TSLB3073

Teaching of Reading and Writing Skills in the Primary ESL Classroom

1. Approaches to Teaching Reading

WEEK 1 & 2
 1. Approaches to Teaching Reading
WEEK 1 & 2

Phonics
Sight Word
Reading aloud
Whole Language
Language Experience
 KSSR
READING
2.1 Pupils will be able to apply knowledge of sounds of letters to
recognise
words in linear and non-linear texts.

2.1.1 Able to recognise and articulate initial, medial and the final
sounds in single syllable words within given context:
(a) /e/ (ai ) /i:/ (ee) /a/ (igh) // (oa) //,/u:/ (oo)

2.1.2 Able to blend phonemes into recognisable words and read them
aloud.

2.1.3 Able to segment words into phonemes to spell.

 KSSR
READING
2.2 Pupils will be able to demonstrate understanding of a variety of linear and
non-linear texts in the form of print and non-print materials using a range of
strategies to construct meaning.

2.2.2 Able to read and understand phrases in linear and non-linear texts.
2.2.3 Able to read and understand simple sentences in linear and non-linear
texts.
2.2.4 Able to read and understand a paragraph of 5-8 simple sentences.

2.3 Pupils will be able to read independently for information and enjoyment.

2.3.1 Able to read simple texts with guidance:

(a) fiction
(b) non-fiction
 Approaches To Teach Reading

Reading ability is best developed in association with

writing, listening and speaking activities. Even in those
courses that may be labelled reading, your goals can
be best achieved by capitalizing on the interrelationship
of skills, especially the reading-writing connection.

Itis a mistake to rely on one approach to teach reading

because a method that works for one child may not work
at all for another.
 Approaches To Teach Reading

Good teachers have recognised that children learn

in different ways and need different strategies.
They are using phonics, sight word,
reading aloud, whole language and
language experience method.
 Phonics Approach

Teaches word recognition through learning the relation to

the letters (graphemes), to the sounds (phonemes) they
represent to teach reading.
Most languages have consistent phoneme to grapheme
correlation.
Once a learner has learned the relationships of letters to
sounds, they can pronounce printed words by blending
the sounds together.

 Phonics Approach

An alphabetic, phonic approach to teaching

reading has been used for centuries. In the 19th
century, this kind of approach began to be called
phonics. Since then it has been further developed
and modified. Today a phonics approach is used in
varying degrees in most reading instructions. This
approach has been included in the KSSR syllabus.
 Phonics Approach
A phonics approach teaches the relation of the letters
(graphemes) to the sounds (phonemes) they represent. The
theory behind the phonics approach is based on two
assumptions: most languages have consistent phonemes
(sound) to grapheme (letter) correlation.

Once children have learned the relationships of the letters to

the sounds, they can pronounce printed words by blending
the sounds together. Knowing these relationships helps early
readers recognize familiar words accurately and automatically
and "decode" new words.
 Phonics Approach

Though this approach has been well received, there are

some grey areas which makes it not a complete model or a
stand alone approach to teach early reading.

For instance, a child can use phonics to work out that b-a-t
means bat because the letters represent their most
common sounds; but phonics is of no help in reading eye
/ai/ as there is no correspondence between the letters and
the sounds the letters represent.
 Phonics Approach
English has its many irregularities, therefore it makes it
harder for ESL learners to identify unfamiliar words. The use
of phonics assumes that once readers know how a word is
pronounced, they will associate it with a spoken word they
already know and therefore understands it.

The problem may arise especially with intermediate pupils

who may come upon a new word which they have not heard
of. So working out how a word might be pronounced is not
going to guarantee understanding.
 Phonics Approach

Phonics may be useful and helpful at the initial

stages of developing reading but it needs to be
supported by other methods as the readers
reading proficiency develops.
 Guidelines for TeachingPhonics

Use lowercase letters for beginning instructions.

Introduce most useful skills first
Introduce easy sounds and letters first
Introduce new letter-sound associations at a
reasonable pace.
Introduce vowels early, but teach consonants first
Emphasise the common sounds of letters first
 Guidelines for TeachingPhonics

Teach continuous sounds prior to stop sounds

Teach sound blending early
Introduce consonant blends
Introduce consonant digraphs
Introduce regular words prior to irregular ones.
Read connected text that reinforces phonics
patterns.
 Regular Word Reading Progression
Sounding Saying Whole Sight Word Automatic Word
Out Word Reading
Sounding out
Saying each Saying each word in your
individual sound individual sound head, if necessary, Reading the word
out loud and saying the without sounding
and pronouncing
whole word it out
whole word

beg beg beg beg

 Phonics Approach

Systematic and explicit phonics

instruction significantly improves
kindergarten and PRIMARY 1 children's
word recognition and spelling.

