Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id OAA17589; Thu, 13 Jan 2000 14:21:52 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 14:21:52 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <ae.1c5ac7.25af7e7f@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Sandjacobi@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:3950] Wilson Language Teaching and ESL X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 3.0 for Windows 95 sub 76 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Status: OR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Hi, my name is Sandy Jacobi, and I'm a new list member from Rhode Island, who's both an ESL teacher and a certified Wilson tutor. Some additional comments: Yes, it's true that the Wilson System is not appropriate for beginning and intermediate ESL students, who need to develop their speaking and comprehension skills. Barbara Wilson, the creator of the program, points this out in her introduction to the course. However, it's great for people who can speak and understand English comfortably, but have gaps in their reading and spelling. Rhode Island has a large population of native Portuguese and Spanish speakers who have lived and worked here for many years but have never attended school (and many with minimal schooling in their countries of origin.) Over the past few years, many of these folks have been laid off and started attending GED classes.I've taught a couple of pull-out Wilson classes for them, and they were very pleased, with all the participants telling me, "This is exactly what we need." (meaning direct instruction in phonics). I've also had a student from Liberia in another Wilson class, who was very positive about the program. About the certification vs. 2-day overview discussion. Anybody who uses Wilson materials definitely needs to do the overview as a minimum. However, if you have the time and money to become certified as a tutor, my two colleagues and I (who all became certified at the same time) highly recommend it. There is so much to absorb and practice, you need a longer period of time than just 2 days. And the training and support you get from Wilson staff is excellent. During our practicum period, all three of us realized how much had NOT sunk in from the 2-day overview! If your agency is serious about using Wilson materials with LD native English speakers and/or ESL background literacy students, you really should invest in training one staff member, who can be the resident guru. Finally, I'd like to say that even though the Wilson program in its entirety is not suitable for lower level ESL students, teachers and tutors certainly can adapt concepts and techniques from it. That, incidentally, is another benefit of becoming certified. Not only do you gain a solid grasp of the sound system of English, but you also learn a lot about multisensory techniques, which are highly transferrable to the ESL classroom. If anybody has any questions about my experience with Wilson, I'd be happy to answer them. Sandy Jacobi (sandjacob@aol.com)
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