Citizenship: Starting a Citizenship Class

Transcription

1 Program Management Tips TITLE: AUTHOR: Citizenship: Starting a Citizenship Class Paula Schlusberg [Note: This information was current as of January 2009.] If your program is considering offering citizenship preparation classes for the first time, here are some factors to consider. Evaluate the Need Before investing time as well as financial and human resources in starting a citizenship class, investigate the need for such an offering in your community: Students Using any available information about the local immigrant community, find out what you can about the pool of potential students: How many have been in the U.S. long enough to meet the residency requirements for citizenship? A person (18 or older) needs to have been a permanent resident of the U.S. for 3-5 years before he or she can apply for citizenship (although a permanent resident who is approaching the qualifying time may want to begin studying for citizenship, in order to be ready when the time comes). What are their language levels? Some may still need basic ESL instruction before they are able to participate in a citizenship class. Where do they live? Can they easily get to existing service sites, or will new sites need to be made available? What country or countries are they from? Recruitment strategies, training of instructors, and materials selection may differ depending on whether you are working with people from a single country or language group or people from several different countries. What obstacles will they need to deal with in order to participate in a citizenship class? Many students will be looking for classes that do not conflict with their work or school schedules. Others may have child care needs that could interfere with participation.

2 Existing Community Resources Next you will want to identify what, if any, resources are already available in your community for citizenship preparation. Consider the following questions: Are there adult education programs (through schools, community colleges, etc.) or organizations that already provide citizenship classes? If so, find out who they work with, what language levels the classes serve, how much the classes cost (if anything), and how the classes are funded. Are there refugee or immigrant support organizations, social service agencies, religious institutions, or other organizations that serve the target population? These may provide citizenship classes. If they do, ask the questions above about the classes. They may also provide other citizenship-related services, including legal advice. Are there organizations or people in the community that are interested in funding a citizenship class? You should first determine how much it will cost to provide the class(es) and how much of this your program can cover. Can our program partner with other programs in the community? If other programs offer classes in your community, you may want to consider referring the students to these instead of starting your own classes. If there are no citizenship classes in your community, or if existing programs cannot meet the needs of potential citizenship students (e.g., because of location, hours, or other restrictions), you may consider partnering with other organizations that serve immigrants or refugees to provide comprehensive citizenship services. Plan the Class(es) To ensure success, the planning process needs to address several logistical issues: How will students be enrolled? Will they self-select or be recruited? At some point, your citizenship class(es) should become part of the regular offerings of your program, and students will follow your normal enrollment process. However, you may want to recruit students that you know will be easy to work with while you re developing and evaluating the class. What is the optimum size of classes? Classes range in size from 2-3 students to Decisions about class size depend on the skill and comfort level of the instructor(s) and the attendance patterns of students. Some instructors may be able to handle a larger class while others may feel comfortable with a large class only if they are part of a team of instructors. If student attendance is sporadic, your program may want to register more students than it actually wants in the class to get an ideal number for each session. For example, the program might have to register 15 students to get a regular attendance of 10. Smaller classes may be desirable for students with limited English since they will need more practice and individualized attention.

3 Will classes have a set beginning and end, or will students be able to enter and exit at any time? How classes are structured will affect the overall design of the curriculum and the materials used. If your program uses managed enrollment (with a clear start and end date), it can design a curriculum where the lessons are sequential and build on each other. If students can enter the class at any time, the lessons will need to be independent. Will students be at roughly the same or different language levels? Will it be possible to offer separate classes for students at different language levels, or will all students learn together? If your program is unable to group students at similar levels, it will need to think about how to meet the needs of higher-level and lower-level students in the same class. Instructors should be prepared to have students work in small groups (your program may need to provide some training to help instructors prepare for this). When selecting materials for a multilevel class, it is often easier to select materials for lower-level students and then expand on them or provide supplementary materials to meet the needs of higher-level students. How will the program address the obstacles that could prevent students from attending (location/transportation, child care, scheduling, etc.)? Programs deal with these issues in a variety of ways. Look for partnerships with local government agencies and community organizations. Who will teach the class(es)? Will your program need additional instructors? What, if any, training will be necessary prior to starting the class(es)? When developing citizenship class(es), it will be easier to work with experienced ESL instructors. If the instructors need additional training, work with local organizations to find a program that offers citizenship classes. Check with your state TESOL (Teachers to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.) affiliate, local colleges or community colleges, and USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) to see if a citizenship education training workshop for teachers is going to be offered in or near your area. As your program develops the class, it should think about how it will institutionalize the training that future instructors will need. What materials will we use? The instructional materials should reflect the decisions your program has made about the structure of the class and the language proficiency levels of students. Don t be afraid to try out several sets of materials. Most publishers will send sample copies or have a return policy that will allow programs to test materials. Some citizenship materials have useful notes and teaching suggestions to help less experienced teachers. Materials with additional teaching ideas are also available on the USCIS Web site.

