Achievement and Growth on English Language Proficiency and Content Assessments for English Learners in Elementary Grades

English language proficiency (ELP) assessment scores are used by states to make high-stakes decisions related to linguistic support in instruction and assessment for English learner (EL) students and for EL student reclassification. Changes to both academic content standards and ELP academic standards within the last decade have resulted in increased academic rigor and language demands. In this study, we explored the association between EL student performance over time on content (English language arts and mathematics) and ELP assessments, generally finding evidence of positive associations. Modeling the simultaneous association between changes over time in both content and ELP assessment performance contributes empirical evidence about the role of language in ELA and mathematics development and provides contextual information to serve as validity evidence for score inferences for EL students.     

A Framework for Test Validity Research on Content Assessments Taken by English Language Learners

In this article, I specify a conceptual framework for test validity research on content assessments taken by English language learners (ELLs) in U.S. schools in grades K–12. This framework is modeled after one previously delineated by Willingham et al. (1988) Willingham, W. W., Ragosta, M., Bennett, R. E., Braun, H., Rock, D. A. and Powers, D. E. 1988. Testing handicapped people Needham, MA: Allyn & Bacon..  [Google Scholar], which was developed to guide research on students with disabilities. In this framework for research on ELLs, there are eight indicators of test comparability. Five of these indicators are measures of score comparability, while three indicators are measures of task comparability. To date, research has been conducted on six of the indicators of test comparability for content assessments taken by ELLs. For these indicators, findings from representative studies are summarized. For the remaining two indicators of test comparability for which no published research currently exists, I describe the types of research studies that are necessary to gather evidence to evaluate the comparability of content assessments for ELLs.     

Equitable Written Assessments for English Language Learners: How Scaffolding Helps

This study investigated the effects of the use of scaffolds in written classroom assessments through the voices of both native English speakers and English language learners from two middle schools. Students responded to assessment tasks in writing, by speaking aloud using think aloud protocols, and by reflecting in a post-assessment interview. The classroom assessment tasks were designed to engage students in scientific sense making and multifaceted language use, as recommended by the Next Generation Science Standards. Data analyses showed that both groups benefitted from the use of scaffolds. The findings revealed specific ways that modifications were supportive in helping students to comprehend, visualize and organize thinking, and elicit responses. This study offers a model for both sensitizing teachers and strengthening their strategies for scaffolding assessments equitably.     

Examining the Validity of Standards-Based Assessments for Initially Fluent Students and Former English Language Learners

To date, assessment validity research on non-native English speaking students in the United States has focused exclusively on those who are presently English language learners (ELLs). However, little, if any, research has been conducted on two other sizable groups of language minority students: (a) bilingual or multilingual students who were already English proficient when they entered the school system (IFEPs), and (b) former English language learners, those students who were once classified as ELLs but are now reclassified as being English proficient (RFEPs). This study investigated the validity of several standards-based assessments in mathematics and science for these two student groups and found a very high degree of score comparability, when compared with native English speakers, for the IFEPs, whereas a moderate to high degree of score comparability was observed for the RFEPs. Thus, test scores for these two groups on the assessments we studied appear to be valid indicators of their content knowledge, to a degree similar to that of native English speakers.     

An Investigation into Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety of English Learners in Chinese Higher Education

The paper attempts to explore the current situation of English learners’ speaking achievements and their speaking anxiety in Chinese higher education. Through reviewing the previous researches, it is possible to find out that: 1) there is a negative relationship between speaking anxiety and speaking performance; 2) most teachers have noticed the negative impact of speaking anxiety on their students, yet they have not adopted efficient strategies to solve the problem; 3) both teachers and students rely more on academic strategies than cognitive or affective strategies. Then, some proposed suggestions are made to English teachers and learners.     

Validating English Language Proficiency Assessment Uses for English Learners: Academic Language Proficiency and Content Assessment Performance

States use standards‐based English language proficiency (ELP) assessments to inform relatively high‐stakes decisions for English learner (EL) students. Results from these assessments are one of the primary criteria used to determine EL students’ level of ELP and readiness for reclassification. The results are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of and funding allocation to district or school programs that serve EL students. In an effort to provide empirical validity evidence for such important uses of ELP assessments, this study focused on examining the constructs of ELP assessments as a fundamental validity issue. Particularly, the study examined the types of language proficiency measured in three sample states’ ELP assessments and the relationship between each type of language proficiency and content assessment performance. The results revealed notable variation in the presence of academic and social language in the three ELP assessments. A series of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses also revealed varied relationships among social language proficiency, academic language proficiency, and content assessment performance. The findings highlight the importance of examining the constructs of ELP assessments for making appropriate interpretations and decisions based on the assessment scores for EL students. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

