Hello colleagues, Over the years, I've encountered a number of learners who speak and understand English well, but don't read and write well. These learners typically did not have the opportunity to develop a strong literacy foundation either in their primary language or in English. Some have even graduated from high school here in the U.S. These learners are not well served in a regular ESL program.
In what ways are programs endeavoring to serve this unique population of learners?
Thanks for your input on this important issue.
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP
Comments
Susan,
This is something I also see very often. The ESL curriculum as well as online resources are often focused on language acquisition but less on reading and writing. Learners may have issues with a variety of topics ranging from letters sounds and decoding to grammar, spelling, writing, academic English, critical thinking, or advanced comprehension.
This is particularly critical in the jump from basic literacy to the more advanced comprehension and writing required to pass the GED test, take college classes, or work in an office.
Here is a list of lessons from the English 1 to 5 courses with the Learning Upgrade app. I'm sharing this because the scope and sequence of the lessons is designed to address the reading and writing issues from basic to an advanced level, rather than just focusing on language acquisition.
English 1 to 5 Lesson List
The difficulty of course is helping a group of adults all at different levels with different gaps receive systematic instruction in this variety of topics!
-- Vinod Lobo