----- Original Message ----- From: Dr. Rachel Segev-Miller - aki_seg@xxxxxxxxxx Subject: MORE ABOUT MY TEXT IN CAPS BELOW FOR EASE OF REFERENCE ----- Original Message ----- [1] From: byk - byk@xxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Return to the question of reading "Now I know this is not true in every class, and I am certainly not blaming the teachers for this state of things. Many of them are barely trained, and are thrown in at the deep end" OF COURSE TEACHERS ARE NOT TO BLAME "with no real guidance from their text books" THE PROBLEM IS THE TEXTBOOK HAS BECOME THE SYLLABUS FOR MANY TEACHERS WHO FOLLOW IT BLINDLY. A RECENT ISSUE OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN DEVOTED TO THE ISSUE. "(And no guidance or knowledge as to how to choose a text book)" I TEACH TWO COURSES ON TEXTBOOKS: ONE IN THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, THE OTHER IN THE ME.D. PROGRAM IN HEBREW. BUT IT'S CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH [ONE SEMESTER EACH], AND PEDAGOGICAL INSTRUCTORS SHOULD ALSO DO STH ABOUT IT. I ALSO KNOW SUCH A COURSE IS NOT OFFERED BY ALL THE COLLEGES. Of course you may all disagree with me. And of course there are many different strategies for teaching language. But it should be obvious to all, that when we have reached 22 pupils out of a class of 35, who need to be read to, that something is wrong with the way technical readiing (decoding), is being taught. I am suggesting that much more attention should be paid to it in the early grades, when the children have the patience to practice what might later be considered boring. I AGREE: THERE IS NO READING WITHOUT DECODING [AND VOCABULARY]. [2] From: "Leah Urso" <morahleah@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [etni] Re: teach them to read "After reading all the responses to Jennifer's letter, I'd like to throw out a question - doesn't seem clear that a mixture of strategies is the only way to teach reading? Just as readers use various strategies to understand what they are reading" OF COURSE, EXCEPT MOST EFL TEACHERS DON'T KNOW/TEACH THAT MANY READING STRATEGIES. MY MORE RECENT SURVEY HAS INDICATED 8-10, WHICH IS AN IMPROVEMENT ON AN EARLIER ONE WHICH INDICATED 5-7. HOWEVER, RESEARCH TO DATE HAS INDICATED GOOD READERS MAY USE AS MANY AS 140. "a teacher should expose students to a variety of learning strategies" READING STRATEGIES CONSTITUTE A SUBCATEGORY OF LEARNING STRATEGIES, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH THESE. SEE: Cohen, A. D. (1998). Strategies in learning and using a second language. New York: Longman. AKI Dr. Rachel [Aki] Segev-Miller The English Department, The Center of Academic Literacy, & The M.Ed. Program in Interdisciplinary Education Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology, and the Arts; & The M.Ed. Programs in Language Education & Learning and Instruction Levinsky College of Education Tel-Aviv, Israel tel. (w) +972-3-6902362; (h) +972-9-9571560; (mobile) 050-7225822 email: aki_seg@xxxxxxxxxx; aki.segev@xxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------- ** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org or - http://www.etni.org.il ** ** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx ** ** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** -----------------------------------------------