Initial Reading
I chose an intermediate level young adult book in Spanish, entitled Despereaux. I "read" the first chapter and found myself using the following strategies with an example for each:
- looking for cognates, e.g. words that were the same in English and Spanish
- I found tragedia, gran, and terribles
- looking for matching words
- I assumed the word ultimo in the text meant "first" in English because I was reading the ultimo chapter
- I tried to remember words I'd learned in previous exposures to Spanish
- the word ensenar I thought had something to do with teaching or learning but neither fit the context of the sentence I was trying decipher
- I studied an illustration and caption
- it provided me with basic information (main characters) but didn't give the emotional flavor of the chapter which was full of quotation marks, exclamations, etc.
- As I read through the chapter, understanding very little, in desperation I consulted the synopsis of the book on the back cover, hoping to get the gist of the story
- it too was above my skill level in terms of vocabulary and verb conjugations, and my overall comprehension was poor
I decided to focus on the synopsis, since it was one paragraph long and would give me the main idea of the story line. Using Google Translate online, I translated one sentence at a time.
It helped with the overall story, but produced some confusing sentences which I had to interpret based on my prior knowledge, for example:
- acaricia un deseo sencillo pero imposible translated as "petting a desire that was impossible" which I interpreted as "having an impossible dream"!
- provide text at the reader's level; this text was significantly above my reading level and would be inappropriate for me as a learner
- if this book was mandated and every student was required to read it, some options might be
- to provide the text in my first language and read it aloud chapter by chapter before reading it in the language of the classroom
- create reading partnerships of a stronger native speaker and a less skilled reader
- build conceptual knowledge non-linguisticallyabout the ideas in the text through role-play, watching part of a DVD, demonstrations, etc.
- provide an adapted version of the text in the language of the classroom with simpler vocabulary and more illustrations
- provide opportunities for teacher directed discussion in which specific vocabulary words from the day's reading are included in a small group discourse
Deb -
ReplyDeleteTechnology is a wonderful thing! You did what many students do and that is to use an online translator. Our ELL classes have access to Ipads and so use them quite often to translate English into their native language. Students receive the content and are aided in comprehension that way. But as you point out; the translator is only so good. Mistakes or versions are created. As a result, students tend to find themselves writing and even speaking using the same mistakes as the translator.
- Matt
Hi Deb,
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be wonderful if we could give the students content books on their own reading level? "Provide text at the reader's level;" This is such a great point you made. If only as teachers, we had that magic wand to create these text books! Since we don't, I really appreciated your ideas to help students with their "at level" books. "Build conceptual knowledge non-linguistically about the ideas in the text through role-play, watching part of a DVD, demonstrations, etc." Kids would love this type of learning. They would see it as fun, and therefore it would grab their attention. As we tried to figure words out in our own assignment, we became frustrated and confused. If we would have watched a movie, we would have had better luck with comprehension, because we wouldn't be so consumed with the words and print we weren't understanding. These ideas you suggested do just that. They take the frustrations out and put learning in their place.
Thanks for sharing!
Amberlyn
Deb,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the section you had on the implications to teaching. Many of your struggles and strategies were the same I faced when doing the assignment, but I really liked your idea of pairing students of different levels. I think peer learning is so important, and if done correctly, can be very effective. I also liked the idea of providing information in different formats like DVD or computer videos. What a great idea, and I hadn't really thought of using this tool for ELL students. I think providing information at the reader's level is vital for success. It can sometimes be difficult to find the necessary topics as a reading level that is appropriate, but is so important to really understanding the language.
Thanks for the ideas,
Jen
Deb, I enjoyed following your descriptive process of trying to make meaning from a text that was clearly above your level. I found your options valuable, and in particular: to provide the text in my first language and read it aloud chapter by chapter before reading it in the language of the classroom reminded me of Matt's suggestion for his high school novels. This one idea may not take much effort on the teacher's part, but would make a big difference in student motivation and learning... especially when followed with the student reading (some or all) of the English version.
ReplyDelete