Graciela told us that there were very few books in her house. Her mother reads some, but her mother only speaks Spanish. Subscriptions to high interest magazines in English would provide reading material in the home. If the magazine included content that would interest both mother and daughter, it might spark the mother’s interest in learning English while encouraging Graciela to read and translate for her mother. As they discuss the magazine issues Graciela’s comprehension should improve. Graciela should also be given audiobooks that match assigned class readings so she can follow along and hear the passages which she will be reading.
Graciela’s language arts teacher might encourage her to keep a dialogue journal in which she could express her responses to the English TV shows she watches or she could explain the Spanish channel shows to her teacher in English. Having to explain the Spanish shows would motivate Graciela to find equivalent English words for content which obviously interests her. Graciela could also practice retelling recently watched episodes in a small group. Each group member could ask her a question based on her retelling to which she would have to respond until the answer was clear to all in her group. She would also ask the other group members questions about their TV show retellings.
Graciela needs to be encouraged to join heterogeneous groups of students in social settings where she will want to speak English. After school social clubs, athletics, or book discussion groups, in which she is supported by fluent English speakers might give her the encouragement to take the language risks that would lead to improvement.
Choral reading and reading aloud in a safe small group setting, like a heterogeneous literature circle of her peers, could help Graciela improve her pronunciation skills. She should also receive direct instruction in those English sounds that she confuses with Spanish sounds, along with opportunities for practice.
Guided reading, along with the teacher’s unpacking passages aloud, will improve comprehension of English texts as well as model English used in a context of interest.
It is important for Graciela to have access to stimulating grade level content despite her deficits in English. To that end, sheltered instruction should be employed so she does not fall behind in other content areas while she is receiving instruction in the English language.
