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Teaching reading skills to non-native English speakers presents unique challenges across various instructional levels. The document discusses effective strategies for teaching ESL/EFL literacy to children and adults, emphasizing the importance of understanding learners' backgrounds and integrating oral, reading, and writing skills. It highlights the need for specialized approaches tailored to the diverse needs of English language learners, taking into account their prior literacy experiences and cultural contexts.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
98 views18 pagesCelce-Murcia - Teaching Reading
Teaching reading skills to non-native English speakers presents unique challenges across various instructional levels. The document discusses effective strategies for teaching ESL/EFL literacy to children and adults, emphasizing the importance of understanding learners' backgrounds and integrating oral, reading, and writing skills. It highlights the need for specialized approaches tailored to the diverse needs of English language learners, taking into account their prior literacy experiences and cultural contexts.
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Evelise CampagnaroCopyright
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/ 18
UNIT II C
‘Teaching reading skills to non-native speakers of English involves unique
problems and challenges at all conceivable levels of instruction. ESL/EFL
‘teachers working with young children will be greatly assisted by Ediger's
chapter, which provides background and review of issues and standards
while also recommending many helpful teaching activities and
techniques. The chapter by Weinstein is addressed to teachers of adult
ESL learners; such teachers must start by understanding the special
contexts in which adult literacy is taught. Weinstein synthesizes current
curricula and pedagogical approaches, including a number of promising
Practices. In the final chapter of this section, Grabe and Stoller cover
theory and practice as they apply to reading for academic purposes. After
a discussion of curriculum-related issues, they recommend specific
practices for faclitating effective academic reading, ANNE EDIGER
¥ Teaching Children Literacy Skills
in a Second Language
“Teaching Citden Literacy Sits n a Second Language’ describes the background factors and isues
influencing children’ teracy development in a second language. Eiger brings together unique needs
‘of child L2 leamers, contributions of various instuctioral methods and recent ESL and Engish
Language Arts literacy standards She recommends 3 wide range of specialized approsches and
techniques for taaching ESLIERL reading and weting
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, there has been increased focus
fon the teaching of reading and other literacy
skills w children (Pre-K-6), both in North
America and abroad. Part of this may relate to
the recognition that reading is probably the
most important skill for second language (L2)
leamers in academic contexts (Grabe 1991),
and part of it may come from an increase in the
numbers of children worldwide who ate learning.
English as a second or foreign language (here-
after FSL or EFL). It may also be a result of the
recent implementation of standards in much of
public education in North America, a movement
built upon the belief that basic literacy instruction
should be a fundamental component of public
‘education. In the last few years, many states and
ces in the United Stator and Canada have
wards and implemented
langescale standardized testing of literacy skills
Another possible factor contributing to an
increased focus on literacy instruction to chil
siren In EFL. comex:s may be the growing num-
bersof counties that are moving toward making,
Engfish language instruction mandatory from a
younger age. For example, in Korea and Taiwan,
English is now a required subject, beginning in
the third grade. Given the porubility of bocks
and other reading materials (as well as the
increasing avalaility of reading material over the
Internet), reading is gradually being recognized
fas valuable source of language input, particu:
Tay for students in learning environments (29
in some EFI. contexts) in which fluent speakers
‘of English are generally not available to provide
other kinds of language input.
Notions of literacy are expanding as well.
‘Although many different definitions of literacy
can be found in the literature on the subject,
land reading stil seems to be primary 1 most
fof them (see Urquhart and Weir 1908 for a dis
cussion of ths), the teaching of writing and oral
skils is increasingly being integrated with read-
ing instruction for bth native English speakers
(NES) and English language leamers (ELLs),
‘Many of the new standards, both for ELLs and
[NES children, also integrate expectations for the
development of all four langsage skils—reading,
‘writing, listening, and speaking (see examples of
standards provided later in thie chapter). In Fat,
increasingly, the largescale standardized tests
ask suudents to bring together all of these skills,
requiring students to demonstrate competence
in synthesizing information from multiple
sources, or bringing information they have
heard of read into written responses (sce Board
of Education of the City of New York 1997 for
cxamples). This chapter, then, takes a similar
‘approach: It investigates the development of 1.2
reading, addressing writing and oral skills to the
‘extent that they are also involved in. literacy
development.
153 READING AS A COMPLEX,
INTERACTIVE PROCESS
‘Various theories exist to explain wht is involved
when we read, and much of what we know about
reading and literacy comes from rescarch on
first language (L1) learners. However, current
research generally views reading as an interac-
tive, sociocognitive process (Bernhardt 1991),
involving a tex, a reader and & socal context with
in which the activity of reading takes place. In
reading, *an individual constructs meat
through a transaction with written text that has
been created by symbols that represent lan-
‘guage. The transaction involves the reader's act.
ing on or interpreting the text, and the
interpretation is influenced ty the reader's past
experiences, language background, and cultural
framework, as well 43 the reader’s purpose for
reading’ (Hudelion 1994, p, 190). However, our
expectation and intent when we read is to make
‘meaning, to comprehend what we read (Grabe
1991; Rigg 1986).
