreign langunee class: a sourcebook on humanistic tech- chusetts:Addison-Wesley. niques. Rowle, , Massachusetts: Newbury House. Mueller, E.T., Conway, M.B., and Noren, J.1980. Good

days, bad days.Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey State About the reviewer:Douglas Gilzow ,7 the Manila Office of Adult Education. editor of Passage and has been a program ;ociate at the Owan, T.C. (Ed.).1985.Southeast Asian mental health: Refugee Service Center in Manila since 196 He holds a treatment, prevention, services, training, and research. Master's degree in linguistics from the University of Washington, D.C.: National Inititute of Mental Health. Michigan. Phillips, Jon and Diane Cribbs. 1985.Meeting friends and

The Hmong in Transition Glenn L. Hendricks, Bruce T. Downing, and Amos S. Deinard (Eds.). New York: Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc., 1986. Pp. xv + 464.

Today, 12 years after the first Hmong refugees Project of the University of Minnesota, the volume arrived in the U.S., Hmong communities around is a collection of papers from the Hmong Research the country are showing signs of success.In Conference held in 1983 at the University of Minneapolis, site of the second biggest Hmong Minnesota. The conference two years after the community in the U.S., welfare rates have dropped, first Hmong Research Conference brought schol- and Hmong communities in Rhode Island, New ars of Hmong culture and language together with York, Georgia, Texas, and Nebraska are proving Hmong and Western resettlement workers to that with time and the right conditions employ- explore four topics: Hmong culture and change, ment opportunities, strong Hmong leadership, and Hmong resettlement, language and literacy, and community support the Hmong can achieve self- health care. sufficiency. Still, successful resettlement is a challenge for Hmong Culture and Change Hmong newcomers, who, on the whole, arrive with less formal education, less English, and less In his introduction to this section, Glenn L. familiarity with the culture and technology of Hendricks finds fault with the tendency of West- Western life than other refugees. In 1987, more erners to think of Hmong culture and history Hmong refugees will resettle in the U.S. than in any year since 1980. How these new arrivals fare will in terms of before and after, [to think] that there was a depend on the skills and determination they bring traditional, almost unchanging way of Hmong living that with them and the ability of the receiving has been severely altered by the events of the flight and communities to provide opportunities and support. subsequent resettlement. (p. 3) The Hmong in Transition, a collection of essays on Hmong history, culture, and resettlement, should In fact, as William A. Smalley points out in "Stages help U.S. service providers better understand of Hmong Cultural Adaptation," recent Hmong and thus better help Hmong newcomers. A joint history has been characterized by change and by publication of the Center for Migration Studies of efforts to adapt creatively to change without New York and the Southeast Asian Refugee Studies suffering a loss of identity. 1 2 4 i.eviews 69

Papers by Timothy Dunnigan and Gary Yia Lee Cultural differences are highlighted in Beth L. suggest that the Hmong in the West have the Goldstein's article on Hmong and American legal resilience to adapt to and not be overwhelmed by systems, as well as in William H. Meredith's and change. In Australia, an enlightened policy toward George P. Rowe's paper on changes in Hmong ethnic minorities encourages the Hmong there to marital attitudes. Goldstein uses thecase of a find a balance between change and cultural preserva- 14-year-old Hmong girl assaulted by a Hmong boy tion. Lee tells us in his paper, "Culture and Adapta- "to examine how different cultural lenses influence tion: Hmong Refugees in Australia," that the resolution of an assault" (p. 136). She finds that Americans view sexual assault as an act of violence ethnic groups are now encouraged to maintain their by one individual against another. The Hmong,on cultures.. . . Hmong are . .. urged to consider themselves the other hand, tend to see it as a family and as Australian Hmong with a unique cultural contribution to community problem, with more concern for the make to their country of resettlement and with an obligation honor of the kin group and the harmony of the to identify with it. (pp. 62-63) community than for individual suffering. In their study of Hmong marital attitudes, Meredith China's policy toward minorities also serves as an and Rowe found both .change and attachmentto instructive model. According to Louisa Schein's tradition:Attitudes toward polygyny, the bride "The Miao in Contemporary China: A Preliminary price, age of marriage, and equality between Overview," China encourages minorities to maintain partners are changing, while traditional attitudes their cultures. At the same time, China promotes toward other customs the means of selecting a education for minorities with preferential college spouse, the use of go-betweens, and the use of admissions policies aimed at increasing the numbers written contracts persist. of minority students, who are encouraged to return In her study of the adaptation of Hmong to Isla to their home provinces after completing their Vista, California, Catherine Stoumpos Gross finds education. both obstacles to adjustment and factors thatease the adjustment process. The obstacles language, cultural differences, crime, feelings of loneliness Adapting to a New Society are familiar. What makes this paper useful is the discussion of factors that promote adaptation, not This section is made up largely of case studies that the least of which are similarities between Hmong offer a balance of good and not-so-good news about and Americans in cultural values. Like Americans, the Hmong resettlement experience. the Hmong value hard work, self-reliance,econom- Despite the fact that most American families need ic advancement, and education. more than one wage earner to be self-sufficient, The section concludes with a summary of the refugee women have never received a fair share of Office of Refugee Resettlement-funded Hmong employment training, according to Sarah Mason in Resettlement Study. While this is a useful summary her paper, "Training Hmong Women: For Marginal of the study's most important findings, it is impor- Work or Entry into the Mainstream." After sur- tant to remember that the data are nearly four years veying employment training programs available to old and do not always reflect current reality. Condi- Hmong women in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Mason tions have changed: Welfare rates are decreasing, at concludes that most training programs reflect least in some areas, and a complete picture of Hmong self-sufficiency would take into account a conventional notion of immigrant women as needle- part-time employment, enterprise development, workers and house-cleaners... [and that] current policies of home and land ownership, and federal programs to training Hmong women in the same areas of marginal, low- relocate refugees from impacted areas to more paid work can only zreate a permanently disadvantaged favorable sites. group. (p. 118) The section on the Hmong Resettlement Study includes a discussion on secondary migration. While I agree with Mason that more emphasis There are many causes of secondary migration should be placed on training for professions in including unemployment, changes infederal health care, teaching, and business management, policy on cash assistance, family reunification, I also believe that there is a place for worker- the dream of farming but I like Shur Vang owned sewing and cleanirg businesses that provide Vangyi's explanation best: "Hmong, like other their workers with experience in enterprise devel- people, are always looking for better opportunities" opment. (p. 194). 4r)"0 70 PASSAGE

Language and Literacy share the researcher's concern for this mysterious ailment, I believe that the dangers of death from Papers on two-word expressives in White Hmong misuse of pesticides and from eating wild vegetation and zero anaphora almost led me, a non-linguist, to and herbs (such as wild eggplants and deadly night- skip to the next section. Still, I found it was worth shade) deserve equal attention. the effort to read these papers if only to get a The final essay, "Attitudes of Hmong towarda sense of the incredible complexity, subtlety, and Medical Research Project" (by Marshall Hurlich, richness of the Hmong language. Neal R. Holtan, and Ronald G. Munger), examines Of all the papers in this section, I found Gail the reactions of Hmong to various attempts madeto Weinstein's "Investigating Literacy: Approaches, investigate the sudden death syndromeamong Tools, and their Consequences for Inquiry" to be Hmong in Ban Vinai refugee camp and in Hmong the rnst interesting. Her paper interweaves an communities in the U.S. The suggestions the insightful teacher's personal quest for better authors make to researchers (such as working with understanding of her students and an investigation Hmong community leaders) are sensible, as wellas into the uses and social consequences of literacy in a sensitive to the concerns of the refugee community, Hmong community in Philadelphia. but I kept wondering as I read the paper: Have the Hmong been so thoroughly examined that nothing remains but to research the research of the Health Care Issues research? With this collection of papers, the University of I found this section to be the most absorbing, in Minnesota's Southeast Asian Refugee Studiespro- part because I learned the most from it.From gram has once again taken the lead in providing a papers by Bruce Thowpaou Bliatout, Jacques forum to increase cross-cultural understanding Lemoine, and Xoua Thao on shamanism, I learned between Hmong and Americans. Shoulda third that the Hmong have an elaborate and effective Hmong Research Conference be held, no doubtwe system to analyze and treat emotional disorders, and will benefit from the diligent research of both from a paper on "parenting," I learned that the Hmong and non-Hmong scholars. Hmong may have a thing or two to teach Western- ers. The latter paper (by Charles N. Oberg, Sharon Muret-Wagstaff, Shirley Moore, and Brenda Cumming) reports findings of a cross-cultural assessment of maternal-child interaction. Their About the reviewer: Carol Leviton Wetterhahn has study rated Hmong mothers as more attentive, worked in refugee resettlement programs since 1976. Over expressive, sensitive, responsive, and patient in the past few years, she has been an advocate for the child-rearing than a group of Caucasian mothers. increased role of Hmong mutual assistance associations in refugee resettlement and economic development activities. This section includes an article on the sudden death Donald A. Ranard also contributed to this review. syndrome by Ronald G. Munger. While I certainly

126 passage staff 71

Lauren Crawford, Bataan site a::..APININuilitz!,-7: Doug Gilzow. Manila editor, editor,has been a Cultural has been a program associate at Orientation supervisor at the the Refuge.' Service Center in Philippine Refugee Processing Manila since 1984. Gilzow's Centersince January 1986. experience in the field includes Previously, she was assistant to teaching English in Laos, Iran, the director of the New England and the U.S. For three years he regional office of World Relief directed an ESL program in Corporation (WRC). She was Lansing, Michigan. Gilzow holds also the editor of that agency's a Master's degree in linguistics regional newsletter.From 1982 to 1983, she taught 7- to from the University of Michigan. 16- year -old refugees in WRC's Youth Guidance program at the PRPC. .Crawford holds a BA in religion and English from Kalamazoo College.

Tom Van Blarcom, Phanat DonRanard, Washington Nikhom site co-editor,is the editor, is a program associate at component staff developer for the Refugee Service Center in ESL. Before that he was an ESL Washington, D.C.Ranard has supervisor for two years.His worked in refugee programs in the previous experienceincludes U.S. and in Hong Kong as a teaching military officers and literacy specialist, materials cadets in Saudi Arabia, and for and curriculum developer, and several years he was an EFL UNHCR program monitor. Prior teacher and teacher trainer in west to this, Ranard taught EFL in and central Africa. Formerly on the staff of U.S. Senator S. I. Taiwan and, as a Fulbright grantee, in-Laos and Thailand. He Hayakawa, Van Blarcom has a BA in political science from holds an MS in linguistics from Georgetown University. Wagner College in New York.

Ken Westhusing,Phanat NellyKurfehs,Washington Nikhom site co-editor, has been production assistant, is a staff an ESL supervisor in the Prepara- member of the Refugee Service tion for American Secondary Center in Washington, D.C. She Schools program since June has worked as a translator and a 1986. Previously, he was the proofreader for non-profit organi- assistant resource specialist for zations in the U.S. and as a the ESL /Bilingual Program in French teacherinEngland. Portland (Oregon) Public Schools, Kurfehs holds an MA in English . :.. where he also served as an ESL from the Paul Valery University teacher and ESL department chairman at the secondary level. in Montpellier, France. Westhusing spent two years teaching English in Botswana as a Peace Corps volunteer.He holds a BS in education from Oregon State University and an MAT from Lewis and Clark College.

RobertWaterbury, Eastern European site editor, is coordinator at the Bad Soden CO facility for Eastern European refugees. Before joining the Bad Soden staff as a CO teacher in 1985, Waterbury was the director of an intercultural musical theater project in Frankfurt, West Germany. He holds a BA in music from San Jose State University. 1 2 7 .passage ajournal of refugee education

Passage is a joint project of the agencies implementing the Overseas Refugee Volume 3, Number 3 Training Program. Winter 1987

Implementing Agencies CONTENTS The International Catholic Migration FEATURES Commission How Are They Doing in America? Bataan Staff Visit U.S. World Relief Corporation Resettlement Sites by Lauren Crawford and Douglas Gilzow Bataan, Philippines "Close Your Eyes, We're Going to Learn" The Consortium: Experiment in Interna- by Sinith Sitthiraksa tional Living, Save the Children Federa- tion, World Education Kagisong Center, Botswana: Oasis of Hope Phanat Nikhom, Thailand by Mongezi Sifika 13 The Intergovernmental Committee for Getting a Head Start: Refugee Workers at Phanat Nikhom Migration by Niyada Chonviriya 15 Western Europe and Botswana CO at Bad Soden: Eastern European Refugees' Special Problems The Refugee Service Center, Center for by Robert F. Waterbury 19 Applied Linguistics Manila, Philippines Teaching ESL Reading to Young Children: Three Whole-Language Washington, D.C. Methods by Else Hamayan and Margo Pfleger 24 The Black Tai: Refugees from Vietnam and Laos Editorial Staff by Carl I., Bankston, III 30 A Vietnamese Artist with a Camera by Silverius Chan Bataan Lauren Crawford 32 Phanat Nikhom Mary Pat Champeau Informal Language Testing Techniques: A Model for ESL Teachers Bad Soden, Germany Robert F. Waterbury by Nicholas C. Zefran 38 Manila Douglas Gilzow The Resettlement Game by James Fouss 43 Washington, D.C. Donald A. Ranard "On the Corner of Hmong Street and Mien Avenue" Passage has been developed and Using Student-Generated Maps by Christopher B. Reznich 49 printed under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau for Refugee Programs of That First Day: The Saga of a New Teacher by Eugene Labiak 51 the U.S. Department of State. The material appearing herein does not neces- From War to Resettlement: A History Training sarily represent the policy of that agency, by J. Frank Edgerton 53 nor the endorsement of the Federal Gov- ernment. Bureaucratic Bingo: A Simulation in Cultural Orientation Passage is published three times a by Stephen Alcantara and CO Team 55 year and distributed by the Center for Refugee Poets in the Low-Level ESL Class by Susan Togle and Team Applied Linguistics with offices located at 59 1118 22nd Street, NW, Washington, D.C. From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn: The 20037 and The Victoria Bldg., 8th floor, 429 United Nations Ave., Ermita, Metro Native Language Literacy Program by Jon Phillips 61 Manila, Philippines. Using the Community as a Language Resource: Refugees Passage is available to subscribers at Visit a Philippine Bank $9.00 a year. For information, write to the Center for Applied Linguistics. by Lourdes D. Stevens and ESL Team 64 The contents of this publication are in Drama and Puppets in the Low-Level ESL Classroom the public domain and may be repro- by Benito P. Vacio duced. 66 DEPARTMENTS Passage is funded by the Bureau for In This Issue 2 Refugee Programs of the U.S. De- Letters 3 ,partment of State. Update 4 128 In This Issue

Teachers at the Philippine Refugee Processing Morong, Bataan. The short bus trip there also Center (PRPC) recently asked a U.S. consultant provided a realistic look at mass transportation in to the Overseas Refugee Training Program in South- the U.S. as students were asked for exact change to east Asia how they should deal with unpleasant pay the fare and were required to observe the "No aspects of refugees' lives in the U.S. "I don't think Smoking" signs posted specially for the trip. The there's any choice," she told them. "Teachers here project is described by Lourdes Stevens and her team have to tell refugees the straight truththat most of teachers in "Using the Community as a Language of them are going to be living in low-income housing Resource." in ethnic ghettos. But they also need to help refugees Refugees from Eastern European and Southern see that they don't have to stay in those ghettos African nations also need to be prepared for forever that they can move out and still maintain unpleasant changes they will have to face in the links with their ethnic communities." U.S. In his article about the CO program at Bad In this issue of Passage, a number of articles Soden, Germany, Robert F. Waterbury shows how one describe how teachers can help refugee students major difficulty for some Eastern Europeans is the understand and cope with the sometimes harsh loss of status, bitter medicine indeed for a doctor, realities of life in the U.S. dentist, engineer, or master mechanic.It is even One effective means of helping refugees develop worse for the lawyer, economist, or teacher of Polish an awareness of these realities is games. For literature whose expertise may simply have no example, Jamie Fauss describes "The Resettlement application in the U.S. Students in the program are Game," a Cultural Orientation (CO) class activity in helped to formulate strategies for overcoming these which adult refugees discover the disadvantages of difficult problems. long-term dependence on welfare, the drawbacks of In the CO program at Kagisong Center in low-income housing, and the benefits of combining Botswana, refugees in Southern Africa learn that work and study. While the game does not have America is "neither a paradise nor the demoralized winners and losers, participants must defend choices society portrayed on 'Dynasty' or 'Miami Vice,' " they make, and peers critique them on how writes Mongezi Sifika, a recent graduate of Kagisong realistically they play. Center. 'Terhaps our dreams were deflated a little Simulations are another means of introducing bit," says Sifika, "but we left more prepared and realism into classroom instruction. In "Bureaucratic realistic about seeking employment and becoming Bingo," described by Stephen Alcantara and his self-sufficient as soon as possible." team of CO teachers, refugees cope with a confusing To discover firsthand the realities of refugees' array of agencies and offices, as they learn how to lives in the U.S., four PRPC staff members visited handle the loss of documents and how to make refugee resettlement sites across the U.S. In an effective use of community services. What could be account of these visits, "How Are They Doing in more realistic than waiting for an hour in one office, America?," the visitors report on what they heard only to be sent to another one? and saw. From East Coast to West, they found In her article, "Close Your Eyes, We're Going to refugees facing difficulties on the job, at schools, and Learn," Sinith Sitthiraksa draws on her experiences intheir communities. But refugees are also in Rhode Island (described in "One Week in succeeding, and this is at least partly due to the Woonsocket" in Passage 2:3) to present a realistic preparation they receive in the Overseas Refugee picture of educational opportunities in the U.S. Her Training Program. One ESL supervisor, who visited students discover the wide range of choices available refugees and service providers in New York, New as they select classes from genuine adult education Jersey, and California, observes, "What I found most brochures that the author brought back to Phanat encouraging was the evidence of our program's Nikhom, Thailand. They then discuss their choices effectiveness." with American counselors and find out if their This issue of Passage, by sharing these efforts to selections are acceptable or not. prepare refugees for the realities of their new lives, Refugees in low-level ESL classes at the PRPC can help refugee educators get a clearer perspective have been practicing bank-related language on refugee resettlement in the U.S. and on how they competencies, not through a simulation, but by can make it a successful experience for their students. actually visiting a bank in the nearby town of Editors 129 Letters to the Editor

To the editor: To the editor:

I have always been a keen reader of Passage and Thanks so much for sendingme a copy of Passage when I came back to PRPC on a visit in September magazine (Special Galang Issue). It's just wonderful, 1987, more than a year after I left the camp, I picked and I enjoyed every page. It brought backmemories up No. 1, 1987, and read "The Silversmith and the of when I was in Galang. The articlesare so moving, Painter: Refugee Artists at Bataan" with great yet so true. interest. Sincerely, I also knew Viengkham and her silversmith Arif Sulistiono brothers. I even wrote a poem I would like to share Spokane, Washington with you about one of the brothers. Arif Sulistiono was an ESL teacher in theintensive Sincerely, program on Galang. Helga Hoel Trondheim, Norway Helga Hoel is the former coordinator of the Nor- wegian program at the PRPC. The editors have received letters asking aboutem- ployment in the Overseas Refugee Training Program.

'at 'at 'at For information about employment in theprogram at Phanat Nikhom, Thailand, contact:

Laotian Silver Smith Helju Batchelder The Experiment in International Living Staff Development and Training I did not forge weapons Refugee Assistance Programs for Pathet Lao Kipling Road or US sympathizers. Brattleboro, VT 05301 I was too young. Telephone: (802) 257-4628

I have learned to forge jewelry. For information about employment in theprogram at Tradition rich the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) rings, belts, bracelets. contact: Filigree work saturated with myths Peter Morris International Catholic Migration Commission where dragons, peace doves and serpents Suite 820 are equally reai. 1319 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20004 Now I toil with my work to qualify as a Telephone: (202) 393-2904 journeyman, the entrance ticket For information about employment in the children's to the country where everybody forges program at the PRPC, contact: his own fortune. World Relief Corporation P.O. Box WRC Helga Hoel Wheaton, IL 60189 PRPC April 1986 Telephone: (312) 665-0235

130 Update

Roger Harmon Regional Consultant, Intergovernmental Committee for Migration

1987 came to a close with a surge of regional 1987 has been a year of intense work by program activity. This included an October meeting in managers and staff in the area of monitoring curric- Bangkok on the needs of young adults and a mid- ulum and student materials. Throughout the Over- November meeting in Manila on cultural orientation seas Training Program's seven-year history, an at- (CO) issues. Prior to the Bangkok meeting, par- tempt has been made to balance the use of com- ticipants from the Philippine program spent a week mercially-produced materials with site-produced at Phanat Nikhom observing the Thailand program. ones, thus reaping the benefits of each. In turn, Thailand staff visited the Philippine Each training site has developed curricula based Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) at Bataan before on the competencies and content standards mandated attending the meeting in Manila. in the regional program. They have also found it The overall goal for the first meeting was to necessary to produce a number of student materials, assess and improve the instructional program for especially workbooks, to use with the commercial young adults. This review took into account a recent texts. (Note that over half of the students entering informational survey conducted in the U.S. by the the program are not literate in English, and that Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL). The purpose of commercial materials for this population are the survey was to determine the resettlement ex- limited.) periences of Indochinese young adults between the CAL has been responsible for ordering and ages of 17 and 22 during their first two years in the distributing the commercial texts usedno small U.S. Staff in Southeast Asia want to determine how task, given such factors as the fluctuations in refugee they can most appropriately train US.-bound young flow, publishers' schedules, printing hold-ups in adults headed for high school (or other types of both the U.S. and Southeast Asia, and delays due to study) while maintaining the fccus on preparation shipping and customs problems. for the work place. Outcomes of the meeting will be Following guidelines from the Department of reported in my next Update. State, regional managers have tightened control At the CO issues meeting, participants looked at procedures for selecting and ordering commercial the hard realities refugees face in the inner city and texts and developing site-produced materials. They elsewhere in the U.S. where there is tension between have drafted strict requirements for materials ethnic groups. The meeting attempted to identify production, designating use of materials as con- teacher training models on this topic, since host- sumables or non-consumables. Although there is full country teachers are often unfamiliar with matters of regional cooperation and coordination on these mat- race, discrimination, and social and economic in- ters, fewer materials development projects are being equality in the U.S. The models developed at the initiated during these budget-conscious times. meeting included presenting accurate information, as 1987 has also seen the successful start of Preparing well as approaches to teaching about U.S. attitudes Refugees for Elementary Programs (PREP) for 6- to and values. As a result, the meeting outcomes will be 111/2-year-olds in the Philippines program, and relevant to all program components, particularly as substantial strengthening of the Preparation for they address value differences. In fact, the meeting American Secondary Schools (PASS) program at both represents efforts at both sites to promote closer sites. It is not easy to implement cost-cutting mea integration of program components, thereby pro- sures or to increase the range of students served while viding a more effective and, from the refugee improving the quality of instruction. In 1987, the student's perspective, a more coherent program. Overseas Refugee Training Program has done both.

