Teaching PreLiterate Adults
Teaching PreLiterate Adults
Teaching PreLiterate Adults
Introduction
Recently,
many
dozens
of
Somali
Bantu
families
settled
in
the
Salt
Lake
Valley
after
living
for
more
than
a
decade
in
refugee
camps
in
Kenya.
Many
of
the
women
in
this
group
received
ESL
services
during
the
day
shortly
after
their
arrival.
These
women
spoke
almost
no
English
and
had
never
attended
school.
They
were
considered
preliterate
because
they
never
had
the
opportunity
to
learn
to
read
or
write
in
their
native
language
Maay-‐Maay
(which
has
only
recently
been
standardized
in
alphabetic
form).
Another
challenge
was
that
they
had
never
experienced
everyday
conventions
that
are
the
norm
in
the
United
States,
such
as
electricity,
doors
that
lock,
toilets
with
running
water,
and
shopping
at
supermarkets.
Our
ESL
classes
at
the
Hartland
Center
were
offered
through
the
University
Neighborhood
Partners
(UNP),
a
group
that
coordinates
various
departments
of
the
University
of
Utah
and
community-‐based
organizations
to
address
the
needs
of
low-‐income
residents
on
the
west
side
of
the
city.
UNP
created
a
center
for
their
various
programs
in
an
apartment
at
the
complex
where
these
Somali
Bantu
women
and
other
refugees
had
been
resettled.
Many
programs
were
offered
at
the
center,
including
healthcare,
financial
literacy,
and
social
services.
The
ESL
component
was
a
collaboration
between
university
students
and
tutors
from
the
English
Skills
Learning
Center,
an
organization
that
trains
volunteers
to
teach
English
to
adult
immigrants
and
refugees.
During
the
ESL
classes,
childcare
was
made
available
to
the
women
because
many
of
them
had
small
children.
The
location
of
the
classes
at
the
apartment
complex
and
the
provision
of
childcare
eliminated
two
of
the
most
common
barriers
to
education
for
adult
learners.
A
top-‐down
model
of
reading
requires
readers
to
be
actively
involved
in
constructing
meaning
by
relating
previous
experiences
to
the
text.
Activating
background
knowledge
and
contextualizing
meaning
through
the
use
of
realia
and
pictures
are
common
top-‐down
methods.
Previously
learned
oral
language
and
repetitive
formulaic
phrases
provide
"hooks"
to
facilitate
the
understanding
of
written
language
and
can,
therefore,
also
be
considered
top-‐
down
mechanisms.
Preliterate
students
are
beginning
readers,
but
they
are
not
beginning
problem
solvers;
therefore,
it's
important
to
utilize
materials
and
methods
that
can
connect
to
students'
immediate
needs.
Teaching
authentic,
meaningful
language
and
texts
is
crucial
because
students
want
to
learn
language
that
can
be
immediately
helpful
to
them
in
their
daily
lives
(Brod,
1999).
This
type
of
meaningful
instruction
engages
the
processes
at
the
top
because
the
students'
past
experiences
and
future
needs
will
interact
with
the
information
to
be
learned,
leading
to
increased
comprehension.
Bottom-‐up
processes
of
reading
are
best
exemplified
by
the
mapping
of
letters
to
sounds
to
extract
information
from
the
page.
Whereas
top-‐down
processing
involves
the
use
of
familiar
vocabulary
and
background
knowledge,
bottom-‐up
processing
utilizes
the
small
units
of
our
writing
system—that
is,
letters,
sounds,
and
syllables—and
combines
them
into
larger
chunks
comprising,
words,
phrases,
and
sentences.
Knowing
how
to
break
the
sound/symbol
code
and
doing
it
automatically
is
crucial
to
reading
success,
but
this
process
has
traditionally
been
deemphasized
in
second
language
reading
(Birch,
2007;
Eskey,
1988).
This
deemphasis
may
have
occurred
in
the
past
because
many
adult
English
learners
were
already
literate
in
their
native
languages
and
could,
therefore,
transfer
much
of
their
knowledge
about
the
reading
process
from
their
first
language
(L1).
They
were
already
familiar
with
the
cognitive
mechanisms
that
enable
readers
to
construct
meaning
from
symbols
on
a
page.
Preliterate
learners,
however,
are
unaware
of
the
ways
that
letters
and
sounds
work
together.
Direct
instruction
and
systematic
experience
with
the
alphabetic
system
is
necessary
in
order
for
preliterates
to
process
and
retain
written
words.
During
the
past
two
decades,
researchers
have
focused
on
many
bottom-‐up
processes
for
beginning
L1
readers.
There
is
now
a
large
body
of
research
that
supports
the
notion
that
automatic
word
recognition
and
phonological
awareness
(i.e.,
awareness
of
subsyllabic
sound
units
in
spoken
language)
are
skills
that
are
imperative
for
reading
success
in
the
first
language
(see
Adams,
1990;
Kruidenier,
2002).
Recent
research
shows
that
these
skills
are
equally
important
for
second
language
(L2)
readers
(August
&
Shanahan,
2006).
