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moderated by Wendy Superfine, February 2002
I started the discussion week by asking various questions on the ways of introducing literacy skills into the primary EFL classroom.
There were a variety of responses from teachers who have worked in different countries, e.g. Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, Japan and the UK. Some gave examples of the methods used in their situation and others answered questions which arose on using different forms of script, making/using dictionaries with YLs etc.
Sandie started the ball rolling by telling us the situation in Portugal and raising some interesting issues. Reading is taught using the phonic approach at the age of 6 yrs at the start of their schooling. Once the children have had 2 years of English and at least 1 year of writing in MT she uses the "Look and Say" method. Writing is taught at the age of 6 yrs by using joined up writing -the "loopy kind" as she called it! She pointed out the difficulty that Portuguese children have with reading the "English" style of script which she uses on the board. Another interesting point is the fact that there are only 23 letters in the Portuguese alphabet so the letters k,w,y have to be taught in English.
Niki Joseph who also teaches in Portugal, gave some sound advice on using a "code" to decipher the difficult letters r,m,n,k,y and w which are written in a different way to the English style of script. She also said that as soon as the pupils can read 6 write in their MT (about 8 yrs) then she introduces more written work. This raised the question of whether the more advanced pupils should be allowed to work at their own pace. Sandie also suggested several ideas on how she used games, word cards and dictionaries to help develop these literacy skills.
Silvana Rampone replied from Italy telling us how she overcomes some of these problems in her situation. She starts by showing them written words in English at the end of their first school year at 7 years old after 1 year of English and after they have learnt to write in their MT. They also use the phonic method to teach reading. From the 3rd class (8 years) they are able to write simple sentences and key words. For reading at this stage she uses a Language experience approach and whole sentence reading with lots of supplementary reading materials, books, videos, Cdroms, etc. The children also rewrite stories, songs or poems. The younger ones make sentences with mixed up words, and do gap exercises. All good stuff!
Roisin O'Farrell sensibly explained that after teaching in Japan and Spain where cursive writing is used she realized that the only situation where children are going to use this type of script is in their notebooks and on the board. As print is used in books and road signs etc. she found that the children soon get used to the idea that letters are formed in different ways.
Helen Davies also experiences difficulty with the pupils reading her English style of writing in the French "college" system. Her 11-15 year olds also use a "loopy" style and although their style is well mastered by this stage she makes an effort to write as they do as she says learning English is difficult enough as it is! She feels that when writing letters to penfriends they realise that not everyone writes as they do.
Eleanor Watts gave some useful advice on dictionary skills. She said themed dictionaries are very useful for elementary level learners but this restricts the vocabulary to the words within one topic. Well illustrated alphabetical dictionaries are more useful for relatively fluent readers which enables them to look up verbs, adjectives etc. that don't fall within a theme.
Sandie gave an example from Heather Rendall on the linguanet discussion group based in the UK dealing with Modern foreign language teaching in Britain. This was an example of what is being done in a multilingual classroom in the secondary system in the UK. A head teacher from a city with a large % of immigrants said whenever a new immigrant pupil or pupil whose MT was not English was not making progress they employed a teacher to teach their MT as a written language. In his experience the moment pupils were well versed in all 4 skills in their MT then the learning of English took care of itself in the school/social environment, thus giving them the confidence and improving their behaviour as well as their ability in the 2nd language. However, there are various support systems employed in secondary schools in many countries but these are not usually required before the age of 12 years, when EFL becomes more pressurised. I'm sure you realize that it is so important to keep the primary EFL classroom a place where the child will remember learning as an enjoyable experience.
We didn't mention the interesting area of website materials for learning R&W but I would like to suggest a site given in M. Slattery& J. Willis English for Primary Teachers OUP 2001 -i.e www.startwrite.com. Maybe this is a subject for a future discussion? There are many more ideas on the teaching of the four skills in this book which makes it a useful companion in the EFL classroom.
