2016 Annual Conference

Did you know that being “an ally’ is not defined by who you are, but by what you do? Come hear about simple ways you can support your ESL students, working as allies to be part of social change in your work as adult educators and in your community.

This session is appropriate for teachers at all levels of expertise. The material covered is important for both ESL teachers and ABE/ASE teachers who have current or former ESL students in their classrooms, administrators, and program support staff.

Although the term “ally” is often used in discussions around the LGBTQIA community, our ESL students also need allies, or people who will “work continuously to develop an understanding of the personal and institutional experiences of the person or people with whom they are aligning themselves” (http://www.scn.org/friends/ally.html), “recogniz[ing] the unearned privilege they receive from society’s patterns of injustice and take responsibility for changing these patterns (http://www.diversitydufferin.com/how-to-be.html).”
This presentation acknowledges the role many adult educators play as a source of support for their ESL students and will prepare participants with insights, knowledge, and tools to act as effective allies. The goals of this presentation are to (1) provide adult educators with an understanding about what an ally is, (2) promote self-reflection in ally interactions with students, and (3) encourage impactful ally behavior. Participants will think critically about unearned privilege from societal patterns of injustice. Participants will consider and discuss what adult educators need to learn, believe, and do to be better allies for their ESL students. We will present tools that participants can use to become more effective allies. The present will also provide opportunities to discuss the implications of contemporary issue impacting adult ESL students.