Post submitted by Reading Horizons employee Katie Farber.

I had never put too much thought into ordering a pizza.  That is, until I visited Italy.  Unfortunately for me, I do not speak Italian. So, besides being overwhelmed by so many different tempting options—they take their toppings very seriously over there—it was difficult enough trying to decode the menu, let alone attempt to translate the final decision.  Who knew that “carne di cavallo” translated to “horsemeat?”  That is one thing that I definitely don’t want anywhere near my pizza.

The food wasn’t the only experience Italy had to offer.  Everywhere I went I was constantly surrounded by a beautiful, romantic language—which I couldn’t understand.  Of course, the magic wasn’t lost to me; Italy, with all its majestic fountains, breathtaking artwork, and its graceful assimilation of modern and historical, well it’s captivating to say the least.  I definitely did not need any wine to become intoxicated; the culture alone was enough.  Still, missing out on the language and full understanding of the Italians was something I could not get out of my mind.

Sure, I could decode body language and facial expressions and, for the most part, communicate with the locals well enough to get by, but a part of me pined after the language.  I wanted to—and still want to—learn to speak Italian.  That’s when it donned on me; by having the experience of making it through Italy with little-to-no language skills, I can relate to someone trying to make their way through life in the U.S. without English language skills.

Statistics show that “about 1,000,000 people legally immigrate to the U.S. annually” ("Energy of a Nation: Immigration Resources, A Project of The Advocates for Human Rights").  Research done among immigrants revealed that “only 37 % of immigrants say they already had a good command of English when they came to the U.S.  Among Mexican immigrants, the number drops to 7%” (Farkas).  Additional research done by Farkas, Duffett, Johnson, Moye, and Vine shows that nearly nine in ten immigrants feel that it is extremely important for immigrants to learn English.

English language learning is a difficult task, but as the attitude of the general public and immigrants alike reflects, reading skills are invaluable.  “63 % of immigrants believe that ‘all public school classes should be taught in English,’ rather than ‘offering some courses in their native tongue’” (Farkas).  Because of my time spent in Italy, trials and adventures alike, I now understand why there are strong feelings about learning to speak English. “English is now the most widely learned second language in the world…over 700 million [people] speak English as a foreign language” ("English Language Guide").

I had always taken my English language skills for granted—like I said, even when it came to ordering a pizza.  I am so grateful for my English language comprehension.  I just wish I had the same understanding of language in Italy.  Let’s just say, it would have saved me from a lot of “interesting” culinary experiences.  I was always on the look out for a pepperoni pizza, but I don’t even know if pepperoni exists in Italy. Ordering “peperone” as a topping will get you a nice, all bell-pepper pizza. Go figure.  But hey, I’d take bell peppers over horse meat any day of the week.  If anybody else out there has a travel story where they “got lost in translation,” please share in the comment section below.

References
•"How to Immigrate to the U.S.." Energy of a Nation: Immigration Resources, A Project of The Advocates for Human Rights. The Advocates for Human Rights, 2010. Web. 6 Jul 2010. <http://www.energyofanation.org/Who_Can_Immigrate_to_the_U_S_Fact_Sheet.html>.
•Farkas, Steve. "What Immigrants Say About Life in the United States." Public Agenda (2003): n. pag. Web. 6 Jul 2010. <http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=119>.
•Farkas, Steve, Ann Duffett, Jean Johnson, Leslie Moye, and Jackie Vine . "Now That I'm Here." Public Agenda. Public Agenda, 1/13/2003. Web. 6 Jul 2010. <http://www.publicagenda.org/reports/now-im-here>.
•"All About the English Language." English Language Guide. English Language, 2007. Web. 6 Jul 2010. <http://www.englishlanguageguide.com/english/facts/stats/>.

The other day I had the opportunity to participate in an online training to discuss the role phonics plays in the ESOL/ELL classroom. Following are a few of my thoughts regarding the implications of phonics for ESOL students/ELLs learning to read and speak English:

1) How many times do our ESL students/ELLs ask, “Teacher, how do you say this word?” We tell our students how to say the word, but we don’t often know why we say it that way. We can help our ESOL students/ELLs develop autonomy by teaching them strategies to help them pronounce words on their own. This approach better prepares them for “real-life” experiences that occur outside the classroom (where their teacher isn't available).

2) Incorporating phonics instruction in the ESOL/ELL classroom provides focused training on the sounds of the English language. Such training provides an opportunity to analyze and dissect the English language in new ways. With this focused and conscious practice, pronunciation improves.

3) When ESL students learn the meaning of the word along with the sound of the word simultaneously, it “sticks” better. Students are able to remember the word more effectively when they associate the meaning and the sound with the written word.

4) Who couldn't use a little help with their spelling? Phonics instruction helps ESOL students'/ELLs' improve their spelling since encoding (putting sounds together) is an integral part of explicit phonics instruction.

5) ESL students’ confidence increases when they are empowered with skills that help them successfully read and pronounce and spell English independently.  I saw this first hand. One of my students who I had taught in a previous semester approached me one day in the hallway of the school and was very excited to report that he could decode and pronounce vocabulary better than his friend who was in a higher-level English class who had not had phonics training. His confidence empowered him. To witness this first-hand helps me realize that although this was simply anecdotal feedback, the effects of teaching phonics to ESOL students/ELLs is not only effective, but powerful.

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As the Curriculum Manager and ESL Director at Reading Horizons, I have learned a lot about the "development" aspect of the coined term "Curriculum Development." To "develop" in this context means to create, polish, and improve materials and to oversee projects to completion.  For me lately, it means getting down in the trenches, rolling up your sleeves, and going to work.  As I have been actively engaged in improving the Reading Horizons software and direct instruction materials over the last few years, I have learned the role of patience, balance, and vision.  I have been reminded of the importance of character in the work place--sincerely caring about your work, consistently striving to do your very best, and putting in an honest day's work. 

I mentioned the word vision.  Under the leadership of Tyson Smith, President of Reading Horizons, each department has its vision "emblazoned" on the wall in each respective department to always remind its employees of what we are there to do.  I want to share the vision statement for Reading Horizons' Curriculum department.  It reads:

Produce excellent-quality curriculum that fills expanding needs without compromising the simplicity and effectiveness of the method.

I had an experience this week while engaged in a significant, "brain-draining" task that kind of popped up out of the blue.  I was "in the zone," concentrating deeply on the task at hand, when the end users of the product I was working on came to mind.  I thought of students learning how to read for the first time in their lives.  I thought of refugees who have had very little formal education who would learn life-long literacy skills.  I thought of non-native English speakers who have never learned reading strategies that have "clicked" for them before.  I thought of teachers and tutors and volunteers who have a noble "vision" and a strong desire to help their students learn to read, to learn literacy skills, to learn English.  It put things in perspective for me.  It made my efforts seem worth it.  It made the workload, though very heavy and overwhelming at times, seem lighter.  It made me want to try even harder to "produce excellent-quality curriculum that fills expanding needs."  

There are a lot of needs out there.  I'm grateful to work for a company that assumes a small role in helping to fulfill some of those needs.  I appreciate those users, both students and teachers alike, who motivate me to do my best to live up to this curriculum vision while fulfilling their own.

To see where this blog post coexists, see http://www.esltrail.com/.