[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-576519-105":59,"doc-detail-576519-en":129},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":122,"head_meta":124,"extra_data":126,"updated_unix":128},105,"en","grandma-needs-english-too","Grandma Needs English, Too","","Older immigrants can succeed in learning English and becoming U.S. citizens when instruction matches their interests and developmental stage, including distinct cognitive, physical, and psychological profiles. The Step One age-friendly curriculum targets pre-beginning older newcomers, building confidence in speaking and comprehension, introducing beginner-appropriate civics and citizenship-test knowledge, and familiarizing learners with community life through low-stress, supportive classroom interactions.",{"@graph":69,"@context":121},[70,84,104],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/grandma-needs-english-too/576519/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":98,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":99,"interactionStatistic":100},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/grandma-needs-english-too/576519.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Logic","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":101,"interactionType":102,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":103},"ViewAction",{"@type":105,"mainEntity":106},"FAQPage",[107,113,117],{"name":108,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":110},"Why is English instruction difficult for older immigrants at the beginning level?","Question",{"text":111,"@type":112},"Older learners often face programs designed for younger immigrants, with fast pacing and technology-heavy, workforce-oriented objectives that may not support or incentivize adaptation for seniors.","Answer",{"name":114,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":115},"What is the Step One curriculum designed to achieve?",{"text":116,"@type":112},"Step One helps older pre-beginners take first steps in speaking and understanding English, learn beginner civics for U.S. citizenship, and become familiar with community life through supportive, low-stress learning.",{"name":118,"@type":109,"acceptedAnswer":119},"How is the Step One curriculum delivered and what does it include?",{"text":120,"@type":112},"Each unit provides detailed oral-communication lesson instructions, accompanying visuals, and literacy worksheets, with sections focused on daily life, civics topics, and U.S. customs, supported by a teachers’ guide.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":123,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":125,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":127,"site_id":62},576519,1792080662,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":130},{"doc_id":127,"user_id":131,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":138,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":142,"read_time":143},1099513958762,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1000023916a998db790?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1784791008015729253","ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION WINTER 2025  \n[http://doi.org/10.35847/LWeintraub.7.1.37](http://doi.org/10.35847/LWeintraub.7.1.37)  \nGrandma Needs English, Too  \nLynne Weintraub, Jones Library  \nNote: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland. Security under Grant Award Number 22CICET00272-01-00. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the author and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  \nAbstract  \nImmigrants in their later years can succeed at learning English and becoming citizens if they have access to instruction that considers their particular interests and stage of development, including their distinct cognitive, physical, and psychological profiles. Step One, a new age-friendly curriculum, helps older newcomers take the first steps in speaking and understanding English, learning civics facts, and becoming familiar with the community around them.  \nKeywords: citizenship, older immigrants, beginning-level ESL, age-friendly instruction, cognitive challenges, responsive curriculum, life-long learning  \nWhen older immigrants arrive in the United States, it is a challenge for them to access beginning-level English language instruction that meets their needs. Instruction in federally-funded adult education programs and community colleges is designed for younger immigrants who are entering or attempting to improve their standing in the U.S. workforce. It tends to be fast-moving, academically (or vocationally) oriented, and heavily integrated with technology. Older learners are less likely to show rapid skill gains, earn workforce credentials, or demonstrate the career placements/advancements that programs must document in order to maintain continued funding, so they have little incentive to admit students who are retired or nearing the end of their working lives, and no rationale to adapt curriculum and classroom practices to make them accessible and effective for older learners.  \nNevertheless, many older immigrants desire language instruction so that they can interact with their neighbors (and reduce the social isolation they often experience), understand health care practitioners, and participate in their new communities (Reder, 2020) . Newcomers  \noften express a desire to become U.S. citizens in order to vote, travel freely, sponsor relatives, and qualify for federal benefits. But citizenship preparation classes typically screen out students who test below the National Reporting System proficiency level three. How can older beginners access instruction that will get them from a prebeginning level to a high beginner level?  \nA New Age-Friendly Instructional Resource  \nIn October of 2023, the adult literacy program I direct at Jones Library, Amherst, Massachusetts, was awarded an Innovations grant to address this challenge. This USCIS grant program funds projects aiming to help hard-to-reach immigrant populations integrate into their communities and ultimately attain citizenship. Over the course of a 2-year project, I have developed curriculum for pre-beginning older students, field tested it with my “older beginner” ESL class, and have started disseminating it to immigrant-serving programs  \n[Correspondence: weintraubl@joneslibrary.org](Correspondence: weintraubl@joneslibrary.org) 37  \nnationwide. Draft versions of the new Step One curriculum units, teachers’ guide, and program tools are available as free downloads at [joneslibrary.org/step](joneslibrary.org/step)one. I encourage programs to try them out and provide feedback to help me refine the final version.  \nStep One curriculum introduces practical oral communication skills and reinforces them with related literacy exercises. Beyond this, it teaches a subset of civics concepts and questions on the U.S. citizenship test that are suitable for beginners. A third goal is to familiarize students with the ","cbCaifhtQtiTwZke","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifhtQtiTwZke","pdf",71992,"English","# Abstract\n## A New Age-Friendly Instructional Resource\n## Step One Curriculum Goals\n## Instructional Structure and Content\n## Learning Process for Older Beginners","[{\"question\":\"Why is English instruction difficult for older immigrants at the beginning level?\",\"answer\":\"Older learners often face programs designed for younger immigrants, with fast pacing and technology-heavy, workforce-oriented objectives that may not support or incentivize adaptation for seniors.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the Step One curriculum designed to achieve?\",\"answer\":\"Step One helps older pre-beginners take first steps in speaking and understanding English, learn beginner civics for U.S. citizenship, and become familiar with community life through supportive, low-stress learning.\"},{\"question\":\"How is the Step One curriculum delivered and what does it include?\",\"answer\":\"Each unit provides detailed oral-communication lesson instructions, accompanying visuals, and literacy worksheets, with sections focused on daily life, civics topics, and U.S. customs, supported by a teachers’ guide.\"}]","Grandma Needs English, Too | PDF",1792029911,13]