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Difficulty For Parents: While this may be a real difficulty for parents, the possession of a second language can be an advantage for children, and parents should be encouraged to see their mother tongue in this light. We know that what matters most in learning to read is what the child brings to reading: that is, language skills (and implicit in this, conceptual structures) sufficiently developed for the child's understanding to match the writer's intention.
But parents do need considerable support and training because the instructions and rules are very detailed. To this end, home visits can be made, or regular meetings held at the school. A school can reasonably supervise the parents of a limited number of children at a time, but the technique is really only appropriate for those children with some degree of reading difficulty - children who read well could even be inhibited by so structured an approach.
Encourage parents to comment, of course, but don't forget that some people have difficulty in committing themselves to the written word, and a few parents will be unable to write, or write in English, at all. So it should be made clear that if only the number of pages read, or the length of time spent, is recorded, that in itself is a comment, and a helpful one. Where you know that parents are able to write, but seem to need encouragement to commit themselves to paper, try asking a direct question on the card: 'I think there has been an improvement in the last two weeks - what do you think?' and let the child know what you lave written, saying how interested you will be in the answer. Mways, of course, tell the child what you have written where 'ou believe the parent cannot read, or cannot read English.
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