Integrating Science And English Proficiency For English Language Learners

Despite the expectation that all students should achieve high academic standards, content area instruction and English for speakers of other languages instruction for English language learners (ELLs) have traditionally been conceptualized as separate domains, resulting in educational inequities for ELLs. This is because effective instruction to promote academic achievement for ELLs requires integration of content and language. Such inequities are more pronounced in urban schools where ELLs are disproportionately represented. In science education, research on instructional interventions to simultaneously promote science and English proficiency of ELLs has begun to emerge in recent years. Grounded in this emerging research literature, we offer specific instructional strategies to integrate science and English proficiency for ELLs in five domains: (a) literacy strategies with all students, (b) language support strategies with ELLs, (c) discourse strategies with ELLs, (d) home language support, and (e) home culture connections.     

英语ESL差异教学行动策略初探

英语 ESL（English Studyas Second Language）是上海中学国际部以英语为非母语的学生为教育对象,关注学生基础英语素养在最快的时间内夯实与培育,旨在帮助来自不同国家与地区的学生,英语学习背景有巨大差异的学生提升基础的英语素养。通过长期的教育教学实践,英语ESL差异教学行动策略有：创设富有层次性的情境,提高学生英语学习兴趣;加强语言教学比较研究,关注英语教导多样性;习题安排突出开放性,注重对学生及时分类指导;促进英语教学评价多元,对学生进行针对性辅导反馈。其差异教学的行动策略对于我国的英语差异教学能提供借鉴与启迪。     

Writing fluency and quality in kindergarten and first grade: the role of attention,reading, transcription,and oral language

In the present study, we examined the influence of kindergarten component skills on writing outcomes, both concurrently and longitudinally to first grade. Using data from 265 students, we investigated a model of writing development including attention regulation along with students’ reading, spelling, handwriting fluency, and oral language component skills. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that a model including attention was better fitting than a model with only language and literacy factors. Attention, a higher-order literacy factor related to reading and spelling proficiency, and automaticity in letter-writing were uniquely and positively related to compositional fluency in kindergarten. Attention and higher-order literacy factor were predictive of both composition quality and fluency in first grade, while oral language showed unique relations with first grade writing quality. Implications for writing development and instruction are discussed.     

In-depth analysis of handwriting curriculum and instruction in four kindergarten classrooms

The quality of handwriting curriculum and instructional practices in actual classrooms was investigated in an in-depth case study of four inner city kindergarten classrooms using quantitative and qualitative methods. The handwriting proficiency of students was also evaluated to assess the impact of the instructional practices observed. The findings suggest that even though teachers employ a number of effective strategies, there is room for improvement in implementing effective, research-approved handwriting instruction. In particular, daily, explicit instruction, writing for fluency, writing from memory, and use of self-evaluation are areas that need improvement. Results indicate that the lack of emphasis on these practices impacted the quality of teaching and learning of handwriting skills. Future research is needed on the impact of teacher training, use of an assessment tool that objectively assesses students’ handwriting, use of reading and handwriting curriculum that complement and reinforce one another, and the effectiveness of research-based strategies in practice.     

Exploring the amount and type of writing instruction during language arts instruction in kindergarten classrooms

The objective of this exploratory investigation was to examine the nature of writing instruction in kindergarten classrooms and to describe student writing outcomes at the end of the school year. Participants for this study included 21 teachers and 238 kindergarten children from nine schools. Classroom teachers were videotaped once each in the fall and winter during the 90 min instructional block for reading and language arts to examine time allocation and the types of writing instructional practices taking place in the kindergarten classrooms. Classroom observation of writing was divided into student-practice variables (activities in which students were observed practicing writing or writing independently) and teacher-instruction variables (activities in which the teacher was observed providing direct writing instruction). In addition, participants completed handwriting fluency, spelling, and writing tasks. Large variability was observed in the amount of writing instruction occurring in the classroom, the amount of time kindergarten teachers spent on writing and in the amount of time students spent writing. Marked variability was also observed in classroom practices both within and across schools and this fact was reflected in the large variability noted in kindergartners’ writing performance.     

Phoneme awareness,vocabulary and word decoding in monolingual and bilingual Dutch children

The aim of this study was to investigate whether bilingually raised children in the Netherlands, who receive literacy instruction in their second language only, show an advantage on Dutch phoneme‐awareness tasks compared with monolingual Dutch‐speaking children. Language performance of a group of 47 immigrant first‐grade children with various different cultural backgrounds and a subsample of 29 Turkish–Dutch bilingual immigrant children was compared with those of 15 first‐grade monolingual native Dutch children from similar low‐socioeconomic backgrounds. All children were tested on Dutch phoneme awareness, vocabulary and word decoding. The Turkish–Dutch children were also tested on Turkish phoneme awareness and Turkish vocabulary. Dutch vocabulary scores of the bilingual children were below that of the monolingual Dutch children. Neither the entire group of bilingual children nor the subsample of Turkish–Dutch children were better or worse on phoneme awareness than monolingual Dutch children. However, Turkish–Dutch children scored better on the Dutch tasks for phoneme awareness and vocabulary than on the Turkish tasks. Language proficiency in the adopted language of bilingual children appears to quickly exceed that of their native language, when no instruction in the first language is provided.     

