Teaching reading for children

Approaches and Classroom Ideas to Teaching Reading for Young EFL Learners

Pendekatan dan Ide-ide Pengajaran Membaca Untuk Pelajar Bahasa Inggris Sebagai Bahasa Asing

By

I.G.A. Lokita Purnamika Utami

Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, UNDIKSHA

Jalan A. Yani. No 67, Singaraja 81116. Telp. (0362) 21541, Faks (0362) 25735

e-mail: lokita.purnamika@yahoo.com

ABSTRAK

Mengajarkan anak-anak membaca Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing (EFL Students) sangat berbeda dengan mengajarkan anak-anak membaca Bahasa Inggris yang hidup di lingkungan yang berbicara bahasa inggris (ESL students). Siswa yang belajar Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing hidup pada lingkungan yang sangat sedikit mengekspose Bahasa Inggris. Hal ini berarti guru-guru yang mengajarkan siswa tersebut haruslah berupaya lebih keras dalam mengajarkan siswa bahasa Inggris terutama mengajarkan membaca.

Ada beberapa pendekatan mengajar membaca seperti: phonics, whole-language approach, dan whole-word approach. Akan tetapi, guru harus mengetahui dan mempertimbangkan bagaimana siswanya belajar membaca dalam bahasa ibunya sebelum mereka diajarkan membaca dalam bahasa asing. Misalnya, anak-anak yang diajarkan membaca bahasa ibunya dengan pendekatan phonics, sangat tidak dianjurkan untuk mengajarkan bahasa Inggris dengan pendekatan yang sama. Hal ini disebabkan karena hal ini bias menyebabkan kebingungan yang luar biasa. Jadi, tidak semua pendekatan tersebut bisa diaplikasikan pada setial kelas EFL

Membuat kelas membaca menyenangkan sangatlah membantu anak-anak untuk lebih mudah menyukai membaca dalam bahasa inggris. Maka dari itu, guru-guru pengajar anak-anak haruslah mencari suatu cara untuk membuat pelajaran Bahasa Inggris menyenagkan dan menarik.

Kata-kata kunci: membaca, pelajar anak-anak, pendekatan

Introduction

There is a common view among academics that young EFL learners should focus on listening and speaking skills more than reading and writing. This is quite a serious misconception. Young ESL learners may be able to pick up a lot of English naturally without being able to read and write. This is possible since they are surrounded with people speaking English and do experience speaking with them. However, EFL learners may find it difficult in this way. To be able to speak beyond basic level, they need to be able to read and write.

The other discouraged factor of teaching reading is many teachers feel that teaching reading, and also writing are too difficult for children and that it is more enjoyable to just learn listening and writing. But it depends on the method used by the teacher. Many common method of teaching reading for elementary school can be found in the internet some of which are definitely too difficult; therefore, not all are applicable in elementary EFL English class, but there are also alternatives that are not difficult. There are also a lot of children, particularly those who are quiet and shy, who enjoy reading more than speaking.

A traditional English class for young EFL learner is one which is not communicative, overemphasizes reading and is demotivating for many students. Many students feel discouraged and frustrated to read English since the lesson is commonly started off with quite long passage followed by a series of questions which demand good ability in English to answer. However, this problem, again, is a matter of using the right teaching method for certain group of students. It is not possible to adopt a sophisticated method of teaching reading for 5 years old ESL learners, to teach 5 year old EFL learners. Teacher should be able to select and apply right method considering the students’ ability.

There is also other common EFL English class which is characterized by teaching speaking dominantly by using drill. The result is the children produce English like parrot. They can say things like, cat, dog, table, how are you, I’m fine and you? Perfectly, but they can not use English flexibly.

Many young EFL learners can speak English flexibly but this happens since they have a particular advantage. One or both parents speak English well, they have spend time overseas, or they have English-speaking friends they play with. However, there are also some children who can speak English flexibly since they have learn English in a reasonably balanced way. They do a lot reading and writing as well as speaking and listening. Reading a lot enhance their knowledge in English, especially their vocabulary. In addition, books open up other world to young children, and making reading an enjoyable activity is a very important part of language learning experience.

Many of young learners education experts believe that teachers of young learner- both EFL and ESL- can’t rely on the spoken words only. Even though exposing a lot of spoken words is really important to generate children’s concept of pronouncing words, but there are a lot of things need to be introduce to them beside pronunciation. Children need to be exposed what make them interested to learn language, especially the foreign one. Teachers of young learners will need plenty of object, pictures, flashcards, coloring pens, drawing paper, text book for children, story book and to make full use of the school and the surrounding.

