ESL ABE, VESL, and bell hooks' Democratic education: a case study of four experienced ESL instructors
type: CreativeWork
description: "This Master's thesis is a case study of four experienced ESL instructors of Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Vocational ESL. (VESL). All are alumni of the Master of Arts in English Program with a Teaching English as a Second Language emphasis at Eastern Washington University (EWU). The primary focus of the case study are the theses these four professionals--all of whom currently have at least 15 years of ESL teaching experience, primarily in the Spokane Community College system with many years in the Institute for Extended Learning (IEL) on Monroe Street and/or in the Hillyard community where many recent immigrants and refugees live. Popchock (1999) wrote about workplace English and included several Vietnamese working in a local company where she offered English instruction, and more recently she developed a community-based literacy project and taught it at several levels to foster community engagement and English. Nardecchia (2002) presented a longitudinal single case study of a Russian immigrant working in a boat factory and trying to acquire English in the workplace with some occasional classes at the adult learning center where she was teaching. Roberton (2009) presented the Spokane VESL programs, including interviews with instructors, while Black (2013) focused her research on preliterate adult refugees and the challenges they face in the United States as they try to find employment. A major question being asked in recent research is whether English literacy is liberating or colonizing learners (MacDonald, 2015). As a proponent of democratic education, the thesis writer discusses the role of critical consciousness as well as the purposes of job training, which some would view as filling slots in industry. Democratic education should free learners from constraints related to country of origin, ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, educational level, religion, gender, and age. ABE and VESL would ideally offer job opportunities and freedom of choice to learners. …
abstract: "This Master's thesis is a case study of four experienced ESL instructors of Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Vocational ESL. (VESL). All are alumni of the Master of Arts in English Program with a Teaching English as a Second Language emphasis at Eastern Washington University (EWU). The primary focus of the case study are the theses these four professionals--all of whom currently have at least 15 years of ESL teaching experience, primarily in the Spokane Community College system with many years in the Institute for Extended Learning (IEL) on Monroe Street and/or in the Hillyard community where many recent immigrants and refugees live. Popchock (1999) wrote about workplace English and included several Vietnamese working in a local company where she offered English instruction, and more recently she developed a community-based literacy project and taught it at several levels to foster community engagement and English. Nardecchia (2002) presented a longitudinal single case study of a Russian immigrant working in a boat factory and trying to acquire English in the workplace with some occasional classes at the adult learning center where she was teaching. Roberton (2009) presented the Spokane VESL programs, including interviews with instructors, while Black (2013) focused her research on preliterate adult refugees and the challenges they face in the United States as they try to find employment. A major question being asked in recent research is whether English literacy is liberating or colonizing learners (MacDonald, 2015). As a proponent of democratic education, the thesis writer discusses the role of critical consciousness as well as the purposes of job training, which some would view as filling slots in industry. Democratic education should free learners from constraints related to country of origin, ethnic identity, socioeconomic status, educational level, religion, gender, and age. ABE and VESL would ideally offer job opportunities and freedom of choice to learners. …
author: Johnson, Michael E.
keywords: Johnson, Micheal E., Adult education--Case studies, Vocational education--Case studies, English language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers, Second language acquisition, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education, English Language and Literature
date published: 2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:12:26Z
provider: Eastern Washington University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Eastern Washington University