What Works in Writing With Peer Response? A Review of Intervention Studies With Children and Adolescents

Peer response is viewed as an important aspect of writing instruction. Several meta-studies indicated that peer response is effective. However, these studies did not focus on the specific aspects of peer response that made it effective. The present review analyzes the effects of instructional factors accompanying peer response in 26 studies on writing proficiency. Three theoretical perspectives are distinguished: a cognitive, a social-cognitive, and a genre perspective underlying the reviewed studies. In all studies, additional instruction in strategies, rules for interaction, genre knowledge, or a combination of these instructional aspects to writing with peer response is provided. Peer response with such additional instruction seems effective compared with individual writing. Recommendations for future investigations are directed to methodological issues for comparing the effects of separate instructional components for writing with peer response. In addition, it is advised to direct future studies towards more controlled research into the effects of instruction in genre knowledge on writing with peer response.     

The Role of Students’ Home Language in Science Achievement: A multilevel approach

The present study aimed to identify the role of both student- and school-level characteristics in primary school students’ achievement in the science curriculum. As societies become more culturally and linguistically diverse, many students enter the classroom with a home language that is different from the language of instruction used at school. This study takes into account both the home language and literacy in the language of instruction in relation to student achievement in science subjects. Questionnaires, reading performance tests, and science achievement tests were administered to 1,761 fourth-grade students from 67 schools across Flanders (Belgium). Multilevel hierarchical regression analyses show that the home language and literacy in the language of instruction play an important role in science achievement at the student level, next to gender and socioeconomic status. Students with a home language that is different from the language of instruction experience difficulties with science subjects. Moreover, the higher students’ performance on reading comprehension and self-assessed proficiency in the language of instruction, the higher their score on science achievement tests. At the school level, a school's teachability expectations are one of the key factors related to students’ science achievement. Limitations of this study and future directions for research are discussed.     

A Structural Equation Model of Second Language Acquisition for Adult Learners

Abstract

This study constructs and empirically evaluates a model of second language acquisition for adult learners. The proposed structural equation model describes the relationships between latent variables representing sociocultural background, cognitive ability (in the first language), functional language proficiency, cognitive language proficiency, attitudes, motivation, and instructional approach. Tentative empirical estimates, which are somewhat unreliable due to a small sample size, were obtained using a methodology developed by JÖreskog known as the linear structural relationship (LISREL) model. The data used for estimation are drawn from a Chicago bilingual teacher training program that utilized two radically different English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching methods. Though primarily illustrative in nature, the results showed that an “integrative” approach to second language instruction was shown to be more effective than a strictly “behaviorist” approach, and functional language ability was shown to be an important component of the language acquisition process.     

Using online glossing lessons for accelerated instruction in ASL for preservice deaf education majors

Teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students must serve as language models for their students. However, preservice deaf education teachers typically have at most only four semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) training. How can their limited ASL instructional time be used to increase their proficiency? Studies involving deaf and hard of hearing students have revealed that glosses (written equivalents of ASL sentences) can serve as "bridges" between ASL and English. The study investigated whether glossing instruction can facilitate hearing students' learning of ASL. A Web site was developed in which ASL glossing rules were explained and glossing exercises provided. Posttest scores showed the experimental group improving from 39% to 71% on ASL grammar knowledge. These findings indicate that online glossing lessons may provide the means to obtain ASL skills more readily, thus preparing deaf education teachers to serve as ASL language models.     

Instructional Sensitivity of a Complex Language Arts Performance Assessment

Validation of assessments intended to improve instruction and learning should include evidence of instructional sensitivity. This study investigated the instructional sensitivity of a standards-based ninth-grade performance assessment that required students to write an essay about conflict in a literary work. Before administering the assessment, teachers of 886 ninth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three instructional groups: literary analysis, organization of writing, and teacher-selected instruction. Despite the short duration of instruction (8 class periods), results support the instructional sensitivity of the assessment in two ways: Instruction on literary analysis significantly improved students' ability to analyze and describe conflicts in literature, and instruction on the organization of writing led to significantly higher scores on measures of coherence and organization.     

The Relationship of Teachers' Instructional Decisions and Beliefs about Alternate Assessments to Student Achievement

In the decade since alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) were first required, special education teachers have had to develop content knowledge and pedagogical skills to teach academics to students with significant cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that teachers' instructional decisions and beliefs about AA-AAS have on the academic achievement of students with significant cognitive disabilities. A survey of nearly 400 teachers across three states provided evidence of teachers' beliefs, as well as their instructional planning processes for students. Students' learning characteristics were also identified. Survey responses were analyzed in conjunction with students' 2010–2011 scores on their statewide AA-AAS. The results indicated that students with presymbolic communication systems had a lower likelihood of achieving proficiency in English language arts/reading and math than students with abstract symbolic communication. Students with concrete symbolic communication systems had lesser odds of proficiency in ELA/reading but not in math. Teachers who agreed that AA-AAS had an impact on instruction tended to have students with higher achievement proficiency. However, more negative views of the validity of AA-AAS scores were associated with greater odds of proficiency.     

