You may have come across educators who are so passionate about Structured Literacy that they sound almost cult-like. Perhaps, like us, you've met teachers who launch into long, enthusiastic discussions about the merits of this approach. Words like 'decoding', 'blending' and 'segmenting' are thrown around and before you know it, it's all starting to make sense. Put simply, Structured Literacy is an approach to teaching reading and writing in a systemic way, breaking down language into its individual sounds (phonemes) and teaching how these sounds correspond to written letters and words.
So, what does this mean for the ESL (English as a Second Language) world? Well, as all ESL teachers are aware - one of the most challenging things about reading, writing and pronouncing the English language is the fact that our spelling is inconsistent and the sounds of our letters and letter combinations are very hard to predict. We've all heard delightful poems highlighting this ("I take it you already know...") but the reality of helping students overcome it can be less charming. A method that provides a tool to tackle this would be extremely helpful.
Our Mica Education teachers love to keep up with how the education field is evolving and how we can make sure we're producing lesson plans and resources that best serve teachers and students in the ESL world (check them out at micaeducation.com). We've spoken to a lot of teachers in different schools to try to understand the practical side of using the Structured Literacy approach instead of Whole Language or Balanced Literacy: particularly how much time needs to be spent on it and how often?
When meeting with students only once or twice a week in an English language course that often also needs to allow time for examination preparation, is there time to rebuild their understanding of phonetics and start the systemic Structured Literacy approach? Ideally it would be an approach adopted within their schooling where they can work 30 - 60 minutes a day on it, even better if in small groups. However many of us teach ESL in countries where education reform is very slow to move. And what about adult learners who no longer attend school? Can we dedicate time in our relatively brief lessons to putting in the work? And is it worth it? Some people claim Structured Literacy is a great equaliser - allowing students with dyslexia and other reading difficulties to 'decode' the language too.
Realistically, for teachers meeting with students once or twice a week, only those with small groups of students are likely to be able to adopt this approach. Teachers who are working at lower levels (such as pre-A1, A1 and even A2 on the CEFR) would benefit most from this approach, as they guide their students through the early stages of reading and writing skills. As Structured Literacy becomes more widely adopted in schools, school-aged students will learn this method and be able to apply it in after school ESL courses too. Adult ESL learners may request it from their course leaders and we should be prepared and equipped to teach this approach where time allows in our lessons. Mica Education will be adding Structured Literacy themed modules for those of you ready to give it a try!