....,..: 131. .:,, t.:. 1 How Are They Doing in America? Bataan Staff Visit U.S. Resettlement Sites

Lauren Crawford, Philippine RefugeeProcessing Center Douglas Gilzow, Refugee Service Center,Manila

After the 1987 TESOL conference in Miami, will encounter in the U.S. "They need tosee that Florida, most participants wearily began there are difficulties to overcome, but theycan packing their satchels with colorful publishers' eventually work their way up to success," saidone brochures, sorting through their collection of resettlement worker. workshop handouts, and making final arrangements Still, the delegates were heartened by themany for returning to their home cities. For four staff reports of the overseas program's success. The members of the Overseas Refugee Training Program, Preparation for American Secondary Schools (PASS) however, their work/travel assignment was only in program was given high marks by educators from the early stages. From mid-April through early coast to coast, and refugees themselves expressed May, staff members of the International Catholic gratitude for the preparation they had received Migration Commission (ICMC) at Bataan were overseas. Although the ICMC delegates found that involved in an innovative mission to cities across the some areas of teacher training and classroom U.S. to learn more about current refugee resettlement instruction may need adjusting, they agreed that the issues, gather suggestions for improvements in the training program is generally effective at addressing training program, and inform U.S. service providers refugees' most significant needs. Beloware excerpts of the aims and activities of the overseas program. from the individual delegates' reports. Concentrating on sites particularly affecteci by the influx of Indochinese refugees, they visited Richard Lambrecht, PASS refugee communities in California, Washington, curriculum developer, visit- Texas, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and ed secondary schools, coun- Virginia. They talked to a wide range of people who seling services, job training deal with refugees in the U.S., from junior high programs, and agencie:i that school teachers and adult education administrators deal with refugee teenagers to job developers and leaders of refugee mutual in Boston, Dallas, and San assistance associations (MAAs). In eau., city, they Francisco. also talked to refugee graduates of n,.., program at ,.' the Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC). All the schools I visited have support systems for Although each delegate was assigned to four or students with limited English proficiency. The five different cities, where they visited different degree to which refugee students are mainstreamed kinds of agencies and service providers, their reports with other students varies from school to school, and reveal a number of areas of agreement. Aspects of depends on the students' English proficiency and refugees' lives in the U.S. were grimmer than they length of stay in the U.S. At one school, Newcomer had realized, especially in the controversial area of High in San Francisco, the entire curriculum is geared public assistance. As one ICMC staff member said, "I to the newly-arrived foreign student. Other schools think that some of the greatest problems, such as offer comprehensive bilingual instructional programs dependency on welfare, are difficult to cover in our or bilingual aides in some classes, ESL instruction, curriculum, as refugees will probably listen more to and counseling. ESL instructors generally employ their relatives in the U.S." Service providers across up-to-date approaches, such as the Natural the country also told the visitors that refugees need Approach, communicative methods, and the Whole to develop more realistic expectations of what they Language Approach. Other options for refugee

1CI 132 6 PASSAGE Winter 1987

students include Vietnamese clubs and international learn that age makes a difference when it comes to culture clubs. legal problems, i.e., being considered a juvenile I was happy to learn that a number of Vietnamese rather than an adult under U.S. law. and Lao PASS graduates in Boston were doing well. Trinh Hung graduated at the top of his class and has Rufino Tangonan, Cultural won a $60,000 scholarship, which he will use to Orientation supervisor, vis- attend Boston University. Pham Cong Quan is getting ited an MAA in Brooklyn, straight A's in a full schedule of college prep classes. New York, and resettlement Nguyen Thanh Danh says that English class is offices in Arlington, Virgin- difficult, but he is still able to find time after school ia; Richmond, Virginia; and to work as a counselor for Buddhist families. Los Angeles, California. Siamphone Sitthirath and Panekham Vong- vrengham have both won awards in city art shows. Attitude is an important One thing is clear: PASS graduates join the same factor in refugee problems and successes. While many activities in the U.S. that they had joined at PASS. refugees look for work upon their arrival, others feel Refugee students were not participating in extra- cheated that they are not allowed public assistance curricular activities unless they had done so because jobs are readily available for them. For previously. those who are employed, keeping their jobs is an is- I talked to a number of teachers at the high sue that needs to be given more emphasis. Service school and junior high level. The suggestion I heard providers report that there are still instar..-...3 of refu- most frequently was for PASS to stress homework gees quitting jobs when reprimanded for mistakes. more and explain how tough American schools are Another apparently common problem is the about it. One school in Dallas, for example, counts unrealistically high expectations that refugees have homework as half of each student's grade. Teachers of sponsors and voluntary agencies. Some refugees also suggested that we emphasize that physical complain that they are left to fend for themselves education class is not optional in most school after only a few months in the U.S. The number and districts, and there are routines that go with it, such scope of refugee-specific services available varies as changing to appropriate attire for the activities widely, and we need to emphasize this to our and showering with other students afterwards. students. When I discussed Bataan's PASS curriculum, a On the other hand, the solution to these problems number of teachers wanted copies of our unit on of attitudes and expectations cannot be simply to Indochinese culture. Refugee students have spent paint a picture of grim reality. Although I saw that much of their lives in refugee camps or on journeys of some aspects of resettled refugees' lives were not very escape, teachers remarked, and these young people pleasantrun-down housing, unemployment, etc.if have missed out on learning about their own culture. we were to overemphasize the negative in our In fact, one of the things that surprised me most in classes, we would risk undermining refugees' meeting former PASS students was how quickly and confidence, and make it more difficult for them to thoroughly they had adapted to U.S. teen culture, adjust in the U.S. A balance is needed. especially in their hairstyles, clothing, and use of slang. Many had even Americanized their names. Nina Jaico, A/B -level ESL At each site I visited, I tried to learn more about supervisor, traveled to New community problems involving refugee teens. York, New Jersey, and Cali- Counselors and police officers reported that fornia, visiting adult ESL Southeast Asian youth are getting into trouble with , programs, a refugee resettle- the law for a number of different reasons: drugs, i ment office, and an MAA. dropping out of school, truancy, and gang problems. A sue- The ESL training programs related difficulty for Indochinese families is that she visited were all Main- they seldom know how to seek help after the streamEnglishLanguage teenager gets into trouble. In some cases, they do seek Training (MELT)sites,sotherewere many the aid of an MAA, but more often they are too similaritiesbetweentheircompetency-based embarrassed. Consequently, refugee families find objectives and those in the overseas program. themselves caught up in a systemcourts or social service administrationthat they don't understand. What I found most encouraging was the evidence Some of these problems can be addressed only in the of our program's effectiveness. I felt that ICMC U.S., but service providers suggested that, as a teachers' instructional skills compared favorably beginning step, our PASS students at Bataan should with those I saw in the U.S., but best of all was the

133 Crawford & Gilzow How Are They Doing in America? 7

positive feedback from U.S. service providers that when buying groceries or gifts I had to reada lot regarding our students' performance. And it was of labels and signs, while very little speakingor gratifying to meet refugees who have worked hard listening was required. and attained what they wanted. Implication: Reading skills are prerequisite to Teachers and service providers said that the teaching the shopping competencies. Advertising topics of health, housing, and employment needed seems to play an important role here as well; we more emphasis in the overseas program. Over- should continue to use copies of supermarket and crowding in apartments continues to be a problem, so department store ads in the classroom. perhaps tenant-landlord relationships should be discussed in greater depth, using a problem-solving An elderly Hispanic woman approachedme in approach. the bus station and asked if I spoke Spanish. She Besides meeting some of our former students, I also explained that she'd been trying to calla friend, but met several former staff members from Bataan who was unable to get through. I dialed the number for are now teaching refugees in the U.S. They were her :ad got a recording: 'Tlease deposit ten centsto suprised that their students had forgotten so much of complete this call." When I told her what the what had been covered in the camp programs, but recorded voice was saying, she was able to complete supposed that culture shock and other readjustment her call. problems accounted for it. Implication: Since many of our older students feel As a first-time visitor to the U.S., I was sensitive that learning English is not very important for them, to how newly-arrived refugees might perceive their we need to work harder at changing their minds. new country. Presenting a situation like this one with the A number of my experiences struck me as relevant telephone might help. to our students at Bataan: In San Diego, I had dinner with a former It seemed that people in the U.S. often don't student. I was impressed with what this Lao refugee deal with other people; they deal with machines. had accomplished in only three years. Nowa You can get just about anything from a vending well-paid assistant to a Vietnamese lawyer, he machine, from coffee (black or with cream) to proudly showed me his house and two cars,one of postage stamps; just insert the correct change and which is for his working wife. "I've had my share of push a button. This can be very convenient, but it can ups and downs since coming to the US.," he also be extremely confusing. Though I am literate and admitted, "but I'm content and happy withmy life fluent in English, I was frequently frustrated and now." He is looking forward to sponsoring his mother unable to follow the instructions. and his brother's family in the near future. Implication for the Overseas Refugee Training Implication: Succe.cs stories like this should be Program: Exposing our students to common sightwords share,1 with students, emphasizing the time and and U.S. signs is an initial step in familiarizing difficulties involved. them with what they will encounter. Patricia Hunter, program I often had difficulty understanding what officer for A/B -level Work Americans were saying to me. For example, I needed Orientation,traveledto several repetitions of announcements in subways and sites in Virginia and Cali- bus stations, before I was able to comprehend them. fornia. She met with refu- Regional accents sometimes confused me; I found gees and personnel in adult Black English particularly difficult to understand. ESL programs, voluntary Telephones presented another challenge. The first ..) agency resettlement offices, time I made a long-distance call on a public phone, I special programs for women could barely understand the operator, and when she and youth, MAAs, and the Washington, D.C., head- ended the conversation with "Thank you for calling quarters of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. AT&T," I had no idea what she was talking about. Implication: A daily listening activity, such as a Having been directly involved in resettlement weather report or newscast, could help our students work since 1975, I was able to see an incredible become accustomed to hearing routine information change. I met with many of our graduates, and heard spoken in a variety of accents. statements like "I am in a nursing program now; I may become a doctor" and "I bought a house last month; Stores in the U.S. usually group items so that we are very happy here." I found that newly- they're easy for shoppers to find. As a result, I found resettled Indochinese refugees are becoming active

.134 8 PASSAGE Winter 1987

participants in American life much faster than in providers to build on the training we have provided years past. Newcomers still have to work on their and to find out what refugees know before placing English skills, but many of the other hurdles seem them in new programs, to ask to see refugees' resumes, lower or nonexistent because of the pre-entry and to acknowledge their previous experience and training we provide. skills. Service providers were not hesitant to offer Before taking this trip, I had been alarmed at suggestions: "Teach appropriate attitudes and coping news stories concerning discrimination against skills.... Don't send us people with such high refugees. However, my feelings toward my country's expectations. ... Teach time management and generosity of spirit were reaffirrhed during my flight prioritizing... . Teach young people about sex and from the Philippines. drugs.... Teach everyone the responsibilities of When the plane came to a stop at the San freedomit isn't just free." Francisco airport, a man who had said nothing to us Of course, these areas are already addressed in firing the entire 10-hour trip reached over to my our curricula, but it is helpful to hear again how refugee seatmate, put his arm around him, and said, important these issues remain, and that they need "Welcome to my country. I know you've had a continued emphasis. I urged many U.S. service long, long journey."

Lauren Crawford, Bataan --:;6*-----.7P;73 Douglas Gilzow, Man ila , site editor, is a Cultural t9 editorof Passage,has Orientation supervisor at tr.:1 been a program associate the PRPC. Prior to that, :4..1 attheRefugeeService .t".`.; she was assistant to the ...: vatCenter in Manila since director of the New Eng- 1984. Gilzow's experience landregionalofficeof inthefieldincludes the World Relief Corpo- teaching English in Laos, ration (WRC). She was Iran, and the U.S. For At"! also editor of that agen- three years, he directed cy's regional newsletter. In 1982-83, she taught in an ESL program in Lansing, Michigan. Gilzow holds WRC's Youth Guidance program at the PRPC. a Master's degree in linguistics from the University Crawford holds a BA from Kalamazoo College, of Michigan. where she studied religion and English. ti

135 "Close Your Eyes, We're Going to Learn"

Sinith ("Aood") Sitthiraksa Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

It is said that education is a lifelong process, and In order to teach "School in America"to my many Americans express their belief in this advanced level class of adult Hmong, Klmer,and assertion through their support and involvement in Lao students, I divide the lesson into two days. The schools and other educational programs. To introduce first day, I bring to the classroom job cards, subject this concept to refugees and to explain the various cards, a tape recorder, a cassette of classical music,. school systems, training programs, and other educa- cue cards, and 20 adult education program flyers tional options in the U.S., I developed a new unit for tucked into laminated newspapers. my upper-level ESL class. In this unit, students learn about U.S. school Day One programs for both children and adults. Using copies of an actual flyer from a U.S. adult educationpro- My first objective is to free the students, tempo- gram, students choose courses which fit their inter- rarily, from their identity as refugees and from their ests, job and educational backgrounds, and their preconceptions about the jobs that refugees routinely goals. They practice the English needed to enroll accept in the U.S. Desks and tables are pushed to the themselves or family members and to discuss educa- far corners of the classroom, and we arrange ourselves tional problems and goals with counselors, sponsors, ;n a circle. or friends. Students learn how to fill out application "Most of us, when we were young," Isay, forms, write cnecks for fees, and prepare it all for "dreamed of becoming a pilot, a movie star,or per- mailing to a school registration office. haps a world leader." On the classroom floor, I Unlike other simulations and role plays in spread out an array of about 40 different job cards, classrooms at Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp, these each printed with an occupation or title, suchas gov- activities apply principles of Suggestopedia, an ernor, rock star, or bank manager. I ask the students to approach to language learning "through relaxation spend a few minutes looking at the colorful cards. and indirect acquisition of forms" (Brown 1980,p. "Those days are gone now," I continue, "but with 244). Shkilevich (1980) has stated: all these choices before us, we might be reminded of It seems obvious that the establishment ofa our dreams." Everyone chooses a card. These occupa- pleasant and trusting environment certainly will tions, such as governor, singer, and scientist, represent both increase the learning and make it more not what we are, but what we hope to become. Many enjoyable as well. To promute this environment, are not realistic, but it doesn't matterwe. are there must be warmth, security, and understanding reaching for the stars! Students look at th:ards between teacher and learner, and among the they've chosen and discuss their new identities fora learners themselves. Once trust has been estab- while, explaining their choices, and what they plan lished, anxieties are resolved, and thus more to accomplish as a prime minister, a palm reader, or effective learning takes place. Once the learner is a rock singer. rel:- Id both physically and emotionally, s/he I ask the students to hold their cards tightly, lean beis to feel more comfortable with making errors and begins to focus on real communication. back, and close their eyes. For a short time,we listen (p. 121) to silence and then to the quiet sounds of the camp. I turn on a tape recording of a soothing piece of class- Of course, creating a relaxed atmosphere condu- ical music. I am creating a warm, relaxing atmo- cive to learning is an objective in almost any class, but sphere that will help the students lose themselves the topic being taught can make that a difficult task. for a little while. (. ti 136 10 PASSAGE Winter 1987

I begin to read softly, adjusting my tone of voice to Working in pairs, the students quiz each otheron the music: education in America by pointing to their fingers. I monitor, but the students do most of their ownerror Now we are on Pan American Airlines, oh our way correction. While practicing the new vocabulary, to America. We are so tired that we fall asleep, and they are using materials that have been familiar to we dream about our home town in Laos. them their whole livestheir fingers and hands. When we were young, we went to school every After allowing enough time for everyone to quiz morning. We walked along the road besidethe and be quizzed, I hold up a large cue card, ENROLL Mekong River, watching the boats drift in a leisurely IN. Some notice the cue immediately; othersare still fashion downstream as the birds flew in the sky involved in the question-and-answer exchanges. above us, freely, easily. We passed the temples, the Those who feel ready begin to use the cue: pagodas, and gardens full of blossoming :rangi-pani "I want to enroll in community college." trees. How beautiful our national flower is! We could "I want to enroll my son in kindergarten." smell its sweet fragrance all the way to school. We The new version of the quiz catches on, andsoon arrived before 8:30 and played hide-and-seek before students are asking each other, "What school doyou going into our classroom. want to enroll in?" We studied for many yearswe studied hard. When one student asks another, "Do you want to Then our country was taken over. It was no longer enroll in high school?" her partner responds, "No, I ours. Good-bye friends, good-bye teachers, good-bye want to enroll my nephew in high school." schools, good-bye Vientiane, good-bye Laos. No more The conversation is not strictly controlled, but frangi-pani blossoms, no Mekong River, no mountains, students are all involved in the activity, consulting and no country any more. We miss our friends, our their fingers and using the teacher-providedcue teachers, our schools, and our country. words. We are on our way to America. There, I hope to go back to school some day. What does school in Amer- ica look like? I can't imagine. School in America. School ... school .. . school in America.

I then ask the students to let go of their cards and open their eyes. "School in America is right at your fingertips!" Holding up my left hand, I point to my thumb. "This is nursery school," I say. We talk about nursery school: what it is, who goes there, how nursery school differs from day care. I then point to my index finger. Pairs of students quiz one anor on t MRaffrm "What's next, after nursery school?" system. Photo by Peter Loverde/Kwanjai Jiranuntaprawat. "Kindergarten." I add another cue card, INTERESTED IN, and the "How old are the students in kindergarten?" We conversations begin to expand. talk about kindergarten, and proceed on our fingers "I am interested in enrolling in vocational (see Figure 1). I ask questions about the stages of school." schooling: "I'm interested in enrolling my daughter in "Will any of you enroll in these schools? How nursery school." about your children? What kind of school will they At last I. hear, "I am interested in takingan attend?" English class. I want to enroll in adult education." But that's only one hand. Are children and Silently, I lay more than two dozen colorful cardson teenagers the only people who go to school in the floor, each marked with the name ofa subj-ct, America? Of course not. We look at our right hands ranging from Italian cooking and modern history to (see Figure 2). ESL and auto repair. "Junior college," I say, pointing to my thumb. We We look again at the occupations chosen earlier. begin to list the educational possibilities for adults: Whith subjects might help us achieve our goals? junior college, university, community college, voca- Some of the words in the course titles are unfamiliar, tional training, technical school, private courses, and I provide explanations when asked. The students adult education classes, correspondence courses. We take their time mulling over their decisions, but soon run out of fingers and have to use our knuckles. finally everyone chooses a card.

t 137 Sitthiraksa "Close Your Eyes" 11

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Figure 1 Figure 2

"What would you like to be?" I ask. "And where every morning at about six, a newspaper carrier will you start?" Some of the responses send the class delivers the paper to my home. KNOCK! KNOCK! into fits of laughter. Here's the paper now! "I'd like to be the President of the U.S.A. I want to enroll in an ESL class!" The students open their eyes to find thatnews- "I'd like to be the Prime Minister. I'm interested papers have been placed at their feet. They laugh. in enrolling in a computer programming class." "Yesterday, shopping couponstoday,news- After all the students have talked about their papers!" choices, I ask them to close their eyes again. There We briefly look over the frontpage news before has been a lot of vocabulary introduced in a short opening the papers to find the flyers from Lincoln time. They need time foe reflection, and asa "re- Community College Adult Education Program. It'sa ward," I turn on the music again, aneven more sooth- complicated listing of subjects and schedules printed ing piece this time. I ask the students just to listen in crowded-looking, small, black type. The students and relax. Then I begin to read quietly: look at it and talk among themselves. Theywant to ask questions, but there isn't much time left. Besides, Dear Teacher: we are in Lincoln now, and the teacher is 3,000 miles Greetings from a distant land. It's me, Viparath away. I tell them to relax and spend some time Sitthipen, writing to tell you that I missyou and looking through the flyer. I put the musicon. remember always your smiling face. In the U.S. There are many things to consider, andwe talk things are not so difficult for me, since I went to about them for a while: How faraway is the col- school in the camp. I go wherever I want, and Ican lege? Is there public transportation? How much do undzitstand signs and symbols, though I don't always courses cost? Are they offered in the evening? Is there understand Americans. a child care facility? I live in Lincoln now, a small city in Rhode Island. It now seems that the fantasy is over, andwe no The population is no more than 30,000, I think, but I longer care about being President or a rock star. Real- could be wrong. My house is across the street froma ity has been brought to our doorsteps in the formof small church. It takes only fifteen minutes to walk to this flyer from a real college. Some of the relaxed the nearest park. How did I find this house? In the expressions turn a little worried. Life is hard in the newspaper. The newspaper is a useful source of U.S. True, but there are people to help. information here in America. I even found my job in "Tomorrow," I tell the students, "you will meet the newspaper.The paper only costs a quarter, and some people who will help you."

13 8 12 PASSAGE Winter 1987

Day Two I chose to adapt Suggestopedia techniques for this lesson because most of my students have been away The second day, I bring to class signs, application from formal education for many years, and are forms, blank checks, money orders, envelopes, a tape anxious at the prospect of becoming students again recorder, music, and Cokes for the counselors. I have outside the security of the refugee camp. Students recruited two American supervisors, given them liked the challenge to their imaginations that had copies of the adult education program flyer, and set been posed in the first class. They retained the them up in a nearby classroom. Outside, I have vocabulary and the concepts of U.S. education that posted a sign saying, "Lincoln Community College." were presented. An inside sign reads, "Counseling Office." Through new identities, fantasy trips, soothing The students in my classroom are noticeably ner- music, finger exercises, and a session with someone vous as they help one another fill out application who was willing to help, it seemed that real commu- forms. Each must decide when he or she is ready to nication was taking place. What was being communi- talk to a counselor. Once in the Lincoln Community cated was that education, an integral part of a new College building, students have a private interview start, was rich in possibilities. Students only need with a counselor, discussing the appropriateness of the confidence to go out and give some of those pos- the class selected, and other considerations. After sibilities a try! the course selection process has been completed, the counselors explain that students will have to pay References their fees by a certain date. Brown, H. Douglas. (1980). Principles of language Back in the classroom, the students make out learning and teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren- checks or money orders, and address envelopes to tice Hall. Lincoln Community College. When everyone has Shkilevich, Donna H. (1980). Suggestopedia: A returned, we play soft music, and students discuss theory and a model. In John F. Haskell (Ed.), their experiences in the counseling office. They are Selectedarticles from the TESOL Newsletter relaxed again, confident that they will be able to 1966-1983 (pp. 121-123).Washington, DC: Teach- enroll themselves in school. Deciding to take an ESL ers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. class in the hopes of getting a better job seems easy, compared to running for the presidency! To help them review, I hand out American school Sinith ("Aood") Sitthi- system charts, but many of the Lao students refuse to raksa has been an ESL take them. They hold up their hands and laugh, teacher atthe Phanat "Ws here already!" Nikhom Refugee Camp in Thailand since1983. The following day, a few Hmong students come to Her article, "A Week in class with hands drawn on pieces of paper, the Woonsocket,"appeared fingers labeled with the schools we'd discussed. in the Winter1986issue Students also ask for the scripts I'd read while they of 1-assage. She has also At listened to music in class. They want to read them AV. h contributed to Behind the alone, quietly, at home. And, as I'd expected, every- Lines, an ESL workbook, and to the staff news- one wants copies of the music. letter at Phanat Nikhom. She holds a BA in history from Thammasat University in Bangkok.