‘Within the complex process of reading, six
general component skills and knowledge areas
have been identified (Grabe 1991, p. 379):
‘unconscious ability, ideally requiring litle
‘mental processing to recognize text, espe-
cially for word idenuification
2 Vocabulary and structural knowledge—a
sound understanding of language structure
and a large recognition vocabulary
3. Formal discourse structure knowledge—an
understanding of how texts are organized
and how information is put together into
various genres of text (e.g, a report, a letter,
a narrative)
4. Comtent/world background knowledge—
prior knowledge of textrelated informa.
tion and a shared understanding of the
cultural information involved in text
5 Synthesis and evaluation skils/strategi
the ability to read and compare information
from multiple sources, to think critically
about what one reads, and to decide what
information is relevant or useful for one’s
Purpose
6. Meiacognitve knowledge and skils moni-
toring—an awareness of one’s mental
processes and the ability to reflect on what
fone i doing and the strategies one is
employing while reading
When fluent readers read, they bring
together all of these components into «complex
process. Exactly how they do this is something
that is wll the subject of great discussion and
research; however, we know that all of these sy
tems play a part in the process. Fluent readers
recognize and get meaning from wards they see
in print, and use their knowledge of the strac-
ture of the language to begin forming a mental
notion of the wopie. They use the semantic ane
‘gntictic information from the text together
with what they know from personal experience
and knowledge of the topic to form hypotheses
or predictions about what they are reading and
‘what they are about to read. As they continue
reading, they try to confirm or reject these pre-
dictions asking, Does this make sense? Does what
Yi seeing on the page fi the ideas in my head?
they are able to confirm their predictions, they
read on. Ifnot, they may reread the tex, paying,
closer attention to the print and reformulating
their predictions. And thus the process of sam-
pling text, making hypotheses, and confirming
them continues. When some par. of the process
breaks down, and begins not to make serie, the
reader often must reexamine the process being
‘wed, and rast all upon strategies to ty torepaie
the proces and facilitate comprehension again
Some ofthe stateyies may involve compensating
for a lack of concent or language knowledge by
‘making more use of the print or of one’s back-
ground knowledge; others may involve changing
‘one's way of reading: slowing down, rereading
partof the teat, or looking for hey words
‘Thete are things fluent reader, do.
Similar, for ELLs to read fluently, they most
‘develop the ably to bring al of these elements
together simultaneously and rapidly. However,
sometimes there are gaps in their knowledge of
the language or culture. Thus, itis the task ofan
effective reading program to provide informa-
Sion and pracice in all ofthe systema which con-
tribute to making the process work.
‘Unit IL Language Skils/Reading BECOMING LITERATE
INA SECOND LANGUAGE
‘There are many similarities in the process of
learning to read for ELL and NES children, and
as will be seen later in this chapter, similar
approaches are often used in classes of both
native and non-native readers; however, there
are alo some important diflerences (Hudelion
1904; Acberiold and Field 1997), ‘Thus, while
some researchers argue that L2 learners should
not be segregated from Ll leamers (Falts and
Hudelson 1994; Van den Branden 2000), teach-
ers of ESL studenis need to be specially pre-
pared and may need to adjust their instructional
strategies in certain ways in order to teach L2 lit-
racy skils effectively,
Oral Skills
and Academic Literacy Skills
Fint ofall, NESand ELL children often differ in
terms of the language background they bring to
the task of acquiring literacy, Chiléren learning
to read in their Ll generally are already fairly
flucntin speaking and understanding the target
language when they begin school, and can bild
‘on the oral language they already have. Often,
‘words that they are learning to read are already
resent in their oral language vocabularies.
ELLs, on the other hand, do not necessarily
hhave oral abilityin the L2 yet and generally can-
not fall buck on an oral knowledge of what they
are learning to read or write. Thus, the language
or vocabulary they encounter in reading i often
completely new to them. At the same time,
research shows that ELLs’ informal oral lan-
‘quage skils usually develop more quickly than
their academic language and. reading/writing
abilities (Collier 1989), While teacherscan build
‘on this growing oral language ability, hey need
to keep in mind that some aspects of it are still
developing. Furthermere, when initially atessing
students’ competence in reading and writing,
particulaty with children who are a litle older,
teachers must be careful not to assume that oral
language proficiency is necessarily an indicator of
reading and writing abilities. In other words, iis
important to assess both oral and written lan-
‘guage abilides independently in order to obtain
8 true understanding of a child's overall lan-
‘guage proficiency level.
