<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;">Seems as if all the specialists have got it wrong! As the US comes in near the bottom in international testing with reading and writing, perhaps it's time to look at other more successful countries and how they achieve much higher literacy rates. I've also found that the best way to get people to start reading, is to find books that interest them, that they can associate with. And, always, to have them writing in response to what they are reading. The more they read and write, the more they are comfortable with the language.<br><br>Christie<br><br>--- On <b>Tue, 12/2/08, kolgin@glendale.edu <i><kolgin@glendale.edu></i></b> wrote:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">From: kolgin@glendale.edu <kolgin@glendale.edu><br>Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3207] Re: I don't
understand the current thinking behind teaching reading to adults!<br>To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List" <englishlanguage@nifl.gov><br>Cc: englishlanguage@nifl.gov<br>Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 1:02 PM<br><br><pre>> Well, Ali congratulations. You've hit the nail right on the head. In<br>Pearson's Reading in the Twentieth Century, he comments on how "other<br>disciplines thought that the educationalists had got it all wrong, and it<br>was time for another group to have their say"(p.11). So, the<br>different disciplines took a crack at how to read including the<br>linguists, psycolinguists,cognitive psychologists, sociolinguists,<br>philosophers literary critics and critical theorists. And then the US<br>Health Department (NICHD)and religous right threw in their two cents. If<br>you go to an International Reading Association Conference, you will find a<br>hundred methods to reading all claiming to be a panacea. The
problem is<br>there is no size fits all when it comes to reading. In my experience, I<br>have had the best result with shared reading (a form of LEA) and<br>Literature Circles (higher levels). I have the opinion that reading and<br>writing need to be connected. That is, they need to be taught together<br>and not separately. Although the book's focus is children,Beyond<br>Traditional Phonics: Research Discoveries and Reading Instruction<br>(Moustafa, 1997)was an eye opener for me.<br>Reading for adult;especially, low level educated adults has become a deep<br>interest to many. Welcome to the club.<br>Kirk Olgin<br>Glendale College<br><br>Hello all.<br>> My name is Ali Hesami, and I am currently a graduate student in the<br>adult<br>> literacy program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond,<br>Virginia.<br>> I've been attending a class called "Teaching Reading to<br>Adults" as part<br>of<br>> my required curriculum, and I have been
wondering about the current<br>methods<br>> used to teach reading to adults. It seems to me that the teacher teach<br>adults just as they would teach children, often even using research and<br>writing on teaching reading to children as guidelines.<br>> While I understand the usefulness of phonics, phonetics, etc. by<br>themselves,<br>> I firmly believe that an adult can better benefit from learning to read<br>by<br>> simply reading in a classroom environment, guided by teachers, tutors,<br>etc.<br>> An adult in his or her 40s or even 50s simply should not have to sit<br>through<br>> long sessions of syllable by syllable instruction if all they desire id<br>to<br>> be better able to communicate with others and better express their<br>opinions<br>> about the world surrounding them.<br>> I speak from experience here. I began learning English as a 14 year old<br>in<br>> an international school in Tanzania. I placed into the 9th
grade to<br>start;<br>> no one ever even approached phonics, phonemes, etc. I read and listened,<br>all<br>> the while guided by teachers who helped me with the material at hand. I<br>became conversational in about three months or so, while I worked on my<br>writing, also with guidance from my teachers. Conversely, while in school<br>> in<br>> my native Tehran, Iran, I was taught English in a similar manner as<br>here,<br>> and I spoke a grand total of three phrases when I left Iran for<br>Tanzania:<br>> Hello, Fine thank you, and Beg your pardon? I'm not even joking here!<br>I<br>admit as a 14 year old I had an advantage over adults here, but I<br>can't<br>> help but wonder if what worked for me would help adults much more than<br>playing word games and reading children's books.<br>> Let's have them read material they can identify with in some way, and<br>keep<br>> them reading, while slowly working on their writing skill
alongside. Let<br>me know any thoughts, ideas, criticisms, etc. It has been eating<br>away<br>> at<br>> me for a few months now.<br>> Thanks in advance,<br>> Ali Hesami<br>> hesamiar@gmail.com<br>> ----------------------------------------------------<br>> National Institute for Literacy<br>> Adult English Language Learners mailing list<br>> EnglishLanguage@nifl.gov<br>> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to<br>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage<br>> Email delivered to kolgin@glendale.edu<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------<br>National Institute for Literacy<br>Adult English Language Learners mailing list<br>EnglishLanguage@nifl.gov<br>To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to<br>http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/englishlanguage<br>Email delivered to
scrivenerplus@yahoo.com<br></pre></blockquote></td></tr></table><br>