I Get Stuck on Words

Description of Learner:
Kristi is a young black woman in her late twenties from the Ivory Coast, Africa. Her first language is French. She has lived in the United States for several years and has been in the learning center for over seven months. Kristi studied English in ESOL at the community college before coming to our class. She works full-time at an assisted living center. Upon entry her scores on the TABE, (Tests of Adult Basic Education: CTB/McGraw-Hill) were: reading, 5.3; math, 5.4. Her post intervention TABE scores were: reading, 4.5; math, 8.4. There is no reasonable explanation for why her reading scores went down.

Challenge:
Kristi reads English haltingly and is often puzzled when asked to answer questions that follow a reading passage. She says she doesn't understand the meaning of the passages and is often stuck on words. Limited understanding of key words in the title as well as the passages is her major obstacle to improving her reading comprehension.

What We Did:
Kristi willingly reads in class with clearly pronounced words even though her reading is halting. In most cases, I read the questions prior to a group reading. This process appears to help her to focus on certain key terms of the reading. However, often when we're reading one-on-one, she will stop, smile, and remain silent when we revisit a question. I'll ask her further, "what do you think is meant by these words?" Once, she replied using a French word, 'sacré.' I thought about that for a minute, and said, you mean, "secret? Sacred?" And she said yes to the second. Kristi could not think of the English word "sacred," but could point out the French cognate.

When Kristi is reading independently, I remind her to read the questions of a reading passage first. I ask her if she understands the questions. She uses a Standard English dictionary to look up words from the questions and readings. Kristi takes a long time to look up words, and when she reads definitions, she often is still puzzled by the word and how the word fits into the context of the reading. I ask her to guess at the meaning of words. When her guesses are good, I compliment her, and as she continues, her reading and expressions are more upbeat and confident.

Kristi has also been working on short essays based on topics from a General Educational Development Test (GED) website. This practice has helped her think about specific words. She has problems with the grammatical usage of prepositions, adverbs, adjectives and verbs, but she is thinking about and using more words as she writes about different topics. I heap praise on her for her initiative and efforts in using this writing approach to increase her English vocabulary. Writing is her homework!

Analysis:
Working one-on-one is a tedious process although she responds best in this manner. In a larger group setting, Kristi is overshadowed by vocal learners. She may share common confusion of words with others in the class, but beyond that, she may best be helped with the tutorial approach. The reading subject affects her success level in guessing at word meanings. She does not appear to get discouraged by the slow process, but maintaining some momentum in the reading process needs to be considered when working with her in a tutorial manner.

What I Learned:
Kristi's reading TABE scores remained about the same after seven months in our class. Technically, her score dropped for reading as noted above. She said that she doesn't have much time to read at home, so her participation in our class is her main opportunity. She is comfortable working one-on-one to learn more words. I suggested that she try to read English newspapers, magazines, and to watch television at home. She is quiet and soft-spoken, and I think that chatting with friends in English, with her neighbors, and perhaps speaking more with residents at her work, might all broaden her English vocabulary.

Kristi, Group Discussion:

Do you know how Kristi did at the community college studying in the ESOL class?
I asked her about it, and she said "I did good. I did one semester and did good."

What other learning strategies could you use to engage Kristi more actively to improve her reading comprehension?
I tried a visual approach with her twice. This strategy was to help her discuss key ideas and concepts from a visual stimulus. Kristi seemed to like doing this, and she led the discussion. I could expand this strategy by presenting her with visuals that incorporate key points from particular readings. I need to draw her out more and to encourage her to discuss questions and readings during a group discussion and when she works with a partner. When the latter occurs, I observe Kristi working quietly and diligently with a minimum of discussion with a partner. To get her to think about a main idea of a paragraph, I could read the paragraph, and she and others could echo my reading. This approach might lessen the frequency in which she stops during the reading process because she gets stuck on a word. Following my lead reading, they could read the passage silently again.

How are you able to spend that much one-on-one time with Kristi?
Our learning center averages a small number of adults. We have two facilitators for about six to ten adults, and this enables us to work closely with each of them.

How might Kristi benefit from better spoken English?
Comprehending instructions might improve for Kristi as her oral language skills improve. Overall comprehension is apt to improve. When she reads, greater familiarity with the sounds of the words might raise her level of confidence. This emotional state might lessen her reliance on her first language, French.

Summary:

Director's Comments:

Because Kristi is hesitant to converse even with a single partner during class time, you may wish to provide her with a set of questions or comments she can make consistently when discussing a reading passage. As her comfort level increases with repetitive comments that foster responses from a partner, her confidence may increase to the extent that she will become a bit more adventurous and initiate her own statements. By providing a tape recorder she can record herself reading which could be helpful. When using this strategy, have her number the tapes but not listen to them until she has practiced the same passage several times. Then have her record the last practice, so she can listen to her first recording then her last to hear her improvement. It seems that Kristi needs this type of concrete feedback to grasp her own progress. As recommended for Juan, you could encourage Kristi to develop her own pocket French/English dictionary for a quick reference when writing and communicating.