Deaf ESL Students - Gallaudet University

students are encouraged to select picture
books, books with few words, and
books with simple labels and sentences.
Older students may be understandably
resistant to taking home picture
books because they seem juvenile.
Younger students are quick to comply.
After a few tries, all students begin to
understand the purpose of reading in
class and taking the books home. They
know they will be asked to share their
book with the class, make a drawing
about it, or write an entry in their journal.
Last year, one of my ESL students
kept a reading journal where he
recorded the names of all of his
favorite books and drew pictures of the
parts he liked the best. Now that he is
reading at a higher level, he likes to go
back to those same books that he now
reads easily and with confidence.
After students read a book independently,
they choose how they will
report on it. Some students favor standard
book reports for which they write
about the book and whether they like
it or not. Other students prefer to
focus on the part of the book that
interests them the most. They may
want to talk about it, write about it in
their journals, or use it as a topic for a
writing workshop. As long as I know
that they are taking the time to read
the book and are extracting meaning,
students have freedom of choice.
Reading to and with ESL students is
critical. It helps them develop the basic
skills beginning readers need to
become fluent readers. ESL students
should be introduced to English print
in the same manner as young children.
They have to go through the process
of learning how to read just as young
children do, step by step.
Like all children, ESL students
need exposure to a wide variety of
reading. They need to build background
knowledge and link their own
experiences to the information they
receive from books. Using these teach-
ing processes allows students to build
on their skills and progress. When they
see people reading to them, students
develop an interest in books. With
shared reading, they gain confidence
in their ability to participate, see connections
between English and signing,
and are able to contribute to discussions
and enjoy books they know.
Guided reading enables students to
develop strategies in tackling the text
and extracting meaning from it.
Independent reading allows them to
select their own books, discuss their
ideas about them, and make a connection
with reading at a personal level. ●
Maribel Garate, M.Ed., is an English as a second
language teacher/researcher at Kendall Demonstration
Elementary School, Laurent Clerc National Deaf
Education Center at Gallaudet University.
She welcomes comments about this article:
Maribel.Garate@gallaudet.edu.
10 Spring 2000