- Teaching English Language Learners Includes All Of The Challenges Implicit For English Speaking Ch

By Author: Anne Swigard
Total Articles: 3
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There is an increasing amount of English language learners represented in our schools for whom a exclusive approach to developing literacy is necessary. The development of Teaching English language learners includes all of the challenges implicit for English speaking children literacy attainments, and is additionally compounded by a diversity of linguistic, cognitive and educational variables and more of course.

In general, the following are critical variables that need to be targeted in effective reading instruction: The National Research Council's Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children freshly completed the most authoritative, comprehensive review of the research on normal reading development and tuition and on preventing reading difficulties in young children1. This study documented a number of central findings about teaching English reading to language-minority children. These include:

English-speaking children making initial attempts at reading understand, if they are winning, the products of their efforts; they read words they know and sentences they understand, and can self-correct ...
... efficiently. Non-English speakers have a more limited basis for knowing whether their interpretation is correct because the crucial meaning-making process is short circuited by lack of language knowledge.

Giving a child initial reading instruction in a language that he or she does not yet speak can undermine the child's chance to see literacy as a authoritative form of communication by knocking the carry of meaning out from underneath the process of Teaching English language learners.
Initial reading instruction in the first language does no harm to Teaching English language learners. To the contrary, it seems likely both from research findings and from theories about literacy development that initial reading instruction in the next language can have negative consequences for immediate and long-term achievement. Primary language and reading literacy is critical and should be strongly encouraged among Teaching English language learners.

It was decidedly recommended that "initial literacy instruction in a child's native language whenever possible" suggested that "literacy instruction should not be introduced in any language before some reasonable level of spoken proficiency in that language has been attained."
On the question of which language to use when teaching English language learners to read, the committee recommended these following guidelines:
If these second language children arrive at school with no proficiency in Teaching English language learners but speak a language for which the above conditions cannot be met and for which there are insufficient numbers of children to rationalize the development of the local community to meet such conditions, the instructional priority should be to develop the children's proficiency in spoken English. Although print materials may be used to develop understanding of English speech sounds, vocabulary, and syntax, the postponement of formal reading instruction is appropriate until an adequate level of ability in spoken English has been achieved. In other words, the instructional priority needs to be to develop spoken oral English prior to attempting to facilitate interpretation in English.

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