I hope this is clarified-- it is awfully difficult to discuss certain 
methods of instruction or intervention without mentioning the products 
that embody them.  People can choose to buy them or not, but they need 
to know the systems are available out there.  Otherwise we end up with 
half-effective attempts to recreate things that are often valid and 
widely used.   Robin Schwarz

-----Original Message-----
From: Elsa Auerbach <elsa.auerbach at umb.edu>
To: The English Language Learners Discussion List 
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 08:52:43 -0500
Subject: Re: [EnglishLanguage] [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue 
of "Focus on Basics"

Could you clarify the policy on promoting commercial products? I notice 
that
the writer of this letter is also the producer of the product being
promoted.

Thanks,

Elsa Auerbach

On 12/20/05 7:12 AM, "John Nissen" <jn at cloudworld.co.uk> wrote:


>

> Hello Kathy,

>

> I am interested to hear of your new ESOL lab school in Oregon, and so 

the

> application of synthetic phonics for ESL needs to be discussed.  I 

have just

> subscribed to the English Language list (on ESL/ESOL) so as to allow 

people

> on that list to join in the discussion.

>

> Looking up research on the synthetic phonics for children with 

English as a

> second or other language, I found a marvellous paper, called "The End 

of

> Illiteracy", full of useful information:

> http://www.cps.org.uk/pdf/pub/52.pdf

>

> In this paper, Jolly Phonics is often quoted, as one of the first 

programmes

> to support synthetic phonics.

>

> Some schools that have been studied have significant proportions of 

ESL

> pupils.  For example, there was research at the University of Toronto:

> -------

> K. Sumbler and D. Willows (1996) "Phonological Awareness and 

Alphabetic

> Coding Instruction within Balanced Senior Kindergartens", Paper 

presented at

> the National Reading Conference, S. C.; December, 1996

>

>

>

> In this study, kindergarten pupils from eight suburban Toronto primary

> schools (N=281) were divided into ten experimental (Jolly Phonics) 

and ten

> control groups. The Jolly Phonics group (N=151) had 33% of ESL 

pupils, and

> the controls (N=130) 18%.  The post-test results near the end of 

senior

> kindergarten showed the Jolly Phonics pupils with a very substantial

> advantage on every measure. On the WRAT-3 reading test, their average 

score

> was 107.5, compared to 101.3 for the controls. The advantage on the 

WRAT-3

> Spelling test was 104.8 to 98.1.  The data were also analysed to 

determine

> what happened to pupils who were adjudged "at-risk" from low pre-test 

scores

> in letter-naming. Post-test scores showed that between 1/4 and 2/3

> (depending upon the measure) of the Jolly Phonics at-risk pupils were

> performing at acceptable levels; by contrast, "...the distribution of

> control at-risk children changed little"

>

> -------

>

> I believe that good results can be obtained also with adult ESL 

learners.

> In fact synthetic phonics appears to be wholly inclusive, covering 

people

> with dyslexia and ethnic minorities, from children to adults, in 

whatever

> context.  Does anybody have any evidence to the contrary?

>

> Cheers from Chiswick,

>

> John

>

> John Nissen

> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk

> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.

> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:

> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm

> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202

> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

>

>

>

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: "K Olson" <kolson2 at columbus.rr.com>

> To: "'The Focus on Basics Discussion List'" <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>; 

"'The

> Technology and Literacy Discussion List'" <technology at nifl.gov>

> Cc: <familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov>; "'Debbie Hepplewhite'"

> <debbie at syntheticphonics.com>

> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 6:02 PM

> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on 

Basics"

>

>

>> John,

>>

>> The lack of research on evidence-based adult education is a major 

reason

>> why

>> the ESOL lab school in Oregon was established. It provides 

documentation

>> through video and audio for teachers/researchers to observe what 

happens

>> in the classroom and which particular teaching approaches are more

>> successful.

>> This issue of Focus on Basics describes some of the research that 

has been

>> carried on to date. It is my hope that we will someday (soon, I 

hope!)

>> have research which shows or at least hints at which reading methods

>> produce the best results.  Having said that, though, I am well aware 

that

>> the answer is not so simple as our students come with varying 

degrees of

>> reading abilities

>> in their native languages and thus are not starting out from the same

>> minimal reading abilities that entering school children are. In 

addition,

>> while primary teachers have their students for six or more hours a 

day,

>> adult education teachers do not. We have no way to determine whether 

our

>> students actually learned their reading outside of class, through

>> self-study, from their children, etc. In other words, there are so 

many

>> variables to control for that it does make scientifically-based 

research

>> very, very difficult.

