The Language Experience Approach (LEA) to teaching reading in English as a second language is described. LEA uses the student's own experiences, vocabulary, and language patterns to create texts for reading instruction. Three stages are defined for assessing learners' levels of language use. The LEA instructional procedures are designed to be…

Considers approaches to English-as-a-second-language instruction that utilize or encourage the use of story-telling to help participants share and grow, and use language, beyond the limits of pre-set, traditional curriculum. (Author/CB)

A rationale and procedures for teaching limited and non-English speaking children to read and write English by using the language experience approach are presented in this paper. The paper suggests that the language experience approach combined with a strong program in oral English development will provide such children with the opportunity to…

The 38 essays in this book look back at language experience as an educational approach, provide practical classroom applications, and reconceptualize language experience as an overarching education process. Classroom teachers and reading specialists describe strategies in use in a variety of classroom settings and describe ways to integrate…

This handbook, developed for an adult learning center in Pennsylvania, uses word processing instruction on Apple IIe computers to promote student writing. The handbook was designed for use by adult basic education, General Educational Development, and English-as-a-Second-Language students who read at a fourth-grade level or higher. In the 15…

A method is described for teaching writing to students for whom English is nearly a "first" language by virtue of the nature and circumstances of their use of it. The basic tenet of the approach is that the student can only learn to write well if he has a belief in himself and in the value of his own responses. To write well, the student must…

The Language Shaping Paradigm (LSP) is designed to help improve student language and comprehension by evoking a sample of language and aiding students in a critical review of their personal patterns of language, comprehension, and thought. The basic teaching strategy is built upon having students read essays written or dictated by classmates. Each…

The book is both a guide to the language experience approach for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and a collection of one ESL student's personal narratives about his home country. The first section describes the language experience approach, which uses the student's own language and experience as the source of second language learning…

A second grade teacher's use of storytelling to teach English language skills to both native speakers and learners of English as a second language (ESL) is described. The technique combines the concept of comprehensible input, the importance of stories and storytelling to children, and a commitment to teaching writing skills. Early in the day, all…

The curriculum materials in this guide are drawn mainly from in-depth interviews with six persons, five of whom live in the Germantown or Logan sections of Philadelphia and all of whom represent some of the diverse cultural backgrounds found in these two neighborhoods. In addition to the stories of these six persons, six additional stories present…

Learning to write in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) provides learners with a voice in their new culture and enhances language acquisition. There are two general approaches to teaching writing: free writing, which is not necessarily edited or revised, and process writing which is revised and edited and shared with a wider audience. In addition,…

A method for teaching second language writing to beginning students that combines the Language Experience Approach and process writing is described. The method limits the writing task and fosters success. The lesson-by-lesson implementation plan outlined helps teachers guide students from the conception of a writing topic to a first draft, through…

This guide is intended for adult educators who work with limited English-speaking students in need of special literacy instruction. It was developed as an outgrowth of classes with adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Many of the students had little formal schooling in their native languages. The…

The LEX [language experience] Process for English Reading Instruction, a pilot project of the Guadalupe Educational Programs, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, during 1980-81, is presented in this 300-page manual that describes how the LEX Process model may be replicated by educational agencies seeking to provide survival and functional English as a…

Five approaches currently used in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) literacy instruction are described. A group of strategies developed by Paulo Freire are participatory or learner-centered, and revolve around the discussion of issues drawn from learners' real-life experiences. The Whole Language Approach, more than a specific method or…