Somali Stories: A Development of a Story-Based ESL Literacy Tool for Use With Older Adult Somali

164 Pages·2017·0.99 MB·English

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School of Education and Leadership Student
School of Education and Leadership
Capstone Theses and Dissertations
Fall 12-15-2015
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Susan Renee Marshall
Hamline University, [email protected]
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Marshall, Susan Renee, "Somali Stories: A Development of a Story-Based ESL Literacy Tool for Use With
Older Adult Somali Women" (2015). School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and
Dissertations. 290.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hse_all/290
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SOMALI STORIES: A DEVELOPMENT OF A STORY-BASED ESL LITERACY TOOL
FOR USE WITH OLDER ADULT SOMALI WOMEN
by
Susan Marshall

A Capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
in English as a Second Language

Hamline University
Saint Paul, Minnesota
December 2015

Committee:
Primary Advisor: Michal Moskow
Secondary Advisor: Amy Hewett-Olatunde
Peer Reviewer: Katie Cordes
Copyright by
SUSAN R. MARSHALL, 2015
All Rights Reserved
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My sincere and deepest gratitude to my capstone advisors: Dr. Michal Moskow,
Ph.D., Dr. Amy Hewett-Olatunde, Ph.D., and Katie Cordes. I am immensely grateful to
you all for the guidance and support you have so generously shared with me over
throughout the time I have been working on this paper. You are all great role models and
sources of inspiration for me, both in your excellent work as educators, and in your
compassion and drive. I also offer profound thanks to my family and friends for your
love, care, and encouragement not only during the time of my capstone writing, but in all
realms of life.

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES vi

Acronyms and Education Terms 1

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 14

Background of the Researcher 17

Role of the Researcher 19

Guiding Questions 20

Summary 20

Chapter Overviews 21

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 23

Chapter Overview 24

Overview of the Somali Population in Minnesota 24

Development of Education in Somalia 33

Effects on Education of Living in Refugee Camps 39

Education and Literacy Among Somali Adults in Minnesota 40

Somali Oral Tradition 49

The Somali Language 52

Adult Literacy in the Context of ESL/EFL 59

Use of Stories in Adult ESL/EFL Programs 63

Creation of Curriculum for Adult ESL/EFL Programs 69

Interviews in Research 76

The Research Gap 78
iii
Research Questions 79

Summary 80

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 81
Chapter Overview 82
Curriculum Resource Rationale, Goals, and Development 82
Rationale 82
Goals 83
Development 84
Resources for Educators 84
Description of How Curriculum Would be Presented 85
Students 85
Creation and Delivery of Materials to Teach Specified
Writing Skills Using Students’ Stories 87
Student Interviews and Assessments 92
Pre-Class Interview 93
Pre-Class Diagnostic Assessment 96
Post-Class Assessment 97
Post-Class Exit Interview 98
Summary 99
CHAPTER FOUR: CURRICULUM UNIT 100
Chapter Overview 101
Curriculum Rationale 102
Curriculum Decisions 104
The Curriculum: Literacy Tool - Teaching English-Language
Literacy Skills Through Story Writing 106
Summary 115
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CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS 116
Chapter Overview 117
Major Findings 117
Limitations 118
Implications 119
Dissemination and Further Research 120
APPENDIX A: Pre-Class Interview 122
APPENDIX B: Pre-Class Assessment – Questions 124
APPENDIX C: Class Session Outlines 134
APPENDIX D: Post-Class Assessment – Questions 137
APPENDIX E: Post-Class Exit Interview 147
REFERENCES 149

v
LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Key Differences Between Somali and English in Grammar and
Syntax 55
vi

1

Acronyms and Education Terms
Absolutive (case): A clause, construction, case, etc. that is not syntactically dependent on
another part of the sentence; a word, form, or case that is morphologically unmarked or
uninflected. In Oxford English dictionary online. Retrieved from
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/679#eid4713455
Affective: Of or relating to the affections or emotions, esp. as contrasted with the intellect
or rational faculty; emotional. In Oxford English dictionary online. Retrieved from
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/3357?redirectedFrom=affective#eid
Agreement (subject, verb): The fact or condition of agreeing in number, gender, case,
person, etc., with another element in the sentence or clause. In Oxford English dictionary
online. Retrieved from
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/4159?redirectedFrom=agreement&
Appositive (as used in linguistics): an adjective or adjectival phrase that
directly follows the noun it modifies. In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/appositive
Aspect (as used in linguistics): a verbal category that express action or being with respect
to its inception, duration, or completion, etc. In Oxford English dictionary online.
Retrieved from http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/11575?result=1&rskey=rjuyR4&
Authentic target language stories: stories about real people, situations, or events that are
used in teaching students a language they are trying to learn, also called the target
language
Authentic text: a text about real people, situations, or events
Automaticity: automaticity – the fast, effortless recognition of words
Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) Life and Work Reading
test: CASAS Life and Work Reading assessments are used by educators, to measure ESL,
among other students’ basic skills and to track their progress in English-language reading
comprehension, and to help in the process of designing instruction for these students.
CASAS. Life and Work Reading. Retrieved from https://www.casas.org/product-
overviews/assessments/life-and-work-reading

Cognitive: relating to cognition, the action or process of knowing. In Oxford English
dictionary online. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com
/view/Entry/35878?redirectedFrom=cognitive#eid