Phonics and reading comprehension for an adult ESL learner

[Ame E.]

I have recently become a literacy volunteer.

 

My student has had no phonics, and pronounces words randomly.  She can sound out some words, but not others.  She does not know spelling rules.  She has issues with fluency.

 

I do not know what her reading level is.

 

Because I taught my kids with phonics, using a Spaulding based method, I am trying to do the same with her...  I downloaded my own flashcards for the phonograms.. 

 

I also suggested that she listen to a book on tape, and try to read along...  We picked Little House on the Prairie and she really likes it..  This book motivated her to try and read parts of the book outloud on her own...  and her fluency was better than it had been.

 

I am a bit over my head with all this.   I am looking for a Spaulding based program that would be applicable for adults... and basically the literacy place I go to has very limited resources.  I would like to buy this for my student, but not spend a ton of money.  I want to coordinate phonics with reading and spelling and comprehension.  Right now I am doing this, but it is time consuming, and I'd like something prepackaged.. 

 

Any feedback for me? 

 

Thanks

[Ellie]

I know many people who have taught Spalding (notice the spelling) in situations similar to yours. :-) 

[Ame E.]

Thanks for the spelling correction. 

 

Debating between

Sound Beginnings  - Used this before..  Very user friendly... but geared towards younger children...  and lessons are daily.

All about Reading

Alice Nine's Reading Program

Riggs

Teaching Reading at Home

 

Which of these would be most suitable for ESL student meeting 2 to 3 times per week? 

Which is the least expensive?

 

How do I coordinate the phonics part with the reading from Little House?

 

I have been using other resources (worksheets) to help reinforce the phonograms.  But I would like something that came with worksheet and practice. 

 

Thanks

 

[Ellie]

Thanks for the spelling correction. 

 

Debating between

Sound Beginnings  - Used this before..  Very user friendly... but geared towards younger children...  and lessons are daily.

All about Reading

Alice Nine's Reading Program

Riggs

Teaching Reading at Home

 

Which of these would be most suitable for ESL student meeting 2 to 3 times per week? 

Which is the least expensive?

 

How do I coordinate the phonics part with the reading from Little House?

 

I have been using other resources (worksheets) to help reinforce the phonograms.  But I would like something that came with worksheet and practice. 

 

Thanks

 

I'd have to recommend Spalding. None of the ones you listed is Spalding. :-)

 

Spalding would be pretty inexpensive, as all you need is the manual (Writing Road to Reading), a set of phonogram cards, and a black-and-white composition notebook. There are no worksheets; you don't need them. 

[Hunter]

Are you teaching handwriting?

 

I tend to gravitate towards Spalding or a Spalding knock-off when I am NOT teaching handwriting.

 

When I'm aggressively also teaching cursive handwriting, I usually use How to Tutor or Alpha Phonics. Don Potter has a lot of free resources for How to Tutor and Alpha-Phonics. He has used Alpha-Phonics with adult prisoners. He includes phonograph flashcards and a chart showing the phonographs translated into the respellings from the American Heritage Dictionary. Also progress charts and homework assignments. And a handwriting curriculum. The texts are available as hardcopies, Kindles and pdfs.

http://www.donpotter.net/reading_clinic.html

 

All programs have their pros and cons. Few are entirely better than the others. It's hard to pick.

 

Oh, and for left-handed LD students, I use the cursive instructions in Writing Road to Reading 6th edition. I do like the Don Potter instructions for right-handed students, though, and they like the more grown up look of it.

[Hunter]

And for literature, my ESL students love Hemingway. The sentences are shorter and the language less fussy. Audible.com has some lovely recordings.

 

And the nonfiction section of the children's department. I had one student who just loved the section on diseases. Sometimes you need to drag them kicking and screaming into the kid's department, or bring books to them, but soon they go there on their own.

[Ame E.]

Thank you Hunter!  I am not teaching handwriting, as her handwriting is okay.  She needs to learn punctuation and grammar, but handwriting is fine.  I do not know if she knows cursive.  

 

Ame

[Hunter]

Everything You Need to Know About English Homework has a nice summary of punctuation rules. Many libraries have older editions that are just as good as the new 2011 edition. I bought my copy directly from Scholastic for $7.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-english-Homework-Scholastic-Paperback/dp/0439625459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384983399&sr=8-1&keywords=everything+homework+english

 

As for the rest of grammar--sigh! It's so hard to figure out what to prioritize!

[Hunter]

Not so much my ESL students, but my LD students look at cursive as a rite of passage, they never made, and they want cursive lessons. Cursive writing practice is calming for my mentally ill students. I can get LD students to wholly embrace phonics lessons disguised as handwriting lessons.

 

With ESL, cursive is not usually something I teach, unless I'm also dealing with LD and mental illness.

[ElizabethB]

My phonics lessons or the things on my how to tutor page also work with ESL students. Webster's Speller is especially helpful for them, it helps them figure out how and why and when to schwa.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html

[Momling]

What is her native language? My students from non-Latin alphabet languages always had a rougher time with the reading.

[Momling]

As for resources, look into Penguin ESL readers for adult ESL students. They're leveled readers and make adult popular books and classics accessible.

 

Also, I would stay away from homeschool type language or phonics materials.  What your student needs is something specific for adults learning English as a foreign language. There are plenty of materials available... Let me know if you want specific titles.

[Ame E.]

Wow!  Thank you.  Her native language does not use the Roman alphabet.  It is Eritrean.  She has been in the US for a while.

 

I need to absorb all these wonderful posts.  I loved this board when I was homeschooling, and love it now that I am tutoring.

 

I will process these posts, and get back to all of you. 

 

Morning, your comment about staying away from homeschool type materials interests me. 

 

Our literacy center has a lot of incomplete sets of things, and is difficult to navigate.  So if you have titles please share them.  Right now, I am trying to build up my own resources. 

 

As I said, the first thing she really responded to was the Little House on the Prairie.  This is something she actually enjoys and wanted to read... so we are going with that for reading practice, and listening/reading comprehension..   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hunter]

Yup, Little House has been welcome here too.

 

For Christians, the Bible is great literature. The NIrV is a great version. You can special order ESL and adult versions, but the stores usually only have Kiddie versions.

 

Easy English Bible is a great website.

http://www.easyenglish.info

 

Momling, I too am interested in your comparisons. I use both adult and kid's resources, with both adults and kids, and always have. Both types of resources have their strengths and weaknesses.