The Literacy Institute Hosts LESLLA, an International English Language Forum for Researchers and Policy Makers
For Immediate Release October 30, 2006 News Release
The Literacy Institute will host the international LESLLA 2006 forum for over 80 international, national, and statewide researchers, practitioners, and policy makers on November 2-3 at Virginia Commonwealth University.
LESLLA, which stands for Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition, is an international forum focusing on the development of second language skills by adult immigrants with little or no schooling prior to moving to the country of entry. "It's hard for individuals to learn to speak and read in English when they cannot read in their own language," says Nancy Faux, ESOL specialist at the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center and the conference's organizer.
Researchers from as far the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and East Timor, and from across our nation will study and discuss education policy development in countries where immigrants settle and most need educational support. The conference features more than twenty presentations and discussion groups, opening with an address on "A National Citizenship Implementation Plan" and including the U.S. premiere of the European Quality Label Prize-winning film, "Newcomers to Morocco," which documents what happens when Dutch literacy teachers become the students in an Arabic class in Morocco.
Toward the conference's conclusion, working groups of experts from The Center for Applies Linguistics; Brown University; University of Minnesota; American Institutes of Research; Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.; Literacy Work International; Newcastle University, UK; Tilburg University, NL; and Radboud University, NL; Virginia Commonwealth University; and the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, among many others, will develop research and action recommendations for international implementation.
The Literacy Institute is a partnership between the Virginia Literacy Foundation and Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Education and Center for Public Policy.
To find out more about the conference and participants, please visit the LESLLA website at www.leslla.org or see our Media Advisory at www.valrc.org. The conference, held on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, is open to registered participants only.
Contact: Hillary Major Phone: 800-237-0178 Fax: 804-828-7539 Email: hmajor@vcu.edu
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