Should the non-literate adult be taught to read in the native language first?

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While there is some evidence that teaching native language reading can speed up the process of learning to read in a second language, certain facts should be taken into account before attempting this approach:
  1. The teacher must be competent to teach reading in the native language.
  2. Adequate reading materials must be available in the native language.
  3. Students must be motivated to learn to read in their native language.
  4. If more than one native language is present in the class, the teacher must have facilities and resources to handle the added load.
Teaching native language reading is most helpful in languages with a Roman alphabet. Reading skills in languages such as Chinese and Laotian are less readily transferred to reading English.