Case study

Mei Ling has recently arrived in New Zealand from China. Last year, her husband died and she moved to live with her son and his young family. She is literate in Chinese but only has very basic conversation skills in English.

She has never learnt the English alphabet, and is a beginning reader and writer and an English language learner.

She wants to be able to read street names in her neighbourhood and prices in shops and to help her grandchildren with their homework.

Teaching suggestions for Mei Ling

• Focus on the most important words that she needs, related to her grandchildren (for example, words she will need to recognise in school newsletters, reports, children’s books).
• Focus on important street names and, if possible, have her children take her on a walk where she can match cards with street names against the actual street signposts.
• Use advertising flyers (for example, catalogues from Farmers, The Warehouse and Briscoes) for prices as well as words.
• Help her to make a collection of flashcards for the words she is learning. Each session, she can sort them into words she recognises immediately, words she is learning, and words she does not yet know. Chart the changing numbers in each category.