LEARNING TO READ
Some Considerations
Children whose mother tongue is English
(E1)
(1)
The five year old arriving at school has, on average, a vocabulary of about 2,000 words. They have a fairly thorough command of the structure of English which normally will continue to develop:
a) an ability to process language more efficiently, and
b) master complex details of language.
(2)
These children may have been exposed to a variety of English literacy experiences, e.g. television, magazines, newspapers, computer games, comics, letters, signs, catalogues, etc.
(3)
Many children (but not all) will have had some experience of playing with a variety of games and puzzles- sorting, matching, classifying, sequencing and discriminating between colours, sizes and shapes. (It is generally agreed that these skills form a useful foundation for the task of learning to read).
(4)
Readers often memorise short regularly structured texts before they acquire a significant sight vocabulary. Readers need to be able to recognise whole words and also have strategies for attacking new and unfamiliar words. After a good sight vocabulary has been achieved, the children should be ready to learn to discriminate individual sounds.
(5)
Children learning to read may usually know the meanings of words used in early story books. They should have little difficulty in matching a simple label to the appropriate illustrations and begin to use picture clues early on.
Children who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL)
(1)
The learner may come to school knowing little or no English. If they have a fairly thorough command of the structure of their first language, it may interfere with their English structuring, i.e. producing English in a structure which reflects their first language.
(2)
If the EAL learners (depending on their age and experience) are able to read their own language, the script may have different shapes or may have different directional features from that of English, e.g. Urdu. If this is so, pupils may need specific discrimination exercises and help in Left-Right orientation. Even if they are not literate in their own language they will have been influenced by a different script, e.g. signs, newspapers, letters, literature and signs in places of worship, film videos, community shops, etc. Children in the early stages of English can become confused when they attempt to apply their first language structures to English.
(3)
It may be the case that EAL children may need more pre-reading activity play (NB Moslem pupils are sometimes not encouraged to draw the human form and certain forms of play are not encouraged across all cultures).
(4)
EAL learners must not only be able to have an extensive sight vocabulary but they must have a good working knowledge or oral English before they begin on phonic skills. Learning to discriminate between sounds depends on familiarity with a large range of words. Early phonic words must be linked with everyday vocabulary.
(5)
This is not always true for EAL learners. They will have different sound words for labelling, e.g. Punjabi speakers when they see a cat- the initial sound they hear will be ‘b’ for ‘bili’ instead of ‘c’ for ‘cat’. If they hesitate, it may be because they are code switching.
(6)
It is important to use reading books with realism and relevance, rather than those which are only based on an artificially restricted range of words. Repetition is helpful as long as it’s necessary to the story.
(7)
With encouragement from the teacher, the children can be helped to use self-correcting techniques and the strategy of prediction. Children may question the sense of what they have just read and will predict their understanding of the text and pictures.
(8)
Given children’s reasonable understanding of the language, they are often exposed to a whole variety of story materials (real books), both scheme and non-scheme books.
(9)
Many children find it reasonably easy to recall, if they are familiar with the language of the text.
(10)
We assume that most children understand what they read: they are usually familiar with the cultural setting, vocabulary and general language used. Many will be able to extract the central meaning from a set of ideas and to infer meaning.
(6)
EAL learners who are introduced to a phonic based reading scheme before they have a good working knowledge of spoken English will find it extremely challenging if not threatening. Failure at this stage may affect their educational progress, e.g. our sound ‘MA’ in Chinese can mean ‘mother’, ‘horse’ or ‘flax’ depending on the tone! It is important to work from the child’s experience. An ideal way to do this is to make own books based on personal interests and background. Dual language if possible.
(7)
Because EAL learners may not have a reasonable, workable use of spoken English, they may not be able to make use of self-correcting techniques or prediction skills that would be understood by the teacher. Teachers should also be aware that some learners often have a deceptive fluency in English in a narrow range of sentence patterns.
(8)
It is more meaningful for EAL learners to read and write the language patterns they are familiar with in spoken English. This initially provides them with a framework on which to progress and they will gain confidence when reading with understanding.
(9)
The EAL learner may be so absorbed in word attack skills and the general mechanics of learning to read that their visual/auditory memory might well note be as effective as the English first language speaker. They may need more time to re-read what they have read.
(10)
Some EAL learners may have mastered the mechanics of reading but may have little or no understanding of the text (barking at print!)
Note
It is important to use and make available books which reflect cultural and linguistic diversity for both EAL learners and their monolingual peers.