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From: Anne Murr <anne.murr@DRAKE.EDU>
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Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:281] literacy instruction
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Thank you , George, for this probing discussion. You continue to
challenge me to clarify what I am learning - in theory and in
practice. I'm responding to your posting on 10/21.
George Demetrion wrote:
While reading is a critical factor in this, I wouldargue that more
fundamentally, what our programs are about (or should be about?) is
the promotion of *literacy,* which is broader than reading, but
involves the integration of language skills (reading, writing,
listening, speaking, critical thinking, and experience) for the
purposeof enhancing knowledge and skills, in various areas of
interest that
students deem worthy.
Everything you say, I agree with you - in theory. What you describe
is what I believe good literacy instruction should be - for those who
acquire literacy in the natural language learning process - read
together, write together, talk about it, examine, expand and involve
all their intelligences. Learning within social interaction,
stretching the learning within the Zone of Proximal Development, Yes!
That's what I practiced in the early childhood classroom to promote
young children's early literacy learning and that's the instruction
we used when I started in adult literacy instruction three years ago.
I would have embraced your Sample Lesson, turning speech into print,
language experience, etc.- back then. We encouraged student writing;
there is power in their stories. Frank Smith is correct.
However, what I have discovered for the adults who come to our
Literacy Center is that this theory does not work in practice for
them. These adults failed to learn to read as children because they
have a neurological dysfunction which prevents accurate processing of
the basic building blocks of language, i.e., phonemes. That's why
the Shankweiler research IS pertinent to this discussion. Reading
failure occurred as children. What happens in the brains of children
continues in the brains of adults. In a longitudinal study,
Scarborough (1990) identified deficient language patterns in 2 1/2
year olds who 5 years later were experiencing reading difficulties.
They cannot learn within the "natural language setting" because they
are not natural language learners.
Research into the cause of reading failure supports what I am
learning from adults in the daily practice of adult literacy
instruction. The failure to learn to read is caused by
language-based learning disability which cannot be successfully
addressed within the balanced literacy instruction approach (whole
language with skill development as needed). The "as needed" approach
does not meet the many voids in understanding language. Research
with children is clear -remediation of this disability requires
direct, multisensory, systematic instruction with a multitude of
opportunities for practice. (see the limited bibliography at the end
of this posting)
You ask what percentage of adults in community-based literacy and ABE
programs fall within this category of language-based learning
disabilities. I don't know. I have read that 17% of populations
(regardless of the language) experience this disability. Reid Lyon
(1999), chief researcher of the National Institutes for Child Health
and Development (NICHD), which has spearheaded literacy research,
states that this disability affects one in five Americans. An
educated guess would be that MOST adults who come for reading help
ARE within this 17-20%. (Read the posting on the NIFL-LD listserv,
titled RE: Comprehension improvement by Sharon Teruya, for a full
discussion.) The modest progress you find in measuring with LVA READ
and CASAS - do you find persons becoming fully independent with
literacy? Without the systematic development of skills and an
understanding of the structure of words and language, the modest
progress reaches a ceiling beyond which these students do not move.
(Case in point, John Corcoran, in his autobiography, The Teacher Who
Couldn't Read, was taken to the 3rd grade reading level by his
literacy tutor, but it was not until he received direct instruction
in phonological processing skills using the Lindamood Bell method did
he move into full reading competence.)
Let me clarify. Perhaps you have the conception that instruction in
phonological processing skills is devoid of text reading. No! The
goal of all reading is comprehension. Literacy is "being developed
as it is applied," as you stated in WRS instruction. Reading is not
"separated from writing, nor is listening from speaking." Every
Wilson Reading System lesson incorporates text reading - in topics
written for adults, using words and concepts they are mastering.
This gives them opportunities for success - reading without guessing,
learning to trust what they know. They move into metacognitiion -
learning how to think about the structure of language. This is
respectful, not condescending, of their needs.
