Taking the Mystery out of English for English Language Learners

English is seen as being complex, full of exceptions, and without consistent rules. But what if there were strategies we could teach that reveal consistent patterns to help "make sense" of the English language for our ESL students/English Language Learners? Teachers may not teach some of the consistent patterns that do exist in English because they simply don't know what those strategies are themselves.

I thought it would be helpful to repost my ESL teaching tips blog post to reinforce some consistent, systematic strategies I've learned that teach basic pronunciation, spelling, decoding, and grammar. I've been fortunate to work with these (and other) strategies over the last several years in the form of classroom teaching, teacher training, and curriculum development. The strategies taught and applied in each of these contexts have proven to be both effective and empowering for students and teachers alike. A list of several teaching tips can be accessed below or by visiting my previous post here.

Sounds of OUGH

I was recently asked if I knew of any rules that govern the differing pronunciations of ough. This letter combination can prove to be very tricky. First of all, it may be helpful to consider the combination gh.

GH can do three things:

1) When gh comes at the beginning of a word, it has the sound /g/ (e.g., ghost).
2) When gh comes at the end of a word, it sometimes has the sound /f/ (e.g., laugh).
3) When the vowel i comes before gh, the i is long, and the gh is silent (e.g., high; night). This is the case for most gh words.

But what about the ough combination? 

Should Handwriting Be Taught?

Is handwriting an important component to literacy instruction? Is it really necessary to teach handwriting, especially when keyboarding skills are so requisite with the rise of technology in education and the use of technology in everyday life?

The Common Core State Standards prescribe that legible writing should be taught in kindergarten and first grade only. Then in subsequent grades, the emphasis shifts to keyboarding proficiency. 

According to recent research, handwriting versus keyboarding may affect the brain and benefit specifically those who struggle with reading. Children who learn to write by hand at a young age learn to read more quickly, as well as retain information and generate ideas. 

English Language Learner Strategies

Visit my ESL teaching tips blog post to learn about pronunciation, spelling, grammar, decoding, and listening strategies. Also, come back to my blog soon to see the launch of my new YouTube channel where I will be demonstrating decoding strategies using a tablet and screen captures!

Specific strategies taught elsewhere on my blog can also be accessed here:

New Educational Literacy App for Children (Part 2)

I mentioned in a previous blog post that Reading Horizons developed an app for children called Card Match available in the Apple app store for use on iPads. Since that blog post, the company has now released an additional app for kids called Whack-a-Word, which was recently featured on the History Channel and Ion Networks. You can view the spot here. Other Reading Horizons apps can be found here.

A special shout-out goes to all who are helping to improve literacy efforts around the world!

ESL Teaching Tips

In an effort to make my blog more user-friendly and accessible, I've decided to dedicate a post to a "Table of Contents" of sorts displaying some of my most popular posts, specifically my ESL Teaching Tips posts. Subsequent posts sharing ESL Teaching Tips will be added to this post, so come back and visit often!

ESL Pronunciation Tips

The Three Sounds of the Suffix -ED

Pronouncing Plurals

Recognizing and Pronouncing Voiced and Voiceless Sounds

Rising and Falling Intonation in WH- and Yes/No Questions

Syllable Stress and the Schwa

Word Stress Predictability

Minimal Pairs (Part 1)

Minimal Pairs (Part 2)

Minimal Pairs (Part 3)

Free Online Pronunciation Tool

Teaching Students How to Self-Monitor to Improve Pronunciation

Potential Pronunciation Problems (Part 1)

Potential Pronunciation Problems (Part 2)

ESL Spelling Tips

Adding Suffixes

One-Syllable Words that End in S, F, and Z

Tricky Words: Usage and Spelling Help

English Sounds and Corresponding Spellings

Ten Consistent Spelling Patterns in English

ESL Grammar Tips

Common Suffixes

Common Prefixes

Proper Use of Commas

Nouns

Direct and Indirect Quotations

Parts of Speech

ESL Reading and Decoding Tips

Soft Sounds of C and G 

Is the Vowel Long or Short?

Syllable Division in Multi-Syllable Words

Ideas for Teaching Sight Words

Free Literacy Games and Manipulatives

Free Phonemic Awareness Activities

What Are Graphic Organizers?

Sight Words Vocabulary List
Engaging Activities to Teach Sight Words

What Makes a Good Reader?

Dictionary Skills

ESL Listening Tips

Listening Strategies

Listening and Speaking Activities
Listening Strategy Training Activity

ESL Teaching Strategies

23 Teaching Strategies for ESOL Students

English Sounds and Corresponding Spellings

Sometimes English spelling is confusing because one sound can be represented by multiple letters or letter combinations. Use the following chart as a reference to recognize the different spellings for English sounds. (The letters between slash marks “/  /” represent sounds.)

