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[ProfessionalDevelopment 2119] Discussion on Reading and Adult English Language Learners May 12-16Lynda Terrill lterrill at cal.orgTue May 6 08:43:19 EDT 2008
Dear subscribers, Below is information about a special discussion upcoming next week (May 12-16) on the Adult English Language Learners discussion that may be of interest to many on this list. The topic is Reading and Adult English Language Learners. Heide Wrigley and a group of Texas practitioners will discuss many facets of this topic including the professional development implications of the project. they have been working on. Lynda Terrill moderator, Adult English Language Learners discussion list lterrill at cal.org ********************* Assisting adult English language learners (or second language learners in general) to increase their reading proficiency is one of the perennial issues on this list and others. We will be focusing on this topic specifically from May 12-16, 2008 when Heide Wrigley and a cadre of Texas practitioners will share information, challenges, and outcomes of a professional development and classroom project they have been working on during the last year. See the bottom of this announcement for bios of Heide and the teacher working group. To subscribe to the Adult English Language Learners discussion list, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Englishlanguage <http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Englishlanguage> Focus of Discussion The last few years has seen a resurgence of interest in reading, not only at the primary level, but also at the secondary level and to a lesser degree in adult education. We've heard about the components of reading with an emphasis on phonemic awareness and decoding and about the importance of fostering reading comprehension. Yet, we don't know a great deal about what works in second language reading, particularly for adults. Exciting work is being done in the use of comprehension strategies and in vocabulary studies, yet not much of that information has made it into the ESL classroom. or in instruction for adult English language learners in ABE, GED, ASE, and community college classrooms. This discussion seeks to close the gap. Our hope is to help teachers make the connection between what recent research tells us about reading in general and second language reading in particular and what works for teachers and learners in the classroom. Reflective Questions These questions will help frame the discussion, but can also help to direct background reading before the discussion: * Is teaching reading for native speakers similar to teaching reading to English language learners? If not, what is the difference? * If English language learners have some literacy in the native language, do we still need to focus on decoding and building phonemic awareness? Why or why not? * If our students seem to read just fine in terms of decoding and reading aloud, why do they often still have trouble understanding what they read? * What about the role of background knowledge and vocabulary - how do we build these skills so that reading comprehension is facilitated? * Some teachers wonder about the role of "reading strategies" in adult ESL. Many have found that "predicting meaning from context" doesn't always work for beginning level readers. Are there other strategies that can be adapted for English language learners that show greater promise in facilitating comprehension? Background Reading There is a wealth of materials now available about teaching reading to adult English language learners. For a quick overview of issues that will be covered in the special discussion, see How Should Adult ESL Reading Instruction Differ from ABE Reading Instruction? (CAELA brief). Miriam Burt, Joy Kreeft-Peyton, and Carol Van Duzer, 2005 www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/readingdif.html <http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/briefs/readingdif.html> . A sample of other resources is below. "Activities to Promote Reading Development <http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/Part2-57A ctivitiestoPromoteReadingDevelopment.pdf> " in Practitioner Toolkit: Working with Adult English Language Learners <http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/CombinedF ilesl.pdf> . National Center for Family Literacy and National Center for ESL Literacy Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics (2004) www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/Part2-57Activitie stoPromoteReadingDevelopment.pdf <http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/Part2-57A ctivitiestoPromoteReadingDevelopment.pdf> Reading and Adult English Learners-online resource collection www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/reading.html <http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/collections/reading.html> Reading and Adult English Language Learners: A Review of the Research <http://www.cal.org/caela/research/raell.pdf> . Miriam Burt, Joy Kreeft Peyton, & Rebecca Adams (Center for Applied Linguistics and National Center for ESL Literacy Education, 2003) www.cal.org/caela/research/raell.pdf <http://www.cal.org/caela/research/raell.pdf> Second Language Acquisition in Adults: From Research to Practice (NCLE Digest) Donna Moss and Lauren Ross Feldman, 2003 www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/SLA.html <http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/SLA.html> Teaching Reading to Adult English Language Learners (module from The CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainers, 2007) www.cal.org/caela/scb/III_D_TeachingReading.pdf <http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/III_D_TeachingReading.pdf> Facilitator Bios 1. Heide Spruck Wrigley is a senior researcher with Literacywork International, a small social science research firm based in Mesilla, NM. She was the subject matter expert on several national studies on adult ESL literacy and has written extensively on the subject. She also conducts Adult ESL Institutes for four of the Texas Professional Development Centers (the GREAT Centers), the most recent Institutes on Second Language Reading. These Institutes combine face-to-face seminars with learning circles where readings and classroom experiences are discussed with a mentor. Participants in the Institutes also try out instructional strategies and sample lessons in their own classes, after these have been demonstrated in the face-to-face sessions. In addition, mentors (experienced teachers) are available to discuss teaching challenges, provide technology support and conduct peer observations. 2. Practitioners participating in the first ESL Reading Institute include teachers from adult ESL programs situated in community college and CBOs in Texas, mostly from the coastal region. Also participating were administrators and experienced teachers acting as mentors to the rest of the group. As part of the online discussion, participants will share their insights and discuss what works in their classroom. They will discuss their experiences as they try to implement a rich reading program, use research-based comprehension strategies, and seek to foster reading competence while promoting reading for pleasure. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/professionaldevelopment/attachments/20080506/5c3501d3/attachment.html
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