english language learning research review
TRANSCRIPT
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A R E S E A R C H R E V I E W :
Effective Approaches to
Language Development
and Academic Achievementfor Young English Language Learners
Elizabeth S. Magruder, M.Ed.
EDITORS
Linda S. Espinosa, Ph.D.
Susan Snyder, Ph.D.
Revised 2nd draft March 6, 2012
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AResearchReview:EffectiveApproachestoLanguageDevelopmentandAcademicAchievementfor
YoungEnglishLanguageLearners
ElizabethS.Magruder,M.Ed.
EnglishLanguageLearners(ELL)arefastbecomingthe largestminoritydemographicgroupinU.S.schools.StudentswhosehomelanguageisotherthanEnglishcompriseapproximatelyover20%of
thenationsyoungchildren(MillerandGarcia,2008)andare projectedbytheU.S.CensusBureautobe
40percentoftheschool-agepopulationbythe2030s(U.S.CensusBureau,2011), andpossiblysoonerif
presentdemographictrendscontinue.Thisdramaticincreasehasspurrededucatorsand policymakerstorevisitresearchandevidence-basedpracticesthatsupportlongtermstudentachievementand
successforthisspecificpopulationofchildren.Recentnationalstudentachievementdatahighlightthe
needtoidentifyinstructionalmodelsandteachingstrategiesthatwillbenefityoungELLsandresultin
improvedacademicperformanceateveryeducationallevel.
Thepurposeofthisreportistoinformthedesignofanapproachtotheearlyeducationof
EnglishLanguageLearners(ELLs)byexaminingtheresearchonbestpracticesandprogrammodelsfor
childrenages3-5.ThisreportprovidesanoverviewofELLachievementpatternsbyreviewingcurrent
nationalachievementdata,thendiscussesresearchonhowyoungchildrencognitivelyexperienceand
acquirelanguagesandexaminesthecurrentstatewideprogramsprovidedforournationsELLs.Finally,
thereportidentifiesandrecommendspracticesthatsupportandpromotesustainedprogressinyoung
childrenwhosenativelanguageisotherthanEnglish.1
AchievementandEnglishLanguageLearners-RapidChangesandGrowingNeeds
WhatistheurgencyaroundfindingbestapproachestosupportELLs?
Theachievementgapineducationreferstothedisparityinacademicperformancebetween
groupsofstudents.Theachievementgapisanalyzedingrades,standardized-testscores,course
selection,highschoolcompletion,andcollege-completionrates,amongotherindicatorsofacademicperformance.WiththepassageoftheNoChildLeftBehindActof2001(NCLB),closingachievement
gapsamongvariousstudentgroups(e.g.Hispanic,White,Black,andAsian;lowandhighSESstudents)
becameafocusoffederaleducationaccountability,andschooldistrictswererequiredtodisaggregate
studenttestscoresandotherperformancedatabystudentcharacteristicstoenablebettercomparisons
amonggroups(Sparks,2011,U.S.DepartmentofEducation,2011,).Thisresultedinbothgreater
awarenessofracialandsocio-economicdisparitiesandrisingconcernaboutotherkindsofachievement
gaps.Thisfocusledtomoretargetedinterventionsfordifferentgroupsofstudents,buthasnotclosed
muchoftheachievementgapforELLssincethepassageofthelaw(August&Shanahan,2006;Garcia
andFrede,2010).
1Anoteonterminology:Forthepurposeofthisreport,theterm, EnglishLanguageLearners
(ELLs),asdefinedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEducationisused ;EnglishLanguageLearners refersto
studentswhosefirstorprimarylanguageisnotEnglish,andencompassesbothstudentswhoarejust
beginningtolearnEnglishandthosewhohavealreadydevelopedconsiderableproficiency.ELLs
encompassesothertermsfrequentlyused,suchasLimitedEnglishProficient(LEP),bilingual,English
learners,duallanguagelearners,andlanguageminoritystudents.(OHSDefinitionofEnglishLanguage
Learners,HHS/ACF/OHS.2009)
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ELLsareheavilyoverrepresentedamonglow-achievingstudents,thatis,studentswithinthe
bottom5%-25%oftheachievementdistribution,andareheavilyunderrepresentedamongthenations
highachievers,thoseinthetop5%-25%oftheachievementdistributionatallgradelevels(Garcia&
Frede,2010;Lee,Grigg,&Donahue,2007).AlthoughEnglishLanguageLearnerscomefromavarietyof
linguistic,culturalandsocioeconomic(SES)backgrounds,andsomeELLsachievehighlevelsofschool
success(Espinosa,2010),asagroup,theiracademicperformancelagsbehindtheirEnglish-speaking
peers.
HispanicchildrenidentifiedasELLsatthebeginningofKindergarten(GarciaandFrede,2010)
meritparticularattentionastheycompriseasubstantialmajority(~70-80%)ofallELLstudents(Garcia
andFrede,2010,Hernandez,2010).DatafromtheNationalAssociationofEducationalProgress(NAEP),
theNationsReportCard(U.S.DepartmentofEducation,NationalCenterforEducationStatistics,2007a
&2007b),andtheEarlyChildhoodLongitudinalStudy,KindergartenClassof1998-99(ECLS-K)clearly
indicatethatyoungHispanicELLsstartkindergartenacademicallybehindtheirEnglishspeakingpeers
andcontinuetoperformatlowerlevelsthroughelementaryandhighschool.AlthoughHispanic
studentshaveshownsomeprogressinimprovingperformanceinreadingandmathematics,the
evidenceshowsthatHispanicstudentslagbehindwhitestudentsinbothfourthandeighth-grademath
andreadingproficiencies,inhighschoolgraduationrates,andincollegeenrollmentandcollege
completion.SupportingdatacomefromtheEarlyChildhoodLongitudinalStudy,KindergartenClassof1998-99(ECLS-K).Thisnational,longitudinalstudyclearlydemonstratesthatHispanicchildrenwho
enteredkindergartenwithoutEnglishlanguageskillsareinthelowestperforminggroupinallacademic
contentareasbyfifthgrade,andthataverysmallproportionofthesechildrenachieveatadvanced
levels(Miller&Garcia,2008,seeespeciallypp.13-14).However,theseachievementpatternsare
stronglyinfluencedbythesocieconomicstatusofthefamilies.ChildrenfromlowSESfamilieshavebeen
showntoexperiencemuchlessrichlanguageexposureandtohavelearnedsignificantlyfewer
vocabularywordsatkindergartenentrythantheirmoreeconomicallyadvantagedpeers(Hart&Risley,
2003).SincethemajorityofSpanish-speakingELLsclusterinthetwobottomSESquintiles(Espinosaet
al.,2007),muchoftheachievementgapatKentrycanbeexplainedbyacombinationofreduced
exposuretolanguagelearningandthecumulativeeffectsofgrowingupineconomicdistress.
ArecentRandreport(2007)ofstudentachievementinCaliforniahasalsoshownthatdespiterisingachievementlevelsinrecentyears,therearestillvastdisparitiesamongstudentgroups.
Althoughthedataforallchildrenindicatesubstantialpercentagesfallingshortofproficiencyor
readinesscriteria,EnglishLanguageLearnershavethehighestproportionofstudentswhodonotmeet
basicorproficientbenchmarks.Whentestedatgradelevel,nearly70percentofthesestudentsdonot
meetsecond-gradeproficiencystandardsinEnglish-languagearts,andabout85percentdonotmeet
third-gradestandards,whilebetween53and58percentdonotmeetmathproficiencystandardsin
thosegrades(Rand,2007).
