The Language Experience Approach

"What I can think about, I can talk about”
“What I can say, I can write."
" What I can write, I can read."
" I can read what I can write and what other people can write for me to read."

~Christy Jansen from the Language Experience Approach

The language experience approach (LEA) is a whole language approach that promotes reading and writing through the use of personal experiences and oral language (via sign languages or spoken languages). This is an effective and successful strategy for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to learners of all ages. 

Although some adults may have had little education or may be learning English as a second language, each individual has a wealth of life experiences that they can tap on. The LEA is useful when it comes to teaching D/deaf and hard-of-hearing learners because such learners learn best through life experiences and by using these experiences to make connections with language.

Aspects of the LEA include:

• Learners generating and learning to read material that are based on their life experiences.
• Using the learner's own words as the basis for beginning reading and integrating writing, reading and speaking.
  
• Level of vocabulary and grammar are determined by the learner's existing level of language.
• A personalized, interactive and creative approach.
  

Strategies on how to use the LEA:

• Take photographs of an experiential activity like an excursion to the zoo or a cooking activity and get students to make a book using the photographs. The teacher could transcribe the story as a group activity. Then, each student could write one or more sentences about each photograph, and use it for reading.
  
• Students can draw a specific life experience and write sentences about it. The written sentences they produce can be a starting point for teaching reading and writing.
• Students can bring a photograph or video clip about a party or a holiday from home and write about it and share it with the class.