Case study: student Tanatarova Mukhaddas

Case study: student Tanatarova Mukhaddas
Ayparsha arrived in the spring. She had no English and had never been in school before. Because it was late in the year, the teachers gave her time to adjust to school and learn basic oral English, without really working on literacy skills. She has been at your school for a year now, and teachers are starting to worry, because her literacy skills seem to be stalled in neutral. She has difficulty copying off the board, getting each letter in the right place. Ayparsha has trouble tracking, and she doesn't know the names of all the letters, so she can't remember more than one in her head when copying. In addition, when she has finished, (usually last in the group) she has often missed several letters (or words). Since she can't reread what she's copied on her own, she can't tell if she missed something or not. When you read it back to her, she isn't able to spot when a word is missing, she just readjusts where her finger is pointing, as if you have missed a word.
Reading Recovery proposes three main ways for students to figure out a new word or a word that is unknown: "get your mouth ready" by saying the first sound of the word; ask yourself if your "guess" make sense; and look at the picture to help you figure out the word. Ayparsha relies heavily on the picture clues to figure out words she doesn't know. Since she isn't sure of all of the letters and the sounds they make, it is difficult for her to get her mouth ready. Also, most of this language doesn't make sense to her, so at this point she can't rely on that strategy too heavily.
A good place to begin with any student with a background similar to Ayparsha’s is to recognize that the learning curve will be steeper when there is limited literacy in the primary language. Ayparsha does not have the literacy skills in her native language to transfer to reading and writing in English. Understanding that Ayparsha will be learning to read and write for the first time in an unfamiliar language may help you keep your perspective on how quickly she can move ahead. With Ayparsha you can start with the language she does know and begin building her literacy from there. Focus on developing Ayparsha's reading and writing skills with the English she does know. The main thing is not to wait to begin reading and writing.
Use situations that are real to the student and use meaning-full language. Ayparsha must see the purpose for learning to read and write. Perhaps you can write her a simple "daily message" she can respond to. She can learn that reading and writing are ways to communicate. Eventually, she can write to you: maybe questions about the class, a note about what she will do on the weekend, something she would like you to know, etc. All students enjoy stories, find age-appropriate stories that match Ayparsha’s interests. Ayparsha can write about what she liked in the story, draw pictures to illustrate it, write a letter to a character to give him/her advice. Ayparsha can use art to illustrate vocabulary or depict what she did during lunch. She can label the items in the picture. Whatever age student you work with, you can adapt these strategies to fit Ayparsha’s age level.