Vowels
Sound	Spelling	Example
/ə/, /ŭ/	a	about
	e	open
	i	pencil
	o	money, summon, lemon
	u	cactus
/ā/	a	gate
	ai	paint
	ay	say
/ē/	ea	dream
	ee	sweet
	ie	field, chief
	y	sunny
/ī/	i	kite
	igh (ign)	tight, sign
	ie	pie
	y	fly, style
/ō/	o	so, note, cold
	oa	boat
	oe	toe
	ow	show
/ū/ (as in suit)	u	suit, tube
	ue	blue
	ui	suit
	oo	food
	ew	new
/ĭ/	i	it
	y	gym
Special Vowel Sounds
Sound	Spelling	Example
/ow/	ou	out
	ow	how
/oo/ (book)	oo	book
	u	push
/aw/	aw	lawn
	au	fault
	a	call
/oy/	oy	boy
	oi	oil
Consonants
Sound	Spelling	Example
/k/	c	cat
	k	kitten
	ck	truck
	ch	choir
/f/	f	fish
	ff	stuff
	gh	tough
	ph	phone
/j/	j	jump
	gi	giant
	ge	gel
	dge	fudge
/n/	n	nest
	gn	gnome
	kn	knee
/r/	r	red
	wr	write
/s/	s	sing
	ce	cent
	ci	ci
	cy	cycle
/sh/	sh	shirt
	ch	chef
	ti	lotion
	ci	special
/ch/	ch	chime
	tch	itch

Information reproduced from the English Language Enhancement published by Reading Horizons. Used with permission.

ESL Spelling Tip: Adding Suffixes

Sometimes, an ending can be added to the end of a word to make a new word. We call this ending a suffix. A suffix contains one or more letters. Sometimes, adding a suffix will change the word’s part of speech. 

Following are some skills that could be taught to non-native English speaking students to help them properly spell words with suffixes.

1)  In a short vowel word ending in a single consonant, that same consonant must be doubled before adding the suffixes -ing, -ed, -er, or -est.

           r   u  n         r u n n e r                        h  o  p           h o p p i n g

Note: If a word ends in an x, simply add the suffix since x has two sounds: /ks/.

           w a x         w a x i n g                         f i x               f i x e d

2)  If a short vowel word already has two consonants at the end of the word, simply add the suffix.

          j  u  m  p       j u m p i n g                      h  u  n  t        h u n t e d

English Teaching and Learning in the Middle East

The first morning after I landed in Doha, Qatar, I was awakened at 4:30 in the morning to the sound of a Muslim call to prayer over a loud speaker. I awoke a little disoriented, but then was reminded quickly where I was. I was in the Middle East, where I was going to be spending the next two weeks meeting with students, teachers, and administrators to discuss their English needs. I would also be presenting the Reading Horizons program, a phonics-based approach to learning English. I was looking forward to the people I would meet and the opportunity I would have to share these exciting strategies that I have grown to appreciate.

Success Stories in Learning to Read

On this blog, I strive to educate and inspire by posting useful and insightful information for teachers of English. Generally, my posts contain a slant in one form or another on improving reading and literacy. Occasionally, I post something related to my work if it falls into the category of educating or inspiring. I just couldn't resist posting these success stories recently gathered from teachers around the US and abroad about the success they've seen using the Reading Horizons program that my company produces. I will mention, too, that just this morning, I skyped with the principal of the school in India that I'm going to visit next week, and she mentioned how thrilled they are with the Reading Horizons program. She expressed how much the students and teachers love the program, as it is filling previously unmet needs. She feels that Reading Horizons is an answer to prayers. 

My hope is that these success stories, as well as the success stories derived from one's own personal experience, will incite teachers everywhere to continue their quest to educate and inspire their students and their fellowmen as they assist them in reaching their full potential.

Reading Horizons Success in 2011

Secondary

I am a 60-year-old 37-year teacher and not very techno savvy, until Canyons School District funded a computer classroom for my group home based school.  Reading Horizons has only been in use here for the past month and a half.  I can already see improvement in all my students who are in grades 7-12, ages 13-18.  Your program holds the interest of even my most reluctant readers.  For something to show this kind of improvement in so short a time is truly amazing.  I look forward to using it for a long time to come.

Steve, Youth in Custody Teacher

Canyons School District

I teach resource reading in an at-risk urban school. Teaching phonics to adolescents is much different than in elementary and even middle school. Reading Horizons makes sense to my students and they share with me how much it is really helping them feel more confident in reading. When colleagues ask me what program I prefer when teaching basic phonics, I say Reading Horizons.

Sierra

Granger High School

West Valley City, UT

Ten Consistent Spelling Patterns in English

Last weekend at the Intermountain TESOL Conference, I presented on "Ten Consistent Spelling Rules to Boost Your Students' Spelling." I thought I would include the information from my handout in this post since the information was well-received. It can be accessed on the pages link in the right margin of this blog entitled "Ten Consistent Spelling Rules to Boost Your Students' Spelling".