Community College Critical Academic English Program

Generation 1.5 in Hawaii: Gaining Critical Tools for Reading the World
This project was based on a two-year long study previously conducted by four graduate students in the Department of Second Language Studies who worked with the CSLR. The ethnographic study explored the needs and challenges of Generation 1.5 (G1.5) students and their instructors at Kapiolani Community College (KCC). The study concluded that lack of public school attention to this population’s particular linguistic and sociocultural needs had resulted in students’ limited academic English literacies skills and low self-esteem regarding their educational abilities. However, rather than end our work at KCC with a set of discouraging findings, we offered to use the study as a spring-board for developing and implementing curricula intended to transform G1.5 student experiences from academic failure to school success. During the 2000-2001 academic year, CSLR staff members explored how critical language and literacy theories can be applied to L2 educational settings. Based on these discussions and further research, our instructor for the project developed and implemented an innovative academic English curriculum for G1.5 students. By documenting the content, processes, and outcomes of this curriculum, the instructor provided a model of critical praxis (Skarin, 2005). This model illustrates how students developed the critical thinking and academic literacy skills that allowed them to participate in informed ways in social and political life. The model further demonstrates how students explored the root causes for their own educational, economic, and social challenges and developed the capacity to envision possible and better futures (see Skarin 2005).