I am not sure if this refers to native speakers learning to read their own
language, or non-native speakers learning to read another language. If it is
the latter, then I think it is normal for a learner to focus on decoding
individual words. By decoding individual words, the learner gets some idea
of the overall meaning, but still an unclear idea. There is nothing wrong
with the overall meaning being unclear, and I believe it is important to
convince the learner that this fuzziness of meaning is absolutely normal and
OK. The language will only become clearer over time. In the meanwhile it is
important to keep listening and reading and learning words. In my
experience, the learner's time is best spent on acquiring more exposure to
the language, rather than trying to fully understand what he or she is
reading or listening to, or for that matter trying to produce the language
with any accuracy.

I believe that insofar as immigrant language learners as concerned, greater
benefit would be achieved if a large number of  immigrants were assigned a
personal tutor with whom he or she met infrequently, either face to face, or
by phone or computer. This language coach could then provide advice and
encouragement and guidance. The present instruction-intensive format does
not take advantage of the potential energies and learning efficiencies that
would accrue from a more learner-centred approach. And if the learner is not
interested in learning, chances are that he or she is not learning very much
in class either.

Steve
On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 7:38 AM, Bruce C <bcarmel at rocketmail.com> wrote:


> Hello List:

> I believe that decoding is an extremely important component of reading, but

> it is not the only component. Understanding conventions of print and

> different genres, using and having background knowledge, being able to

> relate text to self/text to the world/text to other texts, using context to

> inform decoding, and being able to make predictions are among the many other

> skills needed to be a good reader.

>

> I did some in-depth interviews with beginning readers and found "decoding"

> was all they cared about. Comprehension was not the goal for them. Decoding

> was the goal. I believe many beginning readers would feel satisfied and

> successful if they accurately decoded each word of a text yet did not

> comprehend its meaning.

>

> This is sadly reinforced by many teachers who teach as if they believe the

> same thing.

>

> From Bruce Carmel

> Turning Point

> Brooklyn NY

>

>

>

>

>

> <http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/Adult_Literacy_Professional_Development>

>




-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
1-604-922-8514
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