Read-Aloud Question

[Yen]

Hi, ladies,

I'm not sure exactly what I want to ask. My ds5 is doing LHFHG and he absolutely loves it. But for two days now he's vocally complained about not wanting to do the read-alouds----we're now in Peter Cottontail. (Before this, he would just whine a bit whenever I took out the read-aloud book.) I wasn't sure at first if he was just being fussy, as he didn't sleep too well the night before yesterday, but I couldn't help wondering if it was because he couldn't seem to understand it. When I asked if that was the case (though i wonder if I should've given the idea in the first place hehe) he said yes, he couldn't understand it.

Living in the Philippines and not being native English speakers, we do not normally use English for daily conversation, so I can understand why he would have trouble with the language. I actually posted a similar question when we were first just starting, and just as the kind ladies here suggested, I also strongly believe that the consistent reading aloud from the same author style would help. Today, before we started, I reminded him that he understood what had happened with Reddy Fox (although some of those came with some translated help or rephrased sentences from me). When we read through the chapter, I stopped every few paragraphs, and I noticed that he wasn't really "listening"----if he heard me say "carrots," his eyes would light up and say that Reddy Fox was telling Peter Rabbit about some carrots. In fact, today, when he got some of the gist of the story, he got really excited, looking scared for Peter Rabbit as he understood that Reddy Fox intended to catch him for breakfast! So it got me wondering if maybe it wasn't purely the language but also the complete attention that was causing the problem?

So anyway, I guess what I wanted to ask was... Does anyone have any suggestions about helping a non-English speaker develop a stronger grasp of the language, perhaps on the side of the daily lessons? Or are the read-alouds enough----and if so, is there anything I need to be doing apart from just reading it (I try to read it "once," but never seem to be able to stick to that hahaha) and asking questions afterwards?

Sorry if I seem to be rambling... I know it's a challenge for little ones to transition to chapter books with no pictures, and maybe I'm just a bit too excited to see him finally grasp it, except that there's the added challenge of the whole second language thing. Would really appreciate any advice! Thanks very much everyone!

[pjdobro]

Wow, I can imagine that is very difficult for him! As I was reading your post I was thinking to myself how it would be for me to have someone read aloud a book in Spanish or German to me. I have studied both of these languages in the past but haven't been in a situation where they are spoken around me recently. I don't think I could follow even a simple story in either of those languages right now. I would definitely need pictures to help me grasp the story. The other thing I was thinking is that at 5 years old even some native English speakers have difficulty following the Thorton Burgess stories. They are written in a bit of an older style that takes some dc time to get used to. So I can understand your ds difficulty with the read aloud. Is it possible to get the stories in your native language? I'm thinking that would make it so much easier for him. If not, then perhaps you could give him translations of some of the main words that are going to be in the story ahead of time so he could be prepared for them. Perhaps it could be sort of like a treasure hunt. You tell him some of the key words or phrases in English that are going to come up and what they mean and then he listens specifically for those. Maybe that would keep him focused better and help him with the translation of the language. I would slow down, translate, or modify however is necessary to help him with the stories. The point of the read aloud is to strengthen listening skills and reading comprehension but also to help with narration skills in the follow-up activities. You want to make sure that you are progressing in those skills.

[laughablemoments]

First, I applaud your desire to have your son learn so well in 2 languages.

Back in the time before I had children (feels like long, long ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, ) I taught a wee bit of Jr. High Spanish in a small Christian school. There were several things the students really enjoyed. One was to hear children's stories in Spanish that they already were familiar with in English. For example, I was able to find Go, Dog, Go, and also some Clifford the Big Red Dog stories. The simpler the stories, the better. The high school teacher would treat his students to Disney movies in Spanish, which they loved. Again, these would have been story lines with which they were very familiar, so it was fun and engaging for them to hear the stories in Spanish and pick up on the songs. Are there stories you can get that are printed in both languages? How about a dual language Bible? Perhaps children's songs in both languages? In my experience, pretty much anything set to music becomes quite "sticky" to the brain.

Another thing that my students did well with was this: I'd collect interesting pictures or print out humorous clip-art and have them write 5 sentences to go along with the pictures. This kept things very open ended and let them practice "thinking in Spanish". It was a pleasure to see their creativity shine through. This could easily be adapted for your little guy. You could gather a few interesting pictures, have him narrate some things he sees in them in English, you write his thoughts down (if he's not a writer yet), staple or hole punch the pages, and he has his very own English story that he can read and re-read.