.139 Kagisong Center, Botswana: Oasis of Hope

Mongezi Sifika South African Refugee

In Setswana, the national language of Botswana, schools in the capital city, Gaborone, and shelters the word Kagisong means "Place of Peace." refugees who need medical treatment,or who have Kagisano, which means "social harmony," is one of business with local authorities such as UNHCRor the ideals upon which Botswana's four national BCR (Botswana Council for Refugees). Kagisong principlesDemocracy, Development, Self-Reli- Center also assists the local village of Mogoditshane ance, and Unityare based. For myself, Kagisong with a variety of community service programs, means an oasis for refugees, a place where we are including a child care program provided by the Red safe during our transit, and where we are equipped Cross. For refugees who will resettle in the U.S., during our Cultural Orientation (CO) course with a Kagisong Center is the site of CO classes. basic understanding of the cultural, social, economic, Being a refugee is not a normal condition. It isa and political systems of our country of resettlement, product of an abnormal sociopolitical situation that the U.S. breeds conflict and violence in one's fatherland. For Kagisong Center, like the country of Botswana, many Africans, one does not have to oppose the aims to achieve peace and harmony within its government directlyto make people aware of their environs. The political spirit in Botswana since its rights and the means with which they can address independence 20 years ago can be summed up by the their concerns is an invitation to political persecu- following slogan: Ntwa Kgo 10 Keyc Molomo! Or, tion. Fear of persecution drives one into exile. loosely translated, "It's better to jaw-jaw than to I am one of those refugees who have made the war-war." The unique multi-party democracy in grave and painful decision to leave their country; I Botswana has, since the 1960s, made this country an have taken my wife and son to resettle in the U.S. It oasis in a region rife with political turmoil and took me six months to finally decide to apply to violence. Refugees from neighboring African countries re-cross the Atlantic and settle for good in a country I particularly South Africa, Angola, Namibia, and had enjoyed as a visiting undergraduate student. It Mozambiquecontinue to seek asylum in Botswana. was a particularly painful decision, since I would Botswana is approximately the size of France, but have to leave without seeing my parents, brothers, has a population of slightly more than one million sisters, and friends, or receiving a warm, traditional people. This population is overwhelmingly rural and farewell. dependent on agriculture. During the last six years of drought, demographic movement has shifted toward the few urban and semi-urban centers, putting intense pressure for social services and jobs on a government ISOM that has severely limited resources. Centers like (1114ER PEACE a :SERVICE. Kagisong, which is run by Quaker Peace and Service "PRELIGID,US SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, in the United Kingdom, and programs like CO RED CROSS,CRECHE provided by the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM) in Geneva through funding from the U.S. Department of State, are an answer to the government's call for assistance to refugees in this country. As a transit center, Kagisong Center provides temporary accommodations for refugees who attend Signpost outside Kagisong Center in Botswana. Photo by Kathleen Hamilton.

140 14 PASSAGE Winter 1987

At Kagisong, I had to stop thinking of my homeland and concentrate on my new country. During the CO course, I tried to understand the American way of life. I recalled from my experiences as a student that Americans were very patriotic and proud of their individual rights. I also knew that there is no such thing as a typical American, since the U.S. is a pluralistic society, rich in cultural diversity My thoughts were confirmed by what we learned in our CO classes. We arrived at a realistic perception of Americaneither a paradise nor the demoralized society portrayed on "Dynasty" or "Miami Vice." We learned that American settlers Rondavelstraditional Africal housesserveas living began in situations similar to our own and we felt quarters for CO students at Kagisong Center in Botswana. confident that we would succeed eventually and bring Photo by Kathleen Hamilton. our own contributions to the U.S. We began to forget many of our anxieties. The Center proved to be a true oasis in that it quenched our thirst for knowledge about the U.S. and stemmed our fears and uncertainties. Perhapsour dreams were deflated a little bit in the matter of finding jobs, but we left more prepared and realistic about seeking employment and becoming self- sufficient as soon as possible. In time, we will be able to follow our chosen careers. For myself, the best feeling is knowing I am going to lose the stigma of being a refugee. My family will be African Ameri- cans, like so many who have come before us.

Mother reading to &en- n 1Cagisong" Commons;Room. Mongezi Sifika was born Photo by Kathleen Hamilton. in South Africa. On a Evenings at Kagisong Center were informal and Phelps-Stokesscholar- friendly, occasionally featuring such entertainment ship, he studied for two as films or guest speakers from the American years at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Embassy. Among the memorable evenings that stand On returning to Africa, out in my mind is one when the coordinator from he taught English and Geneva made us popcorn to enjoy with our movie. officemanagementat Another was when we explained to a visiting Commercial School. In speaker the inadequacies of American football rela- 198 3,e was (Wardeda World University Ser- tive to soccer. One evening was memorable, but not vice scholarship and studied at the University of pleasant. This was when we all heard cannon fire Botswana. He and his family have been resettled and machine guns from the nearby Botswana Defense in Michigan. Force.

141 GettingaHead Start: Refugee Workers at PhanatNikhom

Niyada Chonviriya Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

In the Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp, refugee to the test, but I passed them all and wenton to have workers are more than a valuable assettheir an interview. The interviewer asked me many work is essential to the operation ofevery agency questions about my previous experience. The letter of there. As one of the largest agencies in the camp, the recommendation from Miss Linda Smith,a Cultural Consortium* employs approximately 600 refugee Orientation (CO) supervisor at Phanat Nikhom,was workers, more than any other voluntary agency. In the best. Although I just began, Inow get $6.41 an fact, the number of refugee staff often exceeds'that of hour and I work 40 hours a week. Mycompany has paid Consortium staff. Since the program began, one of the highest salaries for entry-level workers in refugee workers have played a major role insup- St. Louis. porting the education of their fellow refugees. Success stories like Savath's are not unusual. Over Why Do We Hire Refugees? the years, we have learned that work experience in the camp can make the job search easier after The Consortium maintains its large refugee staff resettlement. Our hiring procedures and employee in order to meet program needs. We could notrun the expectations are very similar to what refugees find numerous Consortium programs in the camp without when utey seek employment in the U.S. The jobs the help of the refugee workers. Skill requirements they perform in the camp often require skills that for the jobs vary, but all jobs contribute to the running are more easily transferable to a Western job market of the educational and support programs. The table than are the skills they used in jobs suchas farming on pi.,3e 16 outlines the jobs that refugee workers per- or military service in their own countries. form, and the qualifications we seek in applicants for We also encourage upward mobility in camp jobs. those jobs. We explain the system for promotions to all appli- Another reason we employ refugee workers is to cants. Refugee workers who maintain a good work provide them with valuable work experience. Sa- record, demonstrate leadership qualities, andare vath Singharath, for example, was a Lao classroom able to motivate other employeesare often promoted translator during his time at Phanat Nikhom. After to supervisory positions. Sometimes workersare a month in the U.S., he wrote back to his teacher: given supervisory jobs from the start because ofpre- vious employers' recommendations. Some components Today I'm becoming an interpreter for Laotians who in the program have several levels of jobs: basic can't speak or understand English. I'll work in hos- entry-level, semi-skilled, and skilled. We consider pitals and bii::ness offices and get paid $5.00an hour. it a form of professional development anda chance to build self-esteem when we can move a conscientious A few months later, Savath's teacher received worker to a higher position. this letter: Ang Few is a good example of an upwardly mobile person. He began working as a janitor, advanced to I have started a new job and am now a member of the be position of construction worker, and then was Workers' Union. Before getting the job, I had to take made head of construction. Another worker, Lao Pao, a test in the Job Service Office. There were five parts worked as a janitor at the Child Care Center for only three weeks, before his talents were recognized and *Consortium agencies are the Experiment in International he was promoted to teacher. He is now assistant Living, Save the Children Federation, and World supervisor for the afternoon shift of teachers at the Education. Child Care Center.

.:*J. 142 16 PASSAGE Winter 1987

Positions for Refugee Workers at Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

Number Needed Types of Jobs for Two Shifts Qualifications Desired

1. Native Language Literacy Teacher 121 Literate in a refugee native language 2. Materials Room Aide 112 Can read/speak some English 3. Classroom Translator/Teacher's Aide 100 Very good English 4. Babysitter 60-70 Experience with small babies, patience 5. Teacher for Children 60-65 Literate in any language, likes children 6. Night Guard 53-56 Honest and trustworthy 7. Construction Worker 50 Basic carpentry 8. Learning Center Aide 25 Can read/understand English 9. Listening Lab Aide 20 Good English 10. ,Electrician 20 Electrical skills 11. Janitor 18-20 None 12. Office Aide/Messenger 13 Can read names in English 13. Housekeeper 16 Knows some English, operates video machine 14. Sewing Machine Repairman 3-4 Can repair sewing machines 15. Cook Child Care Center 2 Can cook for large group 16. Silk Screen Aide 2 Careful at precise work 17. Storekeeper 2 Can read/write some English 18. SecretaryChild Care Center 2 !:ncws some English, typing 19. Gardener 1-2 Gardening skills

Alljobs are available to both men and women, but Recruitment no refugee women have yet applied for jobs as carpenters or electricians. Men seldom apply for jobs as As the refugee coordinator in camp, it is my job to babysitters; at one time, however, due to a serious recruit refugee workers. Although there are many shortage of female babysitters, we had to recruit Lao refugees in the "amp, the turnover is rapid, and teenage boys. Elderly Hmong men have also been recruitment efforts must be carried out continuously. asked to babysit with Hmong babies from time to Three methods of recruiting have been particularly time. Like equal opportunity employers in the U.S., successful. First, when students are registering for a we do not discriminate against applicants on the new cycle, I take the opportunity to locate potential basis of gender or physical handicaps. workers. Most of the classroom aides and translators We try to simulate the American workplace, en- are found in this way. Second, it has also proven couraging positive attitudes toward work, and pre- worthwhile to review student class lists, since these paring refugee staff for employment after resettle- contain a great deal of relevant information, such as ment. One area we are no longer able to simulate, age, language skills, and hours of availability. The however, is salary. Since April 1987, we are no longer third approach is in some ways the easiestrefer- permitted to pay refugee staff. Previously, they re- rals from current refugee staff members. This has been ceived approximately 10 Baht (50 cents) per day, but particularly helpful in locating refugees with specif- now all refugee workers are volunteers. ic skills, such as carpenters or electricians.

143 Chonviriya Getting a Head Start 17

Aia1 %it--q:-Vt7,A.KAPAFfrr Refugee workers play a major role Hin in supporting the education of their fellow refugees.

Photos by Kamontip ("Bea) Tansahawat. Niyada Chonviriya, refugee coordinator, listensas a Hmong refugee inquires about a job.

WZA.Z

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To begin their workday, refugee workers punch in on Hmong refugee (left) serves as a translator in a Cultural a time clock. Orientation class.

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iv atet,.. ta Hmong worker teaches a group of 2- and 3-year-olds at the Refugee workers maintain supplies and equipment Child Care Center. used in Work Orientation (WO) classes. 144 5-r

18 PASSAGE Winter 1987

Outside my office is a large sign saying, "APPLY Miscommunication problems are fairly frequent. FOR A JOB." Some refugees come into the office to Workers say "yes," regardless of whether or not they inquire. Others go directly to the worksite they are have understood an instruction. There are also cases interested in, such as the Child Care Center or when a worker believes he or she has understood Materials Room, and try to apply there. Refugee perfectly, but it is later evident that there was a leaders in the camp are also cooperative, particu- misunderstanding. When we asked a worker to put larly the Hmong. If there is a sudden reed for extra "No Smoking" signs up in the bathrooms, he said he workers, we can go into the classrooms or ask teachers understood, and went off with the materials. He to announce the openings. Occasionally, the Thai returned later and reported that the job was done. It Ministry of Interior office in the camp has supplied wasn't until late in the day that we noticed "No us with names of potential applicants. Smoking" signs on the corners of all the buildings in Unfortunately, not all applicants or recruits can be the area! Another time, when a messenger was on his given jobs. We must consider their previous job way to the Child Care Center office with a note, I experience, the skills they can bring to a given job, asked him to show a newly-hired messenger where their educational background, and their communica- that office was located. When he returned alone, I tion skills in English and Thai. In addition, we note asked where the new messenger was. He said he had their length of time in camp, the amount of time they left him at the Child Care Centerhe thought this have free before or after classes, their physical and refugee was beginning there as a teacher. Of course, mental health, and their general character. We also these problems are similar to those that may occur in ask for letters of recommendation. the U.S. We try to resolve them quickly, and the Although we prefer to hire those with previous refugee worker involved usually learns a valuable relevant experience, most of our applicants have lesson about the need to request clarification. never held a job before, other than soldier, farmer, or The Consortium tries to develop the concept of homemaker. Many of those with good communication self-help in the refugee community both inside and skills are young. Each applicant is interviewed, and outside the classroom. We can see from letters of this is when we look for positive work attitudes and former staff members like Savath that refugee a willingness to learn. workers' willingness to lend a hand in Phanat Nikhom has improved their prospects for a more Problems on the Job satisfactory work life in the U.S.

Cross-cultural misunderstandings among the refu- Niyada Chonviriya has gee workers arise from time to time. For example, a beentheConsortium's newly-hired Hmong worker once came to my office in refugeecoordinatorat tears of rage and told me he was resigning, because a Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp since May 1984. Lao co-worker had patted him on the shoulder. The Previously, she was an Lao worker claimed that he was only teasing him in ESL instructor at the site. a friendly way. The Hmong worker interpreted the She holds an MA in in- gesture as an insult or a provocation to fight. After ternationalaffairs from some patient explanations were offered to both par- California State Univer- ties, the Hmong worker changed his mind and re- sity at Sacramento and a BA in political science! turned to work. In fact, his morale improved after international relations from Chulalongkorn Uni- that, and he tried harder to learn the job. versity in Bangkok.

145 CO at Bad Soden:Eastern European Refugees' Special Problems

Robert F. Waterbury Intergovernmental Committee for Migration

Bad Soden, West Germany, is one of four European Germany, where most of our students waitout the locations where the Intergovernmental Com- months and years of resettlement processing, thereis mittee for Migration (ICM), with funding from the far more socialism and social control than in the U.S. U.S. Department of State, conducts Cultural Orien- During this waiting period, the refugeesare de- tation (CO) courses for Eastern European refugees pendent on the German social servicessystem, aware entering the United States. The Bad Soden program that their ultimate fate is in the hands of the U.S. is a four-day intensive course designed to impart the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the best possible understanding of a new culture in the voluntary agencies arranging for their resettlement. shortest possible time. During its nearly twoyears of This dependence is poor preparation for the personal operation, the program's curriculum, methods, and responsibility they will need to take in the U.S. materials have gone through a series of modifi- Many students expect the U.S. to be just like their cations, reflecting our growing experience in identi- home countries. For example, a recent group of former fying and coping with our students' special char- Polish internees could not believe that ICMwas not a acteristics and problems. U.S. government agency, that the U.S. Department of Refugees from Eastern Europe are migrating from State was not going to take direct responsibility for cultures which, although economically depressed solving their problems, or that the federal bureau- and certainly far less developed technologically cracy was not going to provide a substantial support than that of the United States, are nevertheless system tor them. They demanded a meeting with the urban and industrial. Eastern European refugees, site coordinator. unlike those h'om Indochina, are familiar with most "What do you mean," queried their spokesman, modern means of oammunication and transportation, "we have to find out what programs thereare in the and with the social structures common to most states we go to? Why won't you just tell us what the European and American countries. Furthermore, the government is going to give us?" majority of our students have spent anywhere from "You mean it's just a mess," complained ayoung one to three years in the first asylum countries of woman in heavily accented English. "Nobody knows West Germany or Switzerland. Although their anytiang and nobody cares what happens to us!" refugee status has forced them to exist on the social Before the meeting ended, they demandeda list and economic fringes of these countries, they have of addresses and telephone numbers for U.S.em- learned a great deal about life in the West. bassies and various government agencies throughout Et.rope and the U.S. It was obvious that the focus of Individual Freedom their thinking continued to be on pursuing solutions and Personal Responsibility through the government. Perhaps the greatest challenge in the CO program is to change this thinking. Because of the similarities which they recognize A second, related challenge is for teachersto between their old and new cultures, Eastern resist the tendency to perceive students as being "just Europeans often fail to comprehend the real dif- like us." When students assure teachers that they ferences they face as migrants to the U.S. Many of already know most of what will be taught and don't them already have unrealistically high expecta- really need the course at all, we have to dig below tions for their futures in America and are unable (and the rather blase facade to find their real insecurities In some cases unwilling) to perceive the degree of and to elicit attitudes and misconceptions that need change they must undergo. Even their Western to be examined. These refugees, unlike those who European experience has a drawback. In West crossed to the West in the first few years after World

146 20PASSAGE Winter 1987

War II, have always lived under a communist to get along with fellow workers. We challenge then system. They often have only vague, idealized, and to become a part of the great American experiment misinformed ideas of life in an American-style that brings such a diversity of people together under democracy and free enterprise system. The ICM a system of self-government. program provides a modest beginning in convincing e"....AW.IMMA.,...W...... V.VA those whose ability for self-direction has been seriously impaired that they now have both the An American Letter to New Immigrants opportunity and the urgent necessity for taking con- Dear new arrival, trol of their own destinies. This letter contains some important informa- American History and Culture tion about your new country. It is also meant to !ring you two messages, one of welcome, andone of Our course begins with a short talk on history, challenge. We hope that you will find the infor- supplemented by required readings and group mation helpful. We also hope that you will take discussion, showing how history has shaped many of both of the messages seriously; that you will feel the attitudes the refugees will encounter in the U.S. truly welcome in America, and that you will We tell them how the early settlers, the American accept her challenge to participate in the build- revolutionaries, and the pioneers all struggled, ing of a better society for all people.... sacrificed, and overcame great obstacles to build a ... America is a place where there is a great nation of freedom and opportunity. The students on-going experiment; an experiment to determine learn how these experiences contributed to American whether people of diverse backgrounds and great attitudes of resistance to government control, and differences can live together in freedom under a respect for self-reliance, perseverance, and personal system of self-government. You are about to initiative. We also discuss American attitudes become a part of that experiment. America wants toward taxation and expensive social programs, and you to know that you are needed; we need your the concept of owning property as a means of personal work and your ideasyour contributions to the independence. success of the experiment.... Next, there is a discussion of America as a "nation ...When you arrive in the United States, you of immigrants"' having great ethnic and cultural are goingtofind many differentkindsof diversity. The idea of mixing different ethnic and peoplea much wider variety of peoples and cultural backgrounds can be troublesome to our cultures and traditions than you have been used to students. Since each refugee ethnic group tries to in your homeland.... You need to understand, maintain its own strong identity and sense of national before you arrive, that the United States has pride, Eastern European refugees bring old frictions really become a "rainbow" society, which means and feuds with them. At times, there are tensions that it is also a constantly changing societyone between Poles and Hungarians, problems between in which we try to hold firm our basic institutions, Romanians of different social standing, and re- and our ideals of freedom and justice, but in which sistance by Czechs and Slovaks to sharing the same we must also accept new ideas and gain the classroom. benefitof new culturaltraditions. You are Paula Brown, a black former social worker from challenged to join usto become a part of us, and North Carolina, is an American advisor in the Bad to confront the problem of learning to live with Soden CO program. Recently, she asked a class of 20 different people, accepting their differences and Polis'h refugees what they thought a typical !earning from them. American looks like. After some discussion, they unanimously agreed that a typical American would look pretty much like themselves. One goal of our program is to help our students Changing Roles understand America's multi-racial and multi-ethnic society, and to become tolerant, if not fully accepting, Next, we discuss family and social relationships of the Blacks, Hispanics, Orientals, and other groups and culture shock, describing the effects that great among whom they will soon be living. We begin by environmental changes have on people. A Romanian pointing out that they may soon be applying to a man says, "I know things will be different; I will not black manager or supervisor for an entry-level job, that they are likely to be working next to an "This is an excerpt from a letter written by the author and distributed to Bad Soden students at the start of the CO Oriental or Hispanic, and that the new immigrant's program. The letter is used as background material for job record will be based, in part, on his or her ability personal study and class discussion.

