REN, Inc. Library

Click also on "Bookshelf"

Grandmother's Path, Grandfathers Way
by Lue Vang and Judy Lewis

Download the book!
Separated into chapters. Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the documents. Click on the chapter links below.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Literacy Development in English
For children who learn to read first in English (a second language), areas of difficulty can be easily predicted and understood by comparison of phonemes that exist in the two languages. Materials on this page provide links between English and languages of newcomers to American schools.

	Comparative Phonemes Key phonemes for English with the closest equivalent in Hmong and Vietnamese and a key word that can be pictured. This is especially useful for bilingual aides who are working with students learning to read English. Phonemes : key words for near-equivalents to English phonemes (Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainiain, Armenian)
	Comparative Vowels for English, Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian. Notice that the most prevalent phonemes are those in "see," "father," and "boot," yet English beginning reading programs begin with those in "sit," "pet," "cat," "cot," "cup"---sounds that do not even exist in some of the other languages. Beginning reading programs are based on native English speakers, and the sequence should be changed so that students are familiar with the sounds they are learning to read. To adapt existing programs, teachers will need to provide practice in learning to hear and recognize the phonemes that do not exist in their languages. Vowels :key words for simple vowels (Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese) Russian, Ukrainiain, Armenian) (html)
	Comparative Vowel Blends and Diphthongs Complex vowels in English, Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainiain, and Armenian with key words. Vowel blends and diphthongs :(Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainiain, Armenian) (html)
	Comparative Tones For Vietnamese and Hmong Tones (Vietnamese, Hmong) :(html) Conjunctions (Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainiain, Armenian)