Do you agree with the quote above?

Justify your answer.
 Sight Word Approach

Sight word/Tricky Words

acquisition is an important building
block in the construction of a childs
ability to read.

What are sight words?

 Sight Word Approach

Sight words are words that appear so

often in a text that readers are able to read by
sight without having to decode them. Sight words
are also words that cannot be decoded and must
be memorised by sight. Knowing these high
frequency words and being able to recognise non-
decodable words by sight are extremely important
skills for reading fluency.
 Sight Word Approach

Sightwords are words that a reader can

recognize on sight or without any need
to think about what they could be.
These sight words enable the reader to
handle the decoding automatically.
 Sight Word Approach

Six word attack strategies:

Configuration Clues
Picture Clues
Contextual Clues
Dictionary
Using Structural analysis
Phonemic clues
 What are Sight Words?

As you would be well aware, not all

English words can be sounded out
or decoded using graphophonics. As
is the case with many languages,
most of the irregular words are
the words in most common use.
 Sight Word Approach

In order to read well, children need

to read sight words very quickly.
Memorisation of sight words is
necessary and few words at a time
are highly recommended.
 Sight Word Approach

The objectives of teaching sight words are to:

enable pupils to associate the appearance of
each sight word with its sound or
pronunciation (sight to sound correspondence)
read sight words in context
recognise sight words quickly and effortlessly.
(rapid recognition)
 Sight Word Approach

Based on your experience, what kind of

practice can you do to achieve the above
objectives?
Work in groups of 3/4.
Reading Aloud
 Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is an instructional practice where

teachers, parents and caregivers read texts
aloud to children.
Thereader incorporates variations in pitch,
tone, pace, volume, pauses, eye-contact,
questions and comments to produce a fluent
and enjoyable delivery.
 Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is a powerful way to engage

children in literacy process. Reading aloud to
children builds and supports their listening
and speaking abilities and enhances their
overall language development.
 Reading Aloud

Reading Aloud Skills

Enunciation
Pronunciation
Stress
Intonation
Rhythm
Micro teaching
 Reading Aloud

Definitions
enunciation: 1) To articulate or pronounce (words), clearly and
distinctly
2) to state precisely or formally
pronunciation: the act, instance or manner of pronouncing sounds
intonation: the pattern or melody of pitch changes in connected
speech, especially the pitch patter of a sentence
rhythm: a pattern of beat, accent evident in speech forms. Flow,
pulse, cadence of speech. In music, rhythm, the beat.
Definitions, Dictionary.com, July 2012.
 Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is used to practice

enunciation, stress, intonation and
reinforce what has been learnt in class.
Reading aloud allows pupils to hear contents
several times and rephrase their English
pronunciation and enunciation internally and in
spoken language.
 Reading Aloud Benefits

encourages independent reading

increases the quality and quantity of independent reading
helps pupils with pronunciation
creates interests in books
is useful for pupils to read independently
improves listening and provides pronunciation practice
enables teachers to model good reading
helps pupils internalize language and structures they will
apply to their own reading one day.
 Reading Aloud

Technique-Usually a group activity

Problem-
Teacher needs to be sensitive to pupils who cannot
read aloud well.

Reading aloud can make readers nervous and

therefore does not accurately represent student
reading ability.
Whole Language Approach
 Whole Language Approach

In the simplest term, the whole language

approach is a method of teaching children to read by
recognizing words as whole pieces of language. Proponents of
the whole language philosophy believe that language should
not be broken down into letters and combinations of letters
and decoded. Instead, they believe that language is a
complete system of making meaning, with words functioning
in relation to each other in context.
 Whole Language Approach

Constructivist Theory
Whole language is a constructivist approach to
education; constructivist teachers emphasize that
students create (construct) their own knowledge from
what they encounter.
Whole languagedescribes a literacy philosophy which
emphasizes that children should focus on meaning and
strategy instruction.
 Whole Language Approach

Constructivist instructors see learning as a cognitive

experience unique to each learners own perspective and
prior knowledge, which forms the framework for new
knowledge.
 Whole Language Approach

