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Reading aloud to English Language Learners
Cristina Gillanders and Dina C. Castro
FPG Child Development Institute
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Haba una vez un gato, un perro, un cochino y una gallinita roja que vivan en un gr
anero. Al gato le gustaba dormir todo el da. Al perro le gustaba morder su hueso
todo el da. Al cochino le gustaba jugar en el barro todo el da. La gallinita roja
trabajaba todo el da sin la ayuda de nadie.
How did you feel when trying to read the previous paragraph? Did you begin readi
ng it, and then, realizing that you could not understand, stop? Did you feel fru
strated and wonder why the authors would write an opening in a language other th
an English, without providing a translation? Did you understand some of the word
s and make inferences about what the text was about? Do you read Spanish? The pa
ragraph is written in Spanish and is the opening to the story of the Little Red
Hen.
Our purpose in writing the opening paragraph in a language other than En
glish was to illustrate what young English language learners1 might experience w
hen early childhood teachers read aloud to them a story in English. Thinking of
your experience trying to read that paragraph, you might have decided not to rea
d it and skipped to the next paragraph. Similarly, young English language learne
rs might tune out the reading aloud session. Although English language learners
might obediently sit in the circle during the reading aloud session, teachers o
ften describe them as distracted and unengaged. You also might have felt frustra
ted and tempted to skip reading the article altogether. In the same way, English
language learners might feel discouraged and decide that books are not worth th
e effort. You might have understood some words of the text and this encouraged y
ou to continue reading. English language learners frequently try to make connect
ions between what they know in their native language and the new words in the te
xt. The purpose of this article is to present different ways in which teachers c
an help young English language learners make these connections between the words
they know in their native language and new words in English.
Why read aloud
Reading aloud has been found to be an effective strategy for promoting vocabula
ry development in both native English-speaking children and English language lea
rners. Recent reports that synthesized findings in early literacy research have
emphasized the importance of vocabulary development as a foundation for early li
teracy. For most English-speaking children vocabulary learning in English occurs
incidentally, that is, as a result of being exposed to new words when communica
ting with family members, teachers, friends, or when watching TV. For English la
nguage learners, vocabulary development in English requires a combination of dir
ect teaching of words and incidental learning fostered by multiple exposures to
words in meaningful contexts. Reading aloud can be an opportunity in which teach

ers can combine direct teaching of words with exposing English language learners
to new words in the context of a motivating story.
How to read aloud
Research on reading aloud indicates that how teachers read to their students is
as important as how frequently they read to them. An effective read-aloud, espec
ially for young children, promotes active participation through asking and answe
ring questions related to the story rather than passive listening. In the case o
f English language learners, active participation might be curtailed by their li
mited second language proficiency when a book is read in English. Therefore, rea
ding aloud to young English language learners needs to be presented in ways in w
hich they can actively participate even if they are not proficient in English. T
o do so, the read-aloud session needs to maximize the opportunities for children
to comprehend the text, which in turn benefits their vocabulary and listening c
omprehension development. These opportunities are effective for English language
learners when they foster connections between their native language and English
.
Recommended strategies for reading aloud to young English Language Learners
In the following pages we present a set of recommended strategies for reading al
oud to young English language learners. For each strategy we include an example
of how to use it in a reading aloud session designed for a pre-K class that incl
udes Latino English language learners. The example is an adaptation of a plan de
veloped by a group of pre-kindergarten teachers participating in the Nuestros Nio
s Early Language and Literacy project at the FPG Child Development Institute. Th
e book used for the session was Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert (1996).
Choose a limited set of core words in the book that are essential for understand
ing the story and that can enrich children s vocabulary. Provide explicit instruct
ion for learning those words prior to and during the lesson through questions, p
ointing to illustrations, showing manipulatives and gestures, and giving opport
unities for children to repeatedly say the words aloud. Translate core vocabular
y words into the children s native language.
Example:
Core vocabulary words in English and Spanish: vegetable/ verdura, tools/ herrami
enta, planting/sembrando and weed/mala hierba.
Present these words prior to the lesson showing props such as vegetables, a shov
el, a rake, a pot with soil, seeds, and a weed that illustrate the meaning of th
e words. Ask the children to say these words in Spanish.
Use manipulatives, illustrations, gestures and facial expressions to exemplify n
ew vocabulary. Allow the children to show the manipulatives to the group so they
can participate at the appropriate time in the story.
Example:
Prepare props and/or pictures that represent each of the words in the story (i.e
. seeds, sprouts, water, sun, weeds, vegetables, pot of water, etc.). Give each
child one prop and ask them to show it to the group at the appropriate time duri
ng the reading of the story.
Use the native language as support to facilitate comprehension of the story and
the acquisition of vocabulary in English. Minimize the use of concurrent transla
tion, that is, the use of two languages interchangeably during the reading aloud
session. Rather, read the story in the native language first and then in Englis
h. Teach core vocabulary words in English and in the native language.
Example:
Have in the classroom a Spanish version of the book Growing Vegetable Soup by Lo
is Ehlert (1996) (A sembrar sopa de verduras). If there are not bilingual staff
in your program, ask a parent or volunteer to read the story in Spanish before y
ou read it in English. Provide the parent or volunteer with suggestions of how t
o read a story to young children if this is the first time they are doing this.
Read the story several times during the week emphasizing different concepts in e
ach reading.
Example:

Read the book at least five consecutive days. Introduce the book the first day n
ot reading the text but rather commenting on the illustrations. Show the props t
hat you are going to use as you present the book. On the second day read the boo
k in Spanish (ask a parent or volunteer to do it, if bilingual staff is not avai
lable). On the third day read the book in English and allow the children to pres
ent the props to the group at the appropriate time in the story. On the fourth d
ay read the story again in English and ask children questions about the story. O
n the fifth day ask the children to retell the story.
Incorporate culturally relevant thematic units and books so that children can us
e new vocabulary in the context of familiar experiences.
Example:
Ask parents to bring vegetables they normally eat at home. Make a soup in the cl
assroom with these vegetables.
Be aware that English language learners can participate in the reading aloud ses
sion in different ways depending on their phase of second language acquisition.
If the children are only using their native language to communicate expect that
they might answer questions in this language. These answers might be pertinent t
o the story. Be prepared by learning some key words related to the story in the
children s native language so you can acknowledge their efforts. If the children a
re not using oral language, a phase of second language acquisition called the no
nverbal period, expect children to participate using gestures, pointing to illus
trations or showing manipulatives. Finally, if the children are beginning to use
phrases in English you can provide opportunities in which they can complete a s
entence or phrase, and answer questions with a repetitive phrase.
Example:
For children who are using mostly Spanish in the classroom ask them to say the c
ore vocabulary words in Spanish. For example, show the vegetables and ask their
name in Spanish. For children who are not using oral language or who are in the
nonverbal period ask questions like: Where is the sun? Finally, for children who a
re beginning to use some phrases in English, ask them, after you have read the b
ook several times, to complete some phrases in the book such as
and waiting for wa
rm sun to make them grow, and grow and ..(grow into plants) (Ehlert, 1996).
Encourage children to retell and/or to dramatize the story once they have listen
ed to it several times.
Example:
On the last day, after you have read the story several times, ask the children t
o retell the story using flannel board figures. Have pictures of the tools, seed
s, sprouts, watering can, sun, vegetable plants, weeds, vegetables, pot, and a s
oup bowl. Read the story once again and ask the children to put the pictures on
the flannel board at the appropriate times.
Expand the ideas of the book to other centers in the classroom to give children
opportunities to interact with materials and activities which require using the
core vocabulary.
Example:
Library: Include an English and a Spanish version of the book in the library wit
h the props you are going to use when reading the story.
Sand Table: Include the gardening tools that appear in the story.
Art: Make a collage of photos of vegetables cut from magazines.
Housekeeping: Create a garden or nursery in the dramatic play area. Include seed
catalogs with photos of vegetables.
Listening center: Include a recording of the story in English and Spanish.
Outside: Invite parents to help plant vegetable seeds.
Cooking: Make a vegetable soup in the classroom using the vegetables the childre
n brought from home.
Conclusions
Reading aloud is an effective strategy for promoting vocabulary development and
listening comprehension among young children. It is particularly helpful for su
pporting young English language learners. Effective reading aloud sessions requi
re spending time planning in advance what you want the children to learn, which
story book will be most helpful, what the most effective sequence of activities

will be, and what materials you will need. In addition, reading aloud involves m
aking the reading experience engaging and motivating for the children. For Engli
sh language learners this means to maximize the opportunities to understand the
text and to encourage participation of the children in ways that are appropriate
for their level of second language proficiency.
Finally, we encourage you to identify and use the resources available in
your program and community to provide support in the native language to English
language learners in your classrooms. For many young English language learners
the early childhood classroom will be the first time they have contact with the
English language in a formal setting, and they will need support to learn not on
ly the words, but all the complexities involved in the process of acquiring a ne
w language. Helping them comprehend the content of the stories, and furthermore,
helping them understand what is going on in the classroom is crucial.
For additional information on strategies to support language and literac
y development in young English language learners you can consult the following s
ources:
Collins, M. F. (2005) ESL preeschoolers English vocabulary acquisition from story
book reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 40 (4), 406-408
Gonzales, P.C. (n.d.). Becoming bilingual: First and second language acquisition
. Research-based practices inform Head Start s work with ELLs. Available: http: ht
tp://www.headstartinfo.org/English_lang_learners_tkit/bilingual.htm