On the Journey to Read: Part 2 (Adult Literacy and Teaching Struggling Readers)

I have blogged before about my experiences tutoring a 60-year-old man who can't read. In fact, his reading level was so low when I started working with him that he couldn't read sight words such as "and," "to," and "the," let alone sound out simple decodable words such as "bag" and "dad." I have been working with this gentleman for several weeks now, and as of two weeks ago, he has begun to read. Two weeks ago I had an experience that I wish everyone could experience: He read a short story for the first time...by himself. He wished that his long-time friend could've been there to hear him, he said. Since that time, his spirits have been high, and his motivation is off the charts. He even suggests material and strategies he could work on at home independently in between our visits. He is also learning computer literacy as he is just beginning the Reading Horizons software program. I wish everyone could have the opportunity to witness growth like I do in my friend who is on his journey to read. (See my previous blog posts about tutoring here: On the Journey to Read, Teaching the Homeless to Read, and Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2011: Teaching Struggling Readers.)


I have a colleague that recently blogged about her experience with adult literacy efforts, as well. See her post here. I think she, along with anyone else out there involved in teaching someone how to read, would agree that this is an incredibly rewarding experience.


If there is any interest among any of you reading this post in getting involved in adult literacy or tutoring struggling readers (since I've had some ask), here are a few places to start:
1) Visit the free Online Workshop to learn strategies for teaching literacy. On that link, you can also print out a syllabus to use for a systematic teaching sequence.
2) Make a plan for ways to get involved in literacy efforts in your area. For ideas, read my blog posts about how to get involved in adult literacy here: Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2011: Teaching Struggling Readers and Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2010.
3) View free webinars available online that are of interest to you for additional training and resources. Free webinars are available on the Reading Horizons webinar page, including ELL Emerging Literacy: What We Know; What You Can Do by Robin Lovrien Schwarz (if you are working with non-native English speakers who are emerging readers, such as refugees), "What Should I Say When They Get Stuck on a Word?" by Kathleen Brown, or Developing Fluent Readers by Neil J. Anderson.
4) Search my blog for topics that are of interest to you to help you with your tutoring. For example, learn how to teach whether the vowel is long or short in a word, how to determine syllable division in multi-syllable words, and ideas for how to teach sight words. (Note that these strategies could be used for native English speakers or English Language Learners alike.) Other teaching tips to help with pronunciation and spelling are also available: 

Click here to read about the pronunciation of -ed.

Click here to read about pronouncing plurals.

Click here to read about voiced and voiceless sounds.

Click here to read about rising and falling intonation in questions.

Click here to read about syllable stress and the schwa.
Click here to read about adding the suffixes -ing, -ed, -er, and -est.
Click here to read about teaching common suffixes.
Click here to read about teaching common prefixes.
Click here to read about spelling words that end in S, F, and Z.

Feel free to share your experiences!

"English Mania": Why the World (Especially China) Wants to Learn English

Here's an interesting TED video on the "mania for learning English." In this short video, Jay Walker mentions that two billion people are learning English, most of all in China. Why English, he asks? Better opportunity. "You can become part of a larger conversation...a global conversation." He continues, "English is becoming the language of problem-solving."

Free Resource from ASCD for Teaching English Language Learners

I was just made aware of a free resource provided by ASCD that features literature and other helpful resources that support the teaching of English Language Learners. Articles, books, research reports, and professional development resources are available. Visit the link here.


Speaking of ASCD, the 2012 conference is fast approaching. It will be held March 24-26 in Philadelphia, PA. My presentation proposal entitled "Examining Effective Reading Instruction Using Reading Horizons v5 Technology" was accepted. If you're going to be at ASCD, stop by and say hello!

ESL Trail Blog 2011: Year in Review

With the end of the 2011 upon us, I thought I would provide a snapshot of highlights and popular posts of 2011, along with other interesting facts.


Following are the top ten countries from where the most page views of ESL Trail have originated:
1. United States
2. Canada
3. China
4. United Kingdom
5. Philippines
6. Germany
7. Ukraine
8. Australia
9. Russia
10. France


Following are the most popular posts written in 2011:

• ESL Pronunciation Tip: The Three Sounds of the Suffix -ED
• ESL Pronunciation Tip: Syllable Stress and the Schwa
• ESL Pronunciation Tip: Rising and Falling Intonation in WH- and Yes/No Questions
• Listening Strategy Training Activity

Highlights of 2011 include the following:

• Visiting NYC four times to conduct trainings and needs assessments for NYC Public Schools and Public libraries. (See my blog posts: New York City Public Schools Teach Students to Read, New York City Public Schools Teach Students to Read: Part 2, Literacy Training in the Bronx...and in Your Own Backyard)
• Traveling to India to help with literacy efforts among the leprosy-affected. (See my blog posts: Post-India: Thoughts on Service, Ensuring Success with English in India, Back in India, A Day in My Life in India, More On a Day in My Life in India, Abolishing the Stigma of Leprosy by Teaching Children to Read in English, A Documentary on Humanitarian Efforts in India)
• Traveling to the Middle East to promote phonics instruction. (See my blog posts: English Teaching and Learning in the Middle East, English Teaching and Learning in the Middle East: Part 2, Phonics for Arabic Speakers in the Middle East) 
• Tutoring a gentleman in his 60's who has never learned how to read. (See my blog posts: Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2011: Teaching Struggling Readers, On the Journey to Read, Teaching the Homeless to Read)

I am optimistic that 2012 will prove to be an equally-exciting year!

