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Towards an ESOL Literature
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Michael Newman
Dept. of Educational Theory and Practice
The Ohio State University
<mnewman@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
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Merce Pujol
Hostos Community College, City University of New York
<mp159@columbia.edu>
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Abstract
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This article explores the contradiction between communi-
cative theory and practice in beginning and intermediate ESOL
materials and compares this situation with that prevailing in
early L1 literacy instruction. The basal textbooks that dom-
inate much early-stage ESOL instruction are constructed to
train students in specific language features and functions
rather than communicate directly with them. Many first lan-
guage elementary school teachers, on the other hand, primarily
use children's literature in reading instruction. Children's
literature consists of authentic texts designed to give chil-
dren pleasure rather than teach them specific skills. These
books, unlike ESOL basals, thus lend themselves to the
learning-by-doing approach favored by emergent theories in
both literacy and language learning. We propose that ESOL
teachers create and use materials that are primarily designed
to appeal to adult and adolescent ESOL students, much as chil-
dren's literature does for children. This new ESOL literature
will be particularly helpful to ESOL students who are less
well-versed in academic literacy.
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Keywords: ESL, ESOL, materials, literature, communicative theory
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