Opening Doors is a workbook geared toward intermediate and advanced learners of ESOL, especially learners representing marginalized populations. What is unique about this book is the collaborative process that produced it. The idea for the workbook arose from the stories that learners in my ESOL classes at the Mecklenburg County Jail (in Charlotte, North Carolina) were writing. Two years ago, Luis Rodriguez, a Chicano poet and the author of Always Running, gave a writing workshop to the ESOL students in the jail. The students responded so well that I asked other writers in the Charlotte community if they would be interested in working with the students on their writing. Irania Patterson of the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County and Dannye Romine Powell, a columnist for the Charlotte Observer, also came out and taught the students about storytelling and poetry. Some of the writing generated from those early workshops appears in this workbook.

The Students
Many of the students had less than six years of education, and some could barely read in any language. While some students had worked for years in restaurants or in construction, others had no work experience at all. I thought that publishing their writing would encourage them to value literacy more and begin to identify themselves in a new way: as writers. Because of the relatively low level of literacy and English proficiency of some of the students, I wanted to include oral histories and illustrations, and so allow all students to express themselves in a way they felt comfortable and competent. I approached Frances Hawthorne, an artist and art instructor with extensive experience in community art, to offer art classes to the ESOL students. The illustrations on the cover and throughout the book are the result of the nine months of instruction the students received.

Gradually, the book grew from a way for the ESOL learners to express themselves to a way that those learners could help other ESOL learners. We decided to use their writings to help teach English by creating an instructional workbook. We wanted the writings to represent a range of genres and difficulty, so we asked already-published writers if they wanted to contribute. Overwhelmingly, the larger writing community responded. The students selected the poems, stories, and memoirs by Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, Nicholasa Mohr, Pat Mora, Leroy V. Quintana, and Luis Rodriguez that are included in the workbook.

Writing and Artwork
In addition to the weekly art classes, we added a writing class to generate enough writing to include in a full-length workbook. All the students in the writing class were either second language learners or bilingual, and were also in the art class. Many assignments linked the writing and the artwork. Because we also wanted the students to acquire real skills, we included them in as much of the creation of the book as possible, so in addition to the writing, the illustration, and the selection of outside work, students helped edit, practiced lesson material, and designed layout.

One comment: The students were eager to be part of the project and to contribute whatever they could. In this community, the students often rely on each other to get what they need. The line between help and outright cheating is often blurred. Some of the stories in this book were written with varying degrees of help. Some of the illustrations include images "borrowed" from existent art, images that somehow speak to the student. As far as we know, nothing in this book has been copied wholesale.

Design of the Units
In general, the units allow the learner to replicate the process that our students went through, moving from a common base of knowledge and language presented in context, through structured practice to a freer expression of the learner's own experience. The units usually move from easier material to more difficult material. More advanced learners may be able to use the entire unit, whereas intermediate learners may need much more help from the instructor.

A few copies of Opening Doors are still available. Contact Kristin Sherman at: kristin.sherman@cpcc.edu