ESL Initiative

Sequencing and directionality are crucial to beginning learners and must be taught explicitly to learners. Some beginning learners have trouble with left to right progression and have a tendency to skip words. This generally means that learners are having trouble controlling eye movement. Some learners have an added difficulty in that any literacy training in their native language has been right to left. Tips: Have learners put pictures in order from left to right. Ask learners to sequence phrases on flashcards from left to right into English sentences. Then have the learners read them. Put a small piece of cardboard under the line of the text to encourage the eye to follow a line. Practice paired reading: read with the learner while using a finger or pencil to follow the line, making sure that the learner is actually reading. The instructor adjusts reading speed so that the instructor and learner speak together.