Working with whole texts
There is a lot of discussion about the most effective way to teach reading and there
is no single agreed method for teaching adults to read. English My Way advocates
an approach to teaching literacy that draws on the work of Sunderland and Spiegel
(2006) who argue that
“the development of literacy needs to be viewed within an empowerment ideology of
learning… Literacy ‘happens’ when the learner is placed at the centre of the process,
when this process is both personalised and located in meaningful contexts.” Spiegel
and Sunderland (2006:28)
This approach to teaching literacy starts from the whole text and integrates reading
strategies and skills as necessary. It is an integrated, learner centred approach.
Integrated
• by starting from whole texts and building in
work at sentence and word level
Learnercentred
• By working from contexts that are meaningful
and relevant to beginner learners
Choice of texts
The texts in the English My Way syllabus used to develop literacy skills are a mixture
of:
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texts written by the learners themselves
texts specifically written for this particular group of learners
authentic materials
Task
Consider how you choose texts for developing literacy skills in your classes.
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Which of the types of texts above do you use in your classes?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
© 2014 British Council
Working with whole texts
Texts written by the learners themselves
A key aim of English My Way is to create learning communities where everyone is
equal and has valuable experience to contribute. The teacher brings expertise in
teaching ESOL in the UK; while the learners contribute the experience and
knowledge they have accrued through their own unique and complex lives.
With a language experience approach, the teacher helps the learner(s) to write down
what they want to say and uses this text as the basis for further work on reading and
writing. By using the learners’ own stories the teacher is giving learners a voice and
showing them that their experiences and points of view are important. This is
particularly important with ESOL beginners, whose voices are not often heard.
How can a language experience approach help in the development of reading and
writing skills?
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The language used is the learners’ own language and so they will be reading
words they are already familiar with. This makes them easier to remember.
Learners will grow in confidence as they see they can learn to read
Learners are learning to read (and write) the words they want to use.
Learners can see the connection between speech and print.
The content is relevant to learners’ lives.
As well as learning to read the words, learners are also learning to compose as
they dictate the text
What are problems with this approach that may arise?
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Learners may not have enough vocabulary to construct texts and, therefore, texts
at this level may be very short, for example, “My name is Ali.”
Follow-on activities are not readily available – they will need to be developed by
the teacher, usually after the lesson.
It can be difficult to use this approach with individual learners in a group setting
as the process takes time and so it may be easier to use it with groups.
Teachers have less control over the vocabulary and structures used and more
able students may introduce more complex language. This may be a problem
when constructing a group text, as some learners may not understand the text.
For more detailed information about the language experience approach, go to the
language experience resources.
© 2014 British Council
Working with whole texts
Texts written for a specific group of learners
The English My Way activities include reading texts which have been written
specifically for low-level beginners with basic literacy needs. They are an integral
part of the teaching / learning process on the course:
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The vocabulary needed to understand the texts is pre-taught.
Many of the texts are accompanied by audio recordings.
The texts are introduced and practised as a whole group activity.
Follow-on activities give more practice in reading and writing
Many of the texts are revisited in the online lessons
The table below shows some advantages and potential problems of using readymade texts that you will need to be aware of when using them with your classes:
Advantages
The teacher / writer has control over
the vocabulary and structures
presented in the text and so
learners are not faced with a lot of
unknown content they might find
daunting and de-motivating.
The content can be chosen to build
on previous learning or used to
recap and consolidate previous
learning.
Follow-on and differentiated
activities can be planned in
advance.
Potential problems
The texts may be pitched at the wrong
level for (some of) the learners in your
group, especially if not written by the
teacher.
The texts may feel unnatural to some
learners.
Some learners may feel patronised by
the simple language used in beginner
texts.
These problems are more likely if learners have a ‘spiky profile’ with speaking and
skills at a higher level than their reading and writing skills. EMW activities have been
designed to meet the needs of learners who are beginners in all areas.
© 2014 British Council
Working with whole texts
Authentic materials
Authentic materials can be defined as resources that are not written for language
learning purposes. Some examples of authentic resources are:
 maps
 timetables
 leaflets
 government websites
 TV and radio programmes
What are the benefits of using them in the classroom?
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Learners are surrounded by authentic materials and need to be able to extract
information from them in their daily lives.
They connect the classroom to the real world and help to ‘bring the outside in’
(Cook and Roberts 2007)
They are relevant to learners’ local contexts.
They can help to build learners confidence, if used appropriately.
They often contain visual information that can help with understanding.
What are the potential problems when working with low-level learners?
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The language is not graded, so will contain words learners are unfamiliar with.
Beginner learners with very limited literacy in their first or other languages may
not recognise layout features such as headings and tables and how these can be
used to aid reading.
Beginner learners are unlikely to understand reading for gist and will want to read
everything.
Where possible, teachers are encouraged to use simple authentic texts, such as
tickets and timetables in the topic ‘Out and About’.
As with all classes, it is important to know your learners’ needs and interests. While
some learners will benefit from using authentic resources, others may feel
overwhelmed and de-motivated.
© 2014 British Council
Working with whole texts
Further reading
If you want to learn more about using authentic resources with ESOL learners, you
can read the short article by Sam Shepherd available at
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-authentic-materials. Alternatively,
there is a CPD module on the ESOL Nexus website at
http://esol.britishcouncil.org/content/teachers/staff-room/continuing-professionaldevelopment/using-authentic-materials-esol
Find out more about DARTs activities in the ‘How to ….’ Guide to Teaching
English My Way
There is also an article on the British Council website at:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/interacting-texts-directed-activities-relatedtexts-darts
Spiegel M. and Sunderland H., Teaching Basic Literacy to ESOL Learners, LLU+ London:
2006
Cook M. and Roberts C., Effective teaching and learning: ESOL, NRDC, London:
2007
© 2014 British Council