PARTICIPATORY APPROACHES TO NEW READERS & WRITERS in teaching ESOL

This workshop shows how to use participatory approaches for developing students’ basic literacy skills. We demonstrate how to use collective writing, multilingual approaches, theatre and drawing to allow students to express their ideas in written form, regardless of literacy skills. This workshop will help participants to use a variety of tools and activities to allow beginner literacy students to author texts which can be subsequently read and enjoyed by the whole group. It will also help participants to use texts authored by students to design follow up reading and writing activities for further basic literacy skills development. The workshop will combine participatory approaches with other approaches to developing basic literacy skills – such as Language Experience approaches, whole word recognition, phonic skills – and the development of technical skills such as letter formation.