Section 7

Reading and Writing and the ESL Learner

The tutors should have garnered most of what they need for tutoring reading and writing from the reading and writing units. This section merely highlights some of the areas that ESL learners may find difficult.

Activity A

What makes reading and writing difficult for ESL learners?

This discussion reflects on problems that ESL learners might have and uses what tutors have already learned to give them ideas for addressing these problems.

Discussion

Materials and equipment

Flip chart and markers

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

  1. Write “What Makes Reading and Writing Difficult for ESL Learners?” on the flip chart. Ask tutors what they think would make reading and writing difficult for ESL learners based on what they have already covered in their training. Hopefully, they will have a lot of ideas. Write down their answers.
  2. State that some of these ideas are related. Then circle all the answers that relate to lack of ability in speaking English. This would include having a small English vocabulary, not knowing how to say words, not understanding words, having word order problems, and so on.
  3. Explain that a lot of problems with reading and writing are connected with speaking problems. Tell tutors that it is useful for learners to work with speaking to provide context for reading and writing.

Activity B

Writing systems

This is a look at different writing systems.

Use of handout, discussion

Materials and equipment

Handout 12.22: Writing Samples
You may want to include writing samples from the language backgrounds of the ESL learners in your program.