We can identify four general stages of materials that are needed in successful MTB MLE programmes:
Stage 1
MT Audience: New and early readers
Purpose: Learn that written text communicates meaning; gain confidence in reading.
Length / content: Short and simple, about familiar topics.
Stages of reading materials for successful MTB MLE Stage 2
MT Audience: Readers who have gained basic reading skills
Purpose: Build fluency; begin to use reading to learn new things.
Length / content: Longer, about familiar topics and introduce new topics.
Stage 3 2 nd language( L2) Audience: Readers who are ready to read in a new language
Purpose: Use what they have learned about reading in the MT to begin reading the new language.
Length / Content: Same as Stage 1.
Stage 4 MT and / or L2 Audience: Fluent readers in both MT and L2
Purpose: Read to learn and for enjoyment
Length / content: No specific length; variety of topics from the MT culture and from the world outside the community. Includes MT and L2( or bilingual) textbooks.
Including the Excluded: Promoting Multilingual Education
Young Dai students love to read“ Stage 1” stories in their MT.( China) © SIL International, China
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