Discussion

1. The Young Language Learners

Scott and Ytreberg ( 1 : 2000) state that there is a big difference between what children of five can do and what children of ten can do. Some children develop early, and some later. Some children develop gradually, while others in leaps and bounds. it is not possible to say that all children of five can do x, at the age of seven they can all do y, or that at the age of ten they can all do z. However it is possible to point out certain characteristics of young children which should be aware of and take into account in teaching.

Scott and Ytreberg also point out that children are divided into two main groups, the five to seven year olds and the eight to ten year olds. Through children characteristics of their development, it is assumed that the five to seven years old are all at level one (the beginner stage) and the eight to ten year olds may also be beginners, or they may have been learning the foreign language for some time, so there are both level one and level two pupils in the eight to ten age group.

What five to seven year olds can do at their own level can be seen as follows:

1. They can talk about what they are doing and their experience. It is not unusual that children of this age very eager to tell the adults about what they are doing or what they have done or heard
2. They can plan activities. Children sometimes imagine and plan what they are going to do on weekends. They are very enthusiasm in preparing all things they need for their weekend-plan. They also want their parents to know and talk to them about it
3. They can argue for something and reasoning about what they think. Children are usually very tough in arguing. Sometimes they support their opinion with any reason to win the debate. They want to show that they know what they say.
4. They can use their vivid imagination. It is not unusual to find a child talking alone but pretend as if he were with somebody. A child may make up story and tell his father that he just won a fight with a very frightening monster.
5. They can use a wide range of intonation pattern in their mother tongue. Children like singing and sometimes change the tone just to attract attention.
6. They can understand direct human interaction. Children understand that their parents love them through the affection behavior demonstrated by their parents.
7. They understand situation more quickly than they understand the language used. A child of five can sense that their parents are in fight even though he does not understand their words.
8. They have a very short attention and concentration span. Children of this age are very likely to see something and then could be shortly attracted by something else.
9. They have difficulty in knowing what is fact and what is fiction. Children believe that the sleeping beauty princess in the story is alive human and need to be consoled for being cursed by the witch.
10. They don’t ask what they don’t understand, they either pretend to understand or they understand in their own terms
11. They can’t decide what to learn
12. They enjoy playing alone, and even prefer playing alone than being put in groups and think that what they are doing is a real work.

Children of five are little children. Children of ten are relatively mature children with an adult side and a childish side. Many of the characteristics listed above will be things of the past.

As a comparison, the following is a series of things that children of eight to ten can do:

1. Their basic concepts are formed. They have very decided views of the world. They understand that earth is round not flat.
2. They can tell the difference between fact and fiction. They realize the characters in a story is invented. They are a life-like character made up from imagination
3. They ask questions all the time. They always need either to justify what they think or to ask what they don’t know
4. They rely on the spoken world as well as the physical world to convey and understand meaning. Children of this age already understand body language. A child will know that somebody say a lie since he talks to him but never look at his eyes.
5. They are able to make their own decision about their learning. Children of this age may object or agree to learn something this because they have already definite views about what they like and don’t like doing.
6. They have develop sense of fairness about what happens in the classroom and begin to questions the teacher’s decision
7. They are able to work with others and learn from others. They are ready to cooperate in groups and enjoy the togetherness

2. Approaches to Reading

As it is stated before teaching reading demands a right approach for certain level of students. (David Paul: 2003) There are 3 approaches which are discussed in this article: phonics approach, whole-word approach, and whole-language approach.

a.Phonics

Phonics is a widely used method of teaching children to read, although it is not without controversy. Children begin learning to read using phonics usually around the age of 5 or 6. Teaching English reading using phonics requires children to learn the connections between letter patterns and the sounds body of information about phonics rules, or patterns.

The spelling systems for some alphabetic languages, such as Spanish, are relatively simple because there is nearly a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and the letter patterns that represent them. English spelling is more complex because, although the spelling patterns usually follow certain conventions, every sound can be legitimately spelled with different letters or letter combinations.

For Example: the letter cluster ough represents

/ʌf/ as in enough,

/oʊ/ as in though,

/u/ as in through,

/ɔf/ as in cough, and

/æɔ/ as in bough.

