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Turn learning a language into something fun? Discover different aspects of a particular culture? Explore other ways of reading? ... These are some of the issues to consider when choosing this kind of materials.
First of all, the choice of reading materials in foreign languages must be based on the general premises applicable to any other reading material, such as their quality and whether or not they are suitable for children’s to read and appropriated to their interests. Second of all, children’s linguistic level must be added to these factors.
On this basis, the choice of materials should take into consideration:
· The main objective that one wants to achieve through their use, which could be:
§ To support language learning
§ To show some aspects of a particular culture
§ To diversify the readings and the ways to enjoy them
· Try to turn the experience of reading in a foreign language into something particularly motivating, through the use of materials which contain:
§ Words that are audible and easy to pronounce
§ Brief sentences that are repeated in order to make participation and memorizing easier
§ Appropriated vocabulary to reader's knowledge
§ Game proposals in which the reader has to look for something or to complete the sentences, etc
§ Materials which make use of images to support the understanding of ideas and situations
· In addition, when comparing the above criteria with the publishing offer available, the following selection is recommended:
§ Illustrated alphabet books so children can get used to letters and their pronunciation
§ Illustrated dictionaries so children can discover and practice using the references of the images that represent the terms
§ Illustrated narrative albums with chained stories or cumulative tales
§ Books with games full of cutouts, flaps or any other elements that make the reader to have fun repeating actions, looking for images related to terms or phrases and following simple commands
§ Poetry so children and young adults can get the tone of the words in another language and then practice the intonation
§ Traditional tales because of its linguistic richness and of the connections with the source language
§ Albums with chained stories or cumulative tales
§ Comics with simple dialogues
§ Special materials that enhance the understanding: bilingual editions, books with audio... |
