Stages
of Reading Development - Monolingual English
The following chart is a representation of how students progress
through the process of learning to read in English. This chart
reflects the stage indicators for readers of English as a
first language.
|
Stage |
Reading
Stages Indicators |
| Learning
to Read |
| Pre-Reading
Stage
Pre-Stage 1 |
Oral Language
Development
Monolingual American English learner is growing
though the process of native English language development:
- Relies on non-visual information and contextual
knowledge to begin reading.
- Knows the alphabet (if available in his or her environmental
context)
- Uses logographic information to make guesses about
words.
|
Initial
Reading Stage
Stage 1 |
Decoding
- Knows that letters represent speech sounds.
- Understands that speech sounds can be represented
by letters.
- Attempts to 'break' the written language code strategically.
|
Confirmation
and Fluency Stage
Stage 2 |
Reading
Fluency
- Consolidates knowledge graphophonic English elements
and contextual meaning depending on the level of background
knowledge in (monolingual) American English.
- Reaches automaticity in word recognition.
- Reads written text with increasing fluency.
Note: Chall often calls this stage
as "more of the same", the learner needs the
opportunity to sharpen the skills of reading - translating
graphic symbols into meaningful oral language. |
| Reading
to Learn |
Reading
for Learning the New Stage
Stage 3 |
Reading
to Learn
- Reads to learn or acquire new information.
- FLUENCY (in reading) and GRAPHOPHONICS have been mastered
in English as L1.
- Expands vocabulary.
- Builds background knowledge.
|
Multiple
Viewpoints Stage
Stage 4 (high school) |
Multiple
Viewpoints
- Reader analyzes written expository and narrative text
critically.
- Reader analyzes what has been read and reacts critically
to the different viewpoints encountered.
- Reader deals with learning from multiple viewpoints.
- Reader understands multiple points of view.
|
| Construction
& Reconstruction Stage
Stage 5 (college) |
(Re)
Construction
- Reader uses reading to integrate one's knowledge with
that of others, to synthesize and a foundation for new ideas.
|
L1 – Primary/Native Language
L2 – Second language (usually English in the USA )
© Professor Maria
de Lourdes Serpa (1983, 1991, 2000, 2005). Adapted from: Chall, J. (1983).Stages of Reading Development. New York: McGraw-Hill.
To learn more: Chall’s
Stages of Reading Development
Stages of Reading Development
- Dual Language
PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH STUDENTS WHO
ARE LEARNING AMERICAN ENGLISH
Students who read in Portuguese or Spanish fluently at the Reading for Learning the New Stage (Chall1983) already have learned to read. The reading process only happens once in life, regardless of how many new languages are acquired. These literate students extend and transfer their reading skills from their L1 to the new language(s) and it is predicatble that they will access reading in English as a new language at the Confirmation and Fluency Stage for oral reading and Reading for Learning the New Stage for silent reading.
The following chart is a representation of how students progress
through the process of transferring reading skills from Portuguese
to English. This chart reflects the stage indicators for readers
of English as a first language. The grayed out areas indicate
stages have been achieved already by students that read at
the Reading for Learning the New Stage in Portuguese or Spanish.
| Portuguese & Spanish literate students at
the Beginning Level of English Proficiency will access
English at the Reading for Learning the New Stage. |
| L1 (Port/Spanish) |
|
| L2 (English) |
|
|
|
|
| |
Pre-Reading Stage |
Initial Reading
Stage |
Confirmation and
Fluency Stage |
Reading for Learning
the New Stage |
Multiple Viewpoints
Stage |
Construction and
Reconstruction Stage |
|
Stage |
Dual Language Reading
Stage Indicators |
Learning
to Read |
| Pre-Reading
Stage
Pre-Stage 1 |
Oral Language Development in the FIRST LANGUAGE – The student:
- is growing though the expected process of his/her
native language development
- relies on their non-visual information and contextual
knowledge to begin reading
- knows the alphabet (if available in the environment)
- uses logographic information to make guesses about
words
|
Initial
Reading Stage
Stage 1 |
Decoding
– The student :
- knows that letters represent speech sounds
- understands that speech sounds can be represented
by symbols/letters
- attempts to 'break' the written language code
- knows how print represents language and, therefore,
s/he does not need phonics instruction again in English, because s/he already understands this concept
Note:
Portuguese & Spanish students (stage3) needs to be
allowed to go through the developmental process of acquiring
English to allow them to transfer their reading skills
to the new language in a way that is consistent with
reading as meaning making. |
Confirmation
and Fluency Stage
Stage 2 |
Reading
Fluency – The student:
- consolidates knowledge of graphophonic elements
in English and contextual meaning depending on the
level of background knowledge (in monolingual American
English)
- progressively acquires orthographic knowledge of
words
- reaches automaticity in word recognition
- reads written text with in creasing fluency
Note: The Portuguese
& Spanish literate student (stage 3) at the Beginning
level of English Proficiency:
- reads orally with the
pronunciation and influences of Portuguese or Spanish.
(Linguistic influences from Portuguese or Spanish
are predictable)
- sounds disfluent and appears
to be struggling to read orally. This does not mean
that they don’t know how to read. This only
means they are using the reading skills from Portuguese
or Spanish to initially access English reading.
- has a consolidated knowledge
of the graphophonic system of Portuguese or Spanish
- reads silently and understands
written text equivalent to his/her background knowledge
and level of English proficiency, even though he/she
is not yet able to pronounce the English words orally.
(See Portuguese English cognates)
|
Reading
to Learn |
Reading
for Learning the New Stage
Stage 3 |
Reading
to Learn – The student:
(Note: Portuguese & Spanish literate
students at the Beginning Level of English Proficiency
will access English at this stage.)
- reads to learn new information (equivalent to their
development and background knowledge)
- will transfer fluency and graphophonics to English
as a new language. (Reading fluency and graphophonics
have been mastered in Portuguese or Spanish)
- expands his/her vocabulary in both languages
- expands cultural and linguistic background knowledge
|
Multiple
Viewpoints Stage
Stage 4 (high school) |
Multiple
Viewpoints – The student:
- analyzes written expository and narrative text
critically
- analyzes what has been read and reacts critically
to the different viewpoints encountered
- reader understands and deals with learning from multiple viewpoints
|
| Construction
& Reconstruction Stage
Stage 5 (college) |
(Re)
Construction – The student:
- reads to integrate his/her knowledge with that
of others to synthesize information and or create new ideas
|
© Professor Maria
de Lourdes Serpa (1983, 1991, 2000, 2005). Adapted from: Chall, J. (1983). Stages of Reading Development. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Reading Assessment in
a Multilingual Context
Assessment of reading in a multilingual context can be conceptualized
in many different ways for assessment. On of my favorite models is the one proposed
by Jeanne
Chall, which I have adapted and used extensively in my assessment
practice since her book Stages of Reading was published in
1983.
The grade level descriptor widely used in the USA was too vague
and was very difficult to operationalize in reading assessmnt in other
languages, specifically Portuguese. For example, as a teacher of beginning reading in Portugal, I observed almost all my first grade students
achieved the Reading for Learning the New Stage after three months of instruction in the first grade.
I also observed the same thing in Portuguese Bilingual reading
classrooms, when linguistically responsive methodology was used and the linguistic characteristics of the specific language are taken into consideration when decisions are made about reading instruction.
In many native language first grade classrooms Spanish and Portuguese children are taking a much longer time to learn to read because early literacy is taught by using, what I call a transplantation model (Serpa, 1983) of English to Portuguese or Spanish. For further information you may refer to An inquiry into beginning Portuguese reading performance -
MLB Serpa - 1983 - Boston University.
|