.A.' 14 147 Waterbury CO at Bad Soden21

be upset by these changes." A Polish woman wants to made to equip the refugees to cope with these know how long it will take to get through the four changes. stages of culture shock. A young Czech, who was a professional athlete back home, sits witha Survival Skills disbelieving grin on his face. Then we begin talking about the differences they will confront. We progress to units on transportation, communi- "You mean my wife will have to work?" cation, and housing. "Possibly," answers an American advisor. "The "How long did it take to get a telephone in American economy is based increasingly on the Poland?" asks a bilingual facilitator. two-income family. It may be difficult to have the "Ten years, if you were lucky," a womananswers. things you need, unless your wife works." Her classmates nod in agreement. "The children will have to be taken care of by a One Romanian facilitator, a former refugee, leads stranger?" a discussion of the complexities of an American The advisor tries to be reassuring: "Many apartment lease. Americans place their children in licensed child care "A lease is a legal contract," he says. "Beforeyou centers while they are working. Many schools keep sign any contract or legal document, you should under- lists of qualified child care providers in their stand what it says. When you sign a lease,you are vicinity." accepting certain responsibilities, and so is the land- "It is better for a woman to take care of her own lord." The discussion becomes more lively. children, and to make a beautiful home for her "What if I have to leave before the end ofa family." There is an angry edge to his voice. Smiles year?" asks one. have begun to fade; worried glances are exchanged "What if the furnace breaks down?" asks another. around the room. "Does the rent include the heating?" asksa third. The advisor tries to explain how the fabric of Our students get upset with us becausewe have to American family life is being rewoven. tell them so often, "You'll find out whenyou get "Many people in America still feel that way," there... Ask your volag or your sponsor ... It she says, "But, more and more, men are being asked to depends on what state you're going to." Wemust help with housework and actively participate in often give general answers to specific questions. That the care of children." is part of the lesson they must learn about the "It is better for the man to make the money, and diversity of America, and about the real differences the woman to make the home!" says a Polish man, that exist between states, and even betweenareas with grave finality. Some of the women nod in within a state. This is nearly incomprehensible, and agreement; others have secret little smiles playing more than a little anxiety producing to a person who around the corners of their mouths, and cast sidelong is used to a strongly centralized system, where glances at their husbands. everything is predictably the same everywhere. "Your children will soon have many American Our program includes a unit on community and friends," the advisor says. "They will probably social services. We talk about the medical system learn English faster than you. They will watch and medical insurance. Refugeesworry about how American television, and may adopt American ways their medical needs can be met when they haveno that will seem foreign and strange to you." A jobs and no insurance and live in an area wherea 14-year-old boy who has chosen to sit in the class doctor's visit may cost $50-$100. They are shocked to with his parents smiles in anticipation. His mother learn how little is provided by the social services and father look unhappy, and frown at him as system, and how difficult it is to qualify for even though he has already done something to offend that small amount. their code of correct behavior. "What can we do?" they ask. "You must expect to feel the ekes of culture "Get a job," we quote from the old song. And so shock. There will be times when you will feel begins our discussion of employment in America. This depressed and angry, when you may even wish you is the focal point of our course, and receives about 30 had never come to America. These are normal percent of our total class time. First we talk about feelings and will pass with time. The people who upward mobility, and the importance of establishing are most likely to become seriously affected are those a job history and good references in order to build who assume that it cannot happen to them, and who toward future success. are unprepared to cope with their own feelings." The subject then turns to ways of finding work, and Because advisors know that refugees experience a students take a look at want ads from American higher incidence of depression, and serious mental newspapers. We spend much time working through illness, than the general population, every effort is job applications and talking about interviewing 148 22 PASSAGE Winter 1987 techniques. Discussions are supplemented by films greatly increased confidence, and are much more and slides. Stress i5 placed on the need to take an enthusiastic about beginning an active job search in entry-level job as a step toward self-sufficiency. This the U.S. is often difficult to accept by refugees who have university degrees or advanced technical training Sponsorship and have had professional status in their homeland. We do our best to help them realize that their lack We close our program with a general discussion of of fluent English, in addition to state licensing resettlement and sponsorship, thereby treating last requirements and other qualifying issues, may keep the material that refugees will need soonest. We them from working in their former professions for a briefly describe the history of volunteerism in the very long time. This is bitter medicine indeed for a U.S., and the various services sponsors may provide. doctor or dentist, or for an engineer or master Teachers make every effort to convince Eastern mechanic. It is even worse for the lawyer, the European refugees that their sponsors are not paid by economist, or the teacher of Polish literature, whose the government and that voluntary agencies are not expertise may simply have no application in the government bureaus. The students have difficulty U.S. understanding that sponsors are ordinary individuals We try to present these facts humanely, but pre- (or groups of people such as a church congregation) sent them we must, for this is the reality our students with their own lives and responsibilities. Refugees will face. How do we help them to look beyond their who fail to understand this may become unreason- plight and to have some hope for the future? We ably demanding, thereby harming their own best encourage them to focus on self-sufficiency, personal interests and the sponsorship program, as well. initiative, and problem-solving. "Doctor," we say, "you can survive the two or Methodology three years it may take you to begin practicing medicine again. Perhaps you will have to work part The program has generally relied on a lecture time at an entry-level job while you study English format, but more student-centered methods are being and prenne for medical licensing exams. Maybe you adopted. This has been difficult because of the need will hash- live in poorer housing than you would to impart a lot of information within a four-day like, in a part of the community that does not period. At present, supr.emental reading materials resemble your idea of the American dream. Almost and other resources, are being developed both in certainly, your wife will have to work to help you English and in the refugees' native languages. Using both attain your goals." these materials, we have been able to move toward To the lawyer who knows little or nothing about more participatory methods, such as group discus- the American legal system, and whose English may sions, games, and role play, and to allow our students never be fluent enough to get him through an to make choices about their own learning. This is American bar examination, we give a different extremely important, as it brings us back to the main message. We tell him about the many Americans theme of our course, "Individual Freedom and who, in their thirties or forties, or even later, change Personal Responsibility." What better way to show careers or return to universi'ries or vocational schools. our belief in the value of the individual than by We also give a unit on education that includes a making the students responsible for their own learn- thorough look at adult education, including the ing in this, their first American experience! community college system and available types of The program is also moving away from tradi- financial aid. Students like this are encouraged to tional classroom roles. We have adopted new titles select new goals for themselves as part of the process that reflect new ways of functioning. American of building new lives in America. teachers have become "advisors." They no longer We finish our employment unit by acting out exercise the kind of teacher control found in the employment interviews. After American and Euro- traditional classroom. Instead of teaching one class, pean staff members demonstrate good and bad they function as a team of advisors to all our interviewing techniques, the students themselves try students, placing the refugees in direct contact with a their newly acquired skills. Those who speak some variety of Americans of different backgrounds, who English are encouraged to attempt a job interview in use their native knowledge to keep the program their new language. Those who cannot are shown authentically American. some of the fine points of using an interpreter to assist Our European interpreters have become in the interview. The students critique one another, "facilitators," since they now do much more than offer helpful suggestions, and prove tc be very fast translate and interpret. Through the special rapport learners. By the time we finish, many are showing they establish with our students, they faLlitate 149 Waterbury CO at Bad Soden23 both the exchange of information and the changes in The following is a quote from a recently received attitudes we are trying to achieve. This isa questionnaire. It is from Jerzy, a Polenow residing in challenge for them, since most of themare former New York City: refugees themselves, and some have never beento the U.S. Trained to emulate American attitudes and I finally got my job. It was after four badinter- behavior, the facilitators try to portray these views. But I just remembered what Mr. said in Bad American cultural traits for the students. We feel Soden: Not to give up, and to believe in myself. And that it greatly increases the impact and credibility when I came for this one, I stood still and said:) of our program for refugees to see their fellow Eastern myself, "I can, I can, I can!" Then I made myselfa big Europeans acting and thinking like Americans, and smile, and I knocked on the door. giving real support to American ideas. ...ewww....**W* Follow-Up Robert F. Waterbury, Eastern Europeansite Before they leave, we give the refugees editor of Passage, is a coordinator at the Bad questionnaire, which they are asked to return three Soden CO facility fnr months after arriving in the U.S. It asks for in- Eastern European refu- formation about housing, jobs and wages, and other -ees. Before joining the things that indicate how well our former studentsare Bad Soden flail' us a CO progressing in their resettlement. At the end of the teacher in 1985, Water- questionaire, space is provided for comments, and bury was the director of many take this opportunity to tell us more about an intercultural musicaltheater project in Frank- themselves, make suggestions, and let us know how furt, West Germany. Heholds a BA in music from the CO classes have helped them. San Jose State University.

150 ----Teaching ESL Reading to Young Children: Three Whole-Language Methods

Else Hamayan, Illinois Resource Center, Arlington Heights, Illinois Margo Pfleger, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C.

This article is the second of a three-part series on English literacy development in limited-English proficient (LEP) children from non-literate or low literacy backgrounds. Part One, which aT neared in the previous issue of Passage, described how literacy emerges naturally in children in a literate society and argued for an approach to ESL literacy instruction that encourages the natural development of literacy. Part Two describes three whole-language methods for teaching ESL reading to LEP children.

The students and their teacher sit together on a The Language Experience Approach mat. All ey'.s are on the Vietnamese lantern they have just finished making for Trung Thu, the The Language Experience Approach (LEA) is one Vietnamese moon celebration. The teacher puts the of the best ways to help ESL students make the finishing touches on the lantern, whose candle the transition from their oral language to standard children will light later that night at the festival. printed English. LEA is based on the notion that After cleaning up, the children return to their desks, children are better able to read materials from their and the teacher begins to summarize the activity, own experiences and their own oral language. LEA eliciting simple sentences from the children. She involves eliciting oral language from children and then turns to the blank piece of newsprint on the shaping it in preparation for its use as written board and tells the children they will write a story material. In fact, LEA is often used as a tool for about making a lantern. developing oral language skills in a second language. "What shall we call the story, children?" she LEA involves whole language by allowing chil- asks. Nobody answers. dren to read stories, rather than isolated words or "How about A Lantern for Trung Thu?" she sentences. And LEA materials are naturally appro- suggests. She writes the title on the newsprint, priate in form and content, since the material comes sounding out the words as she writes them. She then from the children themselves. What better way to asks the children one by one to describe how the class ensure success in reading, especially for LEP students, made the lantern. than to allow children to read their own oral lan- "What did we do first, Ang?" guage? This approach also ensures that the inter- "We ... we ... paper, teacher." relationship between oral and written language is "Good! We cut some paper," the teacher says, and made in a clear and natural way. writes, "We cut some paper," while sounding out each word. So it goes, until the whole experience is How to Do LEA described and written down. Then the class reads the story together. Most children utter single words, but 1. Choose a concept or topic. The to?ic may be some just move their lips silently. related to specific academic content areas, such as The activity described above is part of the whole science, social studies, health, math, or physical language approach used to teach reading and writing education, or it may be unrelated to any academic in Preparing Refugee^ for Elementary Programs content area. The choice of a topic is determined by (PREP) at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center the lesson's objectives. (PRPC). 2. Identify an activity. Activities should be This article describes three methodsthe Lan- interesting to children, appropriate to their age, and guage Experience Approach, Shared Big Books, and culturally acceptable to all the ethnic groups in the Sustained Silent Readingthat PREP staff have class. Activities should be long enough to generate found to be especially effective in promoting reading sufficient language for a story, but brief enough to and writing. maintain interest.

151 Hamayan & Pfleger Teaching ESL Reading 25

3. Plan the activity. List all materials needed The teacher's objectives during this step of the for the activity. List all concepts to be taught, and LEA should be to: think of ways they can be emphasized during the a . Encourage careful observation of the stimulus. activity. Think about, and perhaps list, the core vo- b. Elicit and extend oral language describing cabulary and structures to be used, and the language students' thoughts and observations. patterns that fit with the core vocabulary. This step c. Encourage listening to and responding to class- is crucial to ensure the effectiveness of the activity. mates' observations (Nessel & Jones 1981). Plan who the participants will be. Although it is Active student participation is essential to recommended that all students be actively involved, making an activity effective. If possible, give each some activities will require a small number of student or pair of students a specific responsibility. participants, with the rest of the students acting as 5. Clean-up. Activities that involve making observers. Plan what the role of each student will be something in the classroom usually result in makinga during and after the activity. Some activities may mess. Cleaning up after the core activity is a val- need to be broken into segments; if so, plan how long uable time for continued language enrichment. Lan- each segment will last. Plan where the activity will guage generated during clean-up should follow the take place, and make sure that the setting is ready. same principles of learning that are used during the 4. Conduct the activity. Begin the activity by activity itself. For example, if a child says, introducing the materials to be used. This will ensure 'Taper?" while pointing to the waste-paper basket, early coverage of at least the core vocabulary. Oral the teacher can expand on the utterance, saying, language should accompany as much of the activity "That's right, put the paper in the waste-paper as possible. In the early stages of second language basket." development, much of the talk will be generated by 6. Summarize the activity. This step helps stu- the teacher. In this stage, it is important that dents organize their thoughts regarding the activity teacher-generated talk reflect the "here and now." in preparation for the writing task. Studentsare As soon as children are ready to produce language, asked to recount the sequence of steps in the activity. the role of the teacher shifts from a generator of The teacher, acting as mediator, questions and language to a mediator of language production. expands on student utterances. To make the task Questions like these would be appropriate if the easier, the teacher may write the list ofcore teacher has brought to class a pct monkey as the vocabulary on the board for inclusion in the story. A focus of the activity: summary of about ten minutes is probably adequate 7. Compose a Language Experience story. A writ- What is the monkey doing now? ten account should be obtained from students immedi- What is Danh doing to the monkey? ately after the summary. Students may either dic- Does the monkey like it? Why? tate the story to a proficient writer or write it How do the monkey's hands feel when you touch individually. Students with very limited English them? proficiency may dictate the story to the teacher, either individually or as a group. If the story is to be In the early stages of. econd language devel- the product of the whole class, elicit ideas and opment, especially in a class where the majority of sentences individually from each student, making the children speak the same language, much of the sure that a -.;.rrect sequence of events is followed. The chatter may be in the children's native language. teacher should have the necessary materials for Rather than trying to prevent children from using writing a storysuch as newsprint and felt-tip their native language, teachers should use the pensready at this time. The following suggestions .:oncrete actions involved in an activity to help the should help the procedure go smoothly: children associate their spontaneous utterances in a. Put the core vocabulary list where all students the native language with their equivalents in can see it. English, provided by the teacher or other students. b. Use large (preferably lined) newsprint. When a child produces single-word utterances, c.Attach the paper to a good writing surface. the teacher can expand on those utterances. For d. Form the words neatly and clearly, using a soft example: crayon or a thick felt-tip pen. Always begin with a title. If the group cannot Teacher: Danh, what do you notice about the produce one quickly, you may provide it fcr them, monkey's hands? rather than spend too much time on this task. Danh:Small. There are two ways of taking dictation from Teacher: That's right! The monkey's hands are students. The first is to write down w hatever the small. children say in exactly the way they say it. The

6 _1 152 .------26 PASSAGE Winter 1987 second is to modify (as little as possible) their listed above. Assessment should be done regularly, utterances, to make them conform to acceptable rules frequently, and immediately following the LEA of written English. To avoid exposing LEP children to activity. forms of writing that are unacceptable, it may be 11. Exhibit student work. Make a classroom Lan- better to use the second method. Teachers must be guage Experience library. Have students illustrate careful that this is done in a positive way, so as not the story, and mount group or individual stories ina to discourage the child. More proficient students may folder for all students to read. write their stories individually and share them with others later on. Shared Reading with Big Books 8. Read the Language Experience story. The teacher reads each sentence immediately after it is Shared reading with big books simulates the written, and then reads the entire story once to the experience of bedtime story reading or sharing a story class. The group then reads the story aloud together with a child on a parent's lap. Through theuse of several times. After this, the teacher encourages high-interest stories written specifically for chil- individual students to read aloud. Point to words as dren in enlarged print, every child in the classroom they are being read, whether by the teacher, the can share in the process of hearing and seeing a story group, or an individual child. The teacher may unfold. Children participate in any way they underline difficult words, later focusing on them it. likeas listeners, as choral readers, or as individual various word study exercises. For beginning-level readers. This approach is particularly useful for students, 'three to five difficult words may be the children from non-literate backgrounds, because it maximum; for more advanced students, as many as 15 introduces them to reading in the natural, enjoyable words may be chosen. way that reading is introduced to most children in a 9. Develop follow-up activities. A minimum of literate society. five, and a maximum of ten follow-up activities are suggested for use with any one story. The follow-up How to Conduct Shared Reading activities need not always be the same. They should be chosen with specific reading skills in mind. Some 1. Choose a Big Book. Choose either a com- follow-up activities are teacher-directed in that the mercially-made book or Line that you, your class,or teacher controls and times the task. In others, another teacher has made. The topic of the story students work independently and pace themselves. may or may not be related to the topic being covered The following exercises are recommended: at that time in other class activities. a. Ask the children to find a particular word 2. Plan for reading the book.Listallthe in the story, e.g., "Who can find the word additional materials needed to prepare the children soft?" Choose a word that is easily visible. for reading or for activities following the shared b.If a word occurs more than once in the story, reading. You may also want to list the core have children find it in as many places as vocabulary to reinforce throughout the book. they can. Choose content wordssuch as verbs 3. Read the story to the children. Gather the and nounsrather than function words, such as children around you. Sometimes the easiest and most articles and prepositions. comfortable way to do a shared reading session is to c. Point to a word in the dictated story. See if sit on the floor (mat) with the children grouped anyone can say it. If no one can, move the around you. First, talk about the story and introduce pointer to the fifst word in that sentence. the main characters. You may do this by pointing to Have the children read the whole sentence the pictures in the book or by acting out the story aloud, then point to the word and ask with the help of any props you may have. Then, again if anyone can say it. with the help of a pointer (a pencil or a ruler will d. Have each student copy on a card one word do), read the story. Make sure to point to each word from the story, and then have them arrange as it is being read, but do not let the pointing detract the cards so that they form the story, or have from the natural rhythm of the language. students arrange the cards alphabetically. 4. Rereadthestory and ask comprehension e. Write on the board a sentence from the story, questions. After reading through the story once, go leaving out one or two words. Have- students back and read it again, this time stopping to check identify and spell the missing words. fo.-omprehension. In the early..stages-of-secoird` g.Have students find-Words in the story having Janguage developiiieliCwhen the children still have the same beguuun." g sou a very iimited proficiency in English, you may have 10 tEvaluationAn easy way to assess students' to do most of the talking and will have to ask progress is to use some of the follow-up activities questionsthat allowchildrentorespond

A 153 Hamayan & Pfleger Teaching ESL Reading 27

nonverbally. For example, while reading Dan, the attempts at reading should be rewarded. A child Flying Man (from the Wright Group), you might ask who stumbles on a word can be provided withthe children at the preproduction stage to point to Dan in word gently, without fuss and without emphasis.If a a picture. For children who are at the early child insists on being the expert reader and is unable production stage, you might ask, "What did Dan fly to read, he should not be admonished. Instead, the over?" while pointing to the picture of the house. child should be allowed to tell the story in hisown 5. Students echo-read. This is usually done the words, or even act it out. day after the story has been read. Read the story in 10. Evaluation. As with LEA, evaluation and its entirety again, and then invite children to constant monitoring of progress are of utmost echo-read, that is, to repeat after you oneor two importance. The easiest way to keep track of how sentences at a time. children are doing in the shared reading experience 6. Group reading. If the students are ready, is to rate their behavior during the session.You may invite them to read the story aloud. Do not force any use a rating scale such as Form A (see p.28) to keepa individual child to join in the group reading, but record of students' performance. make sure that everyone is paying attention to the story. Sustained Silent Reading 7. Pair or small-group reading. If the studentsare ready, group them in pairs, and give each pair either In Sustained Silent Reading (SSR),a chunk of the Big Book that the class has been readingor a time is set aside for everyone in class, includingthe smaller version of the same book. Have each student teacher, to choose a book and read silently.This in each pair take turns reading. Three or four students experience encourages children to view readingas an could form groups in which each child could take enjoyable activitynot as a source of somethingthat turns being the reader. causes stress, anxiety, or embarrassment. Allotting 8. Follow-up activities. If the follow-up is e -me school time for children to read whatever theywant, on a subsequent day, you need to start by reading the and for no other reason than enjoyment, is especially entire story to the class, as described in Step 3, above. important for children who do not spend much time The follow-up activities suggested for LEA could also at home reading for pleasure. be used with shared reading. In addition, children should be allowed to do some "fun" activitiesas How to Do SSR follow-up to shared reading. The following activities are appropriate: 1. Plan for the SSR period. Makesure there are a. Have groups of child :en dramatize the story enough books for all the children in the class. Some as it is read aloud. children may want to read the books that the b. Have children individually, or in pairs, teacher read earlier, while othersmay prefer illustrate the story or interpret it visually in unfamiliar books. Some childrenmay choose to read their own way. Exhibit students' artwork in a a Big Book on their own; others may opt fora place where others can see it. regular-size book. c. Have children compose a variation on the 2. Set up your classroom for SSR. When reading story after discussing it ingroup. With your for pleasure, children need to be physically help as writer, have the Liass make a Big comfortable. Lay a mat on the floor, so that children Book of their own. will be able to lie or sit on the floor, if they wish. 9. Expert reading time. During expert reading Children should be able to sit and read anywhere time, have one of the children read a story to the they like in the classroom. We recommend thatyou class. Early in the school year, choose the more give up your "teacher's chair" for this portion of the fluent children, and by the end of the school year, all day and find somewhere else to lounge around while children will probably feel comfortable enough to be reading. expert readers. 3. Have each person in class choose material L. It is important that the expert reader be allowed read. Children may decide to read alone or ingroups, to read the story any way he or she likes, as long as but it is important that they chose their own reading the meaning is conveyed correctly. Thus, if the story material. Have an easily accessible "book corner" in reads, "Did you ride my donkey?" and the child says the classroom where all the reading material is "Did you go and ride the donkey?" that should be stored. If a child is reluctant or unable to choosea acceptable. It is very likely that even if you don't book, help him or her make the choice. Children correct a child, the other children will, in which who are literate in their na''ve language should be case it is entirely up to the expert reader to accept allowed to choose books at t.ta language. Many the modification or to reject it. As a general rule, any reading skills transfer from a first to a second

c61. 154 28 PASSAGE Winter 1987

FORM k Evaluation of Shared Reading Perfo.mance (The GRAPE Scale)

Student Name Big Book (1: Big Book (1: Big Book ( 1: Blg Book f 1: Big Book ( i: G R A P EGRAPEGRAPEGRAPEGRA P E . 1

5 6 7

Dimensions: G - Generally enthusiastic Rate the GRAPE dimensions along the following scale: R - Reading along 1- Not able to/not at all A - Attentive 2. Adequate P - Participating 3 - Very welVvery much so E - Expert reading NA. Not Applicable

FORM B: Evaluation of SSR Performance (The REACH Scale)

Student Name Week of: Week of Week of: Week of: Week of: R E A C HR E A C HR E A C HR E REACHACH

5 6

Dimensions: R - Reading orally Rate the REACH dimensions along the following scale: E as Fnthuasi 1- Not able to/not at all A - Attentive 2. Adequate C - Choosing book easily 3 - Very welVvery much so H - How many books read NA. Not Applicable

155 Hamayan & Pfleger Teaching ESL Reading 29 language, and certainly the most valuable asset of a Conclusion good readerthat of enjoying readingis one that will be enhanced by letting the "hild read in his The bell announces the end of the school day. Most native language. of the children rush to the classroom door to head 4. Read and enjoy. When we say that everybody back to their billets. Somsack is trying to get his in class reads, we mean everybody. On SSR days, teacher's attention. bring your favorite reading material with you to "Teacher, teacher," he says, pointing to the class: a novel, a magazine, or a newspaper. As soon as bookshelf in the corner. He drags the teacher over the children are set with their books, pick your there and grabs his favorite book, The Night of the favorite corner of the mat, sit down with your Oo lie Bugs. favorite book, and enjoy. "Yes? Yes?" he asks. 5. Clean-up. Signal to the class by means of a "You want to take it home, Somsack?" bell, a whistle, or a song that reading time is over. "Yes!" Children should return their books to the book corner "OK, but you bring it back tomorrow, understand?" in an orderly way and return the room to its usual Is this what reading is about? You bet! arrangement. 6. Evaluation. As with any other literacy activity, students' performance must be monitored. Part three of this series, to be published in the next You may use a checklist/rating scale like Form B (see issue of Passage, will describe the use of whole lan- facing page), which is similar to the one used for guage methods to promote writing skills. shared reading, to rate and record students' performance. Every couple of weeks, at the end of the SSR References period, you may also wish to call on children to share their books with others by reading aloud or by Nessel, D., & Jones, M. (1981). The language exper- telling the story and pointing to the pictures ience approach to reading: A handbook for teach- illustrating it. ers. New York: Columbia University Press.

Else Hamayan is coordi- Margo Pfleger is a pro- nator of Training and Ser- gramassociateatthe vices at the Illinois Re- Refugee Service Center in source Center, Arlington Washington, D.C. From Heights,Illinois.She 1982 to 1983, she worked served as consultant to the at the PRPC as an ESL/ PREP programatthe t`:.t PET supervisor and, from PRPC, where she trained 1983 to 1985, served as a staff in curriculum devel- staff member at the Refu- opmentandteaching gee Service Center in Ma- methodology. Hamayan's researchinterestsin- nila. She recently conducted a student tracking clude second language acquisition processes, social study to determine the effectiveness of programs parameters of language use, and the emergence of preparing refugee youth for American schools. literacy in children from non-literate backgrounds. Pfleger holds an MA in linguistics from Georgetown University.

