I guess part of my frustration stems from the fact that the other section that I'm teaching of this class has responded so well to the text and assignments. I feel like I have two completely different levels of remedial - the Wed. night class that's on track and performing above-level, and the Thurs. night class with this funky, bizarre group of students.
Any suggestions on reading - short and simple - that I might do? I was thinking of doing some chapters from House on Mango Street except I don't think the Asian students would get it.
Unfortunately mj_romo, I know exactly what you mean. I used to teach at a very large urban cc that had widely (and I mean widely) varying abilties when it came to students. In a developmental course four levels (yes, four) below transfer, you might get 80% Asian, 10% Latino, and a balance of high-end professionals who need to brush up on grammar. Yikes! How to teach?
Variety. I did worksheets on sentence structure that were culture-specific. I mean I literally created examples from the cultures that I saw in the classroom. So instead of "Mary and Susanne went to school," I wrote, "Sai and Paola went to the Cultural Center." I know some will think this is pandering, but they get it more when words and situations seem more familiar. Otherwise they are not only grappling with a new language, but with new situations and products as well. (And you've seen how introducing them to new technology works!)
Another thing you can do is subvert the topics. If your text is pushing "internet dating," then bring in articles on similar topics such as "arranged marriages" or "interracial dating" and let students choose their own topics to write on. If you can supplement your book or replace some articles, you might not have to scrap it entirely. It is a shame that this one class isn't fitting, though... I know it's tempting to try to "raise them up" to the level of the other classes, but I'm not sure how possible that really is within a short semester. And I know I had some of the same problems you're describing; the few normal (or above-average) achievers felt "pulled down" or "held back" by the rest of the class. I was able to transfer four of those into another class that was a better fit, but they may simply get frustrated with the situation.
Also, do push these students to form study groups and visit tutors. I was lucky--the cc I worked for had a series of workshops that addressed many ESL concerns and I was able to get them to go to many of them. I believe I did cave and gave extra credit for this--but it was somewhat neglible. I wanted to be careful not to lower standards too much.
With group work, you may find that this group is mostly "mute." One solution I had to this dilemma was to give out 4x6 index cards and have students respond to in-class questions that way; I then sorted them and read certain ones outloud--being very careful to support rather than confront. Group work helped, too, but one has to be careful not to let the "louder" students carry the quiet ones. (After hearing an oral presentation from the "leader," I often then asked those sitting with him additional questions; they felt less "on the spot" and were able to contribute without being too embarrassed.)
I do recommend The House on Mango Street; I've taught it successfully to a mostly non-native American class and for some reason, the huge Asian population really, really got this book. They relate to the many parallels to their own situation (and I'm generalizing in huge ways here in order to get a message across quickly): 1) although there are nice things out there, they don't have them; 2) both cultures sends their best to school and the other kids work; 3) sex outside of marriage is done, but not approved of, and 4) marrying "up" or working are seen as the primary ways "out" of poverty.
If I think of more ideas, I'll post again. This is a tricky one!