Thepast20yearsofeducationalresearchhasclearlydemonstratedtheimportanceofearly
educationalexperiencesinthelong-termachievementandlife-adjustmentofyoungchildrenfrom
diversebackgrounds(Espinosa,2010).Mostchildren,however,donotattendhigh-qualitypreschooland
manydonotenterkindergartenfullypreparedforformalschooling(Rand,2008),providingfurther
evidencethatenrichedlearningenvironmentsarenecessaryforfutureacademicachievementand
schoolsuccess.Behindthesedisparitiesinschool-relatedperformanceliedramaticdifferencesin
childrensearlyexperiences,accesstoqualityprograms,andsocioeconomicandculturalfactors.A
primedifferenceinchildrensearlyexperienceisintheirexposuretorichlanguage,whichis
fundamentalinliteracydevelopmentandacrossallcognitivedomains(Rand,2007).Onaverage,
childrengrowingupinlow-incomefamilieshavedramaticallylessrichexperiencewithlanguageintheir
homesthandomiddle-classchildren(Galindo,2010;Hart&Risley,1995).Whentheystartkindergarten,
childreninthelowestsocioeconomicgrouphaveaveragecognitivescoresthatare60percentbelow
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thoseofthemostaffluentgroup(Lee&Burkam,2002).Althoughstudiesindicatethatissuesofpoverty,
languagebarriers,culturalperspectives,familialvalues,andlimitededucationalbackgroundsarefactors
thatcontributetoalowerHispanicandELLenrollmentrateinpreschoolprograms,overwhelming
researchsuggeststhatallchildren,particularlythosewithlowfamilyincomesandlimitedEnglish
proficiency,willbenefitgreatlyfromearlyeducationprograms(Hernandez,2010;Gormley&Gayer,
2005;Takanishi,2004).Infact,thoseyoungchildrenwhoarethemostdisadvantagedhavebeenshown
tobenefitthemostfromparticipationinhighqualityearlyeducationprograms.
Neuroscience:BrainArchitectureandEarlyChildhoodLanguageDevelopment
Childrensearlylanguageskillspredictfuturereadingabilities,andskillsnotdevelopedduring
thefirstyearsoflifearedifficulttoremediateaschildrensbrainsmature.Earlyexperiencescreatea
foundationforlifelonglearning.Astrongfoundationwithrichlearningexperiencesandwarmand
nurturingrelationshipsintheearlyyearsincreasestheprobabilityofpositiveoutcomesthroughoutlife.
Itisimportanttobetterunderstandtheroleofearlylanguageexperiencesoncognitionandthebrainby
examiningandintegratingtherapidlygrowingbodyofknowledgefromneuroscienceandmolecular
biologywithourextantliteraturefromchilddevelopmentresearch.
Criticalaspectsofbrainarchitecturebegintobeshapedbyexperiencebeforeandsoonafter
birth,andmanyfundamentalaspectsofthatarchitectureareestablishedwellbeforeachildenters
school(NationalScientificCouncilontheDevelopingChild,2007). Currentbrainstudiesshowthatinfantslearntoencodeanddistinguishthesoundsandpatternsoflanguageduringtheearliestmonths
oflife.AllInfantsarebornwithinnateabilitiestoeasilyidentifyeverysoundofeverylanguage;
however,bytheendofthefirstyearoflife,infantsshowaperceptualnarrowingoftheirlanguageskills.
Theirabilitytodiscerndifferencesinthesoundsthatmakeupwordsinlanguagestheydonotregularly
heardiminishesrapidlyduringthefirstyearoflife(Kuhl,2011).Bythetimeachildis3yearsold,a
baby'sbrainhasformedabout1,000trillionconnectionsabouttwiceasmanyasadults.Ababy's
brainissuperdenseandwillremainsothroughoutthefirsttenyearsoflife.Studiesnowshow
continuityfromtheearliestphasesoflanguagelearningininfancytothecomplexprocessingevidenced
attheageofthreewhenalltypicallydevelopingchildrenshowtheabilitytocarryonasophisticatedconversation(Shonkoff,2010).Everynewcompetencyisbuiltuponcompetenciesthatwerepreviously
mastered.
Earlybrainwiringappearstobedifferentformonolingualsandbilingualswithinthefirstyearof
life,emphasizingtheimportanceofhighqualityinteractionsandinputfromthestart(Garcia-Sierra,et
al.,2011).PatriciaKuhl,professorofearlychildhoodlearningandco-directoroftheInstitutefor
Learning&BrainSciencesattheUniversityofWashington,andherteamofresearchersarecurrently
investigatingthebrainmechanismsthatcontributetoinfantsabilitytolearnlanguages.Theirrecent
study,Bilinguallanguagelearning:AnERPstudyrelatingearlybrainresponsestospeech,language
input,andlaterwordproduction,(Garcia-Sierra,etal.,2011),isthefirsttomeasurebrainactivitywitha
Magnetoencephalography(MEG).MEGisanon-invasivetechniqueforinvestigatinghumanbrain
activity.Itallowsthemeasurementofongoingbrainactivityonamillisecond-by-millisecondbasis,anditshowswhatpartsofthebrainareactivatedbylanguageexposureandhowthebrainrequires
connectivityforthedevelopmentofearlylanguageskills.Thestudygoesbeyondlanguagelearningand
investigatesthecapacityofveryyoungbrainstoprocessandabsorbnewinformation.Theresearch
teaminvestigatedthebrainsofbabiesbeingraisedinbilingual(EnglishandSpanish)households
comparedtobabiesinmonolingual(EnglishorSpanish)homes.Babiesheardbackgroundspeech
soundsinonelanguage,andthenacontrastingsoundintheotherlanguageoccurredoccasionally.For
example,asoundthatisusedinbothSpanishandEnglishservedasthebackgroundsoundandthena
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Spanish"da"andanEnglish"ta"eachrandomlyoccurred10percentofthetimeascontrastingsounds.
Ifthebraincandetectthecontrastingsound,thereisasignaturepatterncalledthemismatch
responsethatcanbedetectedwiththeMEG.Monolingualbabiesat6-9monthsofageshowedthe
mismatchresponseforboththeSpanishandEnglishcontrastingsounds,indicatingthattheynoticedthe
changeinbothlanguages.Butat10-12monthsofage,monolingualbabiesonlyrespondedtothe
Englishcontrastingsound.Bilingualbabiesshowedadifferentpattern.At6-9months,bilingualsdidnot
showthemismatchresponse,butat10-12monthstheyshowedthemismatchforbothsounds.The
findingsrevealedthatthebrainsofthebilingualinfantsseemedtoremainopentolearningdiverse
phonemesforalongerperiodoftimecomparedtomonolingualinfants(Garcia-Sierra,etal.,2011).
Theresultsofthesestudiesalsoconfirmedearlierresearchfindingsthatthemorelanguagethe
childrenheardasinfants,thelargertheirvocabularywaslater.Todetermineiftherecordedbrain
responsesat10-12monthsrelatedtolaterspeakingskills,theresearchersfollowedupwiththeparents
whenthebabieswereabout15monthsoldtoseehowmanySpanishandEnglishwordsthechildren
knew.Theyfoundthatearlybrainresponsestolanguagecouldpredictinfants'wordlearningability.
Thatis,thesizeofthebilingualchildren'svocabularywasassociatedwiththestrengthoftheirbrain
responsesindiscriminatinglanguagesat10-12monthsofage.
