CRITICAL REVIEW
Teaching Children Literacy Skill in a Second Language
Teaching Children Literacy Skill in a Second Language
By Anne Ediger
Reviewed By:
Suprayoga
State University
of Malang
Graduate Program
in English Language Teaching
Academic Year
2011-2012 (3rd Semester)
Abstract
This
paper reviews the article made by Anne Ediger entitled “Teaching Children
Literacy Skill in a Second Language in “Teaching English as Second or
Foreign Language” by Celce-Murcia (Ed). 3rd Edition, Boston:
Heinle&Heinle, pp. 153-169)
Key
words: literacy skill, second language
I.
Introduction
In my opinion, Ediger ‘s article (2001:
153-169) with title “Teaching Children Literacy Skill in a Second Language” in
“Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language Third Edition by
Celce-Murcia” explains very clearly that
teaching children literacy skill in a second language is very important.
It
is also supported by Diane August (2006: 1). She states Literacy in English is
essential to achievement in every academic subject—and to educational and
economic opportunities beyond schooling.
This critical review will be done on
that article because the reviewer thinks that teaching children literacy skill
in a second language is important thing to be shared with others. Writing this
critical review, the reviewer hopes that many people will know about the
material discussed in the article.
II.
Result of Discussion
Ediger (2001:
154) states
reading involves six general component skills: automatic recognition skill,
vocabulary and structural knowledge, formal discourse structure knowledge,
content/world background knowledge, syntatic and eveluation skill/strategies,
metacognitive knowledge and skill monitoring. In line with Ediger’s statement. Pang (2006: 6) states reading is
a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists
of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition
refers to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s
spoken language. Comprehension is the process of making sense of words,
sentences and connected text.
Ediger (2001: 155) states children
learning to read in their L1 generally are already fluent in speaking and
understanding the target language when they begin school. On the other hand,
ELLs do not necessarily have oral ability in the L2 yet and generally cannot
fall back on an oral knowledge of what they are learning to read and write.
Haneda (: 342) states in many cases, ELL students were seen to engage in
literacy practices that are bilingual or multilingual in nature as an integral
part of their lives. Saville (2006: 136-137) states for the priorities of L2
communicative activities, reading is much more important for academic than for
interpersonal needs, speaking is much more important for interpersonal needs
than for academic purposes.
Moreover, Ediger (2001: 155) states just
as NES children bring valuable oral language knowledge to learning to read and write,
the L 1 and literacy background that ELLs may bring with them is a valuable
asset to their L2 and literacy learning. In line with Ediger, Roberts (1994)
states with the complexity inherent in defining literacy, research evidence is
clear that basic literacy skills developed in L1 transfer to L2. Unfortunately,
this evidence is not always acted upon. Such evidence can and should be used to
promote L1 literacy programs where possible, and where not possible,
practitioners can be reassured that there is evidence that L2 literacy can be
developed through educational practices that recognize and take advantage of a
literate environment.
Ediger (2001: 156) states in ESL
learning context, teachers must be cautious about making any assumptions about
the cultural or language backgrounds of ELLs. Pang (2006: 6) states Readers typically make use of background
knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge, experience with text and other
strategies to help them understand written text.
Ediger (2001:
156) states ESL learners often come with very different prior experiences with
literacy in their native cultures, and they may have experienced different
values and function s ascribed to
literacy.
Weaver (1994)
devides the approach into two major categories
Part-Centered (Code-Emphasis) Methods
Part-centerd method includes phonic
approach, linguistic approach, a sight word approach, a basal reader approach.
Socio-Pscholinguistics (Meaning-Emphasis) Approaches
Socio-Pscholinguistics
(Meaning-Emphasis) Approaches includes the language experience approach, a literature-bbaed aproach, the whole
language approach.
The Phonic/Whole Language Debate
Numerous studies have attempted to
determine the relative effectiveness of many
of these methods. Unfortunately the results often have been inconclusive
or even contradictory.
There
are many strategies to facilitate second language literacy development. They
are as follows:
Expose
Students to the Many Uses of Print around Them
Have
the students make label. focus attention on the print around the classroom,
school, neighborhood. manage aspects of classroom business in writing.
establish a regular place to post announcements or messages. Record class
discussions on chart paper, keep these posted as long as a theme is being
studied. Create areas in the room for specific literary purpose.
Provide
Opportunities for Children to Read More Extensively on a Subject
Use
content study as the context for literacy development.
Provide
Authentic Purposes for Reading and Writing
Use
students’ natural urge to communicate when information for authentic purposes.
Provide
Scaffolding for Learning
Scaffolding
involves the setting up of temporary supports, provided by capable people, that
permit learners to participate in the complex process before they are able to
do so un assissted.
Use Oral
Skills to Support Reading and Writing Development
Van
den Branden (2000) when children were allowed to negotiate meaning of an
original text they were reading , either through whole class discussion with
facilitation by the teacher or with a peer of
a different level olanguage proficiency, they were able to comprehend
better.
Focus Students’ Attention on Reading and Writing
Strategies
First,
call attention to any strategies students are already using. Then, model some
of these strategies for students by thinking aloud the thoughts going through
your mind as you use them
III.
Conclusion
Literacy is an important skill. It is
badly needed in line with the effort of getting better achievement in academic
and economic opportunities. There are many strategies to facilitate second
language literacy development. They are as follows 1) label items in the room,
2) focus attention on the print around the classroom, school, or neighborhood,
3) manage aspects of classroom business in writing, 4) establish a regular
place to post announcements or messages, 5) record class discussion on chard
paper, keep these posted as long as a theme is being studied, 6) create in the
room for specific literacy purpose
References
Ediger, A. (2001).
Teaching Children Literacy Skill in a
Second Language in “Teaching English as Second or Foreign Language”
by Celce-Murcia (Ed). 3rd Edition, Boston: Heinle&Heinle.
Pang, E. S, et
al. (2003). Teaching Reading. International Academy Education. (Online)
http//www. ibe. unesco.org. Accessed on February 5th, 2012
Haneda, M. (). Becoming
Literate in a Second Language: Connecting Home, Community, and School Literacy
Practices. THEORY INTO PRACTICE, 45(4), 337–345. Accessed on May 30th,
2012
Roberts, C. A.
(1994). Transferring Literacy Skills From L1 TO L2: From Theory To Practice.
The Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, v13 p.
209-221, Spring 1994. (Online) http://www.ncela.gwu.edu. Accessed on May 30th,
2012
Saville, M.
(2006). Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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