I'm tutoring one of my friends in English. She immigrated here from China a decade ago. Since then, shes been able to learn enough english to get by. She can communicate her ideas verbally and has a relatively firm grasp on understanding spoken english. Her weakest area is in reading and writing.
She wants to take some classes to get a RN degree, but she realizes that her reading comprehension isn't good enough.
Are there any tools to identify what reading level she is at so that I can find appropriate workbooks/practice material?
Any recommended books/materials you would recommend for her to use, or for me to use as a reference when tutoring her?
How to identify correct reading level?
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bonez318ti
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- Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:13 pm
- Location: New York
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bonez318ti
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:13 pm
- Location: New York
More on her educational background
She skipped a few years of school between here and China. She was sick for much of her childhood and got a late start in her education. Unfortunately, when she immigrated to NY, they placed her in school based on her age, and not on what is appropriate for her based on her education. While the systems are already disparate enough, she essentially skipped middle school (grades 5-8 ), and was placed into high school.
Through the help of her peers and rote memorization, she got through high school and more amazingly college, (with a 3.5 or so GPA !?@?)
Although she has a relatively large vocabulary, there are rudimentary skills that she lacks. When I asked her to read something back to me (an artical out of the WSJ), she had trouble with some unfamiliar words, sometimes she would say a similar word that might have the first few letters in common.. so I think she never really learned phonics, and her knowledge of english is more based on memorizing words (thats how Chinese is taught). I also had her read the first few pages of a novel, and when we discussed it, I think she has some problems with reading comprehension.
So this complicates things, should I have her start at the beginning? (ie: get some 1st-2nd grade reading level work books)
Since she already got into a nursing program, which she deferred until this fall, she doesn't have a lot of time to build her skills.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Through the help of her peers and rote memorization, she got through high school and more amazingly college, (with a 3.5 or so GPA !?@?)
Although she has a relatively large vocabulary, there are rudimentary skills that she lacks. When I asked her to read something back to me (an artical out of the WSJ), she had trouble with some unfamiliar words, sometimes she would say a similar word that might have the first few letters in common.. so I think she never really learned phonics, and her knowledge of english is more based on memorizing words (thats how Chinese is taught). I also had her read the first few pages of a novel, and when we discussed it, I think she has some problems with reading comprehension.
So this complicates things, should I have her start at the beginning? (ie: get some 1st-2nd grade reading level work books)
Since she already got into a nursing program, which she deferred until this fall, she doesn't have a lot of time to build her skills.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
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Sally Olsen
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- Location: Canada,France, Brazil, Japan, Mongolia, Greenland, Canada, Mongolia, Ethiopia next
I would suggest that she buy the text books that she will read for her course. There are usually vocabulary lists or glosseries at the back and she can memorize those gradually with your help and explanation. You can read the first few chapters on tape and go through them pointing out how she should study the text, how to remember items that are important and what those are, etc. Try to get some notes from former students and copies of their assignments to show her what is expected and the level that she will need to accomplish. Get her to watch any medical shows that she can on TV with the subtitles on so that she can see the words that they use in the medical field in context. Get her to join a chat line in the medical field.
Last edited by Sally Olsen on Tue May 17, 2005 5:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Really great suggestions from Glenski and Sally Olsen.
I'd just like to add a couple more.
Reading specialists often use the 90% accuracy mark to decide what a client's reading level is. That is to say, to avoid frustration and maximize enjoyment and learning, readers should be able to correctly identify and comprehend at least 9 out of every 10 words they read in the text. Often you'll be surprised that a client's reading level is therefore much lower than you initially expected.
How do you assess this? Have your client read out loud. For every word read easily make a mark on one side of a paper. For every word that's tricky, make a mark on the other side. (Also, ask your client to tap the table or something every time she comes up against an unknown word, just in case sometimes she can read aloud words she doesn't understand at all.) Then after a paragraph or two tally up the marks. If she's under 80% accuracy, don't even consider using the text yet because it will be very stressful for her. She might be able to slog through it with lots of effort, but it won't be that useful. 80% accuracy is a minimum. 90% or higher accuracy is what you really want.
Also, you were wondering about phonics. I don't know your student, but from what you wrote I would definitely consider giving a short phonics lesson as part of each session with her. It sounds like she missed out on a lot of basic information. I think a solid foundation in phonics will help her as she encounters more and more unknown words in her nursing curriculum. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of great phonics programs made just for adults. the Lindamood LiPS program is the least age-specific one I know of. Wilson Readers (made for kids)... are really easy to use, too.
Good luck,
-EH
I'd just like to add a couple more.
Reading specialists often use the 90% accuracy mark to decide what a client's reading level is. That is to say, to avoid frustration and maximize enjoyment and learning, readers should be able to correctly identify and comprehend at least 9 out of every 10 words they read in the text. Often you'll be surprised that a client's reading level is therefore much lower than you initially expected.
How do you assess this? Have your client read out loud. For every word read easily make a mark on one side of a paper. For every word that's tricky, make a mark on the other side. (Also, ask your client to tap the table or something every time she comes up against an unknown word, just in case sometimes she can read aloud words she doesn't understand at all.) Then after a paragraph or two tally up the marks. If she's under 80% accuracy, don't even consider using the text yet because it will be very stressful for her. She might be able to slog through it with lots of effort, but it won't be that useful. 80% accuracy is a minimum. 90% or higher accuracy is what you really want.
Also, you were wondering about phonics. I don't know your student, but from what you wrote I would definitely consider giving a short phonics lesson as part of each session with her. It sounds like she missed out on a lot of basic information. I think a solid foundation in phonics will help her as she encounters more and more unknown words in her nursing curriculum. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of great phonics programs made just for adults. the Lindamood LiPS program is the least age-specific one I know of. Wilson Readers (made for kids)... are really easy to use, too.
Good luck,
-EH
Lots of great ideas and input. Although it is important for students to have a certain level of confidence in what they are reading, my experience has been that 90% comprehension is a bit more than is necessary. I have usually shot for 80% The key issue, however, is not coming up with a percentage, but simply being aware of what your student is comfortable with. Some student need more support and other need less. I try to encourage all of them to challenge themselves and get used to ambiguity as soon as possible. In addition, relevance of topic and interest in topic is often more important than the number of unfamiliar words. I have found that the more relevant the topic is and the more interested the student is, the more able the student becomes in dealing with the ambiguity of new words. In the end, however, it all depends on the student. Tune into this student and learn how to become aware of what works for her. The advantage of more new words is faster learning. The disadvantage is that she may become discouraged if she feels overwhelmed. Given that this student wants to go to nursing school, she had better start increasing her vocabulary quickly. Does she have a list that you go over with her regulary? Are you using topics related to her interests?