>>

>> Kathy Olson

>>

>>

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov

>> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at nifl.gov]

>> On Behalf Of John Nissen

>> Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 5:52 PM

>> To: The Technology and Literacy Discussion List

>> Cc: familyliteracy at dev.nifl.gov; Debbie Hepplewhite;

>> focusonbasics at nifl.gov

>> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on 

Basics"

>>

>>

>> Hello all,

>>

>> I am trying to find out how one should teach literacy skills to 

adults. It

>> has been suggested on several lists to visit the NCSALL web site, 

and look

>> at research.

>>

>> So I looked at the site and found the EBAEP model (draft for 

comment),

>> 

http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmin/resources/research/ebaep_model_monograph.
pdf

>> which is about Evidence-Based Adult Education, to find out what 

evidence

>> there was to support particular approaches to literacy, such as

>> systematic/synthetic phonics versus whole language.  There was almost

>> nothing there.  Worse, the teachers are expected to evaluate the 

research

>> themselves, to decide how best to teach!  But no sources were given 

as to

>> where there is good evidence for one method or another.

>>

>> In particular I looked at pages 77-78, the section 27 on 

"Instructional

>> approaches".  Quoting from this:

>> "Teachers need to understand why to use a particular technique, not

>> just how to use it; they need the underlying foundational theory of

>> teaching and learning that will allow them to integrate new thinking

>> with new actions."

>>

>> Now I know for children about the foundational theory, and evidence 

in

>> practice, that systematic phonics works.  On the other hand, there 

is no

>> scientific theory, or evidence, that the whole language approach 

works -

>> because it doesn't.  See Scientific American, March 2002.  (And 

mixing

>> methods doesn't work either.)

>>

>> The March 2002 Scientific American put it well: "Because the 

controversy

>> [between phonics and whole-language] is enmeshed in the philosophical

>> differences between traditional and progressive approaches. The

>> progressives challenge the results of laboratory tests and classroom

>> studies on the basis

>> of a broad philosophical scepticism about the value of such 

research." In

>> other words, they are willing to ignore solid research that 

contradicts

>> their beloved theories, theories that keep kids from reading.

>>

>> So I am trying to find if anybody has used systematic/synthetic 

phonics on

>> adults, because if it works on children I see no reason why it 

should not

>> work on adults, given suitable initial teaching material (so as not 

to

>> appear "childish").  The phonics approach must:

>>

>> 1.   establish that the alphabetic principle is fully understood by 

the

>> student;

>> 2.   work on phonemic awareness, so that all 44 phonemes can be 

recognised

>> within words;

>> 3.  make sure common letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) correspondences

>> are known;

>> 4.  work on the basic skill of segmentation (for spelling);

>> 5.  work on the basic skill of blending (for decoding and reading).

>>

>> After a basic reading skill level has been reached, with simple 

reading

>> material:

>>

>> 6.  add vocabulary to allow comprehension of increasingly advanced 

reading

>> material.

>>

>> It seems to me, as a scientist by training, that the above approach 

is

>> sound.  The evidence of the Clackmannanshire study, shows that the

>> approach

>> works for everybody, including 'dyslexics' and childen with special 

needs.

>> In this study of 300 children in a deprived area of Scotland there 

were no

>> non-readers after synthetic phonics had been introduced!

>>

>> Anyway, the UK government is now convinced, and is going to adopt

>> synthetic phonics for schools.  See

>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4485062.stm.

>> Should we adopt it for adults?

>>

>> Cheers from Chiswick,

>>

>> John

>>

>>

>> John Nissen

>> Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk

>> maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.

>> Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:

>> http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm

>> Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202

>> Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

>>

>>

>>

>> ----- Original Message -----

>> From: "Mariann Fedele" <mariannf at lacnyc.org>

>> To: "The Technology and Literacy Discussion List" 

<technology at nifl.gov>

>> Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 9:04 PM

>> Subject: [Technology] New Issue of "Focus on Basics"

>>

>>

>> Hello All,

>> The following message is from Barb Garner.

>> Best,

>> Mariann

>>

>> ***************

>> The newest issue of "Focus on Basics" is now on NCSALL's web site,

>> http://www.ncsall.net. It's on ESOL and features research from 

NCSALL's

>> ESOL Lab School.

>>

>> ----------------------------------------------------

>> National Institute for Literacy

>> Focus on Basics mailing list

>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov

>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

>>

>>

>> ----------------------------------------------------

>> National Institute for Literacy

>> Focus on Basics mailing list

>> FocusOnBasics at nifl.gov

>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

>> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

>>

>

>

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