156 The Black Tai: Refugees from Vietnam and Laos

Carl L. Bankston, III Philippine Refugee Processing Center

My people flourished. Out lives were full. Although Lao friends assure me that they bear no Our ancestors built a home for us. prejudice toward the Black Tai, I have noticed that Now, far away, we Tai bear many sorrows. members of the two ethnic groups are shy about From the song, "Tai Dam Rampan" asking one another for help in the classroom. (author's translation from Thai) Unlike their Lao cousins, the Black Tai are not Buddhists. Instead, they worship a variety of spirits f the many ethnic groups that have fled Laos (phi). The spirits of parents are venerated above all 0since 1975, the Tai Dam, or "Black Tai," have, others, perhaps reflecting strong family ties perhaps, been seeking refuge for the longest time. (Sributsara 1979). Their ancestral home is in the area of Dien Bien Phu, Women occupy an important place in this group. In in northern Vietnam (Sributsara 1979). After the fact, the very name "Black Tai" is taken from the victory of the North Vietnamese forces in 1954, they color of the women's traditional dress. Although it is fled to Xieng Khouang province in Laos. Unrest in the a male-dominated society, married women keep Laotian countryside soon caused many of them to their maiden names, and women maintain an altar to move again, this time to the capital city of their deceased parents (Whitaker et al. 1979). Vientiane. Following the 1975 change of gov- According to one Thai author, in addition to paying a ernments, thousands of refugees, among them large bride price in silver to the bride's parents, a groom numbers of Black Tai, crossed the Laotian border into must also bear the burden of offering pigs, ducks, and Thailand. Many of them have now been resettled in chickens to the spirits, and then livrt with and care France and the U.S. for his in-laws for six years (Sributsara 1979). The Black Tai belong to the Tai linguistic group. The Black Tai language, while similar to Lao, is Their language is closely related to Thai, Lao, and not entirely intelligible to Lao people. Among other the various Tai tribal groups. The word "Tai" itself differences, a few Vietnamese words have been is believed by many philologists to have meant adopted. For example, the Vietnamese word moi, "people," in the sense of "a social group," although which means "to invite," is commonly used in Black there is debate on this issue (see Pumisak 1976). Tai. %hen a Lao man tells someone to "have a seat," While their Thai and Lao cousins have peen he will say, "seun nang." A Vietnamese man in the significantly influenced by the language and culture same situation will say, "moi ngoi." A Black Tai will of India, this influence has not reached the Black say, "moi nang." The Pali and Sanskrit additions to Tai (Whitaker et al. 1979). This has created some Lao are generally absent from Black Tai, since the cultural gaps between the Black Tai and the Lao. As first two languages entered Laos through Indian and Gary D. Wekkin (1982) explains, Buddhist influences. In addition to its own spoken language, this The two people have s, -ung from the same roots, but distinctive group also has its own system of writing, the Lao have progressed forward, while the Tai tribes consisting of 31 consonants and 14 vowels. Although have retained their traditional heritage. As a result, the language is tonal, there are no tone markers, as each looks down upon the other. The Lao see the Hill there are in Thai and Lao. This alphabet is probably Tribes (Black Tai, White Tai, Tai Neua, Tai Lu, Tai based on the old Thai alphabet, developed by the Phong, and Phou Tai) as backward and uneducated, medieval kingdom of Sukhothai (Sributsara 1979). while the tribesmen see their Lao cousins as cor- The ability to read and write Black Tai with ease is rupted by Western acculturation. (p. 185) now limited largely to older people.

157 Bankston The Black Tai 31 10VvVtNNYVVVVVIVIS.VvVWo ,,, In an interview at the Philippine Refugee ProcessingCenter (PRPC), Bi Wan Khwa talked about his life and his people. At age 72, he has seenmany tragic events, but remains optimistic about hisown future, the future of his children, and the future of hiscountrymen. I CAN STILL REMEMBER life in Vietnam. We About 4,000 Black Tai went withme to Xieng lived in a small town near the Lao border. All the Khouang province in Laos. Lifewas better there people who lived there were Black Tai. In the than in Vietnam. We had good land, andwe could French times, the Black Tai and the Vietnamese make a good living. Them. wasno one in power there lived separately. We didn't mix. Therewere three to bother us. We had our own villages. We got along rulersthe chao meuang (district ruler), the chao well with the Lao, but each group lived in itsown kwaeng (provincial ruler), and the chao vandin place. We only stayed there a year. (king). All of them were Black Tai, but the I:rench In 1956 or 1957, all 4,000 of us moved to Vientiane. were over them. Many of us were French soldiers. I We were afraid. It looked like therewas going to be was a sergeant. We fought the Vietminh. shooting again and we just wanted to live We worshipped spirits. The peacefully. spirits of our fathers and mothers We didn't have any trouble in were the most important, but we also Vientiane. We lived in different had forest spirits and earth spirits. parts of the city, but we were still a And eachcity hadits own tribe. We had two leaders there. spiritslike, if a ruler died, he'd The first was named Bak Kam become a spirit of the city (phi Twihe's dead now. The secondwas meuang), and we'd offer food at his named Bak Kam Chut. Bak Kamwas altar. The spirits of our mothers and the last name; Cut was his first fathers stayed with us in our houses. name. Every Black Tai had only one In 197:, the communists took over husband or wife. If a woman was Vientiane. This time, we couldn't get single, she'd wear her hair down in . away as a whole group. I don't know back. If she was married, she'd put hoiv many people left for Thailand. it up on her head [in a bun). After a Each person left on his own, ora few couple married, they'd go to live people would go at a time. A lot of with the wife's parents. They'd Photo by Cart L. Bankston, Ill. Black Tai are still in Laos. stay there for eight, maybe ten years. Sometimes, My wife and my two youngest childrenare here maybe after 12 years, they'd set up theirown house. with me in the PRPC. I am notsure which state Our houses looked about the same as the houses the we'll go to in the U.S. Most Black Tai live in Iowa, Lao live in. so I think that's where we'll go. Bak Kam Hu is the I was 37 years old when we left Vietnam. Ifyou leader there. had been a French soldier, as I was, they (the North The Black Tai in America are stilla people. Vietnamese government) would put you in jail. So, in Some have converted to Christianity, anda lot of 1955, we asked the French for permission togo to young people became Buddhists in Laos. Some have Laos. France had already given Laos its indepen- two, or even three religions, but they still honor the dence, but there were still a lot of French soldiers spirits. The Black Tai won't forget the spirits of there, working as teachers and advisors. their fathers and mothers. *...... **...... o...... *.6.1.414Ssayy.....* I

References N... Pumisak, J. (1976). Khwaampenma khawng kham Carl L. Bankston, III has Siam Thai Lao lae Khawm [The Origins of the been an ESL supervisor Words Siam, Thai, Lao, and Kama Bangkok: at the Philippine Refu- Douang Kamol Press. gee Processing Center Sributsara, M. (1979). Tai Dam rampan [Lament of since 1985. He has six the Black Tail. Bangkok: Bawngit Press. years of teaching exper- Wekkin, G.D. (1982). The rewards of revolution: ienceandhasalso Pathet Lao policy toward the hill tribes since worked as a translator, 1975. In Martin Stuart-Fox (Ed.), Contemporary P,,1 historicalresearcher, Laos.St. Lucia, Queensland: University of .... 'l and archivist. Bankston Queensland Press. holds a BS in sociology from Southern Methodist Whitaker, D.P., et al. (1979). Laos: A country study. University and an MA in histny from the Univer- Washington, DC: The American University. sity of California at Berkeley. %.. ...)

158 14 1

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"Devotion" (Saigon) 159 A Vietnamese Artistwitha Camera

Silverius Chan Philippine Refugee Processing Center

Ly Doan Tin peers through his camera lens, waits a Prize in both the 1984 and 1986 photo contests for few seconds, and begins to shoot. He takes Asia and the Pacific. several pictures, then moves a few feet to the left Tin had his own darkroom in Saigon, where he and shoots again. Still dissatisfied, he continues to developed and printed photographs for individual move around the subject, taking pictures every few clients and businesses. Although he had established seconds. Between clicks of his Nikon, he talks about himself mainly as a photographic artist, hewas his desire to create an accurate portrayal of what also sought after for commercial photography refugees experience at the Philippine Refugee projects. In fact, he was reluctant to leave Vietnam Processing Center (PRPC). because his business was prospering, but the The result of his diligence is an impressive col- government's discrimination against Chinese forced lection of dramatic color photographs and black ancl him out. From the time he arrived at the PRPC to white prints. He included these in his photo exhibi- the day he left for Alabama, Tin took hundreds of tion at the PRPC in May 1987. Titled "Unforgettable photographs, some of which are now usedas Homeland," the exhibition also featured photo- teaching visuals in the ESL-AB classrooms. He held graphs of Vietnam, some of which have won nation- two exhibitions in the PRPC and two in Manila in al and international awards. Tin also exhibited his the space of five months. Ly Doan Tin hopes to unique collection of photographs in Manila in July, continue his successful career in the U.S. His artistic marking the first time a Vietnamese refugee's work depictions of ordinary occurrences appeal to has been featured in a Philippine gallery. everyone. A local photography expert had this to say about the Manila exhibition: Photo enthusiasts and professional photographers find the artist's style appealing. For a photographic essay on Vietnam, one would normally expect graphic episodes of political turbulence and struggle. There are none. Yet the artist's hauntingly beautiful images subtly convey a poignant sense of man's inhumanity to man. An expressionistic dimension is added to what could otherwise be just visually appealing. The works of the artist as a whole are not merely a collection of good photography; they are an achievement. Ly Doan Tin has been interested in photography since his school days. He joined the Tinh Vo Photog- raphy Association of Vietnam in 1958, and benefitted horn the guidance offered by the many world-famous photographers in this organization. In 1961, he won his first gold medal in the "International Salon of Photography." This was the first of dozens of awards, citations, and honors he has received for his work. In 1963 alone, he was awarded a total of 30 gold, silver, and bronze medals and certificates of merit. In 1974, he was awarded the President of Vietnam Prize for Photography, and has earned the Ly Doan Tin and his wife at an exhibition of his photo- distinction of winning the Okamoto Riken Gom'i graphs in Manila. Photo by Douglas Gilzow. 160 34 PASSAGE Winter 1987

^ 4 "R) Photos by Ly Doan Tin

Top left: "Durian" (Saigon)

Top right: "A Prayer" (Cholon, Saigon)

Bottom: "Chinese School" (Cholon, Saigon)

F4cing page: "Ebb Tide" (Vung Tau, Vietnam)

161 C e A ; V I Y+ ;; ,_ ors, 13 ft A:aya , 1 (' N 1 /N. "/ ,

..._ damn" (Thank Da Ri;er, Saigon)

1 .) 1613 Chan Vietnamese Artist with a Camera 37

F 1'

z. NEW RUE Fa-14 TaS'y ;DANCE_

Students match titles with photographs. Photos by Dan Pamintuan.

Photos Used in ESL Classes

For instructional purposes, ESL teachers of Cycle 95 tad several lower-4ydclasses visit Ly Dcan Ti.'s "Unforgettable Homeland" exhibition of photographs at the PRPC. Onegroup of refugee students viewed the pictures untitled, and tried to match the photographer's titleswith the appropriate pictures in the exhibition. This led to a lively debate when several different titleswere appropriate for the same photo. The picture of older students that appears on the frontcover of this issue of Passage, for example, might as easily be called "Never Too Late," or "Devotion,"as "Something Interesting," the title Ly Doan Tin gave it. Students also wrote their own titles, selected favorite and least favoritepictures, and wrote brief descriptions of the "ties that interested them most. These activities stimulatedlively discussions, providing an opportunity for students to describe their feelings,as they talked about the way of life they had left behind. Teachers learned about Vietnamese culture,as their students spoke 1:nr.1 wrote about the pictured scenes with a mixture of sorrow and pride. "I like best the picture of Vietnamese farmers,"one refugee wrote, "when they had been planting pineapple until they get it. That picture reminds me of Vietnam. When I hadworked in a re-education camp, I often planted and took care pineapple. "

N Silverius Chan has been an ESL instructor at the PRPC since 1983, and serves as assistant editor of a .taff newsletter there. Chan has helped refugeeartistsatthe PRPC by establishing a :, refugee artist fund, using 1 contributions uad profits from art sales to purchase materials for refugee artists. He has also organized many exhibition:i of their work at the PRPC and Manila. Chan . holds a Bachelor's degree in psychology from After choosing a favorite picture, each student writes a Ateneo de Manila University. brief description of the subject. Photo by Dan Panintuan. W WV.WW*WaVloyy.i

ji 164 Informal. Language TestingTechniques: A Model for ESL Teachers*

Nicholas C. Zefran Philippine Refugee Processing Center

Formative evaluation is one of the many elements of good classroominstruction, along with clear lesson objectives, appropriate language content, appropriate teachingstrategies, and observation I feedback. This article presents a model teachers canuse to identify appropriate testing approaches, create their own variations, and be more flexible in evaluating student mastery of specific lesson objectives.

ormative evaluation is thr on-going assessment of described below, with an example given to show how student learning that provides immediate feed- the component functions within the model. Each.------back to teachers and students for the purpose of component is also listed in a chart-of the model improving student learning. Continuous feedbaci. (Figure 1, opposite). from formative tests gives teachers the basis for instructional changes to promote studentprogress. Language Material The teacher and student can identify on a regular basis those areas within the curriculum that need A testing technique can deal with four types of further or different instruction (Hopkins and Antes language material (Nation 1983): soundsor letters, 1985). words or phrases, sentences, or pieces of language Formative evaluation, as an integral part of ESL longer than a sentence. Given these types of language classes, can facilitate good classroom instruction. material, a test item can focus on either formor This means that teachers, in addition to setting meaning or both (Nation 1983). The doze technique, lesson objectives and developing teaching strategies, for example, assesses both form and meaning. When should also plan pre- and post-teaching assessment filling in blanks in a doze passage, students must activities for each lesson. This does not necessarily select words which are appropriate to thepassage mean that new or different activities need to be topic and are also grammatically correct in the developed for both teaching and testing. Instead, individual sentences. variations of the same technique can be used for both teaching and testing. Stimulus The following model is a description of a system for developing and adapting English language In testing terms, the "stimulus" or "stem" usually teaching and testing techniques. It should prove refers lo the way a test item is presented to the useful to teachers as they incorporate formative examinees. A test item can have the following types evaluation as part of their instructional process. of stimuli: oral in English A Model for Developing Informal written in English Language Testing Techniques nonverbal (pictures, gestures, objects) oral (in the native language) There are eight classes of components that written (in the native language) combine to make up the model for language testing For example, a teacher might choose to ask stueents techniques (Nation 1983): language material, stim- a question (stimulusoral) and require them to ulus (stem), stimulus/response relationship, response, respond by writing their answer (responsewritten). test arrangement, language ability, presenting the Or a teacher can point to a picture (stimulus stimulus, and guiding the response. Each component is nonverbal) and have students respond by describing what they see (stimulusoral). A teacher's choice of *This article is a revised version of a paper given at the stimulus generally depends on the language skill Trends in Language Programme Evaluation Conference being tested. Thus, if a teacher chooses to focuson held in Bangkok, Thailand, December 9-11, 1986. listening ability, he or she would have to selectan 165 Zefran Informal Language Testing Techniques 39

oral stimulus. Or if he is testing oral production, the piece of paper. A more difficult example is whena response would have to be oral. teacher reads a definition of a word and studentsare asked to identify the word. Stimulus 'Response (S-R) Relationship In ordering techniques, studentsare presented with a stimulus and asked to arrange the language The stimulus and response of a test itemcan be material in some desired order. For example,the related in a number of different ways (Nation 1983). teacher presents a number of sentences belongingto a This model includes eleven different kinds of S-R paragraph and asks students toarrange them in theme relationships (see the "Stimulus-Response Relation- correct order. Similarly, students are presented-with ship" column in Figure 1). a group of words and asked to arrange them intoa In distinguishing techniques, studentsare asked to sentence. answer whether a stimulus is true or false, correct o. In completion techniques, the teacher presentsa incorrect, or the same or different. The stimulus can -stimulus which is missing a partor parts and asks be oral or written, using a wide varjety_of-language students to fill in the blanks. The Ooze technique, for material. Distinguishing techniques can be used to example, requires students to fill in the wordsde- test form or meaning :Tor example, the teacher can leted from a passage. wire students to distinguish whether two words In combination techniques, the teacherpresents have the same or different forms. Or, a teachercan more than one piece of language material and asks ask students to distinguish whether two sentences students to combine the material. For example, have the same or different meaning. In distin- students are presented with two sentences and asked guishing techniques, students can respond in oral, to combine them into one complex sentence (Cohen written, or nonverbal form to indicate whether the 1980). stimulus is the same or different. In matching techniques, the teacher presents two In identification techniques, students are pre- columns of language material and asks the studentsto sented with a stimulus in which they are asked to match the material by either using formor meaning show whether they have understood the meaning as the cf_terion. For example, students are presented (Nation 1983). For example, a teacher can ask with a variety of words and asked to mechthem students to identify whether a word is comparative with a phrase that has the same meaning.Or, or superlative. Students could respond by raising one students are asked to match a list of sentences with hand if a word is comparative and two hands ifa another list using verb tense as the criterion. word is superlative. Or, when shown an item suchas In correction techniques, students are presented an eraser, they write the word for the object on a with language material which contains mistakesin

Figure 1: A Model for Developing Classroom TestingTechniques

Language StimulusResponse Language Test Presenting Guiding the Material Stimulus Relationship Response Ability Arrangementthe Stimulus Response

Sounds/ Oral Distinguishing Oral Beginning Individual Repetition More than one Letters stimulus Words/ Written Identification Written Intermediate Group Speed More than one Phrases S-R relationship

Sentences Nonverbal Ordering Nonverbal Advanced Class Length Choices

Passages Oral Completion Oral Complexity (native (native language) language) Noise

(Form/ Written Combination Written Meaning) (native (native language) language) Matching --Correction Paraphrasing Classification Answering Free Response

1- 166 40 PASSAGE Winter 1987

form or meaning. Students are then asked to identify_ (responsenonvelbal). Or, a teacher shows an object the mistakes and correct them. For exat_p-i Jef students to the students (stimulusnonverbal) and asks them find gr nunar mistakes in sentences-or paragraphs, or to respond by giving the name of the object unnecessary or unusual-words in a reading passage; or (respcnseoral). The response can be oral or written, they locate-the wrong "facts" in a reading passage based on the language skill being tested. When and correct them. selecting stimulus/response types, teachers must In paraphrasing techniques, students are pre always consider the language skill(s) being tested. sented with language material and asked to change its form (using different content words), but not its Language Ability meaning. For example, they are given a short paragraph and asked to rewrite it so that the meaning is How a teacher creates and adapts language the same, but the form is different. Cohen (1980) testing techniques depends heavily on the language believes that paraphrasing is a useful technique ability of the students. In the ESL classes at the because it 'is a strategy second language learners often Philippine Refugee Processing Center, students are employ to side-step unfamiliar language material. placed into language levels by using oral proficiency In classification techniques, students are pre- as the primary criterion. Class placement is further sented with language material and asked to classify refined by assessing both native and English lan- the material according to specified criteria. For guage literacy ability. The placement criteria are example, when presented with a list of sentences, then used as a guide for development of curriculum, they must group all passive sentences together teaching strategies, and testing techniques. (Nation 1983). Or, they are presented with a large Since informal testing techniques are often the group of words or phrases and have to put those with same as teaching techniques, the initial selection of the same meaning into separate sub-groups. the teaching strategy as it relates to the level of the In answering techniques, students are presented students is very important. Selecting appropriate with an oral stimulus in the form of a question and teaching and testing techniques requires teachers to asked to --:spond appropriately. The type of response consider the difficulty of both the language material can vary depending on what is being tested. For selected and the technique itself. example, if the focus of the test item is on listening Most teaching/testing techniques can be placed in skills, students could respond to the question in their order of difficulty, depending on the difficulty of the native language, since listening is the skill being language skill being tested. For example, a distin- tested. Native language responses are especially guishing technique would probably be easier to appropriate at the beginning levels, since students' complete than an identification technique, because it oral production in the target language is limited. is easier for students to distinguish if two sounds are In free response techniques, students are presented the same or different than to repeat the sounds with a stimulus and asked to respond freely. For correctly (Nation 1983). Applied linguists have example, students are asked to write a short para- classified language teaching techniques on a four- graph or composition on a pre-selected topic. Or, level hierarchy (Prator 1970; Valette and Disick they could be asked to describe in writing what they 1972): see in a picture. 1. Mechanical skills, which require language learners to use memoiy rather than understanding. Response An example would be a distinguishing technique. 2. Knowledge, where students show knowledge of By evaluating the response of a test item, the rules of the language. An example would be an teachers are able to identify whether the students identification technique. responded appropriately to a stimulus. On the basis 3. Transfer, where students use knowledge of a of a student's response, a teacher could conclude language in new situations. An example would be a whether the student did or did not master the paraphrasing technique. objective of the lesson, the technique itself was not 4. Communication, where students use the lan- effective or clear, or the student did or did ,not guess guage as a natural means of communication. An ex- correctly. Responses, like stimuli, can be in spoken ample would be a free writing technique. English, written English, nonverbal, spoken in the native language, or written in the native language. Test Arrangement For example, in a distinguishing technique, the teacher reads a statement (stimulusoral) to the There are three major types of test arrangements: students and asks them to respond by showing one individual, group, and clas(as a whole). In an finger for "true" and two fingers for "false" individual test arrangement, students are tested one 167 Zefran Informal Language Testing Techniques 41 at a time within a classadmittedly one of the more are generally easier than those with only one time-consuming ways to test. However, it is the most stimulus. For example, it is easier for students to effective way to test oral language skillsthe focus answer questions about a topic if they also see a of the refugee ESL programs in Southeast Asiaso related picture, or if they can see a written stimulus don't rule it out merely because it is inconvenient. in addition to hearing a spoken one (Nation 1983). In a group test arrangement, students are divided The use of more than one stimulus is also a good into groups and help each other solve the test items. way to make a testing technique easier. For example, This arrangement is especially appropriate for lower a doze test itemi is easier if the deleted words are level students, whose language ability is minimal given with the letters scrambled (S-R relationship- and who may be unfamiliar with the testing tech- ordering). To complete the doze item, students only nique being used. This is also a good test arrangement have to rearrange the letters of the words (ordering) when a teacher is concerned only with overall class before filling in the blanks (completion). In a mastery of a lesson objective rather than individual summarizing technique, it is easier for students to student mastery. complete the test item if questions are asked to focus In a class test arrangement, the class is tested as a their attention on the main points of the passage whole. This arrangement is especially usrlul when (Nation 1983). class time for testing is limited. This arrangement is The use oi;.ioices is another way to make a also useful with test items that ask for a written or testing technique easier. For example, it is easier for nonverbal response. Once again, selection of test students to complete a doze passage correctly if they arrangement largely depends on the language ability are given three choices for each deleted word. Or, in of the students, the language skills being tested, the an answering technique, it is easier for students to time available, and the purpose of the test. respond to a question if they are allowed to select from a list of three choices. Presenting the Stimulus How to Use the Model By presenting the stimulus of a test item in different ways, the teacher can make testing tech- The components of this language testing techniques more interesting or difficult (Nation 1983). niques model are displayed on the chart in Figure 1. This gives a teacher extra options in developing By reviewing the components one by one, a teacher variations of the same teaching or testing technique. should be able to create new techniques and adapt For example, if a teacher uses a dictation technique, old ones. Suppose an ESL class has just finished a unit he or she has the option of repeating the material on employment in the U.S. The teacher decides to more than once. The more repetitions given, the post-assess the students using the doze technique, easier the test item becomes. because it integrates many of the subskills of There are four different ways to vary presentation language. By consulting the chart, one can see that of the stimulus: many variations of the doze technique are possible. 1. repetition, or repeating the stimulus more than The students in the class are intermediate level once; (language ability-intermediate) and have studied 2. speed of presentation of the stimulus, either ESL for eight weeks. The teacher selects a short quickly or slowly; passage from a story in the curriculum and takes out 3. length and complexity of presentation of the every eighth word (as in Figure 2, below). For each stimulus, in parts or as a whole; deleted word there are three choices (guiding the 4. noise, or the addition of distractions to the response-choices). The students are asked to select presentation of the stimulus. the correct word (S-R relationship-completion) and write ft on the blank line (response-written). If the Guiding the Response students are unfamiliar with this technique, the teacher can have the class work in groups first (test By guiding the response of a t,t item, a testing arrangement-group) to answer the test items. technique can be made easier. This component of the Afterwards, the teacher can test them individually model is very important because it allows teachers (testarrangement-individual). To make this test the greatest flexibility in adapting testing tech- item a little more difficult, the teacher could delete niques. The three ways to guide the response are every seventh word (presenting the stimulus-length through the use of more than one stimulus, the use of and complexity) and put the possible word choices in more than one S-R relationship, and the use of random order at the bottom of the passage. choices. Another variation of this test item is deleting Testing techniques with more than one stimulus every sixth word, but instead of giving choices, the 168 42 PASSAGE Winter 1987 r Figure 2: Cloze Passage

Based on an Excerpt from Find Your Way (InternationalCatholic Migration Commission 1983:88)

In the United States, people can oegin legally at the age of16. applying working learning

Everyone wants to work legally in the United States get a Social Security Card. what can whom must who would When you a Social Security Card, you get a get working visa apply Social Security Number give job

The number always has 9 digits. You have three digits first, then two, and four. sometimes then could like always possible For example, 555-66-7777 is a Social Security Number. card is very important to have, and Those This These should team their numbers. some a few everyone ---1 teacher would put the first letter of the word on the International Catholic Migration Commis,ion. blank line (presenting the stimuluslength end (1983). Find your way. Morong, Philippines: complexity). This variation would probably be most Author. appropriate for advanced students (language Madsen, Harold S. (1983). Techniques in testing. New abilityadvanced). York: Oxford University Press. There are many other new techniques and Nation, I.S.P. (1983). r.anguage teaching techniques. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University adaptations of old ones that can be developed using English Language Institute. this model. Teachers tend to use testing techniques Prator, Clifford. (1970). Development ofa manip- familiar to them, such as true/false, multiple choice, ulation-communication scale. English Teaching or matching. It is hoped that by consulting 'his Forum 8(4), 3-6. model, teachers will be encouraged to adop. a Valette, R.M., and Disick, R.J. (1972). Modern lan- variety of techniques, instead of always using their guage performance objectives. New York: Harcourt traditional favorites. Brace Jovanovich.

