starting to read with young learners lstrukova@languagelink.ru

Starting to read with

young learners

lstrukova@languagelink.ru

Who are Young Learners?

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YL characteristics

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Learn through experience

Have short attention and concentration span

Need to move

Are not very able to control and plan their own behavior

More concerned about themselves than others

Are not afraid of making mistakes or taking risks

Pay attention to meaning in language

Have limited experience of life

Have a limited knowledge about the world

…They enjoy fantasy and imagination

They have limited reading and writing skills even in their first language.

What is reading with YLs?

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Reading is…• …a process whereby one looks

and understands what has been written. (Williams 1989)

• …is the main source of expanding and strengthening the language.

(Scott & Ytreberg 2000)

• …is the process of decoding the written words.• … is both process and product. The process of reading

involves the interaction between the reader and the text – how the reader is deciphering the writing on the page. The product of reading is reading comprehension, or internal construction of meaning.

(Alderson 2000)

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Why teach reading? enthusiasmreinforcement interestsense of achievement exposure to the written form

Help link learning with use of English outside class

(learning technologies)• E.g. i-chat, email, forum, blogs etc.

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How to start reading?

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Start reading with…

• decoding familiar written language

• Matching spoken and written forms

• Labeling objects

• Posters with common phrases

• A calendar

• ABC poster

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How to teach reading?Whole word method• encourages immediate recognition is used for

irregular words

Letter-sound correspondence(phonics)

• encourages to recognize analogies below word level to help them to work out how to read and write

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Ways of Reading

Skimming (Reading for gist)

Scanning (Reading for specific info)

Reading for detail

Intensive reading

Extensive reading

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Useful links

• http://www.readingrockets.org/

• www.school-collection.edu.ru

• http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids.htm• www.ruteachers.ru

• www.languagelink.ru

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References:• Alderson, J.C. 2000. Assessing Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

• Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• McKay, P. 2006. Assessing Young Language Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Ministry of Education Of Russian Federation. 2001. National Curriculum. Moscow: Prosveshenie

• Scott, W. A. and L. H. Ytreberg. 2000. Teaching English to Children. New York: Longman

• Slattery, M. and J. Willis. 2001. English for Primary Teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. 2002. Cambridge Young Learners English Tests Sample Papers.

• Williams, E. 1989. Reading in the Language Classroom. UK: Macmillan

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Thank you!

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See you!

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