Thestudyconcludedthatearlyexposuretolanguagesalsomakesadifference.Bilingualbabies
exposedtomoreEnglishathome,includingfromtheirparents,otherrelativesandfamilyfriends,
subsequentlyproducedmorewordsinEnglish.ThepatternheldtrueforSpanish.AdrianGarcia-Sierra,
leadauthorofthestudyandapostdoctoralresearcheratUW'sInstituteforLearning&BrainSciences
statesthatwhile thisdifferenceindevelopmentsuggeststhatthebilingualbabies"mayhaveadifferent
timetableforneurallycommittingtoalanguage"comparedwithmonolingualbabies,allchildrenhave
thenaturalcapacityandcognitiveflexibilitytolearnlanguage(s)ifexposedearlyonandconsistently.
Thislongitudinalstudysuggeststhatyoungchildrencanlearnmultiplelanguageswithoutdelay,aslong
astheyhearnativespeakersandhaveadequateexperiencewithbothlanguages.Whenchildrenstart
to"mix"bothlanguagesinthesamesentence,theyarenotconfused.Rather,mixinglanguages
indicatesthatthechildisdevelopingstronglanguageskills(Garcia-Sierra,etal.,2011).Thecritical
contributionsofneuroscienceresearchdeepenourunderstandingofhowyoungELLsdevelopandacquirelanguagefrominfancyandhighlighttheinteractivenatureofthedevelopmentofhomeorfirst
language(L1)andtheacquisitionofEnglishorsecondlanguage(L2)duringthepreschoolyears.
TheInterdependencyofFirstLanguageDevelopmentandSecondLanguageAcquisition
Howdoesresearchbroadenourunderstandingofhowchildrenacquirelanguages?
Bykindergarten,mostchildrenhavedevelopedanintricatelinguisticsystemandtheirlanguage
islearnedprimarilythroughinteractionwithadultcaregiversinthehomelanguage,secondlanguage,or
both.Thefollowingfindingsillustratehowresearchconductedoverthepast30yearsonfirstand
secondlanguageacquisitioncaninformourunderstandingofhowtodesigneffectiveeducationalinterventionsforyoungELLs.
First,researchindicatesthatacademicknowledgeandskillsacquiredthroughonelanguage
pavethewayforacquisitionofrelatedknowledgeandskillsinanotherlanguage(Genesee,
2010).Wheninstructionthroughthefirstlanguage(L1)isprovidedtoELLsalongwithbalanced
secondlanguage(L2)support,thesestudentsattainhigherlevelsofacademicachievementthan
iftheyhadbeentaughtinthesecondlanguageonly.Researchindicatesthatthereisapositive
transferbetweenL1andL2inphonemicawareness,readingphonics,wordrecognition,word
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strategies,useofcognates,andmonitoringcomprehension.However,manystudentsneed
directinstructionthathelpsthemtransferknowledgefromL1toL2beforetheycanutilizethe
similarities.AchallengeforELLsastheyacquireEnglishislearningvocabularyinL2.
Backgroundknowledgeforspecificcontentisessentialtocomprehension.Somereading
strategiesarecommontobothlanguages;othersarespecifictothephoneticandgrapheme
systemsbetweenEnglishandSpanish.Explicitinstructioninthesecontrastsisvital(Genesee,
2008).
Second,researchindicatesthatEnglishisbestacquiredbystudentswithlimitedorno
proficiencyinEnglishaftertheirfirstlanguageisfirmlyestablished.Specifically,strongoraland
literacyskillsdevelopedinthefirstlanguageprovideasolidbasisfortheacquisitionofliteracy
andotheracademiclanguageskillsinEnglish(Edelsky,1982;Eisterhold-Carson,Carrell,
Silberstein,Kroll,&Kuehn,1990;Lanauze&Snow,1989;Saunders&Goldenberg,1999).
Moreover,asdescribedabove,manycommonskillsthatunderlietheacquisitionanduseof
bothlanguagestransferfromthefirsttothesecondlanguage,therebyfacilitatingsecond
languageacquisition.
Third,languageislearnedbestbyallstudentswhenitisthemediumofinstructionratherthan
theexclusivefocusofinstruction.Teachingstudentsearlyliteracyskillsintheirfirstlanguage,
embeddedwithinmeaningfulcontent,whilealsoteachingthemEnglishfundamentals,promoteshigherlevelsofreadingachievementinEnglish(Thomas&Collier,1997;2009).
Finally,standardizedreadingachievementscoresofELLsinEnglishsignificantlydeclineover
timewhentherearenohomelanguagesupportsprovidedtohelpbridgelanguageandlearning
fromL1toL2.
LiteracyinEnglishisessentialtoachievementineveryacademicsubjectandtoeducational
andeconomicopportunitiesbeyondschooling(August&Shanahan,2006).Dozensofstudiesand
evaluationshavebeenconductedandreportedoverthepast35yearscomparingreadinginstruction
thatusesstudentsfirstandsecondlanguageswithsecondlanguageimmersion.TheNationalLiteracy
PanelonLanguageMinorityChildrenandYouth(NLP,2006)wascreatedbytheU.S.Departmentof
EducationsInstituteofEducationSciencestoidentify,assess,andsynthesizeresearchontheeducationoflanguage-minoritychildrenandyouthwithregardtoliteracyattainmentandtoproducea
comprehensivereportonthisliterature.TheNLPmeta-analysiswith15relatedstudiesconcludedthat
teachingELLstoreadintheirfirstlanguageandthenintheirsecondlanguage(sequentially),orintheir
firstandsecondlanguages(simultaneously)(Garcia&Frede,2010,Genesee,2010,Hernandez,2010),
comparedwithteachingthemtoreadintheirsecondlanguageonly,booststheirreadingachievement
inthesecondlanguage.Andthehigher-quality,morerigorousstudiesshowedthestrongesteffects.
FiveofthestudiesthattheNLPreviewedfoundpositiveeffectsofhomelanguagesupporton
studentsreadingachievementonvariousmeasuresofreadinginEnglish.TheCenterforResearchon
Education,Diversity&Excellence,(CREDE),anationalresearchanddevelopmentcenterfundedbythe
U.S.DepartmentofEducationidentifiesandexaminesthemosteffectiveformsofeducationfor
studentsat-riskofeducationalfailureduetolinguisticandculturaldiversity,poverty,orgeographical
isolation.TheNLPandCREDEstudieswerethelatestoffivemeta-analysesthatreachedthesame
significantconclusion:learningtoreadinthehomelanguagepromotesreadingachievementinthe
secondlanguage.WhenELLsinitiallyexitintotheEnglishmainstream,thoseschooledallinEnglish
outperformthoseschooledbilinguallywhentestedinEnglish.Butthebilinguallyschooledstudents
reachthesamelevelsofachievementasthoseschooledallinEnglishbythemiddleschoolyears,and
duringthehighschoolyearsthebilingualstudentsoutperformmonolingualstudents(August&
Shanahan,2006;CREDE,2006;Garcia&Frede,2010;Genesee,2010).
Theconvergenceoftheseanalysessuggeststheseimportancefindings:
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(1)PrimarylanguageinstructionenhancesELLs'long-termacademicachievement;
(2)InmanyimportantrespectsELLslearninmuchthesamewayasnon-ELLs;and
(3)SpecificaccommodationsmustbemadewhenELLsareinstructedinEnglish,primarily
(althoughnotexclusively)becauseofthestudents'languagelimitations(August&Shanahan,2006;
CREDE,2006;Garcia&Frede,2010;Genesee,2010;Hernandez,2010).Theseaccommodationsmightbe
utilizedovermanyyears,atleastforsomestudents,untilsufficientfamiliaritywithacademicEnglishis
reachedtopermitthemtobesuccessfulinmainstreaminstruction.