Teaching the Homeless to Read

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the homeless...I'm not sure why. I see a homeless person on the street, and emotions of empathy surface...emotions of suffering (not just physical), emotions of lost opportunity, and emotions of unlocked potential. We all have a lot to offer, but some, due to misfortune, do not have the opportunity to convey that potential...at least for now.

I often see the homeless at the Salt Lake City public library (where it's warm during the winter months and cool during the summer months) standing next to bookshelves with open books in hands. I wonder if these individuals really know how to read...or if they are simply staring at the symbols on the pages trying to make meaning (or pretending to make meaning).

As this thought has passed through my mind on a number of occasions, I have felt a desire to teach the homeless how to read. In my search to determine how to make that goal a reality, I was pointed to the Food and Care Coalition in Provo, Utah. I was invited to work with a sixty-year-old gentleman who is not homeless, but who is unable to read and, therefore, unable to find employment. I have blogged about my experiences tutoring him before (see "On the Journey to Read" and "Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2011: Teaching Struggling Readers"). The last time I went to tutor him at the Food and Care Coalition, I was given a tour of the building by Brent Crane, Executive Director of the Food and Care Coalition. I was very impressed with the facilities, the vision, and the services provided. Brent is the "brain child" behind the design of the building and vision of the organization, and his colleagues and volunteers have played (and continue to play) a huge role in implementing the programs offered.

Services offered include the following:
Barber shop
Dental clinic
Educational programs
Three meals a day
Access to computers
In the future: a residence hall

I am looking forward to continuing volunteer work with this organization to help others unlock, or rediscover, their potential. We all have much to offer...

(See also my post on Teaching Literacy to Homeless Children.)

Child Literacy: The Need to Read to Children Daily

I recently read an article about the great need to read to young children. Though the article is specific to my neck of the woods (Utah County), it is clear that the issues raised in the article are applicable to other contexts, and the plea to act can be generalized to most, if not all, locations within the U.S. and the world. 

The article is entitled, "Child Literacy: A Looming Crisis in Utah County." I recommend reading the article in full, but here is a brief excerpt:


"READING TO YOUR CHILD has never been more critical than it is now. It plays a key role, especially before third grade, in keeping that child in school, out of jail, and off welfare.

"It is so important, in fact, that if your next-door neighbor is a single mother who works two jobs and doesn't have time to read with her children, you should go over and read to them for her. It will pay huge dividends in the future--not just for those children but for society as a whole.

"That is the finding of a growing body of research that can no longer be ignored. Statistically, at least, you can make accurate predictions of a person's whole life by third grade based on reading ability."

Read more here.

I encourage us all to think about ways we can get involved in literacy efforts in our own communities, and then to act on these ideas, even if it's as simple an act as reading to children in your neighborhoods...or better yet, reading to your own children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews.


For other ways to get involved in literacy efforts, see these blog posts:
Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2011: Teaching Struggling Readers
Adult Education and Family Literacy Week 2010

A Documentary on Humanitarian Efforts in India

If you followed my blog earlier this year about my efforts to promote English and literacy among the leprosy-affected in India, you may be interested in this documentary by Doug Jardine that was aired this past Sunday on Utah Business Matters. It will also be aired this next Sunday. Following is the link to the documentary on YouTube:

Rising Star Outreach Documentary

The documentary illustrates the three-fold mission of Rising Star Outreach: microfinance, education, and a mobile medical clinic. Much of the video on the documentary was shot while I was in India earlier this year. Other volunteers featured on this documentary include Shaun Parry (founder of Promethean Spark), Stacy Tookey, and David Archuleta, all of whom were also among the volunteer corps on my expedition earlier this year.

See my other blog posts about India from January/February, 2011, here:
Post-India: Thoughts on Service
Ensuring Success with English in India
Back in India
A Day in My Life in India
More On a Day in My Life in India
Abolishing the Stigma of Leprosy by Teaching Children to Read in English

See my other blog posts about India from May, 2008, here:
English Language Instruction and Teaching in India
Why the English Language? Why Literacy? Why India?

Teaching English and Literacy Skills to Rising Star Outreach Students in India