4 Start with a Pilot Select the Students and Instructors You program may want to pilot a citizenship class before making it a regular service of its services. To pilot a class: 1. Select 7-10 students. Choose students who are ready to apply or reasonably close to applying for citizenship and who have relatively high language ability and good attendance records. Eventually, you will offer the class to a wider audience, but targeting students to participate in the pilot will help you get good feedback. 2. Recruit two or three instructors to lead the pilot. The instructors can share the work of developing the class and curriculum, and will provide more than one perspective to help in selecting materials, designing training for other instructors, and making other decisions about the class. 3. Select instructors with ESL experience, if possible, so they can focus on preparing for citizenship instruction without also needing to learn how to handle students language and cultural issues. 4. Evaluate the success of the pilot, make adjustments, and then expand the pilot into more formal services. Plan the Curriculum In planning the curriculum, the program will want to address the specific content and skills that students need to succeed in their citizenship interview. In brief, these are: the history, geography, and government/civics content covered in the 100 questions used in the oral civics test portion of the interview; practice in reading aloud and writing from dictation, using the vocabulary designated for the reading and writing(literacy) test portions of the interview; and extensive practice in understanding and responding to questions based on the applicant s N-400 Application for Naturalization, necessary for the speaking test portion of the interview. In addition, any citizenship preparation class should include practice with the complete interview experience, e.g., through role plays or other simulations. Set up Review Opportunities Students may complete a citizenship class considerably before the date of their interview. Your program may want to allow those students to return shortly before going to the interview for a brief review of content material and refresher practice on how to respond to questions on the N-400. Logistics of these review sessions should be included in the planning for the class(es).

5 Useful Resources In planning and offering a citizenship preparation program, you do not have to re-invent the wheel. There are many useful resources that are already available. Instructional Materials Many resources (on line, in print, on audio, or for computer use) are available for use in citizenship classes. They can help address the needs of students at various language levels. Your program may find it helpful to use a curriculum specifically for students at beginning levels (including those who need targeted practice in literacy skills for the reading and writing tests). Example: Weintraub, Lynne (2008). Citizenship: Passing the Test. Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press. This is a comprehensive set of instructional materials that cover all components of the citizenship interview. For more information, go to: and select ESL and Citizenship. Courses for Instructors The following courses describe specific components of the citizenship test and provide instructors with ideas for how to prepare students. All courses were developed by ProLiteracy and are available free on the Thinkfinity Literacy Network at org/tln/courses. Citizenship: The Civics Test Citizenship: The Literacy Test Citizenship: The Interview The USCIS also offers free online courses for instructors on U.S. History, U.S. Government, Civic Engagement, and the Naturalization Process. Go to Citizenship Information The following and more are available on the USCIS Web site. A Guide to Naturalization Civics (History and Government) Questions for the Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test (PDF-100 questions with answers) Reading Vocabulary for the Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test Writing Vocabulary for the Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test

6 Immigration and Citizenship Forms (including the N-400 Application for Naturalization) (click on Immigration Forms at the top) The USCIS site also has other teacher resources and sample teaching materials, particularly suitable for students with intermediate or higher language levels. Citizenship Information for Students The following pieces were produced by ProLiteracy for the Thinkfinity Literacy Network Library: Citizenship: How to Become a U.S. Citizen (a short multimedia slide program with an option to hear the information read aloud) Citizenship: Becoming a U.S. Citizen Checklist Citizenship: Benefits of Becoming a U.S. Citizen Citizenship: Things to Consider Before You Apply Legal Resources Another important community resource is the legal community. Becoming a U.S. citizen is not necessarily a complicated process, but legal questions often come up, particularly as students work on their N-400 applications. It is a good idea to contact an immigration lawyer in your community to help address these legal questions. You can refer students to the lawyer or even have the lawyer come and speak to your class about the citizenship process. Immigration Issues Resources You may also want to stay informed about national immigration issues, including policies and trends. In addition to the USCIS Web site, you may find useful information through the following: The National Immigration Forum A nonprofit organization that follows U.S. immigration policies and advocates for public policies that support immigrants and refugees. The American Civil Liberties Union A nonprofit organization that addresses issues of individual rights and liberties, with a section of its Web site devoted to immigration issues and immigrant rights. Citizenship News The Web site of citizenship-preparation author and trainer Lynne Weintraub, provides regular updates on the latest news, information, and resources concerning citizenship education, immigration policies, the U.S. citizenship test, and the naturalization process.