TheRelevanceofHomeLanguageMaintenanceinDevelopingEnglishProficiency
FluencyinEnglishiscrucialtofutureeconomicandsocialsuccessintheU.S.Itisalso
recognized,however,thatEnglishLanguageLearnersareconnectedtotheirculturethroughtheirhome
language.Asresearchshows,humanbeingshavethecapacitytoacquirelanguagequitereadilyduring
theearliestyearsoflife.Theyalsohavethecapacitytoloselanguageifitisnotusedorneeded.Theloss
oflanguageskillsoccursthroughthelackofalinguisticallyappropriateandsocialenvironmentthat
valuesandsupportstheuseofaparticularlanguage.Studieshaveshownthattheyoungerthechild,the
moresusceptibleheorsheistosocialpressuresthatleadthemtoabandontheirfirstlanguage(Puig,
2010).IntheUnitedStates,onceAmerican-bornchildrenofimmigrantparentslearnEnglish,theytendtonotmaintainordevelopthelanguagespokenathome,evenifitistheonlyonetheirparentsknow.
Thisabandonmentofthehomelanguageoftenresultsinalossofimportantconnectionstofamilyand
community(Wong-Fillmore,1991).Wong-Fillmore(1991)inanethnographicstudy,describedwhat
occursinhomeswhereparentsusetheirweakerlanguage(forexample,English)tocommunicate.
Parentsarelessabletoelaborateandextendthelanguageandthinkingoftheirchildren.Theymaynot
beabletocommunicatecomplexideas.TheirrelativelyweakerabilitytospeakEnglishmaycausethem
tospeaklesstotheirchildren.Somemayavoidinteractionentirely.Ifolderchildrenandadolescents
cannotcommunicatewellwiththeirparentsorgrandparents,thecosttothefamilycanbegreat(i.e.
lossofrespectfortheparentsandrelativeswhospeakthehomelanguage).Consequently,childrenwill
enterkindergartenwithinadequatedevelopmentinboththeirfirstlanguageandEnglish,whichsets
themfurtherbehindtheacademictrajectorytoproficiencyinEnglish.Parentsandfamilymembersplayacriticalroleinpreventingthelossofachildshome
language.Numerousresearchstudieshavefoundthatwhenparentsunderstandtheimportanceof
supportingboththemaintenanceoftheirdominantlanguageandtheacquisitionofEnglish,childrencan
sustainclosetieswiththefamilyscultureandhistorywhilealsoenjoyingthecognitiveandlinguistic
benefitsofbecomingbilingual(Wong-Filmore,1991).
CurrentInstructionalApproachestoLanguageLearning:TheDiversityandImpactofProgramsthat
SupportEnglishLanguageLearners
Newfindingsholdpromiseforreducinglearninggapsandbarriersandincreasingthe
achievementofallchildren.WiththefocusonEnglishacquisitionandproficiencyforallELLs,researchcontinuestoconfirmthegreaterefficacyofearlyinterventionascomparedwithremediationandother
toolittleortoolateapproaches.ForEnglishLearnersinparticular,enhancingtheirearly
experiencescansubstantiallyshapetheirdevelopmentandimprovetheirchancesforacademicsuccess,
especiallywheninterventionstartsearlyinlifeandisnotanisolatedactionbutpartofacontinuous,
coherent,andwell-articulatedseriesofeducationalopportunities.
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TraditionalProgramModels:EnglishImmersion,Bilingual,DualLanguage
ThenationsgoalinsupportingELLsistohelpstudentsacquirestronglevelsofEnglish
proficiencyandcompetencyforlong-termsuccess;howbesttoaccomplishthatgoalhasbeenthetopic
ofconsiderableacademicdebatefornearlythreedecades.Inpractice,schoolsgenerallyoptforan
instructionalapproachbasedonpragmaticconsiderations,suchasthenumberofELLstudentsinthe
school,thenumberofdifferentlanguagesrepresented,levelsoflanguageknowledgeinL1andL2,andtheavailabilityoftrainedstaffandresourcestosupporttheirsuccess.Thethreemostcommon
instructionalapproachesareEnglishImmersion,Bilingual(TransitionalorDevelopmental),andDual
Language(OneWayorTwoWaymodels).
InEnglishimmersionprograms,EnglishlanguagelearnersareexpectedtolearninEnglishfrom
thebeginning,andtheirnativelanguageplayslittleornoroleindailyreadingorotherlessons.Formal
orinformalsupportislikelytobegiventoELLstohelpthemcopeinanall-Englishclassroom,which,
dependingonresources,mightincludehelpfromabilingualaidewhoprovidesoccasionaltranslationor
explanation.Thegoalistomainstreamstudentswithinoneortwoyears.Immersionprogramsare
typicallycombinedwithanEnglish-as-a-second-language(ESL)pull-outcomponent. Thesevariationsmaywellhaveimportanceintheoutcomesofimmersionstrategies,buttheirkeycommonfeatureisthe
exclusiveuseofEnglishtexts,withinstructionoverwhelminglyorentirelyinEnglish(Slavin&Cheung,
2003).
Bilingualprogramscanbetransitional,ordevelopmental(maintenanceofhomelanguage).In
allbilingualprograms,instructionisgiveninboththehomelanguageandEnglish.Theaimof
transitionalprogramsistousehomelanguageasabridgetoEnglishwherechildrenareprovidedwithEnglishlanguageinstruction,andacademicinstructionintheirnativelanguageforsomeportionofthe
day.ThegoaloftransitionalprogramsistopreparestudentsformainstreamEnglishclasseswithout
lettingthemfallbehindinsubjectareas.Intheory,childrentransitionoutoftheseprogramswithina
fewyearsintoEnglishmainstreamclasses.Developmentalbilingualprogramsaredesignedtoprovide
moreextensivehomelanguageinstructionandsupportandtointentionallypromotebilingualism.
Oneversionofdevelopmentalbilingualprogramsisaduallanguageapproach.Intwo-waydual
languageprogrammodelsthereisabalanceofnativeEnglishspeakersandELLsandbilingualismand
biliteracyaretheexpectedoutcomes;forELLstudents,itisEnglish,andfornativeEnglishspeakers,itismostoftenSpanish(Espinosa,2010),althoughthereisagrowinginterestinotherlanguagessuchas
MandarinChineseinsomepartsofthecountry.Onewayduallanguageprogramsusuallyincludeonly
ELLstudents,althoughtheysharethegoalsofbilingualismandbiliteracyforallstudents.Asignificant
differencebetweenbilingualprogramsistheamountofinstructionaltimespentinEnglishandthe
homelanguage,mostcommonlyreferredtoas90-10and50-50models.Ina90-10model,90%of
instructionisgiveninthehomelanguage(mostoftenSpanish)while10%ofinstructionisinEnglish,
graduallyincreasingtheamountofEnglishoverseveralyears.Ina50-50model,instructionaltimeis
dividedbetweenEnglishandthehomelanguagethroughoutthelengthoftheprogram(Espinosa,2010;
CenterforAppliedLinguistics,2003).