You cite an eloquent quote from one of your adult new readers, and I
have heard many adults give positive self reports of reading
progress. They do make some progress. But in most cases they
continue to struggle with basic decoding skills. We MUST give them
opportunities to build the skills so that they can "develop their
knowledge and potential".
Are you ready for a paradigm shift? Thanks for continuing to ponder
these issues with me!
Anne Murr
Adult Literacy Center
Drake University, Des Moines IA
anne.murr@drake.edu
Fowler, A.E. & Scarborough, H.S. (1993) Should reading-disabled
adults be distinguished from other adults seeking literacy
instruction: A review of theory and research. Philadelphia, PA:
National Center on Adult Literacy, Technical Report TR93-7.
Hatcher, P.J., Hulme, C. & Ellis, A. (1994) Ameliorating early
reading failure by integrating the teaching of reading and
phonological skills: The phonological linkage hypothesis. Child
Development, 65, 41-57.
Iverson, S. & Tunmer, W. E. (1993) Phonological processing skills
and the reading recovery program. Journal of Educational Psychology,
85, 112-126.
Lundberg, I., Frost, J. Peterson, O. (1988). Effects of an
extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool
children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 263-283.
Lyon, R. (1995). Toward a definition of dyslexia. Annals of
Dyslexia, 45, 3-27.
Pratt, A.C., Brady, S. (1988). Relation of phonological awareness to
reading disability in children and adults. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 80, 319-323.
Scarborough, H.S. (1984). Continuity between childhood dyslexia and
adult reading. British Journal of Psychology, 75, 329-348.
Scarborough, H.S. (1990). Very early language deficits in dyslexic
children. Child Development, 61, 1728-1743.
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<div><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Thank you ,
George, for this probing discussion. You continue to challenge
me to clarify what I am learning - in theory and in practice.
I'm responding to your posting on 10/21.</font></div>
<div><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000">George Demetrion
wrote:</font></div>
<div>While reading is a critical factor in this, I wouldargue that
more fundamentally, what our programs are about (or should be about?)
is the promotion of *literacy,* which is broader than reading, but
involves the integration of language skills (reading, writing,
listening, speaking, critical thinking, and experience) for the
purposeof enhancing knowledge and skills, in various areas of
interest that</div>
<div>students deem worthy.</div>
<div><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Everything
you say, I agree with you - in theory. What you describe
is what I believe good literacy instruction should be - for those
who acquire literacy in the natural language learning process - read
together, write together, talk about it, examine, expand and involve
all their intelligences. Learning within social interaction,
stretching the learning within the Zone of Proximal Development,
Yes! That's what I practiced in the early childhood classroom
to promote young children's early literacy learning and that's the
instruction we used when I started in adult literacy instruction
three years ago. I would have embraced your Sample Lesson,
turning speech into print, language experience, etc.- back
then. We encouraged student writing; there is power in their
stories. Frank Smith is correct. </font><font face="Times"
size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">However, what
I have discovered for the adults who come to our Literacy Center is
that this theory does not work in practice for them. These
adults failed to learn to read as children because they have a
neurological dysfunction which prevents accurate processing of the
basic building blocks of language, i.e., phonemes. That's why
the Shankweiler research IS pertinent to this discussion.
Reading failure occurred as children. What happens in the brains of
children continues in the brains of adults. In a longitudinal
study, Scarborough (1990) identified deficient language patterns in 2
1/2 year olds who 5 years later were experiencing reading
difficulties. They cannot learn within the "natural
language setting" because they are not natural language
learners.</font><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Research into
the cause of reading failure supports what I am learning from adults
in the daily practice of adult literacy instruction. The
failure to learn to read is caused by language-based learning
disability which cannot be successfully addressed within the balanced
literacy instruction approach (whole language with skill development
as needed). The "as needed" approach does not meet
the many voids in understanding language. Research with
children is clear -remediation of this disability requires direct,
multisensory, systematic instruction with a multitude of
opportunities for practice. (see the limited bibliography at
the end of this posting)</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">You ask what
percentage of adults in community-based literacy and ABE programs
fall within this category of language-based learning
disabilities. I don't know. I have read that 17% of
populations (regardless of the language) experience this
disability. Reid Lyon (1999), chief researcher of the National
Institutes for Child Health and Development (NICHD), which has
spearheaded literacy research, states that this disability affects
one in five Americans. An educated guess would be that MOST
adults who come for reading help ARE within this 17-20%. (Read
the posting on the NIFL-LD listserv, titled RE: Comprehension
improvement by Sharon Teruya, for a full discussion.) The
modest progress you find in measuring with LVA READ and CASAS - do
you find persons becoming fully independent with literacy?
