4
Tap into strengths
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Photo by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash
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Instead of focusing on what learners lack (e.g., formal education, print awareness), teachers should be able to see learners' strengths in order to help them learn better and enhance their confidence. In fact, many LESLLA learners are competent in listening and speaking; they have also developed strategies for remembering content without notes (Vinogradov, 2008). In addition, the study of Trupke-Bastidas and Poulos (2007) shows that learners with "strong oral skills, a willingness to communicate with others, and L1-non-literacy" improved the most (even more than the learners with L1 literacy) with the whole-part-whole instruction.
LESLLA learners also have different talents and interests. Teaching around these topics engages the learners better and improves their motivation to learn.