. References Nicholas C. Zefran Is the testing and measure- Carroll, Brendon J. and Hall, Patrick J. (1985). Make mentofficeratthe your own language tests: A guide to writing lan- PR PC.Previously,he guage performance tests. Oxford: Pergamon Press. served as a testing spe- Cohen, Andrew D. (1980). Testing language ability in cialistat Phanat Ni-1 the classroom. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. khom Refugee Camp in Heaton, J.B. (1975). Writing English language tests. Thailand, at the Galang London: Longman Group Ltd. Refugee Processing Cen- Hopkins, Charles D., and Antes, Richard L. (1985). ter in Indonesia, and at Classroom measurement and evaluation. Itasca, IL: the Refugee Service Center in Manila. Zefran F.E. Peacock Publishers. holds a Master's degree in international studies and a TEFL certificate from Ohio University. / 169 The Resettlement Game

James Fouss Philippine Refugee Processing Center Illustrations by Jeff-Rey Villamora

The Resettlement Game was developed to serve F. Fixed expenses chart (see Figure 3). as a culminating activity for adult refugee stu- G. Optional purchases board (see Figure 4). This dents in Cultural Orientation (CO) classes at the is a poster with pictures and prices of items students PRPC. The objectives of the game arr have stu- may wish to buy during the course of the game. dents 1) review what they had studied during the H. Chance cards. These are described below. previous 12 weeks, 2) make decisions regarding situations that may arise in the U.S. (e.g., buying con- Before the Game sumer items), 3) realize that certain situations arise primarily by chance, and 4) perform simple As facilitator, the teacher plays a vital role accounting. explaining the game, lc;eping track of what's going Throughout the game, students face a variety of on, and acting as the judge whenever chance cards are situations that might occur in their first five years in read. their new country. These situations occur by the roll- 1. The class is divided into three or four families, ing of a die or by landing on either a "chance" square each consisting of a mother, a father, and a teenager. or a "command" square. Each situation will test stu- To make things simpler, they participateas a unit dents' knowledge (e.g., knowing the emergency tele- entering college, going on welfare, attending voca- phone number), elicit their attitudes (deciding tional training, and so on. whether or not tb have a baby), or have them dem- 2. Each family chooses an accountant to keep onstrate a skit' ;budgeting). Secondary objectives track of expenses. include maki..g group decisions, following directions, 3. A banker is chosen, preferably a student with and, of course, having fun. There are no winners or good math skills. Families are allowed to deposit, losers in the gamejust different experiences. withdraw, or borrow money from the bank. In order to The game can be played in a normal-sized class make the accounting as simple as possible, the bank divided into groups. Students who watch the game offers a 10% per annum certificate of deposit (CD) rather than play it can evaluate the players as the which can be withdrawn only at the end of every game proceeds. It takes about 11/2 to 2 hours to have year. Interest must be paid rather than accumulated. all groups complete the course. At least 30 minutes This situation is admittedly unrealistic, but it should be set aside to discuss the game afterwards. makes the gamc easier to play and keeps the accounting from getting too difficult. An optional 5% Materials interest-bearing savings account can be used in the game if a family wants to keep emergency money A. Game board (see Figure 1). This large poster ready. Alternatively, if a family finds that they should be covered in plastic so that the playing don't have emergency cash on hand they can borrow pieces will stick. It is mounted in the front of the from the bank at 20 /0 per annum (see Figure 5). classroom on the chalkboard. 4. Each family receives $1000 to begin the game. B. Die. A large wooden cube with dice markings They also roll the die to determine the kind of works well. Players can roll it on the floor. neighborhood they will be living in. C. Play money. $1000, $500, and $100 denomina- tions are needed. The Gann Board D. "Family" pieces. Made of heavy cardboard with tape on the underside. These serve as players' The game board is divided into four different markers on the gameboard. paths: 1) job, 2) welfare, 3) vocational training, and E. Sample accounting chart (see Figure 2). This 4) college. The path a family follows is usually de- helps the groups keep track of expenses, salary, and termined by the roll of the die when they reach a purchases. STOP & ROLL square, except in the following cases:

ai 170 44PASSAGE Winter 1987

1. At any year end or path end, a family can away from a STOP square and rolls a 6, they must choose to attend college. They move directly to the still stop at the STOP square. STOP & ROLL square at the college entrance and follow the instructions on that square. Trouble Shooting 2. At any year end on the "job" path, the family can choose to go to vocational training. lrf they are on 1. The teacher must make sure the accountant can the "welfare" path, they must be on the STOP & easily follow the accounting chart. The accountant ROLL square and gain entrance by rolling the die. may wish to mark tha yearly expenses before the Each square on the game board represents one "year end" to help the game move faster. month of time. Along the way, there are self- 2. Sometimes a family wants to put all their explanatory "command" squares pertaining to that money in the bank and not buy anything. This is particular path. If a family lands on one of these, somewhat unrealistic, so he facilitator can levy a they must follow the square's instructions. For ex- "transportation tax" for riding the bus each year, or ample, on the "job" path, one square reads, "Raise? an "entertainment tax" for movies or parties, etc. Roll 1-4, you don't get the raise; 5-6, you do." On the This should encourage the team to make more real- "welfare" path, another square reads, "Welfare istic decisions about the purchase of luxuries. fraud. Go back to beginning of path." Examples of other special squares are: Concluding the Game

/./:T(CPTRCT:.l:\Family must stop and rollto determine The game continues until all teams complete the 1.1. WELFARE their next path. 5.6 VOCATIONAL circuit. At the end they total their money, but there TRAINING Family must stop and do STOP is no winner or loser. Regardless of the amount of their accounting receive YEAR money in the bank, every team has faced different salary, pay expenses, deposit END life situations and any one of them could be judged money, purchase items. the winner based on how well they dealt with those Each time they pass (not necessarily land situations. The rest of the class can act as the judge. ok; on) a baby square, the family must decide if At least half an hour should be devoted to they want a baby or not. If yes, they pay processing (discussing) the activity. Examples of the BABY ? $1000 for hospital costs. If not, they pay $200 questions asked can be: for family planning dev'ces. 1. Who do you think won the game? A job square gives the salary that person will 2. Why did you save all your money? Is that make for the next year. They must interview ENGINEER realistic? $26,000 (roll). A bad interview results in a loss of turn. INTERVIEW 3. How did you feel about being on welfare for so 1.2 BAG They stay on that square until they roll a coop long? successful interview. 4. Why did you want to go to college? 5. Was it difficult to do the accounting? Why or There are also a number of "chance" squares why not? How will you handle your real-life ac- marked with a large asterisk. These indicate that counting when you reach the U.S.? the player must choose one chance card. These cards 6. In what ways was this game unrealistic are a very important part of the game since they (interest rates, etc. ?? Realistic (decision-making, elicit student attitudes, values, and information. etc.)? Chance cards dealing with attitudes, values, or 7. How did those with a job feel about the decisions sometimes have no 1:ght or wrong answer. others? In tliese cases, the teacher can appeal to the class to 8. Why did you choose to have or not to have a judge whether or not the family's answer is a good baby? one. A good answer results in moving ahead one 9. Why did you buy certain items? square. An unsatisfactory answer results in losing a 10. What were the long-term benefits of employ- turn. The teacher can make up as many types of ment compared to welfare? chance cards as needed to review previously-studied Using this basic prototype, teachers on one topics. A minimum c' 25 should be prepared, but the supervisor's team made their own versions of the number of cards needed will depend on class size (see game. Following their suggestions and actual use in samples in Figure 6). the classroom, we have modified I restructured Note: The players must stop for a STOP square, the game to its present form. Using the basic ideas, even if they have a roll which will take them teachers can adapt the game to suit their own beyond it. For example, if a family is two spaces purpo9es.

171 JOB J RAISE ? MEDICAL/ 0"--"s STOP 1-4 NO ()MITA/. sus RAISE YEAR 5-6 YES STOP .2*PAYpso YEAR 1-3 NO BABY? ENP ADO $1000 * TO YoVR PER FAMILY END * 4-6 YeS SALARY MEMBER ADD BlocTo roevemv.. ..N.___/ v-,,,o 2 YEARS (5;747e" J vpzos 3 YEARS ALARM tasAL,,o p4000° B O COLLEGE OoRERA'rulA STOP CLOTHINGSILLS IrtamsoR TONE! yotivE STOP YEAR PAY 4400 PER. $te,000 YEAR DED/4promo- 4 'YEARS ORD FAMILY rani= Irgavicw END ) te°ID -r PE BAD WAITER 3.6COM 4.10,Cookat I STOP O YEAR STOP YEAR rA YEAR END ] Af END >it L_I 3YEARS

WELFARE YouHAVEA spullsersA WARMS LOSE FRAUD. FRIA You STOP Avema YOUR FOOD GoeACHCOMER YEAR AKNEAHER *To* STAMPS MOVE END 3 swifts 0 ItACK 3 -EVES / B 611:( BABY? 4 CLOTHING A, COST 42C0 WELFARE BENEFITS MEDICAID PER FArnive . CASH44.000/yR MEMBER JOB PWSTRIAPSP2,01D/YR DISHWASHER WELFARE $70.10/Yr. WELFARE START ST01,4 PALI. COLLECT $1000 h4 WELFARE A(' S-6 '0MR/A sroP 2. ROLL FOR MEND TRAIMOU YEAREND)S YEARS I-S HIGH CRIME 470P d ROLL iJo-4FARTI4 6 LOW CRIME I YEAR e fs,soollit ..../ ,* 3. ROLL FOR LgSE±2_; No JDa WELFARE -3 JOB 4-6 FAMILY MIST Do COLLEGE rsoccass THEIR AcCOLINTI NG oNE COLLECT YES - PAY$500 303FITAL BILLS .$1,000 . -NO - PAY$200 Fork FAMILY PLANNING SABY? (You ONLYHAVE TO PASS 11115 SQUARE!)

-PICI( ACHANCE GIRO Figure 1: The Gameboard 172 173 46 PASSAGE Winter 1987

InVetWeenerWeeleerVeelen, Figure 2: Sample Accounting Chart

1987

ITEM CREDITS EXPENSES BALANCE Start game $1000 $1000 Salary $7000 $8000 Rent $3000 $5000 Food $ 2500 $2500 TV $800 $1700 Bank *$1000 $700 1988

ITEM CREDITS EXPENSES BALANCE Salary $10,000 $10,700 Rent $3000 $7700 $2500 $5200 Interest $100 $5300 Game prize $100 $5400 Used car $4000 $1400 Bank *$1000 $400

*Deposited into bank CD account

Figure 3: Fixed Expenses Chart

RENT Years l& 2 Years 3& 4 Year 5

High crime rate neighborhood $3000 $3500 $4000 Low clime rate neighborhood $4200 $4700 $5200

FOOD

3-person family $2500 per year 4-person family $3000 per year 5-person family $3500 per year 6-person family $4000 per year

Note: The neighborhood will be significant during the game if the players' house is robbed.

174 Fouss The Resettlement Game 47

Figure 4: Sample Items for the Optional PurchasesBoard

This poster should have dozens of pictures of items for sale. Refugees may buy these at any time during thegame.

COLOR TV 900

HOUSE (2.,003 FIRST YEAR, a000 ALL OTHER IF.Ags)

r am 0 4I:=X=1 Ira en tr3 cm

STEREO CASSETTE PECK

SJ WAS VA We.W.W.W. Me, Figure 5: Sample Banker's Accounting Chart

FAMILY ONE FAMILY TWO Total Total Year Amount Year Amount

1987 1987 deposit $3000 $3000 deposit $1000 $1000 interest paid $300 interest paid $100

1988 1988 deposit $2000 $5000 withdraw $1000 -0- interest paid $500

1989 1989 deposit $4000 $9000 loan $1000 $1000 interest paid $900

; Is 175 48 PASSAGE Winter 1987

Figure 6: Sample Chance Cards

You wake up one morning to find Your boss is angry because you that your bicycle is missing. If you aren't getting along with your live in a high-crime neighborhood, co-workers. Name two ways you someone stole it: Pay bar: $200. can improve your situation. If you live in a low-crime CAN ANSWER: Keep your job. neighborhood, you misplaced it: CAN'T ANSWER: Move back to Move ahead one space. last job opening and reapply.

Do you want to play the lottery? Your electric bills have been very If no, do nothing. If yes: pick three high. Name two ways to lower numbers from 1-e. Roll any your electric bill. combination of the three numbers CAN ANSWER: Pay bank $100. and win $1000 from the bank. If CAN'T ANSWER: Pay bank $500. you don't roll all three numbers in three tries, lose $200.

Your spouse has an accident. What is the emergency telephone You receive a credit card number? application in the mail. Name CAN ANSWER: Move ahead one two disadvantages of owning one. square. CAN ANSWER: Collect $200. CAN'T ANSWER: Move back one CAN'T ANSWER: Do nothing. square.

Income tax time! Pay according to how many babies you've had so far: 1= $500 2 = $200 3+ = No payment.

a a,

James "Jamie" Fouss has been a CO supervisor at the PRPC since 1985. Previously, he was a volunteer job developer in Colorado Springs, and served is a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa. Fouss holds I BA in anthropology from the University of Colorado and is a Master's candidate at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.

.176 "On the Corner of HmongStreet and Mien Avenue": Using Student-GeneratedMaps

Christopher B. Reznich Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

English teachers continually seek ways students streets have been drawn in, the students can name can use newly-introduced lesson content, since it is them. Frequently, students will use class members' only through use that language, is acquired and names for this, creating an "Our Town?' When all the becomes part of a person. In the ESL classroom, streets have been named, the map is ready foruse. "student-generated content," i.e., language content One possible sequence of activities would be tore- elicited from the students themselves, is a major view the prepositions of location: objective of the student-centered classroom. One "The bank is in froht of the hotel." useful technique for fostering student use of language "The church is behind the school." is related to directions and map reading. I have This can be followed by simple directionalex- found this exercise to be a successful one in allowing changes: learners to take greater control of their learning. "Where is Lee's house?" A student-generated map is one for which students "It's on the corner of Hmong Street and Mien supply the street names, buildings, houses, shopping Avenue." centers, parks, banks, hospitals, and libraries. This "How do I get to the Post Office?" information is then organized into a visual aid for "Walk two blocks to Vang Steet. Turn left. It'son promoting language practice and conversation. the corner." How do teachers use a student-generated map? An The class could then progress to freercom- appropriate time to use this technique is after initial munication, in which students refer to themap to ask work on giving simple directions using prepositions of each other questions of their own. At first, reluctant location. Students sit in a circle. The only materials students may need prompting. The teachercan hold required are one or two sheets of newsprint, a marker, up a card with a question mark on it, cueing students and a set of colored rods. The teacher takes a rod and to ask each other questions. I have found that says, "This is a school," placing the rod on the paper. students invariably "pick up the ball and run with Students, with a little help if necessary, then it" when this technique is used. When students identify their own buildings and place them on the become comfortable with asking and answering paper. The teacher can take another rod and identify questions among themselves, some of the language it as a park or recreation center, for example, cueing used in the exchanges can become quite complicated. students to use as wide a vocabulary as possible. It The activity can be varied to suit individual may also be useful to have individual students classes. At higher levels, each student can takemore repeat the identification of buildings or places on the than one rod, thus increasing the number of buildings paper as additional rods are laid down. A location or places to be used on the map. Furthermore, the question, such as "Where is the hospital?", may be teacher, when drawing in the lines to form the map, added during this first step of identification. can include features common to U.S. city maps such as After all the students have contributed at least a traffic circle, an exprec5way, or boulevards. At the one building or place, the teacher uses a magic lower levels, straight lines and fewer rods can be marker to draw in streets among the buildings. It may used to limit the amount of content. The teacher may be necessary to straighten out the configuration also need to take a more direct role in encouraging slightly by adjusting a rod here or there. Once the students to speak.

k I.)I...t. 177 SO PASSAGE Winter 1987

The most logical means of training teachers to use have accomplished much toward creating the condi- this technique is demonstrating it. I've found that tions for students to work successfully at acquiring student-generated maps are especially effective for their new language. minimizing teacher talk and maximizing student participation in the classroom, so trainings often involve discussions of student-centered learning, Christopher B. Reznich student control of lesson content, and other themes has been a staff member important to humanistic educators. Because the of the Overseas Refugee students sit in a circle, their attention is focused on Training Program since the map and themselves, and away from the 1980. On Galang, Indo- teacher. The teacher can concentrate on P'''h student nesia, he was an ESL su- as he or she speaks, noting areas requi&ing further pervisorandteacher practice, and students' needs for new vocabulary or trainer. At Phanat Ni- structures. During training, one may also point out the khom Refugee Camp in benefit of having students determine what they will I A. Ask. Thailand, he has been an ESL supervisor, materials developer, and, most talk about. Personalization of the content of learning recently,the documentation specialist inthe is a powerful motivator. There are very few students Staff Development Office. Reznich has taught who do not respond to a learning situation in which English in Mexico and, as a Peace Corps Volun- they perceive a part of themselves as part of the teer, in Chad. He is the author of Teaching content of instruction. Teachers: An Introduction to Supervision and If ESL teachers give their students something to Teacher Training. He holds an MAT in ESL from talk about, and if the students see a part of them- the School for International Training in Brattle- selves as a part of what they learn, then teachers boro, Vermont.