Although the patterns are inconsistent, when English spelling rules take into account syllable structure, phonetics, and accents, there are dozens of rules that are 75% or more reliable.

A selection of phonics patterns is shown below.

Vowel phonics patterns

• Short vowels are the five single letter vowels, a, e, i, o, and u when they produce the sounds /æ/ as in cat, /ɛ/ as in bet, /ɪ/ as in sit, /ɑ/ as in hot, and /ʌ/ as in cup. The term "short vowel" does not really mean that these vowels are pronounced for a particularly short period of time. The use of the term is more conventional than meaningful.
• Long vowels are synonymous with the names of the single letter vowels, such as /eɪ/ in baby, /i/ in meter, /ɑɪ/ in tiny, /oʊ/ in broken, and /ju/ in humor. The way that educators use the term "long vowels" differs from the way in which linguists use this term. In classrooms, long vowels sounds are taught as being "the same as the names of the letters."
• Schwa is the third sound that most of the single vowel spellings can produce. The schwa is an indistinct sound of a vowel in an unstressed syllable, represented by the linguistic symbol ə. /ə/ is the sound made by the o in lesson. Schwa is a vowel pattern that is not always taught to elementary school students because it is difficult to understand. However, some educators make the argument that schwa should be included in primary reading programs because of its importance in reading English words.
• Closed syllables are syllables in which a single vowel letter is followed by a consonant. In the word button, both syllables are closed syllables because they contain single vowels followed by consonants. Therefore, the letter u' represents the short sound /ʌ/. (The o in the second syllable makes the /ə/ sound because it is an unstressed syllable.)
• Open syllables are syllables in which a vowel appears at the end of the syllable. The vowel will say its long sound. In the word basin, ba is an open syllable and therefore says /beɪ/.
• Diphthongs are linguistic elements that fuse two adjacent vowel sounds. English has four common diphthongs. The commonly recognized diphthongs are /aʊ/ as in cow and /ɔɪ/ as in boil. Four of the long vowels are also technically diphthongs, /eɪ/, /ɑɪ/, /oʊ/, and /ju/, which partly accounts for the reason they are considered "long."
• Vowel digraphs are those spelling patterns wherein two letters are used to represent the vowel sound. The ai in sail is a vowel digraph. Because the first letter in a vowel digraph sometimes says its long vowel sound, as in sail, some phonics programs once taught that "when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." This convention has been almost universally discarded, owing to the many non-examples. The au spelling of the /ɔ/ sound and the oo spelling of the /u/ and /ʊ/ sounds do not follow this pattern.
• Vowel-consonant-E spellings are those wherein a single vowel letter, followed by a consonant and the letter e makes the long vowel sound. Examples of this include bake, theme, hike, cone, and cute. (The ee spelling, as in meet is sometimes considered part of this pattern.)

Consonant phonics patterns

• Consonant digraphs are those spellings wherein two letters are used to represent a consonant phoneme. The most common consonant digraphs are ch for /tʃ/, ng for /ŋ/, ph for /f/, sh for /ʃ/, th for /θ/ and /ð/, and wh for /ʍ/ (often pronounced /w/ in American English). Letter combinations like wr for /ɹ/ and kn for /n/ are also consonant digraphs, although these are sometimes considered patterns with "silent letters."
• Short vowel+consonant patterns involve the spelling of the sounds /k/ as in peek, /dʒ/ as in stage, and /tʃ/ as in speech. These sounds each have two possible spellings at the end of a word, ck and k for /k/, dge and ge for /dʒ/, and tch and ch for /tʃ/. The spelling is determined by the type of vowel that precedes the sound. If a short vowel precedes the sound, the former spelling is used, as in pick, judge, and match. If a short vowel does not precede the sound, the latter spelling is used, as in took, barge, and launch.

The final "short vowel+consonant pattern" is just one example of dozens that can be used to help children unpack the challenging English alphabetic code. This example illustrates that, while complex, English spelling retains order and reason.

Sight words and high frequency words

• There are words that do not follow these phonics rules, such as were, who, and you. They are often called "sight words" because they must be memorized by sight.

• Teachers who use phonics also often teach students to memorize the most high frequency words in English, such as it, he, them, and when, even though these words are fully decodable. The argument for teaching these "high frequency words" is that knowing them will improve students' reading fluency.

