ERIC Number: EJ998073
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Sep
Pages: 16
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0098-6291
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Prisoners Teaching ESL: A Learning Community among "Language Partners"
Olinger, Andrea; Bishop, Hugh; Cabrales, Jose; Ginsburg, Rebecca; Mapp, Joseph; Mayorga, Orlando; Nava, Erick; Nunez, Elfego; Rosas, Otilio; Slater, Andre; Sorenson, LuAnn; Sosnowski, Jim; Torres, Agustin
Teaching English in the Two-Year College, v40 n1 p68-83 Sep 2012
This article features Language Partners, an ESL program offered at the Danville Correctional Center, a medium-security men's prison in central Illinois. The program in which prisoners teach ESL classes, supported by volunteer teacher-trainers, is a learning community with immense and sometimes unforeseen value. The authors discuss reasons for teachers (and learners) to participate in the program, and they illustrate the remarkably collaborative nature of the teaching and learning. They then reveal the unexpected benefits of Language Partners, namely, its effect on relationships with family members and on perceived stereotypes of prisoners. They conclude by reflecting on the program's challenges and accomplishments and consider implications for its wider adoption. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Correctional Institutions, Criminals, Prosocial Behavior, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Volunteers, Trainers, Limited English Speaking, Tutoring, Tutors, Tutor Training, Community Colleges, Individual Development, Experience, Transformative Learning
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Basic Education; Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Illinois
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A