LAPS  NEWS

Moving Forward project aims to increase participation of ESL men in literacy programs

While family literacy programs and general literacy/language courses have long been offered to English as a Second Language (ESL) populations, there has been a noticeable lack of men who have pursued these opportunities. This has perplexed many researchers and literacy educators and prompted the Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA) to assemble a research team in 2001 to explore this phenomenon and come up with strategies to increase the participation of men in family literacy and other literacy activities.

Three years later, the Moving Forward project is the result of the research team's diligent efforts. Laureen MacKenzie and Elaine Cairns are the co-directors of FESA and the driving force behind the project. Through their own experiences as literacy educators they observed firsthand that men were less likely to attend literacy classes. Upon hearing similar observations from other comm nity organizations, MacKenzie and Cairns sprung to action.

"When it became apparent that our experiences were shared by others, we realized there was a gap that needed to be filled," says MacKenzie. "We decided to look into this matter more deeply through a formal research study."

With the support of Alberta Learning and the commitment of a solid group of researchers the Moving Forward project pushed off in September 2001. Phase I of the research focused on determining approaches and strategies that would attract ESL men. In Phase II, curriculum was developed and pilot programs were conducted to test the findings from Phase I.

Moving Forward project... CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

The talk of the town is training

We continue to hear good things about LAPS training. Here's some recent feedback:

"My memories of last summer's [A-LAPS training] continue to be with me. The support, friendship and opportunities for our school and community continue to excite me. I have used many of the activities in my classroom and shared activities with small groups of parents. I am so pleased to let you know that our plans [to get A-LAPS off the ground] are to begin in September. With wonderful new space in our new school and great new teachers who are willing to volunteer their time in different ways, we are going to make a stab at A-LAPS. I have many parents who are really keen about the program and are looking forward to regular group interaction in the fall. We are going to do whatever will work best for the parents. Thanks so much."
- Facilitator, British Columbia

"I loved the training. The environment was ABSOLUTELY welcoming, supportive, caring and very compassionate. The trainers did an excellent job leading the sessions. This is one of the best workshops I?ve ever been to."
- Facilitator, Alberta