Even though phonics can be very complicated, as all the pronunciation rules are introduced, but it can be a very useful way into reading for those learners who are not familiar with the roman alphabet or who do not have a one to one relationship between letters and sounds in their own written language. It is not to be recommended as the only way for those who already knows Roman alphabet, and it should not be taught to pupils who are learning to read using phonics in their own language –such as Indonesian- since this could lead to great confusion in pronunciation.

b. Whole-word Approach

Children learn cat, dog, table as whole, independent words. They are learning independent words and not focusing on the connection between one word and another. The children may practice reading by drawing pictures, next to the words, by coloring pictures next to the words, putting the words in puzzle, and these method certainly do a lot to increase the children’s retention of the words.

In the environment where there is a lot of natural reinforcement of English, this approach may achieve some success. However, in EFL situation where there is little natural reinforcement, the number of independent words the children are able to memorize comfortably is limited. Therefore, teacher may feel oblige to teach and test the vocabulary. This way the language is forced into the children, and many of them come to feel that learning English is difficult for them. Therefore, teacher needs to avoid technique which forces the language into the children. All things that need to be introduced should make children interested in learning English, and not afraid of learning it.

Ideally, children should develop literacy through real life settings as they read together with parents or other caring adults. Children begin to make connections between printed words and their representations in the world. Adults should keep in mind that children may learn to read at different paces during kindergarten and first grade. If parents and teachers work together and demonstrate mutual respect, children's learning will be reinforced at home and in the classroom

c. Whole-language Approach

The idea of "whole" language has its basis in a range of theories of learning related to the epistemologies called "holism." Holism is based upon the belief that it is not possible to understand learning of any kind by analyzing small chunks of the learning system. This is the theoretical basis for the term "whole language."

The whole language approach to phonics grew out of Noam Chomsky's conception of linguistic development. Chomsky believed that humans have a natural language capacity, that we are built to communicate through words.

Whole language approach stresses that language should be learned in a natural, meaningful context. Words should be learned as complete words, and sentences and whole stories should be learned with as little analysis as possible. The children are expected to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context or from hints. One example of a whole-language approach is students follow stories in books as we read them aloud, and in time, they will be able to read the stories by themselves

For this approach to work well, the children need a lot of exposure to words orally before they read or write them. They can then guess how to read words from context without breaking the words down phonically. Most children in EFL classes do not have enough exposure to oral English to be able to do this well.

This approach which placing emphasis on teaching words orally before reading is more appropriate for native speakers of English. However, it doesn’t mean that this approach can’t be used in EFL class. This approach may be combined with other approach to achieve some success. Moreover, combination of phonics and whole language learning can make a balanced approach to beginning reading, as long as Phonics is not taught as a separate "subject" with emphasis on drills and rote memorization. The key is a balanced approach and attention to each child's individual needs.

3. Building up to Reading

Speaking and listening are the first second language skills young learners use. Some will start to speak and understand a second language before they are proficient readers in their own language, and teachers of bilingual children often find that their students need to master reading in one language before they tackle reading in the second language. Teachers of younger children need to be sensitive to this, and at all ages, the oral / aural skills should be firmly established first before introducing reading and writing skills. For very young learners, the introduction of written English must be very gradual, starting with simple words and passive recognition. It's best to wait until written skills in children's first language are well established before you start to introduce reading in English. Gradually, students should build their reading skills so they can read silently and understand words, then sentences, and finally texts.

The following are some ideas to build up to reading:

Using visuals

Reading can be daunting if learners are faced with words that they do not understand and think that these words stop their overall understanding of the text. Pictures, illustrated story books and visuals can help with this situation, and teachers need to train their students to use the pictures which go with texts to help them. Teacher of EFL young learner can:

• tell the class the story, using and pointing to the pictures before they read it.
• get the students to tell the story from the pictures before they read the text.
• ask the students to point to the object / picture which relates to the unknown word as you read.
• remove unfamiliar words from the text before the students read it; ask them to use the pictures to complete the gaps with the best word in their own language, then supply them with the English words. In this way, they reach the meaning before they hear the word.

Reading aloud

Reading aloud is often used in classrooms and is a useful activity for helping EFL young learners with pronunciation. It can also, in some cases, show you whether your students have recognized the written form of words they know orally. Some words may be very familiar to your students when spoken, for example 'page', but their written form is not so easily related to the spoken form as it is with other words, such as 'leg'. Reading aloud can help to highlight this type of problem.

