An exploratory study of the feasibility of the Language Experience Approach (LEA) for teaching reading to semi-literate students of English as a second language (ESL) is presented. The instructional approach uses knowledge and interests from the students' own experience as the basis for teaching reading comprehension. The method was used with two…

The educational and linguistic rationales for designing an adult English-as-a-Second-Language literacy program based on phonics are discussed, with specific reference to an Ibibio adult literacy program in Nigeria. An introductory section gives an overview of Nigerian policy and practice concerning literacy education. Next, the phonics approach to…

During the 1979-1980 school year Project Primary Reading Objectives for Bilingual Education (P.R.O.B.E.) was involved in improving the rate of reading growth and cognitive development of four and five year olds from the Bronx, New York. In bilingual classes that were conducted primarily in Spanish, the 153 program participants received instruction…

This paper argues that literature-centered reading programs, based on the perspective that reading is the process of bringing meaning to print, are in the best interest of the language minority students in the nation's elementary schools. After a review of basal reading systems and language-centered reading programs, the paper describes the…

This guide, designed for regular classroom teachers in whose mainstream classes language-minority children are enrolled, offers background information and suggestions for helping these students become proficient in English reading and writing and for involving them as resources for global and cultural awareness in majority-language classmates. The…