1.

Phonemic awareness

Phonemes are the smallest units making up spoken language. English consists of about 41 phonemes.
Phonemes combine to form syllables and words. For example, the word stop has four phonemes (s-t-o-
p), while shop has three phonemes (sh-o-p). Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to identify and
manipulate these phonemes in spoken words. It is also the understanding that the sounds of spoken
language work together to make words.

Considerations when instructing ELLs in phonemic awareness

Some phonemes may not be present in ELLs' native language and, therefore, may be difficult for a
student to pronounce and distinguish auditorily, as well as to place into a meaningful context. For ELLs,
as with all students, it is important that instruction have meaning, so that the words and sounds
students are manipulating are familiar. It is therefore necessary for ELLs to have knowledge of the English
vocabulary words within which they are to understand phonemes. Teachers can teach phonemic
awareness while also explicitly teaching vocabulary words, their meaning, and their pronunciation to
ELLs.

Children's minds are trained to categorize phonemes in their first language, which may conflict with
English phonemes. For example, Spanish-speaking children may speak, read, and write ch when sh
should be used because in Spanish, these two combinations produce the same phoneme (International
Reading Association, 2001). Teachers can enable phonemic awareness in English for ELLs by
understanding the linguistic characteristics of students' native language, including the phonemes that
exist and do not exist in the native language.

Scientifically-based research suggests that ELLs respond well to meaningful activities such as language
games and word walls, especially when the activities are consistent and focus on particular sounds and
letters. Songs and poems, with their rhythm and repetition, are easily memorized and can be used to
teach phonemic awareness and print concepts to ELLs (Hiebert, et al., 1998). These rhymes exist in every
language and teachers can ask students or their parents to share these culturally relevant and teachable
rhymes with the class, and build phonemic awareness activities around them.

2. Phonics

Phonics is the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between phonemes (the sounds of
spoken language) and graphemes (the letters and spellings that represent those sounds in written
language). Readers use these relationships to recognize familiar words and to decode unfamiliar ones.

Phonics instruction is a way of teaching reading that stresses learning how letters correspond to sounds
and how to use this knowledge in reading and spelling. The goal is to help children understand that there
is a systematic and predictable relationship between written letters and spoken sounds (CIERA, 2001).

Considerations when instructing ELLs in phonics

Students who are not literate in their own language or whose language does not have a written form
may not understand some concepts and need to be taught about the functions of print (Peregoy &
Boyle, 2000).

Students may have learned to read and write in a native language in which the letters correspond to
different sounds than they do in English, or they may have learned to read and write in a language with
characters that correspond to words or portions of words. For example, "alphabetic writing systems such
as the three different ones used for English, Greek, and Russian represent speech sounds or phonemes
with letters or letter sequences. In contrast, in logographic writing systems, such as Chinese, each written
character represents a meaning unit or morpheme; while in syllabic writing systems, such as kana in
Japanese and Sequoyah's Cherokee syllabify, each written symbol represents a syllable (Peregoy & Boyle,
2000, p. 241)."

In Spanish (the native language of 77 percent of ELLs in U.S. schools, [NCBE, 2002]), the letters b, c, d, f, l,
m, n, p, q, s, and t represent sounds that are similar enough to English that they may transfer readily to
English reading for many students. Consequently, many students need minimal phonics instruction for
these consonants. In contrast, vowel letters look the same in Spanish and English but are named
differently and represent very different sounds. Therefore, English vowel sounds and their numerous
spellings present a challenge to Spanish literate students learning to read English because the one-to-
one correspondence between vowel letters and vowel sounds in Spanish does not hold true in English
(Peregoy & Boyle, 2000).

3. Vocabulary development

Vocabulary development refers to the knowledge of stored information about the meanings and
pronunciations of words necessary for communication. Vocabulary development is important for
beginning reading in that when a student comes to a word and sounds it out, he or she is also
determining if the word makes sense based on his or her understanding of the word. If a student does
not know the meaning of the word, there is no way to check if the word fits, or to make meaning from
the sentence. Vocabulary development is also a primary determinant of reading comprehension.
Readers cannot understand the content of what they are reading unless they understand the meaning of
the majority of words in the text.

Considerations when instructing ELLs in vocabulary

Vocabulary development is one of the greatest challenges to reading instruction for ELLs, because in
order to read fluently and comprehend what is written, students need to use not just phonics, but
context. It is possible for students to read completely phonetically and not comprehend what they have
read because they do not have the vocabulary. Therefore, vocabulary needs to be taught explicitly and
be a part of the daily curriculum in addition to learning to read. This can be done through class time
devoted strictly to English as a Second Language (ESL) or English Language Development (ELD).

Scientific research on vocabulary development demonstrates that children learn the majority of their
vocabulary indirectly in the following three ways:
Through conversations, mostly with adults;

Listening to adults read to them; and

Reading extensively on their own (CIERA, 2001).

This finding has serious consequences for ELLs, whose parents and other adults in their lives are often
not fluent in English. It is therefore extremely important for educators of ELLs to know and incorporate
the ways that students learn vocabulary directly, including: explicitly teaching vocabulary words before
students read a text, how to use dictionaries, how to use prefixes and suffixes to decipher word
meanings, and how to use context clues (CIERA, 2001).

