Something had to be done. The Gudschinsky approach, which we had been using for two years in our bilingual program, was working well with a group of children who happened to be both bright and making it to school five days a week. However, a large group had tried with the Gudschinsky method and, either because they were not yet ready for this approach to reading, or through irregular attendance, simply never got off the ground. The other children, in the middle, were off the ground but fluttering precariously.

The ‘never-off-the-ground’ group was given to me. It comprised over twenty children, about ten of whom would be at school on any one day. They were second and third year infants with whom I had an hour and a half every day in an open classroom. The children knew me well and I could speak to them in Gupapuyju (or in English to the one or two children from other settlements whose language was not Gupapuyju). Gupapuyju speaking children read in Gupapuyju, the others in English. Elements from the Ashton-Warner approach and the Language Experience approach were used.