‘Research suggests, however, that even
though ELLs are at a beginning level in their L2
development, they may not need to wait until
they are orally fluent to begin learning to read.
and write. Firs ofall, children living in English-
speaking environments hare been shown 10 be
able to acquire a substantial amount of English
‘from dealing with the English theyare exposed to
in their daily ives they are often able to begin
reading what they see in the environment around
them. For example, children have been able to
‘denify the meanings of words on packaged prod-
‘ucts, signs, and in comic books they have seen
(Ffudelson 1984), Also, children have shown that
they are able t develop L2 knowledge fiom writ
ten language input, in addition to onl input
(Willey and Mangubhai 1988), soggesting that
[t]he relationships among listening,
speaking, reading and writing during
development, then, are complex relax
onships of mutual support Practice
in any one process contributes to the
overall reservoir of 12 knowledge,
which is then available for other acts
oflistening, speaking, reading, or writ-
ing. For this reason, itis important to
Provide abundant exposure to func-
onal, meaningful uses of both oral
and written for all learners
(Peregoy and Boyle 1997, p. 102).
‘The Role of the First Language
in Literacy Development
Just as NES children bring valuable oral lan-
‘guage knowledge to learning to read and write,
fhe LI and literacy background that ELLs may
‘being with them is a valuable asiet to their 12
and literacy learning. Even if teackers cannot
speak the L.1(6) of their stdents, their accept-
ance ofthe child's Ll and support ofits use can
sreally benefit students learning the L2 (Lucas
and Katz 1994; Falis and HUdelion 1994).
‘Teaching Children Leeracy Skils In a Second Langnage 135, Furthermore, although the research presents
mixed findings on the transferability of speciic
Li reading skils to L2 reading (Bernhardt 1991),
there is clear evidence of a strong relationship
between children’s prior native language literacy
and their development of English iteracy (Lucas
and Kate 1994; Cummins 1991). If children
already understand the symbolic role of charae-
ter oF letters or are Familiar with some of the
functions of print in society this awareness
‘an help them move to the next stages in their
literacy development.
‘Varied Experiences,
Background Knowledge,
and Cultures of ESL Students
In ESL leaming contexts, teachers must be cau-
tious about making any assumptions about the
‘cultural or language backgrounds of ELLs. Ina
single ESL clas, students may have widely dif
ferent Li backgrounds, educational back-
grounds, language proficiency levels, cukures, or
prior experiences with literacy. This has several
implications for teachers of ESL literacy. First of
all this may mean that ELL bring differing world
and background knowledge, as well as diferent
degrees of topic familiarity, to the task of reading
and writing, Something that is likely to influence
their comprehension of what they read
(Steficnsen and Jongdev 1984). This variability of
background in the classroom also suggest several
things. First, teachers need. to incorporate
“responsive teaching” (Faltisand Hiudelson 1994),
by being prepared to employ a variety of teaching
approachesand techniques with ELLs Italo sug-
‘ests the importance of leaning as much as pos-
sible about the students’ cultural backgrounds
and experiences. Furthermore, it means using var
i.e, their knowledge of and beliefs about events,
simations, and actions, based upon their experi-
ences (Rumelhart 1980), through such activities
a prereading discussions, pictures, diagrams,
‘drawings, videos, or role-playing. Finally, it also
‘suggests choosing (or having the children choose)
reading material on topies that are familia, which
156
they can identify with because they relate 10
their own cultures, backgrounds and present
lives, or which are of high general interest
(Faltis and Hudelson 1994; Day and Bamford
1998). (See Opitz 1998 for a lst of multicultural
children’s books.)
First Language Literacy
ESL leamers often come with very different
prior experiences with literacy in their native
cultures, and they may have experienced differ-
‘ent values and functions ascribed to literacy. Or
they may even have had very litle exposure to
literacy in the L1 and may be learning to read
and write for the firs time in their 12, English
Some may have had their formal schooling
interrupted by war or the economic or political
situation in their country, with the result that
they first encounter learning to read and write
assomewhat older students. Children who arrive
‘ata young age may have an easier time fitting
into a new environment than older children,
‘There are several reasons for this. First, with
younger ESL children, their NES peers are ako
developing literacy skils for the firs time, and
they have less far to go to “catch up” to their
peers’ level of academic language and literacy
development in English (Hamrayan 1994). Also,
classes for younger children are usually oriented.
toward facilitating the natural emergence of lit-
ceracy, whereas classes for older NES children
tend to assume that some literacy background
already exists and treat the learning of language
‘more abstractly and more through the printed.
text than orally (Lucas and Katz 1994).
However, older firsttime literacy learners may
bring greater cognitive development, more real-
life experience, or even more maturity to the
task of leaming to read and write. For older
beginning ELLs, then, iis important wo provide
reading materials that appeal to their age level
and interests, even if they are at beginning levels
of reading and writing ability, For this, it will be
helpful to find reading materials at lower levels of
