Erika Mein

Integrating Health Literacy and ESL: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Hispanic Immigrants

Adult Hispanic immigrants are at a greater risk of experiencing the negative outcomes related to low health literacy, as they confront cultural and language barriers to the complex and predominately monolingual English-based U.S. health system. One approach that has the potential for simultaneously addressing the health, literacy, and language needs of Hispanics is the combination of health literacy and English as a second language (ESL) instruction. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the feasibility of using ESL instruction as a medium for improving health literacy among Hispanic immigrants. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary health literacy/ESL curriculum that integrates theories of health literacy and health behavior research and practice, sociocultural theories of literacy and communication, and adult learning principles. This article describes the curriculum development process and provides preliminary qualitative data on learners’ experiences with the curriculum. Results indicate that the curriculum was attractive to participants and that they were highly satisfied with both the format and content. The curriculum described here represents one example of an audience-centered approach designed to meet the specific health and literacy needs of the Hispanic population on the U.S.–Mexico border. The combination of ESL and health literacy contributed to a perceived positive learning experience among participants. Interdisciplinary approaches to health literacy are recommended.

Biliteracy in context: the use of L1/L2 genre knowledge in graduate studies

Abstract This article draws on genre theory in a biliteracy context to analyze how one US–Mexico border-crossing graduate student used her genre knowledge and meta-knowledge in her first language, Spanish, as a resource for navigating disciplinary-based genres in her second language, English. The students strategic use of her L1 genre meta-knowledge from non-university contexts to realize academic literacy tasks in her L2 represented a form of recontextualization, where meanings move and get re-shaped across contexts. This strategic negotiation, in turn, served to disrupt the notions of ‘novice’ and ‘expert’ that are prominent in the composition studies literature on second language writers, where students are seen to be moving on a linear trajectory from novice to expert status in academic writing. The article discusses implications for genre-based research and pedagogy for multilingual learners crossing linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries in their academic studies.

Adolescent Literacies in Latin America and the Caribbean

In the 2000, Caribbean approximately were reported 36 million to be unable youth and to read adults or write living basic in Latin texts. America Of these, and 20 the Caribbean were reported to be unable to ea or write basic t xts. Of these, 20 million were women. According to official statistics, some countries in Central America (Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras) have a youth and adult literacy rate of 80% or lower. The Caribbean countries currendy have literacy rates between 80% and 90%, except for Haiti, which has an estimated rate of 50% (UNESCO-OREALC, 2004a, p. 39, as reported in Umayahara, 2005, p. 42). Yet what do these official statistics mean? To what language do they refer? What social inequalities are reflected but not illuminated by such statistics? And how are youth, specifically, using reading and writing in creative ways not captured by these official measures? In this chapter, we review official statistics and examine literacy policy and programming for youth across Latin America and the Caribbean. We contrast these official discourses on youth and literacy and programs or policies for youth literacy with empirical studies of adolescent literacy practices noting a discrepancy that

Bilingualism as a Resource in Learning Engineering on the U.S.–Mexico Border

In this study, the authors examine the language practices of first- and second-year college students as they build disciplinary literacies within a cocurricular engineering leadership program. Conducted by two teacher educators and literacy/biliteracy researchers situated in the highly diverse U.S.-Mexico borderlands, the study examines the role of disciplinary language and literacy development among 12 transfronterizo (border-crossing) engineering students who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border on a regular basis, with a particular focus on the experience of two students. Drawing on systemic functional linguistics as well as sociocultural theories of literacy/biliteracy, the authors illustrate the ways in which these students moved fluidly between Spanish and English, as well as multiple registers and modalities, to make sense of engineering concepts. Findings build on recent studies of transfronterizo literacies and shed light on pedagogical practices that encourage students’ use of their full linguistic repertoires in order to develop disciplinary literacy practices in engineering.

An Interdisciplinary Theory-Based ESL Curriculum to Teach English as a Second Language

Among Hispanic immigrants in the United States (US), learning English is considered necessary for economic and social achievement. Asa consequence, there is a high demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. Despite the recognized benefits of ESL programs,both at the individual and social levels, more research is needed to identify education strategies that effectively promote all aspects of learningEnglish as a second language. This article describes an ESL curriculum that incorporates a theory-based pedagogical approach specificallydesigned for immigrant Hispanic adults on the US-Mexico border region. The article also describes the implementation of the curriculum aswell as the results of the evaluation, which was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative results indicate thatthe participants significantly improved their English proficiency (L2). Qualitative results suggest that participants were positively impactedby both the content and pedagogical approaches used by the curriculum. Their experience with the ESL class was positive in general. It canbe concluded that the curriculum achieved its objective. This approach could serve as a model for second language teaching for adults

Building a Pathway to Engineering: The Influence of Family and Teachers Among Mexican-Origin Undergraduate Engineering Students

This study draws on sociocultural perspectives of identity to understand the ways in which Mexican-origin undergraduate students are recruited into the “figured world” of engineering. The analysis of in-depth, ethnographically situated interviews with 14 participants revealed three sets of recurrent discourses in students’ accounts of their pathways to engineering: discourses about the family and the “choice” to study engineering, discourses about childhood activities tied to engineering aspirations, and discourses about teacher support to become an engineer.

The Role of Bilingualism in Shaping Engineering Literacies and Identities.

In this article, we demonstrate ways in which teachers, working within the context of rapidly changing demographics in our country, can create inclusive classroom environments that promote the development of engineering literacies and identities, particularly among bilingual students. We draw on our experience working with two projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) at a large public university on the U.S.-Mexico border to show how educators can create educational spaces that encourage bilingual students to use their full communicative repertoires in developing engineering discourses and identities. In so doing, we highlight the relationship between bilingualism and disciplinary literacy development; describe how hybrid language practices such as translanguaging can contribute to engineering learning; and highlight the role of identities in disciplinary discourses. The practices illustrated in this article have implications not only for college instructors, but also for teachers at the secondary level.

Bridgework: Diversity and Collaboration in an Undergraduate Preengineering Course

ABSTRACT In this article, we draw on ethnographic findings to examine the meaning of “diversity” and “collaboration” within the context of an undergraduate preengineering course at a large Hispanic-serving institution located on the U.S.–Mexico border. Using bridgework, a new theoretical concept, we analyze interactions and interactivity that occurred within and among jigsaw groups attempting to solve mathematical problems as part of a precalculus review. Our use of bridgework, contributes to cultural-historical activity theory to demonstrate how contradictions and multivoicedness among interacting activity systems can work to change patterns of activity, thus providing a complex view of diversity and collaboration.

Sociocultural approaches to teaching and learning in engineering education: Research-based applications in a pre-engineering course

In this paper, we propose a sociocultural approach as an alternate model of teaching and learning to replace existing and often ineffective models of direct instruction in engineering education. We discuss preliminary findings from a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program to demonstrate the implementation of a sociocultural model of teaching and learning in a freshmen pre-engineering course at a large, Hispanic serving institution located on the US-Mexico border. Specifically, we highlight four features of sociocultural teaching and learning as applied within the context of key activities in this course. These four features include: peer-scaffolding, learning-in-practice, distributed expertise, and engineering-specific writing. Findings from student interviews and focus groups, as well as classroom observations, show that student learning and engagement are positively impacted by class activities that are constructed with an emphasis on small-group social interaction and participation in authentic engineering tasks.