Literacy

We are teaching a huge variety of students. Some may be able to communicate their needs orally but not read and write in English. Others may be a beginner in all skills. Every student is going to have varying experiences and this affects the materials you select, your instructional focus, and the rate of your students’ progress.
PRE-LITERATE
Pre-literate students come from an oral language tradition. For this reason, the concept of communicating through reading and writing can be difficult to grasp. Holding a pen and opening a book are all new experiences. It is important for pre-literate students to have a foundation of oral language skills before focusing on reading and writing.
NON-LITERATE
Non-literate students come from a culture with a written language, but they have had little or no exposure to literacy in their first or second language. They did not have any formal schooling and did not learn any native language literacy. For non-literate students, instruction should still emphasize the connection between spoken and written language.
SEMI-LITERATE
Semi-literate students have some but minimal literacy in their own language. They may be very nervous and hesitant and lack confidence in their literacy skills.
NON-ROMAN ALPHABET LITERATE
Students may speak and are literate in a language that does not have a Roman alphabet. Some writing systems are alphabetic and some are not. Chinese is symbolic where symbols represent a word or idea rather than separate sounds. Arabic is alphabetic where the symbols represent sounds, but it is not a Roman alphabet. Students from these backgrounds can transfer skills from one language to another even if the script is completely different. These students have usually had some schooling in their native language. If you have an opportunity to watch your students read or write in their native languages, note their comfort level. Do they write with ease? If so, they probably have good native language literacy skills.


If you are unsure where your students are in literacy, try the following activities.

If students are pre-literate, you may find them unable to complete any of the tasks.

1 Can my students write their names in English?
2 Can my students identify any basic sight words from cards?
3 When pointing to the following letters, do my students have a concept of what sounds they make?
4 Can my students complete an English alphabet cloze exercise?
5 Can my students copy sentences in English?
6 Can my students read simple sentences in English?
7 Can my students write simple dictated sentences?
8 What are my students. educational backgrounds?

Whatever you discover about your students. levels, what you teach must have meaning for them.
Start with oral language and begin to make connections to the written word.

Next month we will look at some more differences and ways to teach.