free ESl web site for adults - Pumarosa.com

[Paul Rogers]

I am new to this list and enclose a summary of my web site that has proven to be very effective.
Also, I am interested in contacting people who are in favor of bilingual classes for adults, especially for beginners.
Paul Rogers


PUMAROSA.COM
INTRODUCTION

Pumarosa.com is a free, bilingual, phonetic, interactive and “student centered” English as a Second Language (ESL) website for Spanish speaking students, usually adults. It also serves as an effective introduction to the use of a computer because it is easy to navigate.

Presently, the web site is divided into two sections: Beginning and Intermediate. It contains about 30 lessons, arranged step-by-step, from the alphabet to lessons on all the verb tenses.

WHY BILIGUAL AND PHONETIC?

Pumarosa is bilingual and phonetic for a number of reasons.

First, it is bilingual because adults in general have a more difficult time learning a foreign language than children or young adults. Therefore, a bilingual approach is useful especially when certain concepts need to be explained.

Secondly, English is a difficult language to pronounce due to the fact that many sounds simply do not exist in other languages. And adults, compared to children, have difficulty reproducing certain English sounds.

At the same time, if a student cannot easily say a certain word, it is likely that he or she will also have difficulty understanding that word when it is spoken.

A phonetic approach addresses this problem and acts as a facilitator in learning English and therefore as a transition to English Only classes.

Also, and more importantly, when a student is able to pronounce English with a certain degree of ease, the student will feel more comfortable and will acquire more confidence. Conversely, not being able to pronounce a language can lead to feelings of inadequacy. A confident student will learn more quickly.

HOW PUMAROSA WORKS

Let us follow a typical student, whom we will call Maria. Maria enters the class or computer lab where there are about 20 other students. She is greeted by the instructor who leads her to her computer. The instructor explains in Spanish what Pumarosa is and how it works. Maria puts on the headphones and begins clicking on the first lesson, the alphabet, listening to the pronunciation of the letters and usually repeating the letters out loud.

Maria’s first class of about 90 minutes consist of her navigating a her own speed exploring the various lessons and becoming accustomed to using the mouse, etc.

At the end of this class, Maria is given a hard copy of the lessons contained in the Beginning section, plus an audio cassette or audio CD of most of those lessons.

On certain days, the instructor divides the class into two gr0ups according to level, and conduct live classes in an adjacent room. In the live classes, the instructor reviews some of the Pumarosa lessons, focusing on any problem areas, such as pronunciation for Beginners and verb tenses for Intermediate students.

After Maria has had an opportunity to study most of the lessons on Pumarosa, usually within 3 weeks, the instructor gives her a CD with text lessons, containing essays to read, quizzes, rhymes, etc. The quizzes also provide an opportunity for the student to begin to write in English.

FUTURE LESSONS

Future lessons of Pumarosa will include essays, poetry and songs geared to the adult learner. One of the most important elements of learning a language is reading. However, it is necessary to find material to read that is both interesting to an adult and at the same time not too difficult, vis a vis vocabulary.

Songs, poetry and plays can serve this need.

PUMAROSA AS A STANDARDIZED COURSE

Many adult ESL learners are also migrant workers. And many ESL classes often suffer because many students do not remain for the entire semester. If Pumarosa became part of the program in various states, hypothetically students can travel from San Diego to Seattle and be able to continue their study of English in a systematic way.

PUMAROSA AS A TEACHER’S AIDE

Minimally, Pumarosa can act as an effective teacher’s aide, especially in a multi-level class, with students who speak languages other than Spanish. As few as 3 computers in such a setting will help create an interesting class.

PUMAROSA AS A
DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM

An expanded Pumarosa, accompanied by text books, text CDs, audio CDs and eventually video taped lessons could serve as a complete ESL distance learning course that can be integrated into already existing adult education programs.

Paul Rogers-PMB 349-110 North Olive St. Suite E

Ventura, California, 93001, 805-403-9743

[Lorikeet]

I took a quick look at the website. I admit that I disagree with the approach (not a surprise I imagine!) but I AM curious. When you write the English words using Spanish pronunciation, you have things like "fiftin" for "fifteen." For us, there is a different vowel sound in each of the two syllables. Do you just ignore the sounds that Spanish doesn't have? (Like writing "dri" for "three"? )

[Paul Rogers]

The example you gave below (fiftin) actually should be spelled "fieftin" - i.e. it is an error.
The "dri" is the best way to spell "three" for a Spanish speaker. For example, "de nada" is often pronounced "day nah thah".
Can you please elaborate on what you mean by "disagree"?
I personally have studied several foreign languages at adult education programs and my classes were always bilingual.
Paul Rogers

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I took a quick look at the website. I admit that I disagree with the approach (not a surprise I imagine!) but I AM curious. When you write the English words using Spanish pronunciation, you have things like "fiftin" for "fifteen." For us, there is a different vowel sound in each of the two syllables. Do you just ignore the sounds that Spanish doesn't have? (Like writing "dri" for "three"? )

[ecorrado]

A bilingual approach to teaching adults a language works very well, especially where word translations for vocabulary acquisition are invovled.

However, I disagree that if a student cannot produce a word, he or she will not understand it when it is heard. Think about how often learners of foreign languages, including esl students, say they understand more than they can produce.

[b]Learning how to physically produce a sound [/b]will help with the production of sounds and later words. I don't think that students feel inadequate. They just want to get it right, or as right as possible.

Phonemic awareness is more important where reading is concerned.