Reading Corner

Create a reading corner where children can choose a storybook. This can be done either when a student finishes a task early, or all the students reading in class at the same time. This reading corner gives students chance to choose the books of their interest. This allows them to have more experience with books by themselves. Teacher of EFL young learners should select appropriate books for their students because “too-difficult” or “too-serious” books may discourage them to read.

Games and Fun activities

Make reading fun for EFL young learners is a must. In this way, they will learn to read in English without noticing. Reading doesn't have to be done quietly and sitting down; however, make sure that sometimes it is a quiet activity, especially as the students approach taking their tests. Try these ideas:

1. Pairing and Memory games

Do lots of pairing and memory games in class, like snap for matching pictures and words.

You can extend this to matching sentences with pictures, for example by showing actions in progress with corresponding sentences, or single or multiple objects / people and sentences beginning 'there is/there are'.

2. Labelling

Label the classroom, starting with the most useful words such as 'board', 'chair' etc. and gradually adding to them as your students' vocabulary develops. Add colors and other adjectives.

Once your students can recognize these words easily, remove the labels and give them sticky card or papers with the same words on them. They then have to label the classroom.

Similarly, get your students to label parts of each others' bodies, or items of clothing. You could start by labeling yourself!

3. Using dictionaries

Always have some picture dictionaries in the classroom. Use them in activities in class so the children get used to using them and become more autonomous in their learning.

Here are some ideas on how to use dictionaries in the classroom:

Ø Children can make up their own picture dictionary. The picture dictionaries could be simply a picture with the word written next to it for young children. For learners with a higher level of English, you can include more language by getting them to write a sentence or a definition next to the picture.

Ø Provide dictionaries when the children are doing group or pair work. You can use dictionaries that focus on picture support and progress to dictionaries that provide written definitions when the children are at an appropriate level to cope with less support from pictures.

Ø Make up a questionnaire about the elements in a dictionary to introduce how to use one. This could be a way to develop their awareness of the content and teach the children how to get the most out of a dictionary.

Ø Get the children to check their spelling by using an English dictionary.

Ø Using picture dictionaries, get children to find one new word they'd like to learn and to check its pronunciation with you. They can then practise using this word or 'teach' it to their classmates.

Ø Using dictionaries is a good way to build up basic reading skills; at the lower levels learners have to recognise letters and learn about spelling patterns; once they have progressed onto English-English dictionaries, they need to read and understand simple definitions, as they do in the Cambridge Young Learners English tests.

4. Matching anagrams

Recycle vocabulary with anagrams so the children get used to spelling words correctly. Get the students to match anagrams which let them think and memorize the spelling simultaneously.

	p-a-n		n-a-p

d-e-a-r

r-e-a-d

For example:

5. Finding my partner

Prepare two sets of cards. One set has questions and the other set has the corresponding answers. You will need one card for each student in your class.

Divide the class into two groups.

Give the question cards to one group and the answer cards to the other so each child has a card.

Children read their card and then look for a partner in the other group so they can fit their cards together, e.g. 'Hello, how are you today?'; 'Fine, thanks and you?'

When all the pairs have been found, children should read out their cards and try to continue a mini-conversation.

Conclusion

There are many approaches that can be taken into account in teaching reading for children, especially for EFL students. However, not all approaches are appropriate for all EFL students. Teacher may need to consider how their students learn their first language before they decide their approach in teaching reading in English. For instance, children who are taught reading their first language by using phonics approach should not be taught by using phonics when they learn reading in English. The difference concept of how two letters combination may sound in their language and in English may create a great confusion. Moreover, the students need to be familiar with reading in their language before they start reading a foreign language.

Making the students learn to read English without noticing is very effective. Therefore, teacher needs to dig up or find many ideas or reading-like activities which may help their students read in English unconsciously and in a more fun way.

References:

Scott, Wendy A and Yterberg, Lisbeth H. 2000. Teaching English to Children. Hongkong: Longman Asia ELT

David Paul. 2003. Teaching English to Children in Asia. New York: Longman Inc

PETA contributors. 1990. Literacy at Home and School: A guide for Parents. Primary English Teaching Association

…..an Article: “Whole Language Approach” available online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_language

…..an Article: “Phonics in English” available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phonics

…an article: “Phonics and whole language learning: A Balanced Approach to Beginning Reading” available on line at www.kidsource.com/kidsorce/content3/phonics.whole.p.kl2.3.html-19k