1 7 8 That First Day: The Saga ofaNew Teacher

Eugene Labiak Phanat Nikhom Refugle Camp

It was the first day of class. Teachers scurried anyone I knew. We must not be on the right scheduled around to collect their materials and get to their tour. I noticed a few strangers walking the same road classrooms on time. Many were new teachers, as I and, as casuaT., as I could with 15 teenagers in tow, was, hired for Cycle 58, the largest cycle of refugee tried to ask airections. They didn't knowany more students (2,700) in the history of Phanat Nikhora than I did. Refugee Camp. I'm a teacher in the Preparation for My students must have noticed, as I had, thatwe American Secondary Schools (PASS) program. were going around in circles, and it wasn't long before As I walked through the quads to my homeroom, I they decided among themselvesbless their looked around, thinking how different this was from soulsthat they would take me on a tour of the my other first days of teachingno air conditioned camp. They were newcomers too, most having arrived buildings with lounges and cafeterias, no glass only a few days before from Ban Vinai,a Hmong windows or tile floors, nothing familiar. The camp refugee camp in northeastern Thailand. But they'd was almost desert-like, with a scattering of scrub and had time to see the sights, and now they were intent dry grass, the sma" bamboo classrooms like quartets on sharing these sights with me. As they led me of bungalows on a beach with no ocean. Gutters were around, they seemed to enjoy their role,more than a carved into the ground along the sides of the road to teacher might wish. We went from building to catch the monsoon rain, before it could flood the building and finally made it back to squareone. camp. i walked past people of several different Everyone was laughing and talking, and I realized ethnic groups, past women with children on their that at some point along the way, we had all become backs, carrying pails of water or plastic bags from friends. We were in this together. I didn't mind that the market. I'd gotten us a little lost. Activities were supposed to The class bell hadn't rung yet. I had a little time be student-cen,ared, right? My very first activity, before my homeroom session began, so I sat down, the camp tour, had been exactly that. wiped the sweat from my forehead, and reflected on But a trip around the camp is different from a what had happened the day before. Although there class. Although this was only my homeroom group, had been no classes yesterday. we'd been instructed to and I would not actually be teaching them, I take our students on a tour or the camp. I had missed wondered if the rapport so easily established the first few days of pre-service training, and the outside the classroom could continue, once wewere camp was still foreign territory to me. But I had inside. I thought about my own high school in the dutifully assembled my class, had them get their ID U.S. I tried to picture my students here getting on a pictures taken, and started them on our journey. school bus, finding a friend to sit with in the The buildingsincamp are designated by an cafeteria, cheering at pep rallies and football games, alphanumeric system (e.g., the PASS principal's and going to proms. I thought about peer pressure, office is in "A39"). It struck me, as we set out, that all fashions, music, parties, and the decisions they'd these square structures were so strikingly similar have to make. It was a little overwhelming. How that distinctive landmarks would be hard to come could I hope to help prepare them? Language was by. If the numbers were removed, there would be no only the beginning. telling one building from another. The bell sounded. I got up, went to my classroom, T didn't know where I was going. I wondered about pushed open the bamboo door, and stepped inside. I the other new teachersthere were over two hoped it wouldn't take long before I felt at home in hundred of us. Were they as lost as I? I didn't see this classroom... before it didn't all seem so strange. t 179 52 PASSAGE Winter 1987

I stood in front of my "tour group" of the day that I'd felt earlier, the responsibilityas a PASS beforethey were all there, the boys dressed in teacherto try to ease, as much as possible, the pants, tee-shirts, and thongs. The girls were a little burden of adjustment for these kids. Adjustment more traditional in sarongs and blouses, with their that was the key. They would have to adjust, andso long hair tied up in clips. Suddenly, something struck would I. Adjustment takes time. Our timewas me as peculiar. I looked a little closer. One of the limited. The bell rang, and my studentsrose from boys was wearing lipstick! "I like it," he explained. their seats, just as they would six months fromnow at It wasn't doing any harm that he wore lipstick; the end of a class in a U.S. high school. I cringed. nobody else seemed to mind or to find it strange. Three months later, as I walked into thatsame Under other circumstances, I might just have let it go, homeroom one afternoon, I found the students hanging chalking it up to some kind of teenage experi- pictures on the walls, crossing off the dateon the mentation. But here, I felt an unexpected sense of calendar, and speaking to each other in English. responsibility. I asked him if he would remove it. He Memories of that first day came back tome. The did, smiling. Life in the camp was different. Students blank looks were gone. We knew each other'snames, in this class might not react at all to something that and the shy giggling had disappeared. Theywere seemed unusual. But I couldn't get American high teenagers pretty much like any other teenagers, and I schools out of my mind. was no longer worried. It was not hard to picture each I smiled at the whole class. "Good morning," I one of them making his or her own way around any said cheerfully. "Good afternoon," some replied. high school in the U.S., finding friends, and sharing Right. It was after one o'clock. "Of course," I said, the trials and triumphs of teenage life withpeers. "good afternoon." I asked if anyone rememberedmy It was tempting to conclude that they had name from the day before. Nobody did. I wrote it on undergone some miraculous transformation. Perhaps, the board. I turned around to blank faces, and asked to a certain extent, they had. But theywere not them to read my name. Some tried. I told themmy alone. I had changed also, and had come to think of name and asked them to repeat it Again, only a few them not only as students, but as kids with different responded. I wanted to involve everyone,so I smiled senses of humor, individual dreams, and ambitions. once again and greeted them in Thai, "Sawasdee One of the nicest things about first days is that krap." But there was still a group of students who you only have to go through them once. The second kept their eyes fixed beyond me, staring at the fanas day is easier. The bus ride to campwas now an it spun lazily around. everyday run, hardly worthy of notice. I remembered I knew I couldn't spend too much time on this, telling myself on that first day, aftermy homeroom because I had to take attendance. I looked down at class had left, that if things got any worse, I'd just the list and began to call off the names to the best of invite the class on another tour of thecamp. my ability: "Nuia, Xiong, Xee, Fang, Nou. ..." This But such an activity was nevernecessary. The livened them up considerably. "That's you!"one adjustments we had to make were relatively painless called in his native language, pointing to another. and, indeed, often amusing. Just as the leadership "No, not me! It must be him!" The girls wcre gig- role in our trip around camp had been shared,so had gling, and the boys were laughing out loud. that role in the classroom, again and again. I believe Needless to say, this was not going exactly as I'd we had all come to think of ourselves as fully hoped. I thought back to our pre-service training. capable, willing, and licensed "tour guides." Had there been anything to prepare me for this type of thing? I knew from experience that the first few days of class are all-important. The thought that came to me was not of pre-service, but of my first bus trip from the town of Phanat Nikhom to the camp. Labiak has been I'd sat and watched for almost half an hour, as the an American Studies in- bus wound down a one-and-a-half lane road of structor in the Prepara- two-way traffic. The bus was constantly maneuvering tion for American Sec- ondary Schools program around various obstacles: bicyclists, buffaloes, etc. I at Phanat Nikhom Refu- was suddenly feeling like that bus, and some of the gee Camp since March obstacles encountered those first few days of class 1987. As a Rotary Club were not sc to get around. scholarship winner, We have our expectations as teachers, and the Labiak spent four years students have theirs. I had taugh: before, both in the in Thailand studying the Thai language. He has U.S. and in Thailand, but somehow this was also taught English in a Thai primary school in different. Perhaps it was the sense of responsibility Chonburi,------a city near Phanat Nikhom. 180 From War to Resettlement: A History Training

J. Frank Edgerton Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

Catchy title, right? But how to explain 40 years boots, helmets, rockets bursting in air. But there were of Southeast Asian conflict, its effects on refu- time constraints to consider. This was to be a two- gees, and the implications for their resettlement in hour training. We couldn't get too carried away. A the U.S. in four hours? We had no idea. Teachers at lecture, perhaps? We thought about past training the Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp in Thailand had experiences. The 1.ccture approach was clearly not Asked our Staff Development Office to conduct this among teacher? top ten favorite training techniques. training, and after talking it over, we decided to give The fatigues and helmets began to look better. it a shot. "Let's turn it into a game!" someone shouted, and Actually, we didn't "talk it over"we agonized within minutes the planning session turned raucous. for about a week. Was there really a need? Well, Our coordinator finally stepped in and got us under teachers had said they needed some training in control. Vanna White (a popular U.S. TV personal- history, both Southeast Asian and American. They ity) would not be an appropriate consultant, we were said they wanted to understand American attitudes told. But we still agreed that a game was the way to toward the conflicts in Indochina and how these tackle this unwieldy training topic. Teacl-ers would attitudes might affect refugees resettling in the U.S. not feel threatened by the massive amounts of They also wanted in:orrnation on the world refugee information, the atmosphere would be competitive situation. but relaxed, and, if we set it up right, a great deal We briefly considered making the training very would be learned about the Indochinese conflict, its timely, something on the Iran-Contra debacle and its roots, and its effects on refugees. effects on refugees from Central America. But like But transforming a good idea into a finished other folks, we could only guess at who knew what training session ready for the public is no small feat. and when, so that idea was out We were at a loss. So "When in doubt," we say, "get out the newsprint." much information in such a sh...t period of time! We We got out the newsprint, covered a wall with it, wondered if it would make any sense, or if it would and began to brainstorm. Each year from 1945 to 1987 just be too overwhelming. So the plan was to present was put on a timelir .1 across the topa large number the war in the first training and follow up with of years, we realized. attitudes toward refugees a couple of weeks later. Down the left side of the newsprint, we wrote If we tried it, would there be enough trainers Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and United willing to put their history knowledge to the test? A States. But the teachers had asked for a global quick poll revealed that there were. In fact, every overviewwhat about the rest of the world? We'd one of the trainers in the Staff Development Office have to raise the ceiling or lower the floor. We was interested. The project was becoming exciting. compromised, and at the bottom of the newsprint, we We started to throw around ideas and checked our squeezed in a sixth category, Elsewhere. This was resources. Between the office library and personal beginning to look like the framework for a giant grid. collections, we had plenty of material. A day later, we began pencilling historical facts We had appropriate video material for the intu the 258 squaresevents for each geographica: second training, but how could we make Part One, the area, year by year. Then we started editing, keeping history lesson, interesting? Get experiential, we only what was most relevant to the refugee situation thought. Have the teachers crawl on their stomachs today. through mud and tall grass. Give them a feel for the At last, we looked at the completed grid on the life of a soldier. After all, this was war where it wall and felt that most of the work was done. Ai all begins. Let's see, we would need M-16s, fatigues, that was left to do was tc transfer the information to

S. 18.1 54 PASSAGE Winter 1987 cards that could be taped onto a black timeline grid "In 1945, Eeni Pramoj became Prime Minister. on the training room wall. What organization had he led in World War II?" Wait a minute. Did I say, "the training room Moans and groans echoed from the competing wall"? Make that "two training room walls";we teams as Team Number Two confidently placed the would be training two groups at the same time. Did I correct answer (The Free Thai Movement) in the say, "all that was left to do"? Getting those cards square at the "Thailand-1945" coordinate. Pink was written took gallons of coffee and hours of, overtime on the board! for the full training staff, a couple of ESL super- The game continued in this way until the original visors, our coordinator, and the newsletter editor. black-and-white grid was blooming with colored Then we had to pull 36 of the cards, make eight answer cards. A few participants tried to win extra duplicate sets of them, and develop 36 good questions credit for their teams by telling historical anecdotes, that those cards would answer. but none was awarded. At the end, when we counted the cards of each Playing the Game color to determine the winner, there was a tie. We were ready with tie-breaker questions, though, and The next morning, a bit bleary but excited, we when both teams correctly identified Saloth Sar (Pol began the training. After explaining the rules of the Pot), we asked which Cambodian leader'sname was game and the purpose of the activity, we divided spelled the same backwards and forwards. Onlyone the teachers into teams of five or six, assigning a team got that one (Lon Nol), and we had a winner. leader to each. We handed out identical sets of 36 At the end of the game, the facilitators asked answer cards color-coded for each team. When we question:, to highlight particularly important facts sent everyone to the timeline grid to inspect the wall that would otherwise have been lost in the of information, they noticed that some of the squares excitement. There was also time for discussion and on the grid were blankplaces for the facts on the clarification of events or the timeline. All in all,we team's answer cards. felt we had done fairly hell at meetingour The gong sounded, :aid the moderator cried, "Let objectives. We had identified and discussed the basic the game begin!" The first question was for Team historical causes of conflicts in Ir--"r" la, -we had Number One: discussed why these conflicts.ve forced law! "In 1945, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombson numbers of people to seek refuge outs = -le their Japan. What event in Vietnam in that same yearwas homelands, and we had prepared the tea :hers for of particular concern to America?" the next session, which would deai with U.S. The team mulled it over, desperately glancing attitudes toward refugees and the conflicts in from their answer cards to the information wall. Indochina. And we had remembered to bringa prize Fir.:111y, the team leader covered the "Vietnam- for the winnerswe knew they'd ask forone. 1945" blank with a yellow answer card, "Direct aid was provided, and training was to be given to the J. Frank Edgerton has been a trame with the"'" South Vietnamese Army." Staff Development Office at Phanat Nikhom Asked if they agreed, Team Number Two said Refugee Camp since April 1986. Previously, he they did. Team Number Three, however, did not teas a W. Orientation supervisor at the Galang agree; they challenged the first team's answer, and Refugee Processtng Center in Indonesia, anda put up one of their green answer cards, "First Ameri- Peace Corps volunteer in Benin. Edgerton is acan- can military casualty in Vietnam." Correct! Team didrte for a Master's degree in training from the Number Three's card remained on the wall, and School for International Training in Brattleboro, Team Number One retrieved their first guess for use Verim-nt. He holds Bachelor's degrees in analyti- later on. The next question was addressed to Team cal management ant: in video production from the Number Two: U.S. Naval Academy and Sierra Nevada Col- lege,respectively.

182 Bureaucratic Bingo: A Simulation in CulturalOrientation

Stephen Alcantara and CO Team Philippine Refugee Processing Center

Resettlement workers in the U.S. have reported Simulation Introduction that Indochinese refugees do not have a clear idea of how to deal with community services. In Bureaucratic Bingo is conducted during the third particular, refugees are baffled by the many rules, of the 12 weeks of CO classes. To begin the activity, the numoer of services, and the frustrations thatcome the students are told that they an in the U.S., and with dealing with bureaucracy. How, resettlement that one day while shopping, they lost their wallet workers ask, can this picture be made real to the or purse that contained their I=94, social security refugees before they resettle in the U.S.? In the card, driver's license, fiVe checks, $20 in cash, and Cultural Orientation (CO) program at the Philip- $100 in food stamps. The objecti e. is to replace the pine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), there isan lost items. The students need to note which places activity that addresses this questionBureaucratic they must visit in order to replace the items, and Bingo. then decide which office to visit first. The offices Bureaucratic Bingo ("BB") is a learning exercise are the local voluntary agency (volag), the Social that simulates for refugee students the experience of Security Office, Department of Motor Vehicles, Bank dealing with social services offices in the U.S. This of America, the. welfare office, and the police sta- exercise exposes students to typical problem situation. Classrooms are used as offices, and the teachers tions they might face in the U.S. and gives them the play the role of the office wor hers. Unlessa student opportunities to use problem-solving and decision- brings a translator (an assistant teacheror high- making skills to complete practical tasks. The level student), the office workers and students must discussion that follows a BB simulation providesan deal directly with one another in English. opportunity to examine students' beliefs, values, and attitudes regarding the topics being presented, as A Variation well as their feelings about the experience. This follow-up discussion is also the point at which refu- In the first implementation of BB, trtudents gees' misperceptions are corrected and their expecta- trooped first to the police station, believing a tions readjusted. Because it is an experience-based police recommendation would help them in other learning exercise, the lesson's impact on students is offices. Most students also assumed that the police greater than if the topics had been am poached some themselves would help find the lost items. After other way. During the week before BB is used, classes several more implementations of BB, teachers noted discuss citizens' rights and responsibilities, Ameri- in the follow-up discussions that students'assump- can laws, and dealing with the police. A simulation tions about the police were not being fully examined. like BB has the advantage of placing the student in To remedy the situation, teachers changed the loss to a situation where he must make a decision and a robbery: implement it. The objectives of BE are (1) to help students You are visiting your friend at night, and at understand what it is like to deal with public about midnight you decide tc; go home. Your servants in various situations they may encounter apartment is just a few blocks away. Wh;le you're when visiting offices in the U.S., (2) to elicit the walking, someone suddenly approaches you froir. students' attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about behind and pokes something into your back. The visiting these offices, and (3) to help students devise person says, "Don't turn around. Now give me your money." You are too scared to move, so the man a plan to minimize "red tape" before visiting the pokes you harder and says, "I'm going to kill you if offices. you don't hand over your money." You take your 1 83 56 PASSAGE Winter 1987

wallet out of your back pocket and hand it to the office replaced their I-94s, which they foundwere man, without turning around. The man says, "Start required by other offices, such as Social Security and walking and don't look back." When you reach your Welfare. Those who went to the bank first had been apartment, you take a quick look back, but no one's there. Inside your wallet was an 1-94, a social security worried that their checks might be picked up and card. ... used. This variation of BB adds to the original At the Police Scat: on objectives that of eliciting students' beliefs about dealing with thr police and making clear to them Most of the students who went to the police the most common attitudes in the U.S., and why station first said they believed they would be able to Americans relate to police as they do. This version get a recommendation from the police that would was used in classes for a recent-grOup of refugees at facilitate replacing the items they lost. "That's how the PRPC. In most-ways, it was like the same we do it in Vietnam," they explained. A few said Bureaucratic-Biiigo. The same offices were there, they went to the police first because "maybe theycan ready.for the onslaught of refugees whose wallet or find my wallet." One or two believed that the police purse was just stolen. But there was more focus on the would be able to replace all the lost items right role of the police in a U.S. community. away. After listening to the simulation introduction, When the students were asked if they had told about half of the students headed directly for the the policeman that their wallet was stolen, they all police station. Most of the others went to the volag said yes. Obviously, only three were telling the offi-e, and a few went to the bank to report the loss of truth, but the fact that their answer was in the their checks. Several of the students seemed to be just affirmative may imply that they were aware that observing the proceedings, but eventually a few incidents of that nature should be reported. When Stopped' those who had finished their transactions the teacher informed the students that she had been with office workers and asked for Information or told by the police officer that only three had advice. Others just sat around at the police station or reported the crime, the students chuckled. Finally at the volag office looking a bit confused or afraid. they said, "What's the point of reporting the Although these students seemed to be waiting their hold-up? The police will never find the wallet." One turn, by the end of the session they still had not explanation for this attitude is that because of their approached a single office ivorker. experiences in their native country, refugee students believe it futile to report such incidents. Perhaps Beliefs Slow to Change policemen there were known not to return to the owner any stolen items found, or even to bother As the "game" progressed, several students looking for them. became impati nt waiting at one office and left to go From the instructor, students learned that the to another one. Some individuals had to transact nor-reporting of a crime could have negative their business with one office worker several times consequences they had not been aware of. Since there before procuring their documents. Of the dozen or so is a robber on the loose, othersrefugees in- students who were able to speak to the police, only cludedcould be victimized, the situation could three reported the hold-up. The others claimed to worsen, and more serious crimes might be committed the interviewing officer that they had merely lost against the refugees. The robber would benefit from their wallet or purse. Of the three students who the refugees' reluctance to "get involvcd." Recent reported the hold-up, only one told the police what reports from resettlement worker; indicate that actually happened. The other two report(incidents refugees hesitate or fail to report crimes and acts of that never took place. One student said he was riding harassment committed against them because of a bicycle when three hold-up men dressed in police misconceptions and fears regarding the p Ake. uniforms stopped him, frisked him, and took his According to Inform: ion Update No. 3 (Center for wallet; the other student reported that he fought a Applied Linguistics 1985), "Refugees frequently do hold-up man who was rather heavy-set. not report acts of violence because of language The discnssion following this implementation difficulties and fear of the police" (p. 1). revealed that these Vietnamese refugees held The teacher stressed certain American attitudes interestiiig beliefs about transacting business in a U.S. regarding the reporting of crimes to the police: (1) bureaucracy. Refugees were asked what office they that a crime should be reported in the U.S., since went to first, and why. Those who went first to the there is a possibility the criminal may be identified, volag office gave no particular reason. They reported apprehended, and prevented from committing that it had been a good choice, however, since this another crime; (2) that it is their resporsibiiity to

184 Alcantara & CO '"eam Bureaucratic Bingo57 themselves and to other people (i.e., a direct result documents. Hence, not only did they waste their time M reporting a crime may be that the police will and the time of the office worker, but there was also increase patrol in an area where a crime is wasted effort. committed); and (3) when a crime is reported, the There were many problems with communicating in chances that the police will apprehend the criminal English. Only at the volag office did students find a and/or find the stolen property are greater. It was translator. Some tried their best to communicate stressed, however, that even if a crime is reported, the exchanges were often arduous and lengthybut this dinot necessarily mean the police will do they said that when they couldn't express what everyth...g in their power to look for the stolen they wanted in English, some office workers became property, especially if it is something as small as a impatient and told them to go get a translator. wallet. Students had a lot to say about the of workers, The two students who changed their stories when describing them as "surly," "impatient," and "rude" reporting the hold-up were a3ked why they hadn't people who "shouted a lot," "made us go back and told the officer what actually happened. Om of forth," and "acted Eas if they were] superior to us." them said, "The robbery is not believable. No one Asked why office workers in the U.S. might behave comes from behind to stick a gun at your back." He that way sometimes, they gave the following also said he would never just hand over his wallet; answers: the robber would have to fight him for it. The "Maybe the of fi-.worker is tired." teacher reminded them that the hold-up man may "Maybe slu's very bt y, and when we cannot have been carrying a gun, and that if the student speak English well or we don't have the necessary attempted to use kung fu, he should remember that a documents, we waste her time, so she gets angry." bullet travels faster than his foot. Perhaps students' "Maybe it's racial discrimination." reluctance to accept the presented story could be "Maybe they don't like their jobs because it is overcome if the story is presentA as happening to a very boring." fictitious "Mr. Nguyen," a recent arrival to the U.S. Lack of adequate English language skills caused The students were asked what might happen if additional problems. When students complained they didn't tell the police what actually took place. that they didn't understand the English used on some They answered, "The police might investigate and of the forms, the teacher pointed out that the actual find out that you are a liar." The teacher added that forms are even more complicated. Sometimes students the police would never be able to find the criminal if weren't sure .vhere to go to get certain documents (i.e., the details given to them are inaccurate or Lntrue. a few went to the Bank of America asking for a The students who had not approached even one driver's license). In general, the students' behavior office worker were asked why they had not par- and comments reflected that they had learned what ticipated. Some replied that they had felt frus- dealing with office workers in the U.S. may be like trated with the long lines. Others said they were and that they understood the reasons for %..ne of the afraid that they would be unable to answer the problems. office workers' questions, or would say the wrong things. Older non-participants said that their chil- Problem-Solving dren, spouses, or relatives would take care of these tasks for them anyway, so they wouldn't have to Finally, the teacher asked students to devise a bother. The teacher replied that it is important to plan to minimize the problems they experienced learn to do things oneself and to be able to seek and during Bureaucratic Bingo. The students' responses use assistance from those who can help. were: (1) Find out which IDs an office issues; (2) find out what papers or forms of ID are needed by each At the Other Offices office to make a transaction; (3) bring a translator to help communicate with office workers and fill out In the second part of the discussion, teachers forms. When the students were asked what they asked the students what other problems they would do about the long lines and the unfriendly or encountered when visiting the offices. One difficulty unhelpful office workers, they said they could try to was the long lines and crowded offices, especially L. go early, but that they could do nothing more but be the police station, the volag office, and the Social patient and understarding. Security Oilice. Those students who became One student said hat they should be careful with impatient at one office and went to other offices their IDs and papers in the first place and not lose discovered that they had to go back to the first them. The teacher suggested that instead of carrying office, because they hadn't picked up the necessary their 1-94 with them, they could make photocopies

185 58 PASSAGE Winter 1987 and leave the original at home. Another suggestion a situation. All in all, the students felt they learned was not to carry large amounts of money or food some important things from the exercise. stamps in wallets or purse. This activity provided a good opp')rtunity to make students aware of the realities of dealing with References U.S. bureaucracies and helped them to examine their Center for Applied Linguistics. (1985). Cultural mvn beliefs and attitudes in dealing with public adjustment. Information update: Questions and service providers. Of value, too, were the skills answers about refugee resettlement in the U.S., 3, identified as useful in ..1,:aling successfully with such 1-3.

The authors are all in the Cultural Orientation (CO) component at the PhilippineRefugeeProcessing Center at Bataan. Left to right: Stephen Alcantara, supervisor, and Irene Laureta and Ma. Teresa Mangubat. teachers. Not pictured: Carmina Pearl Bengson and Jo-Anna Rose Mantickti, teachers.