Without the systematic development of skills and an understanding of
the structure of words and language, the modest progress reaches a
ceiling beyond which these students do not move. (Case in
point, John Corcoran, in his autobiography,<u> The Teacher Who
Couldn't Read</u>, was taken to the 3rd grade reading level by his
literacy tutor, but it was not until he received direct instruction
in phonological processing skills using the Lindamood Bell method did
he move into full reading competence.)</font><font face="Times"
size="+1" color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Let me
clarify. Perhaps you have the conception that instruction in
phonological processing skills is devoid of text reading.
No! The goal of all reading is comprehension. Literacy is
"being developed as it is applied," as you stated in WRS
instruction. Reading is not "separated from writing, nor
is listening from speaking." Every Wilson Reading System
lesson incorporates text reading - in topics written for adults,
using words and concepts they are mastering. This gives them
opportunities for success - reading without guessing, learning to
trust what they know. They move into metacognitiion - learning
how to think about the structure of language. This is
respectful, not condescending, of their needs. </font><font
face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">You cite an
eloquent quote from one of your adult new readers, and I have heard
many adults give positive self reports of reading progress.
They do make some progress. But in most cases they continue to
struggle with basic decoding skills. We MUST give them
opportunities to build the skills so that they can "develop
their knowledge and potential".</font><font face="Times"
size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Are you ready
for a paradigm shift? Thanks for continuing to ponder these
issues with me!</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Anne
Murr</font><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Adult
Literacy Center</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Drake
University, Des Moines IA</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1"
color="#000000">anne.murr@drake.edu </font><font face="Times"
size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Fowler, A.E.
& Scarborough, H.S. (1993) Should reading-disabled
adults be distinguished from other adults seeking literacy
instruction: A review of theory and research.
Philadelphia, PA: National Center on Adult Literacy, Technical
Report TR93-7.</font><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Hatcher,
P.J., Hulme, C. & Ellis, A. (1994) Ameliorating early
reading failure by integrating the teaching of reading and
phonological skills: The phonological linkage
hypothesis. <u> Child Development, 65,</u> 41-57.</font><font
face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Iverson, S.
& Tunmer, W. E. (1993) Phonological processing skills and
the reading recovery program. <u> Journal of Educational
Psychology, 85,</u> 112-126.</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Lundberg, I.,
Frost, J. Peterson, O. (1988). Effects of an extensive
program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool
children.<u> Reading Research Quarterly, 23</u>, 263-283.</font><font
face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Lyon,
R. (1995). Toward a definition of dyslexia. <u> Annals of
Dyslexia, 45,</u> 3-27.</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Pratt, A.C.,
Brady, S. (1988). Relation of phonological awareness to reading
disability in children and adults. <u> Journal of Educational
Psychology, 80,</u> 319-323.</font><font face="Times" size="+1"
color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Scarborough,
H.S. (1984). Continuity between childhood dyslexia and adult
reading. <u> British Journal of Psychology, 75</u>,
329-348.</font><font face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica" size="+1" color="#000000">Scarborough,
H.S. (1990). Very early language deficits in dyslexic
children. <u> Child Development, 61</u>, 1728-1743.</font><font
face="Times" size="+1" color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
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</html>
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