2. Assumptions about children’s learning
2.1 Children can develop vocabulary through picture book reading
The primary way to develop vocabulary is through reading. When I was young, I was taught to look up words, copy their definitions from the dictionary and then memorize them. Teachers have dictation assessment regularly to check our words spelling. I do not want to teach vocabulary in this passive way as passive learners lack motivation to learn. Passive learners perceive learning, especially learning a foreign language, to be torturous. By reading picture books, children construct their knowledge by both visual and verbal. Children do not need to look up all the unfamiliar words because they can guess the meanings by reading pictures. The process of explaining the new words using their own language is a positive development of vocabulary.
2.2 Children can enhance fluency
“Picture books give the …show more content…
I organized a vocabulary assessment which all 16 students attended. The students had to complete sentences with the given words and match each words with its definition. All of these words were from the picture books we had read. To my surprise, half of the students failed in the assessment. This significant discovery makes me aware that some of the children are entirely dependent on pictures for comprehension when they read a book. They strongly believe that pictures tell them everything, especially some weak readers, who lack the ability to decode new words. Weak readers may refuse to read sentences in the book, think reading is knowing plot of a story. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean reading pictures is not a reading strategy. It means that there is more to be gained while reading. For instance, the ability to acquire alphabetic principle and the ability to understand the relationship between words and phrases,
2.1 Children can develop vocabulary through picture book reading
The primary way to develop vocabulary is through reading. When I was young, I was taught to look up words, copy their definitions from the dictionary and then memorize them. Teachers have dictation assessment regularly to check our words spelling. I do not want to teach vocabulary in this passive way as passive learners lack motivation to learn. Passive learners perceive learning, especially learning a foreign language, to be torturous. By reading picture books, children construct their knowledge by both visual and verbal. Children do not need to look up all the unfamiliar words because they can guess the meanings by reading pictures. The process of explaining the new words using their own language is a positive development of vocabulary.
2.2 Children can enhance fluency
“Picture books give the …show more content…
I organized a vocabulary assessment which all 16 students attended. The students had to complete sentences with the given words and match each words with its definition. All of these words were from the picture books we had read. To my surprise, half of the students failed in the assessment. This significant discovery makes me aware that some of the children are entirely dependent on pictures for comprehension when they read a book. They strongly believe that pictures tell them everything, especially some weak readers, who lack the ability to decode new words. Weak readers may refuse to read sentences in the book, think reading is knowing plot of a story. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean reading pictures is not a reading strategy. It means that there is more to be gained while reading. For instance, the ability to acquire alphabetic principle and the ability to understand the relationship between words and phrases,