Final Outcomes Report
Road Map Project Small Grants Fund
Activities Conducted and Completed
Somali Community Services Coalition completed its Refugee Native Language Project by holding
Somali language and literacy classes for youth starting on January 23, 2012, and continuing until
the end of the school year on June 18. The classes were taught by Omar Mohammed Barre
(“Mr. Omar”), a Seattle School District instructional aide and community leader. Mr. Omar
taught two classes per week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. The classes
were attended by a total of 28 youth between the ages of 6 and 18.
With the help of other youth program staff, Mr. Omar was able to purchase and acquire
donated bilingual picture books and resources to create a reusable curriculum. SCSC now has a
basic level Somali literacy curriculum complete with alphabet and phonics handouts, stories,
poems, books, history lessons, and three student learning assessments.
Outcomes
SCSC’s three targeted outcomes were that a minimum of 20 Somali students would a) improve
their English language literacy skills, b) develop second language literacy, and c) gain confidence
in their academic abilities and bicultural identity.
The Somali literacy class had a total of 28 participants, of whom 15 students attended at least
50% of classes. Due to some student turnover and low attendance at the end of the school
year, we were not able to administer both a pre and post-test to all students. Out of 9 students
who took both the pre and post English reading skills assessment (DIBELS), 7 students improved
their reading scores by an average of 33 words per minute. The other two students
(newcomers to the U.S., ages 6 and 8) were pre-literate at the beginning of the program and
still could not read text on the post-test, but became much more proficient at identifying letters
and sounding them out in combination. Because written Somali uses almost the same alphabet
and the same general letter sounds as written English, the phonics instruction these two young
students received in Somali clearly complemented their English language phonics instruction in
school.
Due to a miscommunication between the program coordinator and the Somali language
teacher, we did not collect data to measure students’ Somali literacy skills at the beginning of
the program. However, Mr. Omar administered 3 writing tests throughout the course to test
students’ mastery of phonics and spelling. On the first test, which covered the Somali alphabet
and vowel sounds, 10 out of 15 students received a score of 80% or higher. On the final test,
which involved writing words in Somali, 6 out of 11 students received a score above 80%.
Instead of student feedback surveys, SCSC collected feedback from students through informal
interviews. At the beginning of the class, some students stated that they did not feel like they
needed to go to a Somali class because they know how to speak Somali. However, at the end of
Strengthening the Somali community of King County since 1995
the course the students we interviewed demonstrated a much clearer understanding of the
importance of literacy in their native language. Abdirahman, a 6th grade student, said he used
to think reading in Somali wasn’t important but now he sees how it helps him learn reading and
writing in English. Students in the class became much more interested in translating Somali
text and reading Somali stories outside of class. During reading time in our after-school
program, several middle and high school students requested Somali books and proudly
demonstrated their ability to translate for non-Somali speakers. These observations and
comments show that students increased their confidence level as well as their interest in their
bicultural identity.
What Went Well
In his reflection on the class, Mr. Omar commented that “[students] learned to write the Somali
alphabet, read and listened to different stories, and learned about their history” and that
“those who participated fully made great language improvements.” He also stated: “Some of
the kids told me that they felt the Somali class was something they really needed culturally
because most of their parents and other community members communicate at home in the
Somali language.” As the Somali community becomes more established in Seattle and youth
become assimilated to American culture, there is an increasing need for linguistic and cultural
support to maintain connections between the older and younger generations. The native
language project was SCSC’s first attempt to address this concern and provide support for youth
through native language literacy.
The class was well received by community members of all ages. One unexpected positive result
was that many Somali adults expressed interest in learning to read and write in Somali. Two
mothers (who speak very little English and are not literate in any language) attended the class
frequently to help supervise the students, and other Somali adults dropped in from time to
time to watch the lessons. It is clear from this pilot project that there is a great need and desire
for continued Somali literacy instruction for Somali refugee youth in South King County and
Seattle, and we plan to seek further funding to continue our program.
What Was Learned
SCSC encountered several challenges in implementing the native language project:
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Reading and writing assessments were more difficult to implement than we anticipated.
For future programs, we will make sure to train all staff in the importance of
administering assessments and tracking data. We will also make sure to develop Somali
reading and writing assessments that can be used as pre and post-tests for students at
all levels of literacy.
Attendance was inconsistent and students’ attention spans were often short due to the
fact that the classes took place in the evenings after a long day of school and tutoring.
We were somewhat successful at increasing attendance by creating incentives students
could work toward, such as prizes and an ice cream party. However, in the future it may
be better to hold classes on the weekend or in the summer, when students are not as
tired.
Strengthening the Somali community of King County since 1995
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We did not complete our goal of having students create projects of self-expression.
Students did participate in recitations of stories and songs during class under the
guidance of Mr. Omar. We realized creative projects may not be culturally relevant or
familiar in a Somali classroom, where the teaching style is traditionally more focused on
memorization and drills. However, we hope to find a better way to include selfexpression in future native literacy projects.
Strengthening the Somali community of King County since 1995