Making Meaning of Text

The important thing for parents of elementary students to know is
that whole language reading instruction focuses on helping children
to make meaning of what they read and to express meaning in
what they write.
Some important aspects of the whole language philosophy include
an emphasis on high quality literature, a focus on cultural diversity,
and integration of literacy instruction across the subject areas.
Whole language reading instruction creates many opportunities for
children to read, either independently, with other children in small
guided reading groups, and being read aloud to by the teacher.
 Whole Language Approach

The Role of Writing

Whole language teachers believe that children learn to read by
writing, and vice versa. They encourage children to read and
write for real purposes, with nonfiction texts and
interpretation of what they read forming much of the basis of
their assignments.
The whole language approach to reading also stresses the love
of literature and the use of engaging texts to help children
develop that love. Teachers who use this approach exclusively
do not place heavy emphasis in the early grades on spelling
and grammar, which can make some parents uncomfortable.
 Whole Language Approach

The Role of Writing

The whole language philosophy emphasizes childrens
efforts to make meaning and seek meaning in language;
therefore, correcting errors places the focus on technical
correctness, which is not where whole language teachers
believe it should be.
The effective whole language teacher hears and sees
through the childs errors, using the information gained
for formative assessment, then creates experiences that
help the child to acquire the correct structure and form.
 Whole Language Approach

Cons of the Whole Language Approach

Aside from overlooking spelling and technical
mistakes, the whole language approach can also
present problems for students with reading
difficulties. Students with dyslexia and other
language processing disorders need explicit
instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics,
and decoding in order to improve their reading
skills.
 Whole Language Approach

Cons of the Whole Language Approach

With the high prevalance of processing disorders (15-20%
of all students), many reformers believe explicit and
systematic phonemic instruction should be used to
teach every student how to read - in order to prevent
these students from falling behind. The whole language
approach works for many students, but explicit and
systematic phonics instruction works for students of all
levels (and greatly decreases spelling and pronunciation
errors).
 Whole Language Approach

What Does the Research Say?

Because of disagreements over the years about which
type of reading instruction is best, phonics or whole
language, the National Reading Panel began a study in
1997 to settle the debate.
In 2000, the Panel released its findings, stating that
there are five essential components that must be
taught in an effective reading program: phonemic
awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary
development, and reading comprehension.
Language Experience Approach
What is the language experience
approach?

The language experience approach

(LEA) is a whole language approach
that promotes reading and writing
through the use of personal
experiences and oral language.
 Language Experience Approach

Language experience approach is suitable for all levels of learners.

By using the Language Experience Approach (LEA) to teach
beginning readers how to read, pupils can connect their life
experiences with learning written words. The unique factor about this
approach is that the pupils own words are recorded or used as they
describe the event or activity. This allows them to interact with the
text and gain knowledge and understanding through their
experience.

The LEA can be used with individual pupils or group. While it is most
commonly used with young emerging readers, it is also effective for
teaching struggling readers.
 Procedure To Use The Learning Experience Approach

1.Have the pupils choose an experience that they would like to

write about. For groups, this should be a shared experience such
as a field trip or an activity that the whole class had participated
in.
For individual pupils, it could be anything that the pupil feels is
important or interesting, such as a family activity, a story about
their pet or favorite toy, or even a television show or movie that
they enjoyed. The language experience approach can also be used
to create fictional stories.
2. Discuss the experience with the pupils. This helps them to
clarify what they want to write about, organize their thoughts, and
come up with specific, descriptive vocabulary.
 Procedure To Use The Learning Experience Approach

3. Write the story down as the pupils dictate it. For groups, have pupils
take turns dictating sentences describing their experience. Record what
they say on large chart paper, repeating the words as they are written.
For individual pupils, this can be done on a single sheet of paper, or it
can be made into a book. The writing should be done in neat, large
print rather than cursive, to make it easier for the pupils to read.

Try to stick to the pupils' own words exactly as they are spoken with a
minimum of correction for grammar or sentence structure. It is
important for pupils to see their own words in print, because they have
a personal connection to the words.
 Procedure To Use The Learning Experience Approach

4. Read the text aloud. Point to each word as you read it aloud.
After reading the text to the pupils, have them reread it aloud.
With a group, call on individual pupils to read sentences, or have
them read chorally as a group while pointing to each word. Pupils
can illustrate their individual texts and read them aloud to the
class.

Since the words that the pupils dictate are familiar and are used
in a meaningful context, pupils will be able to read more difficult
vocabulary than they might ordinarily be able to if they simply