Decodable readers for adult and young adult learners
Decodable readers for adult (or young adult) multilingual learners, anyone? It sounds like an obvious part of a literacy program, but they are SO hard to write as relatable stories, with meaningful context. (I say that as someone who has tried – and given up!) So it was wonderful to discover that someone else has persisted – Lauren Piovesan, from … Continue reading
Writing from your own migrant heritage: thoughts and tips from Lauren Piovesan
I interviewed Lauren Piovesan about her ESL Reads project back in 2022 and 2023. As always, it’s so exciting to have Australian resources written for multilingual learners. However, this time I wanted to talk about how her own family’s migrant experience had informed her writing of EAL/D resources – like her latest reading book, ‘Linda’s Busy Week’. I also asked … Continue reading
What’s new at ESL Reads? An interview with Lauren Piovesan
How things change! Back in March 2022 I talked to Lauren Piovesan about her new readers. The stories offered terrific cultural and language support for learners with low literacy / refugee background, at four reading levels. She had so many plans and goals for her ESL Reads project, and such a lot has happened since then, including an expansion of her … Continue reading
The Initial EAL Workbook: An interview with author Assunta Crupi-Pogliano
Assunta Crupi-Pogliano has just launched her resource, The Initial EAL Workbook, designed for learners doing the Course in Initial EAL, and coming to grips with learning and with literacy. It’s an amazing 205 page book – that’s 195 pages of worksheets, covering all 67 of the performance criteria in the six units of the Course in Initial EAL. It features charming … Continue reading
PRACE Pageturners: an interview with Anne Dunn
I have my own set of ‘yellow Pageturners’, which I love so much – and of course we have all the colours in our college library. They are genuinely funny, they make me want to keep reading…and yet they’re so simple and accessible. So I was excited to be able to ask Anne Dunn, one of the team, some questions: … Continue reading













