Learning to Read

[Mije Speser]

Coming from an educator's background in teaching reading to struggling readers I have spent a lot of time thinking about how it is that a reader 'cracks the code' of the English language. I began teaching when we were taught that the student learns to read holistically, by sight and memory. Recently the pendulum has swung back the other way and the emphasis is on phonological awareness and the teaching of the sounds of our language. In the classroom I have decided that for the student the need to learn the alphabet and its sounds as well as the early patterns of spelling are of primary importance. But often it has happened that the student will soon begin to read new sounds and patterns independent of my teaching and take off- they crack the code for themselves! This points out the need to get students in text as soon and as often as possible. For our adult learners this means that it is important to encourage them to read and read and read.