1. Case Study Presentation: Rachel
(3 Students)

2. Personal Information Rachel is: 16 years old In 10th grade
From Silver Spring, MD
A native Washingtonian (born and raised in the metro region)

3. Education Woodlawn Elementary from K-3rd grade (public)
Lowe from 4th-6th grade (private K-6)
Felds School from 7th-10th grade currently (private 7-12)

4. Language Learning Self-Assessment
Rachel rated her Spanish literacy skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) at the novice level
Reported difficulty learning Spanish. Specifically, she struggles to remember concepts she learns in class
Dislikes rating her abilities

5. Parent’s Educational Background
Father has Ph.D. in Economics
Mother has M.B.A in International Relations and (DPH) Physical Therapy
Both studied foreign languages in school
English is the primary language spoken in their home

6. Learning Profile
Reading problems evident since 1st grade (received tutoring)
Educational Assessment conducted per request by director of Lowe elementary in spring 2001 reported:
1. Rachel struggles with phonetic analysis and visual
processing
2. Sometimes she transposes left-right order of
letters and at times inserts letters
inappropriately. For example, she read
inspiration for interpretation
3. Has a tendency to “burn out” quickly
Accommodation granted: extended time on exams

7. Spanish Language Background
Began studying Spanish in 4th grade at Lowe - after school program 1-2 hrs./week
Started with Spanish I at Felds in 7th grade and just completed Spanish IV

8. Reasons for Studying Spanish
Her parents wanted her to take a language class
To meet the requirements for applying to college
To learn about a different culture
To interact with and be of service to the growing Latino population in the U.S.

9. Goals To communicate with other Spanish speakers proficiently
To practice Spanish skills in Panama during 3-week service learning trip this summer

10. Learning Strategies Rachel identifies herself as an auditory learner
She prefers material in the textbook explained orally. When reading a passage, she understands best when asked to summarize and discuss it aloud

11. Case Study Procedures June 8, 2006: Felds School, Washington, DC
K.and B. interviewed Rachel,[R], completed profile
R received reading sample (from Spanish textbook) and briefly looked it over
R read it aloud
R read it silently
K. asked R to recall article details, R responded in English
Reading sample was taken away; B. asked comprehension questions in English; R responded in English

12. Miscue Analysis Decoding and visual processing errors
Missing a firm base in phonetic analysis, uses made up words (Nacimanito, festigo)
Guessed at words by general configuration (gatos, tradujieron, donda)
Transposed the left-right order of letters
Inserts/omits letters (trajen, famlia, gatos, español)
Failure to stop or pause after commas and periods (more frequent towards the end of the article)

13. Article Recall Rachel recalled much of the article
Identified most main points
Omitted minor details

14. Recommendations
Help develop a sight vocabulary of root words, prefixes and suffixes (flash cards, repetitious activities)
Teach word attack skills – common prefixes and suffixes (ción, miento, mente)
Incorporate the find/apply patterns learning strategy when working with word attack skills
Teach the monitoring learning strategy
Teach rhythm and spacing (books on tape, voice recordings, movies)

15. Additional Recommendations
Student should continue to point to syllables and words as she reads to help her recognize omissions, additions, substitutions and reversals
Student should continue summarizing after paragraphs when she reads
Continue to have her work on evaluation (task and self evaluation)
Student should practice self-talk strategy to build self efficacy
Teacher should vary activities; provide small group/individual instruction