Teaching Reading to Adult English Language Learners

In March 2006, The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center (VALRC) announced a new publication available online, Teaching Reading to Adult English Language Learners: A Reading Instruction Staff Development Program. The development of the trainings and subsequent document was funded with a federal English Literacy and Civics grant from the Office of Adult Education and Literacy, Virginia Department of Education. This document was prepared by the Center for Applied Linguistics for the Adult ESOL Program, Office of Adult and Community Education, Fairfax (VA) County Public Schools.

According to VALRC:

This 15-hour training will acquaint participants with the fundamental knowledge and skills required to teach reading effectively to adult, nonnative speakers of English. The content is based on research on the reading process in general, on the process of learning to read as an adult, and learning to read in another language. The training is designed to be delivered by ESL instructional specialists at the local level or by trainers from the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, most typically in workshop settings with a practicum component. That is, between workshop sessions, participants apply what they have learned in the previous sessions to their own classroom instruction.

The document is available for download online at www.valrc.org/publications/pdf/teachingreading.pdf

For more information, contact:

Nancy R. Faux
ESOL Specialist
Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
nfaux@vcu.edu
http://www.valrc.org
1-800-237-0178