[etni] Re: Session with Judy Steiner in Jerusalem
- From: Rivka Lewenstein <rlewen@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Elen Gefen <elen_g@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 13:58:30 -0700 (PDT)
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After I posted my first message about the session with Judy Steiner in
Jerusalem about a week and a half ago, I began receiving e-mails asking what
Judy had to say about English speakers and their rather unspectacular
performace on some of the modules. I apologize for not posting a response
immediately, but Erev Pesach was rather chaotic by us, and I didn't have a
minute to spare, not even for ETNI!
Now that I have time to breathe, I'll give you Judy's answer. According to her,
the reading comprehension part of the Bagrut is meant to test reading
comprehension rather than English. Just as in the United States or England, not
all native speakers pass reading comprehension tests, even though they are
totally fluent in English, so too here, our native speaker students may know
the language yet fail the test because they don't have the strategies necessary
to cope with reading comprehension tests. The same, of course, happens with
Israelis taking reading comprehension exams - many of them fail despite being
native Hebrew speakers. Judy's solution was to make sure to thoroughly teach
our students reading strategies which will allow them to deal with any and all
texts and questions thrown at them.
Has that convinced you? In mu opinion, this answer is just not good enough, and
here's why: I agree that knowing a language doesn't automatically make you a
good reader, and as a result, I wouldn't expect all native speakers to pass the
Bagrut exam with high grades. However, we have to remember that this is not an
exam designed for native speakers, which means that the reading comprehension
shouldn't be on the same level of difficulty as an American SAT test, for
example. We can't expect non-native speakers to have the same degree of
comprehension as native speakers, so an exam written primarily for Israelis
should be relatively easy for native speakers who were taught basic reading
comprehension skills. And knowing the caliber of the teachers who teach native
speakers, I have no doubt that 99% of native speaker students were indeed
taught those skills plus much more.
Second, while once again agreeing that in all English-speaking countries, a
certain percentage of the population fails reading comprehensiont tests, that
percentage is high when testing all segments of the population, from kids in
the slums to kids in top private schools, and a full range of IQs. However, my
feeling is (and correct me if I'm wrong) that in Israel, only the best and the
brightest are allowed entrance into the English speakers groups. Other native
speakers who don't cut the grade usually end up in the regular hakbatzot.
Therefore, the percentage of students learning in native speaker groups who
fail the Bagrut should be extremely low.
In addition, Judy's answer in no way explains the discrepancies in grades
between one moed and the next, as have been posted here on ETNI. (That, BTW, is
a general problem, not connected only to English speakers, but I won't get into
that here.)
I'd love to hear what the rest of you feel about this issue.
Have a happy and kosher Pesach,
Rivka
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