Moreover,
the
limited
research
that
has
been
done
in
second
language
reading
suggests
that
bottom-‐up
skills
are
also
extremely
important
for
L2
adults
with
limited
educational
experiences
(Hilferty,
1996;
Mullady-‐DelliCarpini,
2004).
The
remainder
of
this
article
describes
some
of
the
methods
and
materials
we
have
found
helpful
from
both
the
top
and
the
bottom
when
teaching
reading
to
preliterate
students.
It
summarizes
the
development
of
our
own
instructional
and
reading
materials
that
we
created
because
we
were
unable
to
find
appropriate
sources
elsewhere.
One
key
factor
emerged
at
our
first
class:
The
women
came
with
pencil
and
paper.
Clearly,
they
were
expecting
to
write
in
this
first
and
each
subsequent
class.
We
learned
that
their
concept
of
school
was
that
of
a
teacher
who
wrote
on
the
board
and
students
who
copied
diligently
into
their
notebooks.
Most
were
already
able
to
write
their
first
names
in
capital
letters,
but
it
was
clear
that
they
had
had
no
instruction
in
how
to
form
the
letters,
and
much
of
their
writing
was
difficult
to
decipher.
We
were
encouraged
by
their
positive
attitude
but
dismayed
by
their
lack
of
skills.
The
second
key
factor
was
that
our
group
of
Somali-‐Bantu
women
had
no
experience
in
the
everyday
situations
in
which
they
now
found
themselves.
We
began
teaching
them
by
focusing
on
standard
survival
skill
topics
such
as
personal
information,
family,
numbers,
time,
money,
health,
and
shopping.
We
soon
found,
however,
that
their
lack
of
experience
with
industrialized
society
made
it
impossible
for
us
to
teach
these
in
the
traditional
way.
We
had
to
provide
our
students
with
basic
concepts
and
background
knowledge
in
addition
to
the
vocabulary.
Our
initial
approach
to
building
background
knowledge
was
through
traditional
top-‐down
methods
of
TPR
(Total
Physical
Response),
use
of
realia,
role
play
using
realia,
and
simple
dialogue.
But
because
of
the
students'
expectations
and
needs,
we
also
spent
a
portion
of
each
lesson
on
forming
letters
and
numbers.
Learning
lowercase
letters
presented
a
particular
challenge,
as
many
lowercase
letters
do
not
resemble
their
uppercase
correspondent.
Phonological
awareness
was
included
from
the
beginning
by
stressing
the
sounds
of
the
letters
as
well
as
the
blending
and
segmenting
of
sound
units.
Each
lesson
would
begin
with
individual
work
copying/writing
with
direction
because
students
arrived
at
varying
time
intervals.
The
lesson
proper
began
with
a
review
of
previously
learned
material.
In
order
to
build
an
oral
base,
we
adapted
traditional
songs
and
chants
to
fit
the
particular
topic,
because
music
and
rhythm
assist
retention.
A
word
sort
review
activity
could
be
included
at
this
point
or
could
follow
a
language
experience
activity
(LEA).
The
main
focus
of
the
lesson
was
one
of
the
survival
topics
broken
down
into
very
basic
elements.
For
example,
we
spent
several
lessons
on
My
name
is...,
teaching
the
formulaic
phrases
for
introductions
using
only
first
names
through
oral
repetition
and
chaining
activities;
listening
for
the
beginning
sound
of
a
person's
name;
connecting
the
sound
with
the
beginning
letter;
picking
out
one's
own
name
from
the
name
cards
in
the
center
of
the
table;
picking
out
a
classmate's
name;
learning
to
write
the
first
name
with
lowercase
letters;
and
ultimately
reading
and
completing
the
sentence
My
name
is
_________.
Breaking
this
topic
into
these
very
basic
steps,
which
we
repeated
as
many
times
as
necessary
-‐and
then
some-‐provided
the
students
with
the
elaborative
rehearsal
required
to
move
the
information
from
working
memory
into
long-‐term
memory
(Baddeley,
1986;
Wolfe
&
Nevills,
2004).
This
shared
group
experience
became
the
first
page
of
their
first
book,
which
was
personalized
for
each
student
with
a
photograph.
Although
this
first
book
had
only
four
pages,
it
was
an
introduction
into
the
world
of
books:
how
to
manipulate
the
book,
turn
pages,
recognize
page
numbers,
and
follow
the
directionality
of
print.
Each
page
of
this
and
the
many
homemade
books
that
followed
represented
lessons
of
shared
top-‐down
activities
that
created
the
background
knowledge
that
the
students
needed.
Because
the
classes
took
place
in
the
UNP
apartment,
we
were
able
to
utilize
the
realia
around
us
and
provide
hands-‐
on
activities
to
create
sense
and
meaning.
Photographs
and
illustrations
frequently
used
in
traditional
ESL
classes
to
introduce
topics
were
confusing
and
often
meaningless
to
our
students
because
of
their
lack
of
exposure
to
this
medium.
