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Introduction
For any activity conducted in the classroom, teachers need to take into account how their students learn best. Some students learn by working in groups. However, other students prefer if the teacher directs the class and asks more direct questions. Teachers should use multiple teaching strategies that address all learning styles so that students can grasp the concepts of human trafficking in addition to accomplishing the ESOL benchmarks. The incorporation of various teaching methods and activities will contribute to increased student outcomes. Sample lesson plans have been developed and included in this guide to assist teachers to incorporate human trafficking into the regular ESOL curriculum.
Human Trafficking could be introduced to ESOL students by incorporating it into the following topics:
Work - in this unit, teachers usually cover information such as occupations and action verbs connected with these occupations. This is an ideal section for teachers to discuss information on pay stubs, employee benefits and workers' rights in the work setting.
There are very useful reproducible handouts through "Remedia Publications". These handouts usually talk about time clock, overtime, supervisor, schedules, federal income tax, benefits, withholding, union, contract, punch-in and out, time clocks, wages, and they include sample pay stubs. This unit would be an excellent opportunity to incorporate information about the legal rights that employees have to time and half pay after working 40 hours a week. Teachers could also take an opportunity to talk about a healthy work environment. This could lead into a discussion about minimum wage in the state of Florida, and the freedom to look for better job opportunities.
When covering a work unit, teachers also have an opportunity to introduce the concept of human trafficking by using a film, an article, case scenarios, definitions, or other media. After introducing the concept of human trafficking, teachers can contrast the type of work environment that regular employers would provide for their employees and the type of environment provided by traffickers.
Health, Safety and Emergencies - ESOL books on this topic usually focus on teaching body parts, health issues and places to call for help in the community. However, this would be a good section for a conversation class for students to talk about worker's compensation, calling in sick, sick leave, types of emergencies that 9-1-1 could be used for, and how an employer should handle health, safety and emergency issues. This section will teach students how to call an employer to report an absence due to illness or other emergencies. It will also teach them the general concept of worker's compensation so that if they get hurt at work, they can report it to the employer and seek medical help. When talking about ways to use 9-1-1, teachers will have an opportunity to introduce the toll free trafficking hotline and do a human trafficking role play. A description of the setting should be included and explained by the teacher to make sure that the students see the relevance of each dialogue. In addition, the instructor should use a list of questions discussing the dialogue so that the students completely understand each situation.
Multiculturalism - Diversity and multiculturalism is widely discussed in every ESOL classroom. Students are usually interested on what is different and what is similar about their own culture and American culture. Many students do not know what to expect from American families, different organizations, state and local agencies. The ESOL classroom is many times the only resource they have to find out different facts about the American culture and the American ways. Therefore, students can take advantage of every opportunity they get to ask how things work in the United States.
Some forms of human trafficking may be culturally acceptable in some countries but it is very important that our ESOL students know that they are not acceptable in the United States. Therefore it would be a great opportunity to incorporate information about human trafficking when discussing the American culture in your classroom.
Presidents' Day - Many ESOL teachers talk about holidays by explaining the history of the holiday and connecting it to present-day issues. President's Day is a great opportunity to include human trafficking since most teachers talk about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Teachers will be able to connect slavery in the 1800s with the concept of modern-day slavery.
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