My(18) aunt and uncle(dad’s older brother) have been looking after me since I was 12(mom and dad have drug issues). I live with them and their 13 yr old daughter ‘Isabel.’
They are quite worried about her right now. The teachers said that she’s reading above her age level in our language but not doing so well in English. That’s why my uncle told me to help her with her English, knowing I used to really struggle with the language too.
And I’m happy to help. Both him and my aunt have done a lot for me.
I cut my teeth on the Goosebumps books. So that’s where I decided to start. I handed her one of them(My Friend Slappy) as a test, telling her to read the first couple of chapters and give summaries. She is finding them surprisingly enjoyable and has been steadily reading through the books as practice/to pick up vocabulary in between our exercises. But my uncle said at her age she should be reading more challenging stuff.
I told him it might be better to take it slow but he said I’m not trying hard enough.
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My(18) aunt and uncle(dad’s older brother) have been looking after me since I was 12(mom and dad have drug issues). I live with them and their 13 yr old daughter ‘Isabel.’
They are quite worried about her right now. The teachers said that she’s reading above her age level in our language but not doing so well in English. That’s why my uncle told me to help her with her English, knowing I used to really struggle with the language too.
And I’m happy to help. Both him and my aunt have done a lot for me.
I cut my teeth on the Goosebumps books. So that’s where I decided to start. I handed her one of them(My Friend Slappy) as a test, telling her to read the first couple of chapters and give summaries. She is finding it surprisingly enjoyable and has been steadily reading through the book but my uncle said at her age she should be reading more challenging stuff.
I told him it might be better to take it slow but he said I’m not trying hard enough.
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> I might be an asshole since maybe I’m not trying as hard as I should.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
Honestly, I think you’re doing a great job. Getting a kid interested in reading at all especially in a second language is a win. Goosebumps might not be “challenging literature,” but they’re engaging, accessible, and help build vocabulary, sentence structure, and reading confidence. That’s exactly what she needs right now.
Pushing too hard too fast can kill the joy of reading, especially if English isn’t her strength yet. Better she enjoys the process and gradually levels up than burn out trying to decode something way above her level. Also, kudos to you for stepping up and helping her out. That says a lot about you. Keep going the way you are she’s learning, and that’s what matters.
NTA – starting by something soft is often the way. You can gradually increase the level after.
Stating by something difficult from the start can easily demotivate people.
NTA
I do some work on the side as an English tutor and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that if the learning isn’t enjoyable or engaging for the child, what you taught them will just fall right out of their brains.
If English is not her native language it is definitely normal for her to be lagging behind. Setting high expectations that are unrealistic could make Isabel feel like she is not ‘as good’ as other kids her age and could lower her self worth (especially for a teenager.)
NTA.
Tell your uncle that research has proven, readers achieve advanced reading more reliably and more masterfully if they build speed and fluency before they increase the level of their reading.
Ask your uncle if there’s a particular deadline or exam he’s worried about. Listen to his worries and validate his feelings, but don’t budge on your teaching methods. Your uncle probably cares very much about his daughter’s progress, and trying to give advice and change your plans is one of the only ways he can express the nervous energy of worrying about Isabel’s development.
NTA of she’s reading goosebumps, she’s not even that far behind.
I also highly recommend a series of unfortunate events. Both because it’s amazing, and will also teach her some more advanced words
NTA. Starting by reading something enjoyable encourages her to continue to read. Start with that, the challenging books come later. Make it too challenging now and she’ll stop or be discouraged to continue
NTA. As someone with dyslexia and struggled with reading when growing up, your uncle’s attitude to this pisses me off. I did the exact same thing are your doing for your cousin, start with the easy stuff and work up to the more challenging stuff. Here’s a comparable example that maybe he’ll get. If you want to bulk up and get strong but have never worked out in your life, you don’t start with the heaviest weights, you start small, build up your muscles and increase you weight as you go. If you start with the heaviest stuff, you’re just going to hurt yourself.
NTA Explain to him that starting with these is what helped you
NTA
My cousin’s daughter was the same and I also started with Goosebumps for her. She went from there to Twilight and now, 15 years later, is an avid reader. Stick to your plan.
If she likes the Goosebumps books, try her on Animorphs. Excellent series that I loved as a kid and go back to read occasionally.
NTA
Reading something simple to build reading speed and ease will make reading something complex easier later. I did pretty much the same thing to build reading skills in English, my second language, when I started studying at the university. Since a lot of text books were in Engligh, studying was so slow I felt like giving up. I decided to start reading popular literature in English, and ended up reading a lot of science fiction and fantasy. This sped up my reading and saved my education.
NTA. She is reading in English. This is a great start and a great idea. What good would it do, if she tries reading books that are way to hard for her. Show him some of the text she has to read for school, they should be much simpler then goosebump books.
Also a nice idea to learn English is watching TV shows and movies in English.
Si pour lui ce n’est pas assez, il a qu’à le faire ? 😅
NTA, you are smart to start her out with easy and interesting type of books. By giving her an enjoyable book she will look forward to reading. Gradually you can keep the pattern up with advancing her reading with a little more difficult reading but also picking books she will enjoy. This hopefully will lead to her enjoying reading and being able to choose subjects she wants. You have done a great job getting her started.