TUTORING TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNING READERS

Language Experience Approach

Step One – Identify the skills of beginning readers

Explain to tutors that a beginning reader may:

• Have a lot of difficulty spelling
• Read slowly, with many pauses
• Tell you that he or she has trouble reading and writing
• Only read words that he or she has memorized (i.e., a student who can read words like fox and glove but cannot sound out made‐up words like glox or flove)

Step Two – Explain the theory

The Language Experience Approach is a method for creating relevant reading materials for students. It also gives beginning readers the opportunity to learn about connections between the spoken and written word, be creative in a supportive environment and have a successful reading experience. It can be used with students of all ages, but it is especially useful for developing reading materials for older students. Although children’s books may seem ideal as they have a limited, simple, repetitive vocabulary, often these books are not appropriate for use with older students, especially high school students.

To use the Language Experience Approach, the tutor asks the student what he or she would like to write about e.g., a general topic for a journal or a specific assignment for school. The tutor could start with a question: “What did you do on the weekend?” or “What did you learn in history today?” The tutor writes the words exactly as the student says them. This creates reading materials that the student understands completely. The student can then focus on reading, without simultaneously trying to learn new words or concepts.