功能文体学在大学英语议论文写作中的应用

我国传统的英文写作教学存在很多有待改进的地方,教学方法比较陈旧。教学中常常以句子结构为中心,停留在以句子而不是以篇章作为教学的中心,从而导致学生写作组织性及连贯性差。针对目前教学方法的弊端,试用功能文体学理论指导大学英语议论文的写作,找出大学英语议论文的某些文体特征和写作特点,来提高大学生议论文的写作能力。     

What We are Failing to Measure in Education

Abstract

This study compared the effectiveness of computer-based handwriting exercises (Lally &; Macleod, 1982) with traditional instruction in the remediation of handwriting difficulties. Thirty-six students in Grades 4 to 6 with poor handwriting received one of three different instructional methods. In Method 1, students performed computer-based handwriting exercises using the Apple Graphics Tablet, an electronic pen, and the computer monitor to track visible and invisible letters. In Method 2, conventional instruction was provided using pencil, paper, plastic overlays, and felt pens to copy and trace letter forms. In Method 3, conventional instruction using tracing and copying was provided through the computer using the Touch Window and a stylus pen. Several measures were used to assess improvement in performance. The results indicated that the traditional group using pen and paper demonstrated significant improvements from pretest to posttest on five measures, and the computer groups on two measures. The findings suggest that traditional instruction using pen and paper is the more effective treatment method.     

Connecting Literacy and Science to Increase Achievement for English Language Learners

Giving students a purpose and a passion for sharing their thinking through authentic learning experiences and giving them tools for writing through which they can risk new vocabulary, new language, and new thought is critical for the linguistic and cognitive development of students. Furthermore, students develop a deep understanding of content they have heard and read when given time to process information through writing and speaking. This article describes one teacher’s quest to identify and implement effective research-based instructional strategies that she could use to successfully support her kindergarten ELL students during science instruction.     

词块注意教学模式提高英语输出能力的实验研究

通过教学实验,对英语词块注意教学模式和传统教学模式的教学效果进行对比,接受词块注意教学模式的受试能够产出更多的词块,其翻译和写作成绩也明显优于控制组。这充分证实词块注意教学模式能够有效提高学习者词汇的实际应用能力,提升语言加工的深度,进而提高其语言产出能力及学业成绩。     

Writing instruction in first grade: an observational study

As schools work to meet the ambitious Common Core State Standards in writing in the US, instructional approaches are likely to be examined (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). However, there is little research on the current state of instruction. This study was designed to provide a comprehensive analysis of first-grade writing instruction across 13 schools in one state in the US. Daylong observations were conducted four times during the year in 50 first-grade classrooms. Using a time-sampled, observational protocol, observers coded multiple dimensions of instruction, including grouping, instructional focus, teacher instructional activity, and student writing activity. Results revealed that writing was taught for less than 30 min a day on average, and instruction in skills or process writing was common. Most instruction was organized in whole-class settings with teachers either presenting information or asking students questions. Variability in the amount and focus of writing instruction and in student writing activity was examined at the classroom and school levels. A small number of classrooms and schools were identified with distinctive patterns in their approach to instruction and writing activity. Several moderate relationships were found between the writing instructional focus and the nature of student writing. These findings suggest that first-grade writing instruction is inconsistent across classrooms and schools and point to instructional implications for teachers and schools in the US.     

Volleyball and other analogies: a response to Englert.

Englert and her colleagues have contributed much to our knowledge about effective writing instruction. They have demonstrated that interventions that make explicit the writing process and text structures are successful with students with learning disabilities as well as those without. Englert attributes this success to the holistic, social, and interactive nature of the instruction. However, one must keep in mind that CSIW was a package approach that included other validated instructional components. CSIW teachers presented conceptual models, used examples and nonexamples to illustrate text structure concepts, modeled thinking overtly while demonstrating the process, provided guided practice by prompting the process through dialogue and think-sheets, faded prompts as students took over more of the responsibility for the process, and taught for generalization by addressing more than one text structure and promoting student talk about the process. As Englert reported, most teachers seldom do these things, even when they claim to teach the writing process. Englert allows for the possibility that all students with learning disabilities may not be ready for cognitive strategy instruction as it is described in her article, and professionals must acknowledge that different techniques may be more effective for students of different ages and abilities. Swanson (1990) emphasized that there must be a match between strategy and learner characteristics and that strategies must be considered in relation to a student's knowledge and capacity. Strategic teaching requires that the teacher have a repertoire of approaches along a continuum that encompasses coaching students to use their own mental resources at one end and basic skill instruction at the other.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)