I have recently assumed the position of Project Coordinator for the newly created Stoughton Adult Basic Education Program. The Program serves ESOL students in Stoughton whose ages, length of US residency, and native countries vary greatly. One of my job responsibilities includes participating in the student assessment and placement process. After conducting our very first assessment/intake interviews for the ABE Program, the staff sat down and placed students in leveled classes according to their English speaking, writing and reading abilities.

I quickly became concerned about these students who would find themselves in classrooms with 15 or so classmates. While on paper they seemed to have similar language skills, the variability of these students' backgrounds and life circumstances would later convince me that the placement process should include more than skills level; it should primarily consider students goals, needs and purposes for using English.

Having taught the first few ESOL "level 2" classes as a substitute, I quickly experienced the challenges faced by ESOL teachers who work with multi-level, multi-cultural classrooms. Just because 15 students can speak, read and write English at comparable levels (as their assessments indicate), it doesn't mean they should be grouped together.

It seems to make more sense to first determine the students' predominant need for English, taking into consideration their ed-ucation level in their native country, then to group them by skill level within those classes. For example, an almost-retired man with four years of schooling in his native Azores who has lived in the US for more than 25 years probably has very different goals and needs for English than a newly immigrated middle-aged Russian engineer with 18 years of schooling. Even though they might test at the same English ability level, they most likely have different goals for learning and using English in their everyday lives. These differences deeply affect the way an ESOL classroom would be taught.

Using EFF Categories
An alternative to the "English skill level" placement method could be to group students by predominant life roles as the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL ) Equipped For the Future (EFF) Framework suggests. While EFF proposes using the life roles of worker, citizen, family, and community member to develop relevant authentic curriculum, I think students' current life circumstances and therefore needs for English usage should inform the placement process. By specifically asking students at intake relevant questions about their circumstances and lifestyles, they can be grouped accordingly. They can then be further grouped by skill level in the classroom. At least this way students in the same classroom would have a little more in common than the results of language assessments. Even though addressing different skill levels within the classroom would continue to pose a challenge for the instructor, students and teachers alike would be more likely to focus on student-relevant topics.

I think it is reasonable to figure out what students want from their education before they are placed in a classroom where goals and needs are as variable as cultural background and academic abilities. When there are too many differences in a class, attrition rates can soar.

Grouping students with current life roles and English language needs will not necessarily sacrifice the multicultural experience of the ESOL classroom, which deserves to be celebrated. It will, however, offer a supportive environment and many opportunities for students to share the life experiences and circumstances they would have in common.

Nancy Sheridan is the Adult Literacy Coordinator at the Stoughton (MA) Public Library and the Project Coordinator of the Stoughton Adult Basic Education Program. She can be reached by e-mail at Sheridan@gis.net