I appreciate everything that has been posted regarding my ESL question. Teaching comprehension and accuracy simultaneously to an ESL who is a novice reader is SO incredibly difficult.
When I tutored children who only spoke Arabic and Chaldean to read in English, I focused more on syntax and phonetics before advancing to semantics. I found that it was much more effective to have those particular students focus on one concept of the English language rather than drill their mind with ways to learn how to read. An ESL student picking up a book for the very first time is a lot like walking around a dessert in the middle of a dessert with a map that is kidnapped by the wind and settled elsewhere. Reading is frustrating....for anybody. But, with the right tools at hand, it's a possible accomplishment. To me, I persisted only because my reading teacher persisted. She tried every method to try to get me to learn how to read. All it takes is one person to care about another person's education to make a world of a difference. IN response to Elisa, I actually just finished The Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmina Khadra myself! It was absolutely lovely. It almost felt like I was reading my life story. Khadra is a great French author. I wish more of his books were translated in English because I do appreciate his writing style. I'd also recommend The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini if you are given the opportunity for a free read. Again, thank you to all who took the time to respond and provide such wonderful insight. -Marlene Azzo _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
