English as a Second Language

English as a Second Language

How can young students whose native language is not English prepare themselves for reading English?
One of the so-called “research-supported” skills in preparation for reading is “phonemic awareness.” The authors of this article suggest that pre-schoolers and kindergartners who don’t speak English prepare for learning to read English by playing with the sounds of their native language. Rhyming words are an example. [RayS: Phonemic awareness, familiarity with the sounds of language, is one of the building blocks in preparing for learning to read.]

How can older students learning English as their second language have some fun comparing their native language with English?
Many words in Spanish, for example, sound very much like the same words in English, “muchas” and “much; “libros” and “library.”

H.K. Yopp and L Stapleton. “Conciencia Fonémica en Español (Phonemic Awareness in Spanish).” The Reading Teacher (Feb. 08), 374-382.