After
experiencing
the
shared
activities,
we
could
use
illustrations
and/or
photographs
of
group
members
and
their
apartments
in
our
classroom
activities
and
in
the
books
we
created.
The
individual
and
group
bottom-‐up
exercises
prepared
students
to
relate
sounds
of
the
spoken
language
(phonemes)
to
the
symbols
of
the
written
language
(graphemes).
Once
students
learned
to
recognize
and
write
the
alphabet,
both
upper-‐
and
lowercase,
we
began
to
teach
letter
sounds
by
having
the
students
sort
realia
and
then
pictures
of
these
familiar
words
according
to
their
initial
sound.
This
word
study
technique
is
often
referred
to
as
word
sort.
Our
adaptation
of
word
sort
actually
became
a
vocabulary
activity
as
the
words
were
all
high
frequency
and
the
students
learned
to
associate
words
with
pictures
as
they
sorted
sounds.
Our
initial
sort
began
with
two
letters:
b
and
m.
Each
letter
was
associated
with
a
key
picture:
b/book;
m/man.
Following
this,
we
put
other
pictures
that
began
with
these
sounds
on
index
cards
and
the
students
sorted
them.
To
begin
with,
only
two
or
three
pictures
were
sorted
into
a
column
for
each
letter
sound,
but
three
or
four
columns
were
used:
for
example,
b,m,s
with
three
or
four
pictures
for
each
letter
(boy,
bread,
baby,
banana
/
money,
mother,
man,
milk
/
sink,
sandwich,
socks).
The
teacher
modeled
the
word
sort
procedure,
and
then
students
practiced
with
partners.
Word
sort
usually
begins
with
sorting
initial
and
final
letter
sounds
and
then
extends
into
sorting
rhyming
word
families:
man,
can,
fan,
ran/hat,
rat,
sat.
The
next
step
requires
students
to
blend
and
segment
phonemes.
Alphabet
letter
tiles
or
cards
can
be
used
at
this
stage
to
help
students
learn
to
blend
sounds
to
form
words.
Students
benefit
from
the
manipulation
of
the
cards
as
well
as
the
reading
instruction.
Word
cards
can
also
be
used
to
play
concentration,
matching
words
that
have
similar
sound
patterns.
After
our
students
became
familiar
with
the
words,
they
were
ready
for
dictation.
This
provided
students
with
practice
in
decoding
(reading)
and
encoding
(spelling)
sounds.
Teaching
these
two
together
was
mutually
reinforcing.
We
also
practiced
the
rehearsed
words
in
formulaic
phrases
(e.g.,
I
have
a
can.
I
have
a
fan.
This
is
a
hat.
This
is
a
map.).
We
found
that
incorporating
word
sort
activities
during
each
lesson
increased
our
students'
awareness
of
letter/sound
correspondences.
Students
also
became
aware
of
how
to
blend
and
segment
sounds,
which
contributed
to
their
phonological
awareness.
They
also
sorted
words
from
the
text
of
language
experience
activities
and
in
preparation
for
the
class-‐created
books.
Conclusion
Examining
the
reading
process
from
the
top
and
the
bottom
has
informed
and
guided
our
instruction.
Both
the
top
and
the
bottom
need
to
be
considered
together
when
teaching
L2
reading
to
a
preliterate
population.
Through
a
balanced
approach
targeting
the
bottom
as
well
as
the
top,
preliterate
adults
can
learn
tools
that
will
help
them
gain
enough
English
literacy
skills
to
function
in
their
new
environment.
Fish,
B.,
Knell,
E.,
&
Buchanan,
H.
(2007).
Teaching
Literacy
to
Preliterate
Adults:
The
Top
and
the
Bottom.
Retrieved
from
AEIS
Newsletter.
References
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M.
J.
(1990).
Beginning
to
read:
Thinking
and
learning
about
print.
Cambridge,
MA:
The
MIT
Press.
August,
D.,
&
Shanahan,
T.
(2006).
Developing
literacy
in
second-‐language
learners.
Report
of
the
National
Literacy
Panel
on
language-‐minority
children
and
youth.
Mahwah,
NJ:
Erlbaum.
Baddeley,
A.
D.
(1986).
Working
memory.
Oxford,
England
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Oxford
University
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Birch,
B.
M.
(2007).
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reading:
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to
the
bottom.
Mahwah,
NJ:
Erlbaum.
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S.
(1999).
What
non-‐readers
or
beginning
readers
need
to
know:
Performance-‐based
ESL
adult
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CO:
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Peyton,
J.
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&
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the
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for
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D.
(1988).
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the
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Devine,
&
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A.
G.
(1996).
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(2002).
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8,
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from
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/adult_ed/adult_ed_1.html
Mullady-‐DelliCarpini,
M.
E.
(2004).
Phonological
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At
the
time
that
this
instruction
took
place,
Ellen
Knell
and
Hannah
Buchanan
were
PhD
students
at
the
University
of
Utah
and
Barbara
Fish
was
the
director
of
the
English
Language
Skills
Center.