Alargenationalstudy(Thomas&Collier,2002)examinedthetypeofinstructionandprogram
modelsEnglishLanguageLearners(primarilySpanish-speakingstudents)receivedinfiveschooldistricts
overfiveyears(19962001),aswellastheachievementofthesestudentsonEnglishandSpanish
assessments.Twoprogramtypesinthisstudyareofparticularinterestbecausetheyresultinthe
higheststudentoutcomesinthelongtermwhenfollowingstudentsthroughtheirelementaryschool
yearsandthroughouttheirsecondaryyearswhenpossible.Thefivedistrictsencompassedmorethan
210,000studentsandincludedaninner-citydistrict,alargeandamediumurbandistrict,andtworural
districts.Studentsweretrackedastheyprogressedthroughtheprogramsfromkindergartenor1st
gradethrough4thor5thgrade.Thisrigorousandcomprehensivestudyhadbothqualitativeand
quantitativecomponents.ResearchersidentifiedeighttypesofELLprograms: One-wayandtwo-way
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duallanguageprogramswithboth90-10and50-50instructionalmodels,transitionalbilingualprograms,
andEnglishimmersionmodels.Studentachievementwithintheseprogramswasmeasuredbylooking
attheachievementgapbetweenELLsandnon-ELLsandthedegreetowhicheachintervention
narrowedthatgap.Inreviewingthegeneralfindingsregardingtheeffectonlong-termstudent
academicachievementinbilingualandEnglishimmersionprograms,itwasclearthatthoseELLstudents
mainstreamedwithoutbilingualsupportshowedlargedecreasesinachievement(three-fourthsofa
standarddeviationbygrade)whencomparedtotheirpeersinbilingualprograms.TheEnglish
immersiongrouphadthelowestachievementresults,scoringatthe12thpercentileonstandardized
readingtestsandthelargestnumberofhighschooldropouts.ItwasfoundthatthoseELLstudentswho
receiveatleast50%oftheirinstructionintheirnativelanguageforatleast4yearswerethemostlikely
ofallELLstudentstofullyreachthe50thpercentileonnationallynormedachievementtestsinboththeir
homelanguageandEnglishinallsubjects(Thomas&Collier,2002;Espinosa,2010).Whilethis
longitudinalstudydidnotincludepreschool-agedchildrenbutfocusedontheelementarygradesand
trackedschoolperformancethroughthehighschoolyears,itnone-the-lessclearlydemonstratesthe
importanceofsupportforELLstudentshomelanguagewhilelearningEnglish.
PATTERNSOFK-12ENGLISHLEARNERSLONG-TERMACHIEVEMENTINNCEsONSTANDARDIZEDTESTS
INENGLISHREADINGCOMPAREDACROSSSIXPROGRAMMODELS(Resultsaggregatedfromaseriesof4-8yearlongitudinalstudiesfromwell-implemented,matureprogramsinfiveschooldistricts)
Thomas&Collier,2002
ThischartrepresentsastudyconductedbyThomasandColliercomparingtheeffectivenessofprogramsforEnglishlearners.ItshowsthattwowaybilingualimmersionprogramsandlateexittransitionalbilingualprogramswithcontentESL
weretheonlyprogramswhereELsreachedthe50%inEnglishreadingandmaintaineditthrough12thgrade.
Program1:Two-waydevelopmentalbilingualeducation(BE)
Program2:One-waydevelopmentalBE,includingESLtaughtthroughacademiccontent
Program3:TransitionalBE,includingESLtaughtthroughacademiccontent
Program4:TransitionalBE,includingESL,bothtaughttraditionally
Program5:ESLtaughtthroughacademiccontentusingcurrentapproaches
Program6:ESLpullout--taughttraditionally *ESL=EnglishasaSecondLanguage
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Whilethereexistsasubstantialbodyofevidencesupportingthelong-termbenefitsofawell-
designedpreschoolonchildrensdevelopmentandachievement(Espinosa,2008,Barnett,2008),there
arefewempirical,experimental,orquasi-experimentalstudiesthataddresstheissueofhowtobest
instructyoungELLchildren(August&Shanahan,2006,Geneseeetal.,2006,Espinosa,2010).Recent
researchcomparingtheeffectsofL1instructiontothatofEnglishimmersiononpreschoolchildrensgrowthinliteracyledtheNationalTaskForceonEarlyChildhoodEducationforHispanics(2007)to
recommendanEnglish-plus-Spanish(EPS)modelinearlychildhoodprograms.Thismodelreferstoa
widerangeofformalandinformalapproachestousingbothEnglishandSpanishintheclassroom.
InstructionismainlyinEnglish,butteachersexplicitlyuseSpanishtoscaffoldconceptswhenthe
studentsknowledgeofEnglishistoolimitedfortheexchange(NationalTaskForceonEarlyChildhood
EducationforHispanics,2007);atransitionalbilingualprogramisanexampleofaformalEPSmodel.
Alongitudinal,experimental-controldesignwasusedtotestthehypothesisthatnativelanguage
instructionenhancesELL'snativelanguageandliteracydevelopmentwithoutsignificantcosttoEnglish
development(Duran,etal.,2010).Inthisstudy,31Spanish-speakingpreschoolers(aged38-48months)
wererandomlyassignedtotwoHeadStartclassroomsdifferingonlyinthelanguageofinstruction
(EnglishandSpanish).ResultsshowedthatSpanishlanguageinstructionresultedinsignificantlyhigher
growthonbothSpanishoralvocabularyandletter-wordidentificationmeasures.Therewereno
significantdifferencesbetweenclassroomsonthesesamemeasuresinEnglish.Resultsextendprevious
workbyshowingthatEPSmaybeaviablealternativetotraditionalEnglish-onlymodels.
Therehavebeenseveralrecentresearcheffortsexaminingtherelativeeffectivenessofdifferent
typesofinstructionalenvironmentsontheachievementofEnglishLanguageLearners,(Geneseeetal.,
2006;Slavin&Cheung,2005,Thomas&Collier,2002,),onemeta-analysis(August&Shanahan,2006),
andonepreschoolpolicyanalysis(NationalTaskForceonEarlyChildhoodEducationforHispanics,
2007).Significantly,theyhaveallreachedsimilarconclusionsandmadeconsistentrecommendationsfor
ELLchildren(Espinosa,2010);wheneducatorsimplementhighqualityinstructionalpractices,all
childrenbenefitacademically(August&Shanahan,2006).ResearchrevealsthatliketheirEnglish-
speakingpeers,youngELLstudentsbenefitacademicallyfromactiveengagement,smallgroup
interactions,opportunitiestopracticeandapplynewinformation,frequentreviewsandpractice,anddirectinstructiononcertainaspectsofliteracy(Espinosa,2010).Programeffectivenessandeducational
barriersofeachinstructionalmodelclearlyindicatethatthereisnosinglebestprogrammodelthatis
appropriateforallELLsinallcontexts.Researchdoes,however,confirmthatsuccessfullanguage
learningdependsonthequalityofthelearningenvironmentandinstructionalapproaches(Genesee,
2010).Thedebateovertherolethathomelanguageinstructionplays-whetheritshouldbeusedand
forhowlongisongoing.Regardlessofvaryingprogrammodelsandservices,thegoaltosupport
EnglishLanguageLearnersinbecomingproficientandsuccessfulinEnglishremainsclear.
Inaddition,reviewersofresearchonprogramsforEnglishlanguagelearners(e.g.,August&
Hakuta,1997;Brisk,1998;Christian&Genesee,2001;Goldenberg,1996;Secadaetal.,1998)have
concludedthatfocusmustbeplacedmoreonthequality ofinstructionforEnglishlanguagelearners,
ratherthancontinuingtodebateaboutlanguageofinstruction. Currently,therearenodatatosuggest
theamountofsupportstudentsreceiveor,mostcritically,thequalityofinstructionanditscorrelation
tostudentachievement,however,whatcanbeconcludedisthatwell-designedandcarefully
implementedprogramsthatsupporthomelanguagecanhaveasignificantpositiveeffectonstudent
achievementbothinEnglishliteracyandinotheracademiccorecourseswhencomparedtoEnglish
immersion(August&Shanahan,2006;Espinosa,2010;Goldenberg,2008;Thomas&Collier,2002).The
designofprogramsforEnglishlanguagelearnersshouldberesponsivetotheneedsandstrengthsof
localcommunities,studentpopulations,andavailableresources.Conventionalprogramlabels(suchas
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first-languageimmersion;transitional;shelteredandcontentinstructioninEnglish;orEnglishasa
SecondLanguage)arenotterriblyusefulinpredictingschoolsuccess.However,alleffectiveprograms
sharecrucialfeatures:1)understandingstudents'languageknowledgeandneeds,2)planningand
deliveringinstructionthatmeetsthoseneeds,and3)assessingwhetherstudentscomprehendedthe
instruction(August&Shanahan,2006;Duran,et.al.,2010;Goldenberg,2008).