In the discussion of literacy development for ELLs, it is useful to consider a theory that distinguishes the
language proficiency needed for everyday, face-to-face communication (BICS, for Basic Interpersonal
Communicative Skills) from the proficiency needed to comprehend and manipulate language in the
decontextualized educational setting (CALP, for Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) (Cummins,
1992). The BICS/CALP distinction highlights the fact that some aspects of language proficiency are
considerably more relevant for students' cognitive and academic progress than are the surface
manifestations commonly focused on by educators. Additionally, in terms of vocabulary development, it
highlights the fact that an ELL student may have the vocabulary to hold a conversation about weekend
activities, but might not have the vocabulary to comprehend a science or social studies text.

4. Reading fluency, including oral reading skills

Fluency is the ability to read words accurately and quickly. Fluent readers recognize words and
comprehend them simultaneously. Reading fluency is a critical factor necessary for reading
comprehension. If children read out loud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression, they are more
likely to comprehend and remember the material than if they read with difficulty and in an inefficient
way.

Two instructional approaches have typically been used to teach reading fluency. One, guided repeated
oral reading, encourages students to read passages out loud with systematic and explicit guidance and
feedback from their teacher. The other, independent silent reading, encourages students to read silently
on their own, inside and outside the classroom, with little guidance or feedback from their teachers.

Considerations when instructing ELLs in fluency

The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) states that ELLs should learn to
read initially in their first language. If this is not possible, students need to see and hear literally
hundreds of books over a school year in order for fluency to be modeled to them. CIERA recommends
that ELLs participate in read-alouds of big books, read along with proficient readers, and listen
repeatedly to books read aloud in order to gain fluency in English (Hiebert et al., 1998).

The NRC complements CIERA's recommendations about initial literacy in the native language. The NRC
asserts that learning to speak English first contributes to children's eventual fluency in English reading, as
oral proficiency provides a foundation to support subsequent learning about the alphabetic principle
through an understanding of the structure of spoken English words and of the language and content of
the material they are reading (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). This reinforces the recommendation for
vocabulary development in ELLs: that in addition to reading instruction, ESL or ELD instruction must be
an integral part of curriculum for ELLs.

Fluency should not be confused with accent. Many ELLs will read and speak English with an accent as
they are beginning to learn English, and others will have one throughout their lives. Students can read
fluently in English with a native language accent.

5. Reading comprehension strategies

Reading comprehension is the culmination of all of the reading skills and the ultimate goal of learning to
read. The purpose of mastery of each of the four previous skills is to enable comprehension. Likewise,
reading comprehension facilitates mastery of the other four skills. For example, the NRP found that
reading comprehension is clearly related to vocabulary knowledge and development. The NRP also
found that comprehension is an active process that requires an intentional and thoughtful interaction
between the reader and the text that can be explicitly taught through text comprehension instruction.

Considerations when instructing ELLs in comprehension

The NRC, in discussing reading for meaning, or comprehension, explains that the four other Reading First
skills are interrelated with the skill of comprehension and also makes the case for native language
literacy instruction: "The abilities to hear and reflect on the structure of spoken English words, as
required for learning how the alphabetic principle works, depend on oral familiarity with the words
being read. Similarly, learning to read for meaning depends on understanding the language and referents
of the text to be read. To the extent possible, ELLs should have opportunities to develop literacy skills in
their home language as well as in English (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998, p. 324)."

As ELLs may be working diligently to translate concepts literally, figurative language such as "crocodile
tears" or "sweet tooth" can be perplexing. Hiebert et al. (1998) recommend scanning students' text
beforehand to anticipate these difficulties and engaging students in a discussion about literal and
figurative meanings of these expressions.

Frequently, when students are behind their peers in learning to read, as is often the case for ELLs, their
remedial programs consist of phonemic awareness, phonics activities or vocabulary development in
isolation. They are not exposed to authentic texts or challenged to think critically or inferentially about
stories. Teachers of ELLs must expose their students to quality literature and higher order thinking skills.
This can be done through the use of graphic organizers, modeling "thinking aloud," and stopping often in
the text to question and summarize.

What is a proficient reader?

According to the University of New England, “proficient readers know what and when they are
comprehending and when they are not comprehending; they can identify their purposes for reading and
identify the demands placed on them by a particular text. They can identify when and why the meaning
of the text is unclear to them, and can use a variety of strategies to solve comprehension problems or
deepen their understanding of a text” (Duffy et al. 1987; Paris, Cross, and Lipson, 1984). Good readers
are meta-cognitive; they think about their thinking!

Proficient Readers

Before Reading

Understand that reading is a process to make meaning.

Build up their background knowledge on the subject before they begin to read.

Use their background knowledge as they read.

Know their purpose for reading.

Strive for fluency (conversational-like reading).

During Reading

Give their complete attention to the reading task.

Keep a constant check on their own understanding.

Adjust their reading rate to match purpose and reading material.

Monitor their reading comprehension and do it so often it becomes automatic.

Can match their reading strategies to a variety of reading materials.

Stop only to use a fix-up strategy when they do not understand.

After Reading

Decide if they have achieved their goal for reading.

Respond personally and critically to what they read by making connections text/self; text/text; or
text/real world.

Evaluate their own comprehension of what they read.

Summarize the major ideas.

Seek additional information from outside sources.

Ask questions.