I recently ran into a former colleague of mine who shares similar interests in teaching, culture, international travel, and contributing to education in developing countries. She currently serves as a board member for a non-profit organization that sends college-age students to teach English in developing countries, including Guatemala, Ecuador, Fiji, and Uganda. Additionally, the organization has plans to send students to India within the next year. Since I went to India last year to train volunteers in phonics and to institute an English literacy program at a school for children from leprosy colonies, she was interested in knowing whether their organization would be a good fit for such training. To qualify as a good fit for their program, the training needs to be both time- and cost-efficient, as well as produce a positive experience for the volunteers receiving the training.
I was grateful to be able to share a free online training resource that Reading Horizons offers that I have used to train volunteers preparing to teach English and literacy skills abroad. The Online Workshop reviews fundamental phonics strategies to explicitly teach spelling, decoding, and letter-sound correspondence which are important components of English literacy. An added benefit to using this teaching method with ESOL students is that these skills sharpen students' pronunciation.
I have shared this free resource with not only individuals who are teaching English abroad, but I've even shared it with family members and friends who have expressed interest in learning how to teach literacy to their native English-speaking children, friends, grandchildren, and neighbors. It is a great resource for individuals learning to read in their first language (English), as well as those who are non-native English speakers learning to read and understand English as a Foreign Language (EFL).
The Online Workshop is a FREE resource that teaches skills that empower. Reading Horizons as a company is determined to make a difference in the world. That's why this resource is offered at no cost. With the potential these reading strategies have to help people improve their lives, I don't know why everyone wouldn't want to use it. To access the Online Workshop and to share the link with friends, go to www.phonicstraining.com.
Want to learn more about Reading Horizons's involvement in India? To read my blog post about my visit to India last year, click here. To read my blog post that addresses literacy needs in India, click here. To read my blog post about how Reading Horizons has helped develop English literacy in India, click here.