Assessments:CurrentEffortstoCaptureDataonYoungEnglishLanguageLearners
Gatheringkeyinformationonstudentsculturalandlinguisticbackgroundsisessentialin
providingappropriateandtargetedlearningopportunitiesforallchildren.Thisisespeciallytruefor
EnglishLanguageLearners.ThedevelopmentofEnglishLearners,likeallchildren,dependsonanumber
offactorsandinfluencesthatexistwithintheirhomeandlearningsettings.ForEnglishLearnersin
particular,theseincludethestatusgiventotheirhomelanguageandthelevelofsupportprovidedfor
languagedevelopmentinboththehomelanguageandEnglish.Someimportantinformationthat
teachersneedtoknow:theageofexposuretoeachlanguageandthetypeoforextentoftheexposure
toeachlanguage(simultaneousorsequentiallearning),homelanguageproficiency,homelanguage
educationlevel,generaleducationalexperiences,Englishlanguageproficiency,levelofcontent
knowledge,social-emotionalneeds,andculturalassets.Mostprogramsnationwideassessforthe
achievementofonegoalonly:academicgrowth,andthisistypicallymeasuredinEnglishonly.Spanish
languageproficiencyandcross-culturalunderstandingareassessedinsomestatesasanentranceand
exittypeofmeasure,butrarelyinanyongoingwaythatmightinforminstructionaldecisions.TheNLP
foundthatmostexistingassessmentsdoapoorjobofprovidinghigh-qualityinformationaboutthe
individualstrengthsandweaknessesofELLs(August&Shanahan,2006).Thus,itisimportantto
considerassessmentsthatarereliableandvalidforELLs.
Researchfindingssuggestthatacademicachievementmeasuresthatarenormedfornative
EnglishspeakershavelowervalidityandreliabilityforELLs.Assessmentresultsmayunderestimatethe
levelofELLscontentknowledgebecausealthoughstudentsmayunderstandtheconcept,theymight
notunderstandtheEnglishlanguageintheassessmentitemaboutthatconcept.Infact,thetestmight
bemeasuringstudentslanguageproficiencymorethantheircontentknowledge.L1testinginlanguagesotherthanSpanishisusuallynotfeasible,butreliabletestsareavailableinSpanish.Because
SpanishspeakersarethemajorityamongELLsintheU.S.andoneofthegroupsmostinconsistently
servedbyschools(asmeasuredbyacademicachievementandhighschoolcompletion),quality
instructionalsupportandtestinginSpanishcanbeacrucialsteptowardsclosingtheachievementgapin
English.Theresults,aspreviouslymentioned,ofdataanalysesofstudentoutcomesinduallanguage
programsdemonstratethisverypowerfully.
Currentapproachesforcapturingdataonournationsyoungchildrenvarybystateand
program.Acombinationofinformalandformalmeasuresismostcommonlyusedtoassessstudents.
Informalassessments(alsocalledauthenticoralternative)allowteacherstotracktheongoingprogress
oftheirstudents.Informalassessmentsareconductedregularlyandoften,providingcontinualand
curriculum-embeddedinformationaboutstudentsdevelopingskillsandabilitiesthroughouttheschoolyear.Byusinginformalassessments,teacherscantargetstudents'specificchallenges,adapt
instruction,andinterveneearlierratherthanlater.Ongoingassessmentsareparticularlyimportantfor
Englishlanguagelearners(ELLs).Therearetwocommonlyusedinformalmethods:performance-based
assessmentandportfolioassessment.Bothmethodsutilizetypicalclassroomactivitiestomeasure
progresstowardcurriculargoalsandobjectives.Theseactivitiesaremonitoredandrecordedbyteacher
observation.Someadditionalinformalmethodsmayincludeinterviewswithstudentandfamily,
recordedobservations,andbasicconversationtocapturereallifeuseoflanguage.
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Lessfrequentstandardizedtestsmeasurestudentsataparticularpointintheyear,providing
snapshotsatamomentintime.StandardizedtestsinEnglishdonotusuallyreflectELLs'truecontent
knowledgeorabilities.Today'sNoChildLeftBehindlegislationrequiresthatmeticulousrecordsbekept
ontheprogressofELLs.SpanishLanguageAssessmentsforEnglishLanguageLearnersareidentifiedin
AppendixA.
CurrentNationwideApproaches:HowarestatesrespondingtotheneedsofEnglishLanguage
LearnersduringthePreschoolYears?
AsthenumberofyoungELLsinournationsschoolscontinuestorise,guidanceforschool
districts,administrators,andteachersonhowtoaddresstheiruniqueeducationalneedsisinadequate
andinconsistent.Areviewoffederalandstatestandardsandstaffrequirementsclearlydemonstrates
thisurgentneed;schoolsneedguidanceonhowtounderstandandcapitalizeonthelinguisticand
culturalstrengthsofELLchildren,whilealsoprovidingeffectiveinstructionandEnglishLanguage
Development(ELD).TheOfficeofHeadStarthasrepeatedlystressedtheimportanceofculturallyand
linguisticallyresponsivepracticesforELLchildrenandfamilies.Thedocument,MulticulturalPrinciples
forHeadStartPrograms,(2010)outlinestheexpectationsforprogramsandclearlystatestheneedto
supportchildrenshomelanguageswhilealsointroducingEnglish.Inaddition,thenewHeadStartChildDevelopmentandEarlyLearningFrameworkexplicitlyaddressthevariousstagesofEnglishlanguage
development.SomestatesarebeginningtofocusontheneedsofyoungELLchildrenbyproviding
frameworksfortheinstructionandsupportofyoungEnglishLearners(e.g.,California).Thosethatare
doingsoareemployingavarietyofstrategiesacrossmultipleprogramstofocusontheearlylearning
needsofELLs.Still,ahighdegreeofvariabilityisapparentacrossstates,makingitdifficulttogaugethe
effectivenessandqualityofdifferentpracticesandlevelofimplementation.
TheLandscapeofEarlyChildhoodPrograms:
StateApproachestoEducationofYoungELLStudentsVaryDramatically
MEASURES/PROVISIONS #ofStates/#ofPrograms States/Programs
NoStateELLStandards 13states Alabama,Arizona,California,Colorado,Connecticut,Florida,Massachusetts,NorthCarolina,Ohio,
Pennsylvania(EducationalAccountabilityBlockGrants),
Tennessee,Vermont(Act62andEarlyEducation
Initiative),andVirginia.
SystematicWrittenPlanforSupporting
ELLsRequired
8states,10Programs Georgia,Maine,Minnesota,NewJersey(Abbott,ECPA
andELLI),Oklahoma,Pennsylvania(HSSAP),Wisconsin
(4K),DC(Charter).
ProvisionofESLServicesRequired 10states,11programs Kansas(At-RiskandPre-KPilot),Maine,Minnesota,
Nevada,NewJersey(Abbott),Oklahoma,Pennsylvania
(K4),Texas,Washington,theDistrictofColumbia(PEEP).
HomeLanguageSurveyRequired 3states Iowa(SharedVisionandStatewideVoluntaryPreschool
Program),Nevada,RhodeIsland.
