Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Blog #4

        I chose to look at adult text in Russian.  My in-laws adopted three Russian kids two years ago, they are now sophomores and seniors in high school, and I have watched them learning their new language. I have my ESL endorsement and have done some work with them when they first arrived in the country. It was absolutely remarkable to watch how quickly they were able to pick up the language.  Because of my relationship with these kids I have looked at the Russian written language a time or two and have not seen ANY similarities to English.
        I first looked at a Russian newspaper that Nikita showed me online. I was not able to understand a single word of the text. The basic rules still applied, I could see there was a title and what looked like a city name, but after that I was lost. In order to comprehend anything I had to go all the way back to a children's book, a basic children's book. Even at this level the only level of comprehension that occurred was via the pictures.
        I think that the implication on the teacher is to consistently be aware that the information in the text you are wanting students to read is not always accessible. The strategies that are designed for English Language Learners are beneficial for the entire class and should be used consistently. This experience of attempting to read a foreign text was a great eye opener for me and I will remember it the next time a language learner is struggling in my room.

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