How does teaching reading to the non-literate adult ESL student differ from teaching beginning reading to native English-speaking children?

1. The adult learner has a lot more knowledge about the world and consequently of the content of reading material than do children. This makes it possible for adults to read material about more sophisticated subjects than can children. It also means that adults are interested in reading about adult subjects and are often offended if asked to read children's materials.
   
2. The beginning adult ESL learner has a much more limited vocabulary and much more limited control of grammar and pronunciation than does a native English-speaking child. Being able to sound out a word or sentence is of little value if the students do not know what the word or sentence means even after sounding it out correctly. The ESL learner must be developing the whole spectrum of language skills as he is learning to read. This suggests that a purely phonics approach is likely to be less successful with the adult.
   
3. The adult learner has lived for many years with not being able to read and has successfully coped with the problems of life. He is therefore less likely to be motivated to participate in learning activities unless they appear to be meeting some perceived need. Children, on the other hand, will often participate in an activity simply because the teacher asks them to.