Screening&AssessmentRequired 17states,19programsinthosestates Arkansas,Delaware,Illinois,Maine,Minnesota,Nevada,
NewJersey(AbbottandELLI),NewYork,Oklahoma,
Oregon,Pennsylvania(HSSAPandK4/SBPK),RhodeIsland,
SouthCarolina(4KandCDEPP),Texas,Washington,
Wisconsin(4K),DC(PEEP).
ChildrenMustbeScreenedinPrimary 1state Delaware
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Language
InformationMustbePresentedto
ParentsintheirPrimaryLanguage
17states,21programsinthosestates Arkansas,Delaware,Illinois,Kansas(At-RiskandPre-K
Pilot),Maine,Maryland,Minnesota,Nevada,NewJersey
(AbbottandECPA),NewMexico,NewYork,Oklahoma,
Oregon,Pennsylvania(HSSAPandK4/SBPK),South
Carolina(4KandCDEPP),Texas,Wisconsin(4K),DC(PEEP).
BilingualInstructionalPrograms
PermittedinPreschool
28states,21programs Arkansas,Delaware,Illinois,Maine,Minnesota,Nebraska,
NewJersey(Abbott,ECPAandELLI),NewMexico,New
York,Oklahoma,Oregon,Pennsylvania(K4),Texas,
Wisconsin(4K).
MonolingualNon-EnglishClasses
PermittedinPreschool
15states,21programs Illinois,Louisiana(8(g),LA4,andNSECD),Maine,
Minnesota,Nebraska,NewJersey(Abbott,ECPAandELLI),
NewMexico,NewYork,Oklahoma,Oregon,Pennsylvania
(HSSAP,K4/SBPKandPre-KCounts),SouthCarolina(4K),
Texas,Washington,Wisconsin(4K),DC(PEEP).
TranslatorsorBilingualStaffMade
Available
14states,16programs Arkansas,Delaware,Illinois,Maine,Minnesota,Nebraska,
NewJersey(Abbott,ECPAandELLI),NewMexico,New
York,Oklahoma,Oregon,Pennsylvania(K4),Texas,
Wisconsin(4K).
ProfessionalDevelopmentProvidedfor
Teachers
13states,17programs Georgia,Illinois,Maine,Minnesota,NewJersey(Abbott,
ECPAandELLI),NewYork,Oklahoma,Oregon,
Pennsylvania(HSSAP/K4andPre-KCounts),South
Carolina(4K),Texas,Wisconsin(4K),DC(PEEPand
Charter).
Source:CenterforAmericanProgress,datacapturedfromstatestandardswebsites,August,2011.
Summary
TheconfluenceofaswiftincreaseinyoungEnglishLanguageLearnersinournationsschools,
therisingconcernaroundlongtermstudentachievement,andtheincreasedpressuretopromoteand
sustainstudentprogresstogethercreatesacriticalurgencytobetterprovidestrategicsupportthatwill
benefityoungELLsandresultinimprovedacademicperformanceateveryeducationallevel.Asthefield
ofearlychildhoodeducationevolves,anongoingandextensivebodyofresearchinformspolicyand
continuestoshapeeffectivepracticesforpreschool-agechildrenwhoarelearningthroughtwolanguages.ThisreviewofresearchliteratureandpracticesforEnglishlanguagelearnersrevealsthat
academictrajectoriesfrommultiplestudiesshowthat,todate,littleprogresshasbeenmadein
reducingacademicdividesandthatELLsremainheavilyoverrepresentedamonglowachievingstudents
beginninginKindergartenandthroughouttheiracademiclives.Behindthesedisparitiesinschool-
relatedperformanceliedramaticdifferencesinchildrensearlyexperiencesandaccesstoquality
programs.
Newfindingsfromseveralextensiveresearchstudiesandmeta-analysesfocusedonprogram
modelsthatserveELLshavereachedsimilarconclusionsandrecommendations:well-designedand
thoughtfullyimplementedfirstlanguagesupportinconjunctionwithEnglishlanguagedevelopmentcan
haveasignificantpositiveeffectonstudentachievementbothinEnglishliteracyandinothercontent
areaswhencomparedtoEnglishimmersionprograms.Furthermore,recentneurosciencestudiesand
researchonfirstandsecondlanguageacquisitionduringthepast30yearscaninformourunderstanding
ofhowtodesigneffectiveeducationalinterventionsforyoungELLs.Strongoralandliteracyskills
developedinthefirstlanguageprovideasolidfoundationfortheacquisitionofliteracyandother
academiclanguageskillsinEnglish,andacomprehensivemeta-analysisfurtherconcludesthat
regardlessofwhetheratransitionalbilingualorduallanguagemodelisimplemented,reading
achievementinthesecondlanguageincreaseswhenthesemodelsarecomparedtosecondlanguage
instructiononly.Thisfurtherunderscoresthevalueofthefirstlanguageinsupportingtheacquisitionof
thesecondlanguage.
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Thequalityofeducationyoungchildrenreceiveintheirfirstyearsofschoolingisoftenakey
indicatoroftheirlong-termacademicsuccess.Whilethereislittleempiricalevidencetodateonhowto
bestinstructyoungELLchildren,researchindicatesthatyoungELLstudentsbenefitacademicallyfrom
generalfeaturesofhighquality:interactivelearning,caringandresponsiverelationships,child
engagement,anddirectinstructiononcertainaspectsofliteracy.Becauselocalcommunities,families,
andprogramsvarywidely,thereisnosinglebestprogramapproachthatisappropriateforallELLsinall
contexts.However,itisclearthatsuccessfullanguagelearningapproachesdependonmultiplefactors,
mostcritically,thequalityofinstructionandtheappropriatenessofthelearningenvironment.In
general,highqualityliteracyinstructionformonolingualEnglishspeakingchildrenalsobenefitsEnglish
LanguageLearners,howeveryoungEnglishlanguagelearnersrequireclassroomandinstructional
enhancementsandextendedopportunitiestolearninordertothriveanddevelophighlevelsofliteracy
andachievement(Espinosa,2010).
Researchclearlyshowsthatearlyliteracyandlanguagedevelopmentarelinkedwithsocialand
cognitivedevelopmentandarevitalelementsintheeducationofyoungchildren. WhileELLchildreninpreschoolandKindergartenmayshowgreatcapacityandanincreasedrateofEnglishacquisitionin
Englishimmersionprograms,researchshowsthatlong-termachievementinallcontentareasdecreases
significantlyovertime.Cognitive,social,andlinguisticdevelopmentbegininthefirstlanguage,anditisinthislanguagethatchildrenbegintoconstructtheirknowledgeoftheworldandformpowerful
relationshipsthatpreparethemforfutureacademicdemands. Itistheroleofearlychildhoodprogramstobuilduponthelinguistic,culturalandcognitiveknowledgethatyounglearnersbringandtoprovide
instructionthatisbasedonwarm,respectful,responsiverelationshipswhilebeingattentivetothe
developmental,linguistic,andculturaldimensionsofeachchild.ThisisespeciallycriticalforEnglish
LanguageLearners.
ThevarietyofprogrammodelsforELLsallsharethecommongoalofsupportingELLsintheir
acquisitionofEnglish,although,clearly,thereisnoonebestapproachtoeffectivelysupportallEnglish
languagelearnersinallcontexts.Overwhelmingevidenceconcludesthatsupportinghomelanguagein
conjunctionwithEnglishacquisitionhaspositiveeffectsonstudentachievementovertime.Clearly,
languageofinstructionandhighqualityinstructionalmodelsarenotmutuallyexclusiveissues.EffectiveinstructionalmodelscanbeappliedinEnglish,inthehomelanguage,andideallyinbothlanguages.
