Hello. I am a student in Nancy Creech's reading class. I want to thank you all for giving us an opportunity to participate in these wonderful discussions. Everything that everyone has contributed has been really helpful for a future educator like myself.
Before I ask my question, I feel I should explain a few things. I was seven years old when I came to the United States. I was born and raised in Iraq. When I was 6 years old, my family made the decision to move to the U.S. We left Iraq, and found ourselves living in Italy for eight months before we landed in the U.S. Well, when I came to the States, I found myself speaking 3 languages: Arabic, Chaldean (which is a different dialect from Arabic), and Italian. Learning the English language was not difficult because I was at an age where I was able to pick up different languages without great difficulty, (hence why I was fluent in Italian after just 3 months in Italy!). Now that you understand my background, I will pose my question: Is it more effective for ESL students to learn to read first and focus less on comprehension, or should ESL students focus more on comprehension and less on accuracy? I would love to hear your opinions on this issue. Personally, for me, I focused more on accuracy. Once I gained accuracy, I began making meaning of what I read. Now, I am an English major who reads a novel a week for pleasure. My sister read in similar fashion. My brother, however, was a different story. He was taught to focus more on comprehension and less on accuracy. He dislikes reading with a passion because he struggles with accuracy. What do you think? _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
