Using LEAs (Language Experience Activities) to Teach Capitalization

Helpful tips on using LEA to teach capitalization
 
LEA, or the language experience approach, is the teaching method English At Large advocates as the best way to create personal and relevant teaching materials.

Here's how to use LEA to teach capitalization.

Let's say this is your learner's response to the prompt "Tell me something about where you live."

(Remember the key concepts of an LEA transcript: write down a word-for-word transcript; don't fix the learner's mistakes; don't change the learner's words; write down exactly what you hear and add only capital letters and punctuation).

Read the transcript back to your learner. Have your learner read the transcript back to you and ask if he wants to make any changes.

Then, ask him to underline all the capital letters. If your learner understands the rules of capital letters, his marked transcript will probably look like this:

However, If your learner does not understand the rules of capital, his underlining might look like this:


Note how he has underlined the lowercase "l" in live and loud, and he has not underlined the pronoun "I". His inconsistency in underlining the first letter of every sentence gives the sure indication that your learner does not fully understand the use of capitalization.

Your task is to see the mistakes and to discover why your learner made them by asking questions.

For example, a dialogue with your learner might sound something like this:

"Why did you underline the "l" in live and in loud?" 
"Because it's taller than the other three letters."
Your learner understands the mechanical difference between capital and lowercase letters, but he does not grasp the usage difference. 

"What letter is this?" (point to the capital "I")
"I"
"What letter is this?" (point to lowercase "i" in "live")
"I"
"Is there a difference between the two?"
"Yes. One is bigger."
"Do you know why one is big and the other is small?"
Teach your learner that "I" when it refers to "me" is always capitalized wherever it is in the sentence. 

Other relevant rules to teach your learner are:
- Capitalize the first letter in a sentence. Are you sure your learner can recognize the beginning of a sentence? Teach that the surest indicator of the beginning of a sentence is the period that marks the ending of the last.
- Capitalize the first letter of a city or a town. Although the learner has underlined the "M" in Medford, does he know the capitalization rule for the names of cities, or has he simply underlined the "M" because it is a big letter?

Although you may be tempted to teach all the grammar skills relevant in your learner's transcript (for example, the missing verb in "Many cars in the street"), limit your lesson to one specific problem that can be readily taught. The first thing this learner needs to learn is to capitalize the first letter in every sentence (or the first letter that follows a period). 

For tips on using LEA transcripts to teach other specific skills, see the ESL resource book from ProLiteracy, available in our office for all tutors.

Happy Tutoring!

Jiyoung

 







Jiyoung Song
Programs and Social Media Intern, English At Large
Dartmouth College, Class of 2016


ENGLISH AT LARGE
Literacy and Learning for Life
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