英语学习者阅读策略调查

采用问卷方法调查了河北北方学院216名非英语专业大学生阅读策略的使用状况。结果显示,阅读水平高的学生和阅读水平低的学生在总体和各个范畴策略的应用上都存在明显差异,阅读水平高的学生单个策略的使用频率明显高于阅读水平低的学生,而且前者与后者在24种阅读策略的使用上存在显著差异。男生与女生在12种阅读策略的使用上存在显著差异,而且在单个策略的使用频率上,女生明显高于男生。阅读策略的使用与学生专业之闻不存在相关性。     

Using iPads in Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners

The purpose of this study was to examine whether English language learners (ELLs) would increase their vocabulary scores in the areas of word recognition, word meaning, and word application when iPads were used during vocabulary instruction. Five third-grade ELLs, at risk of being diagnosed as having learning disabilities, participated in the study. All students demonstrated low test scores in learning vocabulary words during the baseline. During the intervention, 36 vocabulary words selected from the third-grade’s Dolch word list were taught and practiced using the iPad application Learning Touch, First Sight Words Pro. All students were assessed and their vocabulary scores increased in the areas of word recognition, word meaning, and word application. Using the iPad and iPad app appears to provide a potential avenue for ELLs in learning English vocabulary words.     

少儿英语教学与语言习得

语言学习和语言习得在学习效果上存在一定的差异.在少儿英语教学中发展儿童语言运用能力的关键在于教师应结合儿童认知能力的发展,从语言信息输入定位、输入输出定位、教学顺序定位、情感因素过滤方面来创设语言习得环境.     

Emergent Target Language Identities Among Latino English Language Learners

During 2nd language acquisition, a learner’s identity is consigned, juxtaposed, coconstructed, and reified through various affective positions and mitigating linguistic behaviors. Our study of adult Latino ESL students in Dallas, Texas, shows how language socialization experiences are shaped by the learners’ affective stances toward the project of learning and using the English language. Students reflected on how their specific social barriers created conditions that impeded interaction with interlocutors who could potentially aid their socialization process in English.     

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.     

师范院校继续教育类英语学习者需求调查分析——以西北师范大学为例

本文针对师范院校继续教育类英语学习者的需求进行了问卷调查和分析,旨在探讨他们所需要的学习资源以及课堂教学怎样进行才能满足他们的需要。分析结果表明,与全日制本科生相比,继续教育类英语学习者在听说方面需要更大的输入量,需开设选修课来满足他们不同的需求,所选教材的难度要低于全日制本科生所使用的教材。     

The Critical Role of Vocabulary Development for English Language Learners

English language learners (ELLs) who experience slow vocabulary development are less able to comprehend text at grade level than their English‐only peers. Such students are likely to perform poorly on assessments in these areas and are at risk of being diagnosed as learning disabled. In this article, we review the research on methods to develop the vocabulary knowledge of ELLs and present lessons learned from the research concerning effective instructional practices for ELLs. The review suggests that several strategies are especially valuable for ELLs, including taking advantage of students' first language if the language shares cognates with English; ensuring that ELLs know the meaning of basic words, and providing sufficient review and reinforcement. Finally, we discuss challenges in designing effective vocabulary instruction for ELLs. Important issues are determining which words to teach, taking into account the large deficits in second‐language vocabulary of ELLs, and working with the limited time that is typically available for direct instruction in vocabulary.     

Effects of an Online Mathematics Curriculum for English Language Learners

This study measured the effects of an online supplementary mathematics curriculum designed for middle school English language learners who speak Spanish as a first language. A randomized experiment measured the achievement differences between middle school English language learners who used the Web-based HELP Math (Help with English Language Proficiency) curriculum and students who used other technology-based programs. Three hundred and ninety-six students participated. Both groups made statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest within their respective curricula, but no main effect was found between the two groups. Post hoc analyses revealed that students with higher levels of English proficiency, who participated in the comparison condition, performed significantly better than students in the HELP Math condition, while students with lower levels of English proficiency performed better in the HELP Math program (although these differences were not statistically significant). Findings are interpreted with caution due to the truncated length of the intervention.     

The Literacy Skills of English Language Learners in Canada

The purpose of this article is to review published studies of the English literacy of children in Canada who are English language learners (ELLs) with the goal of understanding the reading development of ELLs and characteristics of reading disabilities (RD) in this population. Phonological processing, syntactic awareness, and working memory of ELLs with and without RD were compared to that of native English‐speaking (L1) students with and without RD. Our review found that ELLs with RD experienced reading difficulties similar to those of L1 students with RD. On the basis of the evidence, ELLs are not at greater risk for RD than their native English‐speaking peers. We propose that the diagnosis of a reading disability can be made in a similar manner in both ELL and L1 students.     

英语学习者的"高原心理"

文章通过对英语学习中的高原效应与语言焦虑情绪的分析，对英语学习者的“高原心理”进行研究。结果表明导致焦虑的因素既可能是学习者的个人经历，也可能是教师的行为。因此，为了帮助学生克服高原效应，教师要充分考虑语言学习中的情感因素。