>From Jenny in Fort Worth


 

Barbara and all,

 

I'm having the exact same difficulty in my classes. I call it being "book
bound". It's certainly easier for tutors and students because they don't
have to be creative or plan ahead. Does the silent reading help with the
other things you mentioned?  

 

*My students weren't doing reading homework that I assigned. My students
didn't have books in English at home. Attempts to get them to bring in
reading material that was interesting to them (something out there in the
real world) bombed. The only reading we were doing in class was ESL textbook
reading and usually reading aloud. I knew that they needed to read more and
to get the feel of reading English as part of everyday life.*

 

We're really struggling to get the students out of the textbooks and into
real-world reading. The tutors are bringing in supplements and getting good
at asking students what they need to read outside of class. We have to get
an answer to that for each student, then usually track it down ourselves. We
model for them how to make it specific, concrete and achievable.

 

Are we on the right track? Any other ideas/experiences that might help?

 

 

  _____  

From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Caballero
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 2:37 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2424] Re: ESL Reading - 2 or 3 things we know
forsure

 

Good afternoon, everyone,

I'm Barbara Rotolo-Caballero, a part-time ESL instructor at Austin Community
College in Texas. My comments are related to my intermediate/advanced level
class and this assertion:

"4. Reading is an interactive process between the reader, the text, and the
writer. The situation in which you read and write and your purposes for
doing so play a role as well (think about opening a letter from the INS -
now USCIS - or a note from your ex-spouse)." 

 

I like to have fun in my class, but reading has often been the least fun.
Too often I have inserted myself between my students and text and writer by
diligently focusing on comprehension and vocabulary-building. What a drag.

 

I didn't know how to make this happen.

 

Inspired by Nancy Meredith, a colleague at ACC, I've introduced a new
process. For one-half hour in the middle of our 3-hour class, my students
sit down with a book and read, silently. So do I.. I have a file box full of
leveled readers for adults (mostly Penguin, mostly books based on movies).
Each student may select any book. Each student keeps a log of the books
completed. That's it. We don't all read the same book. I don't plan a lesson
around any of these books. We just sit and read for pleasure. Not one
student has balked at this, nor have I lost a student because of it. I
encourage them to read through, without dictionaries. I encourage them to
keep a list of words that they'd like to learn. It's often difficult to pull
them away from their reading when it's time to move on to another task.

 

I'm very happy with this new process and I wonder who else is doing this.

Barbara Rotolo-Caballero

brotoloc at austincc.edu

 

 

Hello again to those of you participating in the Reading for Adult ELLs
discussion. As promised, I wanted to start us off with the two or three
things we know for sure from research in reading (though not necessarily
from research with adult English language learners - we don't yet have
research that speaks directly to this population). 

 

So here is my questions. Which one of these assertions really resonates for
you?  If you are an ESL teacher do you have examples from you students that
either supports or disproves one of these points 

 

 

1.	You learn to read just once (this is also known as "breaking the
code"; once you have developed phonemic awareness in one language and you
know to decode one language), you don't need to start all over with
developing phonemic awareness in another language - you just need to absorb
the rules of the new system - that is, you must learn how English works, not
how literacy works. 

 

2.	Knowledge from the first language transfers to knowledge about the
second language but transfer is not automatic. You may need to draw your
students attention to certain common features of the language.

 

3.	We make sense of the world by connecting prior knowledge with new
knowledge.  We gain meaning from print the same way. So if your knowledge of
the world does not match the knowledge of the world that the writer assumes,
the text is likely to be confusing to you even if your reading skills are
ok.

 

4.	Reading is an interactive process between the reader, the text, and
the writer.  The situation in which you read and write and your purposes for
doing so play a role as well (think about opening a letter from the INS -
now USCIS or a note from your ex-spouse).

 

5.	When we read, we activate two types of knowledge - what we know
about meaning making (top down processes) and what we know about language
(bottom-up processes).  It's important to keep in mind that the purpose of
reading is comprehension. 

 

6.	Although control over bottom-up processes is important for learning
to read, it does not follow that new readers must have mastered all sub
skills before they can focus on comprehension. Using sub skills effectively
enhances comprehension, but control over sub skills does not automatically
lead to comprehension.

 

7.	Language proficiency and reading comprehension are closely related.
One way of increasing the reading skills of literate learners is to build
language skills.  One way of building students comprehension of (pre)
academic texts, is to present such information orally (mini-presentations)
and visually (through PowerPoints or video clips) so you can build
understanding of concepts without your students getting mired in print.

 

8.	Vocabulary knowledge is one of the key determinants of reading
comprehension. Increases in vocabulary means increases in background
knowledge and in reading comprehension, the same as in everything else, the
more you know - the more you know 

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts 

 

Heide

 

 

 

From: Wrigley, Heide 
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 12:18 PM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Cc: Lynda Terrill
Subject: Reading and Adult English Language Learners 

 

Good morning all 

 

It's 7 am here in Southern New Mexico, it's still nice and cool and the
roses are blooming big time and I should be going out to water soon (coffee
first, though)

 

 

I wanted to welcome you to the discussion on ESL Reading and am hoping that
we'll have a lively back and forth as you pose questions, challenge
assumptions, and share your own experience teaching reading to ESL students
- either teaching these skills explicitly and systematically or just folding
reading into your regular curriculum. 

 

I would like to invite you to tell us a sentence or two about yourself and
your work and your experience before you post your messages.

 

Just a bit of background: I'm Heide Spruck Wrigley and my work revolves
around the intersection of research, policy and practice. I've been involved
in several studies on ESL literacy (broader than just reading) that we can
talk about, and this year I'm doing quite a bit of work around workplace
literacy.  Most of my work has been with language minority adults who are
relatively new to English but I've also taught in intensive reading programs
at the university level.  

 

I've been working with the Texas GREAT Centers (professional development
centers) for a number of years, and this year we started a series of
institutes that focus on ESL Reading with a special emphasis on
comprehension skills. So this discussion is an outgrowth of this work. 

 

A bit later, I'll write a note about the 2 or 3 things we know for sure
about reading (of any kind, not just reading in another language so we don't
have to get caught up in the "reading wars"). 

 

But in the meantime, I'd like to invite you to jump in and say a bit more
about who you are  and what issues you are grappling with when it comes to
helping your ESL students understand what they read.  

 

And a special welcome to the Texas teachers who have been involved in the
institutes. I'm hoping you will share your experience teaching reading and
tell us what has worked for you. 

 

All the best 

 

Heide

 

 

 

From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Lynda Terrill
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 7:21 AM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2374] Discussion on Reading and Adult
EnglishLanguage Learners begins

 

Dear subscribers,
 
I am happy to announce that our discussion on reading and adults learning
English as a second language is beginning.  Heide Wrigley will be
facilitating this discussion along with Texas practitioners who have been
working on a project related to reading.  I look forward to hearing what
they have to share, butI  also look forward to hearing many of your
experiences, questions, and answers about this important topic.
 
Lynda Terrill
lterrill at cal.org
 

  _____  

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