City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and San Francisco State University (SFSU) will co-host an international conference for teachers, researchers, and policymakers working to promote quality learning environments for adult immigrant learners with limited literacy or formal schooling.
The LESLLA 2013 Symposium: Expanding Emergent Literacy Practices will be held at the Mission Campus of CCSF in San Francisco (August 7- 9th) and will bring together researchers and teachers from many countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The conference is the only one in the country to focus on adult immigrant learners with low literacy and participants will explore new understandings of adult second-language and literacy development through a mix of theoretical and practice-based presentations.
LESLLA (Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition) for Adults is an international forum of researchers and teachers who study the development of second language skills by adult immigrants and refugees with little or no schooling in the home country, low levels of literacy in the native language, and limited proficiency in the language of the new country. LESLLA’s goal is to share research and information that will guide further studies, and to influence educational policy development in all those countries where immigrants settle and are likely to need educational support.
Dr. Whiteside said, “LESLLA is the only group that meets annually to consider interdisciplinary research on adult immigrants with little or no formal schooling. These students are largely ignored in discussions of academic ‘success.’ Nearly all research has focused on academic learners.”