ESL Student in 2nd Grade
I knew a 2nd grade ESL student. Let’s call her Chloe. Chloe’s first language was not English. She was a bright student who was keen to learn and grasp concepts, including phonics skills and sound-symbol relationships in the English Language.
When it came to standardized reading assessment for Chloe, as an ESL student in 2nd grade, she could read decodable texts without difficulty, and with appropriate reading fluency for comprehension.
However, when it came to oral retelling of a standard fiction or nonfiction text she just read, Chloe struggled with reading comprehension. WHY?
This ESL Student in 2nd Grade Could Read Every Word!
If Chloe, our ESL student in 2nd grade could read every word, then why was she scoring so poorly in reading comprehension?
Her reading rate, or speed, referred to as reading fluency was good. She was reading whole sentences, not one word at a time. So, when it comes to ESL students in 2nd grade, is phonics enough?
No. Phonics alone is not enough for a ESL student in 2nd grade.
So, what is the next step for Chloe?
Vocabulary. Chloe excels at quick recall of phonics, letters and sound-symbol relationships, but does she understand the meaning of some of the words she read?
Yes, she understands the meaning of some words, but many she does not. So, the next step for Chloe is to work on vocabulary study and what words actually mean. The more words that Chloe has some meaning for, the more words that she decodes in sequence will make sense. Her reading comprehension scores should significantly increase, and leave Chloe feeling much more confident as a reader.