How familiar with English is your son? Does he know the names of the parts of the house (door, table, window...), food names, etc? If not, it might be fun to spend a few days labeling everything in sight. Post-it notes would make this pretty easy. Your son might have fun making a copy of himself, using a balloon for his head, give it a face using a marker, possibly yarn hair, stuff one of your son's shirts and a pair of pants with newspaper, fill a pair of socks, stick on a pair of shoes. Label all of the clothes and get a picture of your son with his "twin". He could practice naming all of the articles of clothing, and then transition to thinking, "I'm putting on my shirt, now my pants..." etc when he gets dressed in the morning.

Oh, and in college we would have a Spanish club lunch meeting once a week where we would only speak Spanish during the meal. This too, would be pretty easy to do at home .

Best wishes. I know these ideas don't apply directly to your HOD guide, but hope they might still be helpful : )

[Yen]

Wow, thank you so much for these suggestions! I guess I never really thought of English as a foreign language for us in the purest sense of the word, maybe partly because, in terms of literature and the medium of instruction in schools in out country (until recently), we've always only been exposed to English books and none in our native dialect! haha I know that might be shocking, I had an American missionary friend here in our city who was confused why we learned mostly English nursery rhymes and English stories from a young age, maybe also because our dialect isn't the national language (Filipino), so there is a very weak history of children's publications that's also why I couldn't remember how I myself picked up the English language my earliest memories of books are English fairy tales and English jokes that my mom read aloud to me!

but from both your insights on learning a foreign language, I'm starting to understand that it would be easier to consider it like a foreign language from the outset. I'm a bit relieved that it's quite normal for kids, even native English speakers, to have trouble with the burgess stories initially hehe... And I guess I feel much better knowing that in this case, in developing his listening skills, it's ok to translate!

I also like the idea of having him narrate things on simple pictures----just realized he has no trouble answering the questions in the Reading Made Easy manual. My ds actually grew up learning more of the English terms for things around him, like body parts and items around the house, but since we don't use English conversationally, he just never really picked up much on sentences and other structures of the language. It was only recently, with that American missionary friend who has a son about his age, that we heard him start to string English sentences, during play dates

Thanks very much for your responses... I really appreciate it, and I'm so thankful for this forum, it really helps make me feel I'm not alone in this homeschooling journey!

[my3sons]

Hi Yen! You already have gotten some super advice from ladies who understand this so well! I'll just add that it helps my dc to review what happened the last time before we start reading the Burgess books. I kept it pretty short and to the point, and usually ended it with a little exciting thing to listen for. So, for example, with Reddy Fox, I might begin by saying...

"Last time when we read, Reddy Fox got shot and limped back home. That sure hurt him, didn't it? Granny Fox wasn't very kind about it though. I think she was upset about Reddy not being able to help find something to eat, and I bet - even though she didn't say it - that she was worried about him too. I wonder if Reddy's leg will get better or not? I wonder if Granny Fox will share her food with him? I sure hope Farmer Brown's Boy doesn't find their home! We better read to find out what happens!!!"

A little review like this, done in a conversational way, seemed to help our sons focus and follow the storyline better. One other thing that helped was to really exaggerate the mood or emotions of the characters while I was reading aloud. For example, when Reddy Fox was scared, I sounded VERY scared. When someone was mad, I used a VERY angry voice. When someone was running, I tried to read their speaking lines like I was out of breath. When someone was sneaky, I used a VERY sly, slow, cunning voice. Our sons loved this, and it helped them with their comprehension as well! Plus, it was just fun for me too.

One last thing that helped was sitting on the couch as we read, cuddled up near one another, with my ds tucked under one arm. It helped him sit more still and focus on the reading better. Just a little thing - but one I thought was still worth mentioning!

I think you will see vast improvement given time. The Burgess books remain some of our sons favorite books of all-time. They just took a bit to grow into them. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Yen]

Wow, thanks for the suggestions, Julie! Will try the exaggerated reading! and your suggestion of the review sounds like something I can work on, too... I've tried giving a brief reminder of what happened the chapter before, but I think my review didn't really spark an interest for what might happen next!

Thanks and looking forward to improved real aloud times!

Yen