RecommendationsforLanguageLearningApproachesfor3-5yearolds
ResearchemphasizesthatELLsneedinstructionalaccommodationstokeeppacewiththeir
nativeEnglish-speakingpeers(Espinosa,2010).Goldenberg(2007),basedonhisreviewofthree
nationaldatasets,suggeststhatinstructionalsupportsshouldincludethestrategicuseofprimary
language,buildingonhome(L1)languageskillswhilealsosystematicallyteachingchildrenEnglish.The
neuroscienceresearchsuggestthatthefirstfewyearsoflifeareidealforlearninglanguagesandthe
longerwewaittoexposechildrentosecondlanguages,theharderitwillbe.Thereviewofresearchon
theeffectivenessoflanguageprogrammodelsconsistentlyconcludesthatELLsneedhelptotransfer
knowledgegainedinL1totheapplicationinL2.Buildingonlinguistic,cultural,andcognitiveknowledge
ofyounglearnersisessentialinpromotingnotonlyacademicachievementovertime,butprepares
themforfutureendeavorsinaglobalworkforcewhilevaluingandembracingtheirfamilyheritageand
culturalperspectives.
Evidence-basedInstructionalConsiderationsandApproaches:
1. Learningtwolanguagesfromthestartshapesbrainarchitectureandenhancescognitive
flexibility.ThebraincanflexiblyshiftbetweenL1andL2aslanguageandmeaningare
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developedandassimilated.Thewindowforcognitiveflexibilityisnarrowandbestdevelopedat
anearlyageandwithconsistentexposuretoL1andL2.
2. Highqualityexperiencesforyoungchildrenwillpromotelongtermacademicsuccess.High
qualityexperiencesdevelopcognitive,emotional,language,physicalandsocialskillsofchildren
thattakeintoaccountindividualchildren'sdevelopmentalstages,learningstyles,language
levelsandeducationalneeds.Richlanguageandliteracydevelopmentistheresultofreal-life
experiencesbothinandoutofschoolthatgivechildrenconcreteopportunitiestoengage,
manipulate,andarticulatetheirlearning.Multisensoryandphysicalexperiencesarecrucial:
childrenshouldbeabletosee,hear,andtouchthetopicofexploration.
3. StrategicuseofhomelanguageenhancescomprehensionandEnglishlearning.Muchempirical
researchdocumentstheimportanceofprovidingsomelevelofsupportforcontinuedhome
languagedevelopment,buttheexactinstructionalstrategiesthatbestaccomplishthisgoalare
stillunderinvestigation.MoststudiesconcludethatbuildingcomprehensioninEnglishforELLs
beginswithunderstandingtheconceptinL1.Byreviewingordevelopingvocabularyand
conceptsinL1,childrencan,withadultscaffolding,transferknowledgetoEnglishmorerapidly,
thusconstructingmeaningondeeperlevel.
4. FrequentassessmentplaysanimportantroleintheeducationofEnglishlanguagelearners.
Ongoingassessmentofstudentlearningprovidescontinuousfeedbackontheeffectivenessof
instructionandindicatesareaswhereachangeininstructionalstrategymaybeadvised.Such
assessmentsmayrangefromplannedassessmenttoinformalobservationsofstudentlanguage
andliteracybehaviors.Ongoing,performance-basedassessmentsmayrevealstrengthsand
growthincrementsnotdetectablebyannualhigh-stakestesting.
5. AssessmentsinhomelanguageandEnglishprovidevaluableinformationaboutlinguistic
strengthsandchallenges.Whenreceptiveandexpressivelanguageiscapturedinhome
languageandEnglish,instructionaldecisionscanbemadetocapitalizeonlinguisticstrengths
andprovidefocusedattentiontoscaffoldinglanguageforL1andL2transfer.ByassessinginL1
andL2,anaturalsupportsystemcanbeembeddedindailyinstructionthatutilizeshomelanguageasabridgetoEnglish.
6. Engagingfamiliesinliteracyprovideschildrenwithafoundationforthedevelopmentof
schoolliteracyskills. Researchhasalsoproventhatfamilyliteracycangreatlyenhance
students'chancesforacademicsuccess.Itisverycommonforprogramstoencourageandin
somecasesrequirethatchildrenparticipateinfamilyliteracyexperienceswiththeirparentsor
otherfamilymembers.Withcurrenttechnology,publiclibraries,andschoolresources,families
havegreateropportunitiestosupporttheirchildrenathome.Familiesshouldbeencouragedto
participateinsharedreadingexperiencesathomeandtocontinuetousethehomelanguagefor
bothliteracyactivitiesaswellaseverydayinteractions.
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AppendixA
SpanishLanguageAssessmentsforEnglishLanguageLearners
Table1:AssessmentandPublishers
Abbreviation SpanishTestName EquivalentAssessmentinEnglish
orOtherLanguages
Developer/Publisher
BateraIII BateraIIIWoodcock-Muoz WoodcockJohnsonIII(WJ-III) RiversidePublishing
BSM BSM-Medidadesintaxisbilinge BilingualSyntaxMeasureI
(BSMI)
HarcourtAssessment
ELLOPA EarlyLanguageandListeningOral
ProficiencyAssessment
Maybeadaptedtoanylanguage CenterforAppliedLinguistics
FLOSEM StanfordForeignLanguageOralSki lls
EvaluationMatrix
Maybeadaptedtoanylanguage CaliforniaForeignLanguageProject,
Stanford,CA;adaptedfromSOLOM
IPT-O IDEA-OralLanguageProficiencyTest ParallelforminEnglish Ballard&Tighe
MN-SOLOM MinnesotaModifiedStudentLanguage
ObservationMatrix
Maybeadaptedtoanylanguage SOLOMrevisedbytheMinnesota
DepartmentofEducationPLS-4 PreschoolLanguageScale,4
tedition AvailableinEnglish HarcourtAssessment
Pre-LAS Pre-LanguageAssessmentScales,2000 AvailableinEnglish CTB-McGrawHill
SLP StanfordSpanishLanguageProficiencyTest StanfordEngl ishLanguage
ProficiencyTest(ELP)
HarcourtAssessment
SOLOM StudentOralLanguageObservationMatrix Maybeadaptedtoanylanguage SanJoseAreaBilingualConsortium,
revisedbyCADept.ofEducation
SOPR StudentOralProficiencyRating Maybeadaptedtoanylanguage DevelopmentAssociates,adaptedfrom
SOLOM
TPAS TestofPhonologicalAwarenessinSpanish NoEnglishEquivalents PearsonAssessments
TVIP TestdevocabularioenimaginesPeabody PeabodyPictureVocabularyTest
(PPVT-4)
PearsonAssessments
WMLS-R Woodcock-MuozLanguageSurvey,revised AvailableinEnglish RiversidePublishing
Table2:AssessmentDomainsandAdministrationInformation
Abbreviation Oral
Language
Reading/
Writing
Academic
Subjects
Vocabulary Gradesor
AgeGroup
Administration
Format
Standardized
BateraIII Age2toadult Individual BSM GradesPK-2(BSM1) Individual
ELLOPA GradesPK-2 PairedInterview
FLOSEM GradesPK-12 Informal
IPT-O Age3-5(Pre-IPT) Individual
MN-SOLOM GradesPK-12 Informal
PLS-4 Birth7 Individual
Pre-LAS GradesPK-1 Individual
SLP GradesPK-12 Groupand
Individual
SOLOM GradesPK-12 Informal
SOPR GradesPK=12 Informal
TPAS Age4-11 Individual
TVIP Age2-18 Individual
WMLS-R Age2-adult Individual
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AdaptedfromCenterforAppliedLinguistics,2012