186

.6 .i Refugee Poets in the Low-Level ESL Class

Susan Togle and Team Philippine Refugee Processing Center

i.e doesn't have to be a poet to appreciate the grammar was not always correct. The result of poetry or to share this appreciation with this exercise was not poetry, but prose. students in an ESL class. The idea of using A simple poem was then presented with an poetry in teaching ESL to U.S.-bound Indochinese accompanying photograph, and students offered refugees was a result of our quest for effective their individual responses and interpretations. They classroom practices, and it proved to be a rewarding were then able to see the difference betwe °n prose language event for the students. and poetry by comparing the structures and noting the Several theorists and educators support the use of presence of rhymes as teachers introduced the concept poetry in the ESL class: ,om. Mary Ann Christison of "same sound" words. (1982) notes that poetry can improve students' M they began writing poems, feelings started to reading skills, develop vocabulary, and nourish a pour out. New words emerged as they looked through love for sounds and words. Thus, it helps provide a dictionaries for words that rhymed with those they firm foundation on which to build more advanced had written. When :laiku was introduced, they language skills later on. She notes that even found it difficult at first to think about the subject, lower-level students can read, enjoy, or write short find the right English words, and count syllables, all poems in their new language. at the same time. However, when they unde...tood Jerome Gram (1969) also contends that poetry that writing haiku poetry was not supposed to be belongs in the classroom: merely a mathematical exercise, the words began to Unlike a novel or a play or a story, la short poem) flow, more or less in the prescribed 5-7-5 presents itself on the page in bite sizeencour- syllable-per-line cadence. agingly compact and accessiblea manifestly pos- Some students got so carried away that they sible task. ... And at the same time, the density of composed multiple haikus. meaning and possibility in a word or a line of poetry yields ample and varied Inaterial for study. (p. 22) When I see sunset Our seam of A/B-level ESL teachers at the I remember my homeland Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC) used And my family. poetry writing to enhance our adult refugee students' acquisition of English. There were nine classes of How can I come back about 15 students ea.About half were Vietnamese, See sunset again there and, aside from one or two Khmer, the rest were Lao. In my dear city. Their ages ranged from 25 to 55. The students were introduced to poetry through picture description. After iooking at a photograph of PRPC a familiar place in camp, students were asked to There are mountains there describe itto write what they saw in the picture Many trees and Some flowers and how they felt about it. The students had only a It has many things. small vocabulary, and their knowledge of grammar And there are forests or syntax was even smaller. But teachers encouraged So refreshing to ones eyes them to try to express themselves in writing, even if I'm very happy.

187 60 PASSAGE Winter 1987

One female student, the breadwinner in her Cinquain family, wrote: I leave. I want to leave! I want to buy food Life is difficult! Because I am so hungry Because the war is very bad! Where is the morIy? I sad.

Another student, who had spent 15 days lost at Throughout the poetry writing, teacher correction s'2a during his flight from Vietnam, wrote: was minimal, but there was a lot of peer consultation and peer correction. Students not on:j learned the I come from Vietnam concepts of prose and poetry, but they also learned On a boat very small what syllables are through counting them for the Windy, terrible. haiku and cinquain. In addition, they practiced reading skills as they used their dictionaries and After mastering the technicalities of haiku, phrasebooks looking for the right word or the correct students found it fairly easy to write cinquains, a spelling. Of course, the teacher was on hand to offer 5-line form with a syllable-per-line formula of assistance, but when a pocnn-writing contest was 2-4-6-8-2. staged during the last week of classes, the studer is were on their own. They competed enthusiastically, Sunset and some even added drawings to their work. Gleaming Judging from the outcome of all the students' work Gleaming down slow. at the end of the cycle, the team concluded that the It's very hot in camp. use of poetry is an effective means of teaching ESL. The sun usually sleep late here. Students' vocabulary grew and their reading skills T 1 hot. were sharpened. Independent learning and self- expression were promoted, and seeing their literary works on display boosted students' confidence and My PRPC morale. Refugee poets of the future, welcome to the My camp. literary circle of America! Small not too big. When Igo to U.S. References Never forget this memory. Always. Christison, Mary Ann. (1982). Englishthrough poetry. San Francisco: The Alemany Press. Gram, Jerome. (1969). A poem is a personal thing. English Teaching Forum, 7(6), 21-22.

This article was written by a team of A/B -level ESL teachers and their supervisor at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center. Front row, left to right: Maria Luisa Mundo, Susan Togle, supervisor, Erlinda Pascua, and Cecil Batungbacal. Backrow,lefttoright: Abraham Quindara, Rosanna Esquivel, and Jose Antonio Moran.

188 From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn: The Native Language Literacy Program

Jon Phillips Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp

It's he erd of another day at the Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp in Thailand. Dusx is falling as people go about their evening routines of bathing, preparing dinner, and relaxing after a long, not day attending classes. In a short while, the tropical night will descend with a rush, and darkness will cover the camp. But in many classrooms, lights are flickering on as dozens of refugee students, mostly women, file inside and sit down for an additional hour and a half of classes. They are students in Phanat Nikhom's Native Language Literacy (NLL) program, where up to 650 Hmong, Mien, Lao, and Khmer refugees receive 20 weeks (150 hours) of daily instruction in reading and writing their native languages. The Native Language Literacy program was 41i6;0;iiviitituvklata V established in May 1982 by ESL supervisor Peter f Ntvil '1P701:dr Loverde, who continued to develop all aspects of the Pages from Peter Loverde's Literacy Health Manual in program until December 1986. As part of the ESL English, Lao, Hmong, and Khmer. Photo byJeff-Rey Villamora. component, the NLL program was begun in the belief that language learners with a grasp of reading and by Hmong around the world. He says he wrote the writing skills in their native lr'suage will find it novels "because I would like the Hmong to have some easier to record and remember material that is pre- sort of literature, and also to preserve Hmong tra- sented in their ESL classes. Students who are literate ditions through stonttelling." in their native language have greater confidence Obviously, there are difficulties that these adult that they can acquire a second languagethey call students must overcome as they approach literacy for use some of their NLL reading strategies in their ESL the first time. Although they are working in their classes. Since its beginning, the main goal of the NLL own languages and are orally proficient, some stu- program. has been to help students make the transi- dents may have no concept of sound-symbol cor- tion from learni s to read to reading to learn. respondence or of looking at the symbols in a left- It is also hoped that the skills refugees gain in to-right, top-to-bottom sequence. A student may not the NLL classes will contribute to their individual know what a "word" is, or how it is reprsented on and cultural pride. By providing them with a means paper. for written expression, NLL plays an important part In the NLL classes, refugees develop a number of in maintaining refugees' cultural identities and "word attack" skills, and come to understand that strengthening international ties between communities the context surrounding an unknown word will often of the same ethnic group. Even refugees from give information as to its meaning. Since the stu- pre-literate cultures benefit. Nyiajpov Lis, a Hmong dents' native language writing systems are alpha- refugee in Australia, has written two Hmong novels betic (rather than pictographic), they learn that about life in Laos; and because of the increasing breaking a new word down into syllables can make number of Hmong who are literate, his work is read the task of decoding easier. Students gradually come

1 189 62 PASSAGE Winter 1987

to expect that content will be presented in a certain knowledge of the Roman alphabet. The sound- form. Most important, they learn that print will symbol correspondence in written Hmong differs from yield meaning. that of English. For example, the finalletter of Hmong words does not signify a consonantor a vowel NLL for Different Ethnic Groups sound, but indicates the tone with which the wordis to be pronounced. Tong Pao Vue, a Hmong man from the mountains of Mien refugees are also from pre-literate back- Laos, was raised in a farming community where there grounds. Originally from China, the Mien existed was no local school. Most of what he has learned in there as an independent hilltribe, isolated from the his life was taught orally by older adults in his Chinese culture of the lowlands. As members ofthis village, where there was no need for readingor group migrated to Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, writing in daily life. The war in Laos forced Tong Pao some of the religious leaders learned the Chinese and his family down from the mountains. Eventu- wring system in order to preserve Mien religious ally, they escaped to Thailand. By the time they traditions. However, when they fled from Laosto arrived in Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp, Tong Pao Thailand and begrn attending classes in thecamps, was able to speak Hmong, Lao, Thai, and a little it became clear that the Chinese script would betoo English. But he still couldn't read or write; so when difficult and impractical for mostuses. the family was accepted for resettlement in the U.S., Most Mien refugees first arrived at thecamps Tong Pao enrolled in NLL classes. with no understanding of any writingsystem. A Tong Pao is typical of non-literate refugee stu- missionary group produced a Roman alphabetsystem dents from pre-literate i ultures or societies. Before for the Mien, but it was rejectedas being "Christian," the 1950s, there was no IA -itten script for the Hmong a system used merely for conveying information about language, nor was thereneed to develop one. As that religion. Subsequently, resettled Mien refugee outsiders made more contact with the Hmong, leaders in the U.S. began to talk about developinga though, they developed various writing systems to script that would be appropriate for Mien peopleall help them carry out their projects. Linguists, anthro- over the world. They decided that the script would pologists, missionaries, and government representa- use the Roman alphabet, but that it would not be tives all needed a writing system to record and to linked to any one politicalor religious group. They communicate in the Hmong language. As a result, wanted the writing system to be easy to learn, teach, several competing systems were developed. Some and use. They decided to devise their writingsystem used the Roman alphabet; others used the alphabets themselves. of the Thai and Lao. At a meeting in 1982, Mien leaders decidedon The Hmong writing system taught ;n the NLL sound-letter correspondences for their writingsystem, program is the most widely used today. Etlseci on the and they developed Luh Mienh Tsiaaqv Dzangc,a pronunciation of the White Hmong group, the four-volume primer. Both the alphabet and the "Hmong Dawb." it provides students witha books have undergone several revisions,two of which were carried out by Sumeth Pi ;erthsut, the Mien teacher-trainer in Phanat Nikhom'sprogram. The Mien have not yet reachedheir goal of developing an international Mien alphabet which can be used for the various dialects in China, Laos, Thailand, and the U.S, but they have made significant progress in a very short time. The situation of Lao and Khmer NLL students differs from that of the Mien and Hmong. There isa long written tradition in Laos and Cam1,-.Klia, but the individuals enrolled in NLL classes have not learned to read and write. The Khmer and Lao languagesare both written in non-Roman alphabets, using different forms, of an Indic alphabet somewhat similar to Thai. Although the Khmer and Lao languagesare not directly related (Khmer is not a tone language), they share many words borrowed from Pali and Sanskrit, the ancient languages of the Buddhist faith. Students whose native languagesuse a ;ion- Mien woman studying in NLL el.1. Photo by Katharine Isbell. Roman alphabet have special difficulties with 190 Phillips Native Language Literacy Program 63

markers in their alphabets. By week 5, most students have mastered all the letters and can writeon a straight lineno small feat, considering that Lao, for example, has 27 symbols for consonants and 38 for vowels, besides its 4 tone markers. By week 10, students are reading and writing syllables; and since these languages are largely monosyllabic, most of these syllables are actually words. At the midpoint in the program, NLL students begin reading a specially-designed health manual. In keeping with the notion that reading materials should be relevant to students' lives, each chapter of the manual focuses on a topic of importance to these 11.04:te, -A? .11 r.Jrzt:r. refugees, e.g., food and nutrition, childbirth, family " planning, and traditional medicine. Each topic is ".z7r7r7-17 m :* addressed through a page of reading material followed by vocabulary exercises, comprehension checks, and "long-answer," open-ended questions. Hmong NLL teachers prepare posters for the evening During the last part of the NLL course, students work class. Photo by Katharine Isbell. on handouts based on the health manual. English literacy, but many of their native language Literacy Skills Enhance Language Learning literacy skills are beneficial when approaching the second language. Results from the Center for Applied Linguistics' proficiency testing of students in the Overseas Teachers, Teacher Trainers, and Their Methods Refugee Training Program show that the refugees who make the greatest progress in learning English The four teacher trainers in the NLL program are are those in Level B. Refugees at this level differ Thai nationals, but they are members of the same from those in Level A only in that those in Level B ethnic groups as the volunteer refugee teachers and are literate in their own languages. They begin with the students. Most of them have been involved in the the same level of English as A-level students, butare NLL program since it began, and helped to write the able to accomplish much more in the 20 weeks of syllabus and develop the teaching and training instruction. One explanation for this is that their materials. The teachers recruited for the NLL reading and writing skills enable Level B students to program are upper-level refugee students. One of the learn the new language more readily. It is hoped challenges of NLL teacher training is to develop an that by providing Level A students with literacy effective teaching staff from these young (most are skills, the Native Language Literacy program is between 18 and 25 years old) refugee students who similarly enhancing these refugees' chances for have never taught before. As trainees, the volunteer successful language learning, both in the camp and in teachers spend one to five hours training daily with the U.S. more experienced teachers. In these sessions, they learn a few basic techniques cf literacy instruction and become familiar with the materials used in the NLL classes. Jon Phillips has been an The teaching methodology used in the NLL ESL support supervisor program is quite traditional. For example, there is a at Phanat Nikhom Ref- heavy emphasis on phonics, especially in the early ugee Camp since March weeks. These traditional methods are effective 1987. He was also an because they meet the expectations of the teachers ESL supervisor inthe and their students; there is no time to explain more Galan refugee program for two years. Previous- sophisticated approaches. Fortunately, all the lan- ly, he taught English in guages taught have very regular sound-symbol cor- Ghana, Nepal, and in respondence (in contrast to English), so the time stu- Puerto Rico. Phillips holds a BA in English from dents spend on phonics is very productive. During the the University of Colorado and is a candidate for first month of the 20-week course, NLL students learn an MAT in TESL from the School for International to read and write the vowels, consonants, and tone Training in Vermont. 191 Using the Communityas a Language Resource: Refugees Visita Philippine Bank

Lourdes D. Stevens and ESL Team Philippine Refugee Processing' Center

ne concern of our team of Cycle 95 ESL teach- money order form, and finding out the banking hours. ers at the Philippine Refugee Processing Center Our trip had an additional irrportant non-linguis- (PRPC) was teaching the language competencieson tic objective. Many of our students had not trusted the banking to a group of low-level students, r.-.st of security Of banks in their homeland, preferring whom had neverclered a bank. We decided to take instead to hide their money in their homes. We our students to the Hermosa Savings and Loan Bank, therefore wanted to emphasize the positiveaspects Inc., located in the small town of Morong, nine of opening a bank account. kilometers outside the camp. As in the rest of :Lie After the bank personnel had agreed topar- Philippines, most educated residents of Morong ticipate in our educational trip, we began to plan. speak English, thereby creao.ng a unique opportunity Two days were allotted to accommodate 11 ESL for our students to learn in a real-life setting. In classes: 160 students, 8 teachers, and 1 supervisor. addition, banking services in the Philippines are Them_ tt are long planning discussions d brain- similar to those in the U.S. storming sessions among the teachers and with the The Hermosa Savings and Loan Bank, Inc., was students. Some classes wanted a formal orientationto more than eager to support our activity. After an the bank; others chose to explore on theirown and initial letter proposing the project, we talked with discuss the experience afterwards. Teac ears designed bank manager Mr. Benjamin Cruz and his staff, who pre- and post-trip activities to meet the learning helped us formulate objectives and appropriate tasks preferences and nee 44 of their classes. A small-scale for the bank trip. In order to involve every student in simulation was org, ed in some of the classrooms: the simulation without overwhelming the bank The teacher or supervisor played the role of the bank personnel, students were put into small groups or teller or manager, and the students actedas pairs. They were assigned specific tasks, such as customers. Simulated H ek forms were given out, and cashing a simulated check, identifying common the students practiced L. the actual interaction. For banking forms (such as deposit slips), filling out a some classes, a review of Cultural Orientation (CO) 4014114/II notes and teaching points was i.?lpful. There wa, a pre-departure briefing to clarify each group's objectives and tasks for the field trip. Two buses were commissioned to provide transportation to and from Morong. Taki:..g advantage of this situation, we devised a transportation simula tion that met objectives for the curriculum un't on directions. Teachers prepared signs found on U.S. buses, e.g., "No Smoking," "Exact Change Only," and

to. e 'Press Button to Get Off." Students were supplied 711111r,,iejlit' with play money to purchase tickets. Drivers were instructed to accept exact change oniy (900) and to issue a round-trip ticket to each student. Stuuents were taught rules and phrases involved in bus etiquette, such as lining up to get on boar ! requesting round-trip tickets, and asking the price. Students practice filling out standard bank forms, such as At last, all preparations were complete! Picture a deposit slips. Photo by Dan Panintuan. group of excited Vietnamese refugees, scanning the

192 Drama and Puppets in the Low-Level ESL Classroom

Benito P. Vacio Philippine Refugee Processing Center

In order to challenge the refugee students in my Lien:Dung, do you want freedom? B-level ESL class, I introduced them to a drama, DungYes, Lien. I want freedom very, very much. "Icarus." They read aloud the lines of the characters, Lien:Why do you want freedom? taking turns with me in reading through the entire DungBecause I cannot live under the communist play. Enthusiastic about the experience, one student, regime. Hung, said, "Ben, we can make the same." And that Lien:Can you go with me? was itwe began to write a drama. DungOK. Where? I divided my class into three groups to create a Lien:To Malaysia. First, we go to Vungtau. story for the drama. One group came up with "Lien's DungWhen? Story," the life of a Vietnamese girl from 1974 up to Lien:After tomorrow. the time she is resettled in the U.S. When the story DungHow do we go? was shared, the class unanimously chose it for the Lien:By boat. play. "Ben, this is very good,' len said. "Drama DungHow many people? this, teacher," Hien seconded. Lien:About 100 people. I gave my students ample time to write the drama DungHow much do we pay? of "Lien's Story." They suggested the title, the plot, Lien:Two thousand dollars. setting, and all the characters of the play. Students' DungVery expensive. I don't have enough money. suggestions were all written on manila paper and Lien:Never mind. I love ycu. I can give you the posted at the front of the room. These were con- money. sidered and discussed, and the popular suggestions Dung:Are you sure? remained, while unacceptable ones were rejected. Lien:I'm sure. To create the dialogue, students first listed the DungSee you tomorrow at seven o'clock in the names of the characters, then supplied the charac- evening. ters' lines. When the characters ran out of words to Lien:OK. Seven o'clock. say, the students wrote a narrator's part. Whenever they had difficulty writing the dialogue, I helped After scenes involving Lien's family and a time at a by asking questions like these: In 1974, what did Lien first asylum camp, the two refugees are sent to the do? How was she? How many people were there in Philippine Refugee Processing Center (PRPC), where her family? What did Lien say? What did her they study for six months before departing for the father say? What did her brother say? U.S. Their romance goes astray before they leave the The story is an episodic one, combining details of camp. the refugee experience with the melodramatic plot devices of romantic films. The following edited Lien:Dung, I have to tell you something. excerpts are samples. DungWhat? Lien:I have another boyfriend. Dung.I don't believe it. I'm surprised. LIEN'S STORY Lien:I love him. DungWhat about me? In 1975, the communists took over Saigon. Lien's Lien:I don't love you. father was taken to a re-education camp. Lien didn't DungWhy? go to school. She was looking for freedom. Dung is her Lien:I don't know. boyfriend. DungWho is he? 194 Vacio Drama and Puppets 67

Lien:No, I will not tell. You will fight him. As students practiced their English, they gained Dung:I will not fight him. the confidence to speak out. (We used our materials Lien:Are you sure? cabinet as the stage, so the puppeteers could not be Dung:I am sure. seen.) In fact, they agreed to present the puppet show Lien:I'll tell you. He is your friend Chich. for two public performances, complete with a 6-foot Dung:Chich! I don't believe it! by 9-foot stage, backgrounds for each scene, and Lien:I'm sorry, Dung. I don't love you. I love Chich appropriate songs and music. Their enthusiasm and very much. Mutual support led to successful presentations during Dung: You are a liar. I hate you. I hate you! their end-of-the-cycle activity and the camp's "ESL A/B Awareness Week." Their two presentations In the final scenes, Lien meets a lonely fate, the were attended by nearly a thousand students and class's idea of suitable punishment for her fickleness teachers. to Dung. I learned a few things from the preparation and presentation of our puppet shows. Students must have their own copies of the script as soon as possible, and each performer must practice his or her character's lines diligently. Students should try to bring life to the characters' lines, and their voices must fit each character's personality. This leads to enjoyable pronunciation and intonation practice. Those not performing in the show can also contribute. One group of students can be responsible for providing background music, which adds atmosphere to each scene. Others can do the artwork to provide the background stage settings. Of course, students can also construct and paint the puppet stage, which can be saved for future performances. In addition to writing the script and performing the drama, My final advice to teachers attempting a puppet students created the stage and sets for the show. drama with their students is to leave participants Photo by Silverius Chan. alone during the final presentation. They will do wonders. Of course, the writing of the drama was not the final step. I asked the three groups to dramatize the work. They enjoyed putting on the drama, and con- Benito P. Vacio has been gratulated one another for a wonderful performance. an ESL teacher at the The next day, I introduced something new: ten PRPC since April 1986. puppets borrowed from the materials library. Before Previously,hetaught class had started, the puppets were already in the English as a U.N. volun- students' hands. There was a lot of noise: "Hello!... teer in Kabul, Afghani- How are you? . .. What do you want? ... What's stan, and was an elemen- your name? ... Thank you! ... Goodbye! ... Are you tary school teacher in sure?" I took this moment as an opportunity and said, Manila and the Visayas "Why don't we use the puppets for our drama?" in thePhilippines. "Yes, Ben, yes!" And so the use of puppets began. Vacio is a candidate for an MA in administration Students volunteered to take the part of the charac- and supervision from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in Manila. He holds a BS in elementary ters, checked one another for pronunciation mistakes, education from Philippine Normal College. and asked me when unsure of their intonation. They underacted and overacted, experimented with funny expressions and gestures, ad-libbed, and enjoyed the informal presentations.

195 passage staff

Lauren Crawford, Bataan site 1:17.1 Doug Gilzow, Manila editor, editor, is a Cultural Orientation 1-1,4 has been a program associate at supervisor at the PRPC. Pre- the Refugee Service Center in viously, she was assistantto .;14. Manila since1984. Gilzow's the director of the New England experience in the field includes regional office of World Relief 74.1teaching English in Laos, Iran, Corporation (WRC). She was and the U.S. For three years he also the editor of that agency's directed an ESL program in regional newsletter. From 1982 LansFng, Michigan. Gilzow holds - to 1983, she taught in WRC's a Master's degree in linguistics Youth Gw ance program at the PRPC. Crawford holds a BA from theUniversity of Michigan. in religio). and English from Kalamazoo College.

Mary Pat Champeau, Phanat Don Ranard, Washington Nikhom site editor, has been a editor,is program associate at member of thestaff develop- the Refugee Service Center in ment office since May 1987. Pre- Washington, D.C. Ranard has viously, she was aCultural worked as a literacy specialist in Orientationsupervisor and a refugee programs inthe U.S. Learning Center supervisor in andas a UNHCR program the program at Galang, Indo- monitor in Hong Kong.Prior to nesia.Champeau hastaught this, he taught EFL in Taiwan English in refugee programs in and, as a Fulbright grantee, in Manhattan and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Laos and Thailand. His articles on refugees have appeared Africa. She has a BA in journalism from St. Bonaventure in The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and The Far University and an MA in writing from New York University, Eastern Economic Review. He holds an MS in linguistics where she taught writing. from Georgetown University.

I I I i RobertWaterbury, Eastern Sonia Kundert,Washington European site editor, is coordi- productioneditor,isastaff nator at the Bad Soden CO facil- member of the Refugee Service ity for Eastern European refu- Center in Washington, D.C. A gees.Before joiningthe Bad lifelong admirer of the printed Soden staff as a CO teacher in page, she has done word pro- 1985, Waterbury was the director cessing,type-setting,copy- of aninterculturalmusical editing, translating, and illus- theater projectinFrankfurt, trating, most of it at the Center West Germany. He holds a BA for Applied Linguistics since in music fromSan Jose State University. 1975. Kundert holds a BA in Russian language and literature from the University of Maryland.

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