Bilingualism

Language learning is in constant evolution. The language teacher needs to be updated in the latest and most recent language learning techniques and strategies. Therefore it is necessary for thelanguage teacher to analyze, scrutinize, and critique professional language learning articles. The article chosen to be studied is What reading teachers should know about ESL learners by Mary J.Drucker. Through the use of this article, besides providing a brief summary, I will identify those strategies that seem effective in my classroom as well as those that might need adjustments in order to beused with my students.
What reading teachers should know about ESL learners presents four classroom scenarios where the language learner is immerse in the second language: oral communication, readingand writing, cultural awareness and understanding, and vocabulary. In the first case - oral communication - the language teacher should be able to discriminate between informal oral communicationfrom academic oral communication within the students. The use of language outside the classroom does not determine the students’ second language proficiency. The strategies used to improve languageunderstanding are: previewing reading sections and choral reading. In the second scenario – reading and writing – teacher must understand that reading and writing depend on one another, they areintricately intertwined. A language learner needs sounds (phonetics) to write and needs writing to sound out (read). The strategies used to enhance the simultaneous process of reading and writing are:shared reading, paired reading, and the use of audiotapes. The third situation presented – cultural awareness and understanding – acknowledges the importance of culture in a language learners’understanding of a text. Better comprehension is achieved through the use of texts that present a familiar culture to the language learner. The tools and/or strategies used to ignite awareness and...