There is a widespread consensus in the research community that reading instruction in English should first focus on teaching letter (grapheme) to sound (phoneme) correspondences rather than adopt meaning-based reading approaches such as whole language instruction. That is, initial reading instruction should emphasize systematic phonics. In this…

Electronic Networks for Interaction (ENFI), an instructional tool for teaching reading and writing using computer technology, improves the English reading and writing of deaf students at all educational levels. Chapters address these topics: (1) the origins of the technique; (2) how ENFI works in the classroom and laboratory (software, lab…

This book describes how to establish a Cultural Exchange Program in a school. The Cultural Exchange Program is a partnership between special education students and teachers, regular education students and teachers, and the community. The program involves a member of the international community visiting the school approximately once a month. Before…

The guide provides adult literacy teachers with background information in adult learning and the performance-based approach to literacy education. The first section reviews theory and research on adult learning, including the factors affecting learning (language background, expectations, gender, learning styles and modes, age and health,…

Increasingly, foreign nationals living in Japan are sending their children to Japanese elementary schools. This requires that the children's native language be taught outside of school, most often at home. While teaching oral language is not difficult for parents, teaching reading requires different skills. Some difficulties in this process are…

US government mandates to implement intensive phonics instruction in elementary classrooms invoke an alleged scientific superiority of this approach over more meaning-centered models. But curiously absent from this scientific enterprise is a study of the phonics system itself. Advocates of intensive phonics have not demonstrated that the commonly…

The guide offers practical ideas to bilingual parents wishing to teach and encourage English-language reading while their children are attending Japanese-medium primary schools in Japan. Parents are encouraged to analyze their home language environment, including both spoken and written English use. The author provides anecdotal accounts of his…

Describes a literacy training program for adults with deafness, along with pre- and posttraining results of assessments of 10 adults enrolled in the program. The results indicated that the computerized drill and practice items used in the program were effective in increasing the English literacy of program participants. (23 references) (MDM)