Teaching English Language Learners At Risk for Reading Disabilities to Read: Putting Research into Practice

The purpose of this article is to describe features of interventions that are empirically validated for use with first‐grade students at risk for reading disabilities who are English language learners (ELLs) and whose home language is Spanish. The empirical evidence supporting these interventions is summarized. Interventions for improving oral language and reading abilities with struggling readers who are ELLs taught in either Spanish or English are described as a means to assist school districts and teachers in defining and implementing effective interventions for ELLs at risk for reading difficulties. The interventions described may be useful to educators seeking information about Response to Intervention as a means of identifying ELLs who require services for learning disabilities.     

Improving Science and Literacy Learning for English Language Learners: Evidence from a Pre-service Teacher Preparation Intervention

This paper present findings from a pre-service teacher development project that prepared novice teachers to promote English language and literacy development with inquiry-based science through a modified elementary science methods course and professional development for cooperating teachers. To study the project’s impact on student learning, we administered a pre and post assessment to students (N = 191) of nine first year elementary teachers (grades 3 through 6) who experienced the intervention and who taught a common science unit. Preliminary results indicate that (1) student learning improved across all categories (science concepts, writing, and vocabulary)—although the effect varied by category, and (2) English Language Learner (ELL) learning gains were on par with non-ELLs, with differences across proficiency levels for vocabulary gain scores. These results warrant further analyses to understand the extent to which the intervention improved teacher practice and student learning. This study confirms the findings of previous research that the integration of science language and literacy practices can improve ELL achievement in science concepts, writing and vocabulary. In addition, the study indicates that it is possible to begin to link the practices taught in pre-service teacher preparation to novice teacher practice and student learning outcomes.     

Long-Term Follow-Up of Spanish and English Interventions for First-Grade English Language Learners at Risk for Reading Problems

Abstract

We provide data 3 to 4 years postintervention for four samples of English language learners from two sequential Grade 1 cohorts who received supplemental Grade 1 reading interventions in Spanish or English and for whom the language of instruction for intervention was matched with language of core reading instruction. Participants were 300 students at risk for reading difficulties who were randomly assigned to intervention or comparison groups; there were 186 students from the four samples assessed in both languages (Spanish, English) 3 or 4 years after intervention completion (Spring Grade 4 or 5). Findings from the Spanish study revealed few statistically significant differences in favor of intervention students on Spanish measures, although effect sizes generally favored this group (median d = +0.33). Findings from the English study also revealed few statistically significant differences in favor of intervention students, though again, effect sizes were positive (median d = +0.23). Transfer effects were generally small, though nearly all were positive. Although the effects were small, receipt of intervention in Grade 1 was associated with clinically significant gains in a variety of literacy-related domains 3 to 4 years after the termination of supplemental instruction.     

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.     

The State of Current Reading Intervention Research for English Learners in Grades K–2: a Best-Evidence Synthesis

Educational Psychology Review - This best-evidence synthesis reviews the past 20 years of rigorous reading intervention research to identify effective programs of instruction for Grade K–3...     

An Active Reading Model for English Learners

Acuve reading makes a reader interact with the text.It promotes learning,Acuve reading model actually presents six reading strategies that teachers should consider when teaching English to a class of non-native speakers.That guides both teachers and students in their working and learning.     

A Math Intervention for Third Grade Latino English Language Learners at Risk for Math Disabilities

Word problems for English language learners (ELLs) at risk for math disabilities are challenging in terms of the constant need to develop precise math language and comprehension knowledge. As a result of this, ELLs may not only need math support but also reading and linguistic support. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a word problem–solving strategy called Estratégica Dinámica de Matemáticas (EDM). This strategy was designed to provide math support in the native language based on students' math comprehension levels. A changing criterion multiple baseline design was used to instruct six second-grade Latino ELLs at risk for math disability. As compared with the baseline phase, EDM increased word problem solving for all participants. All students' level of performance were maintained and generalized during follow-up sessions. This study has implications for a native language intervention that focuses on strategy training to facilitate word problem–solving performance.     

Examining Reading Development and Reading Disability in English Language Learners: Potential Contributions from Functional Neuroimaging

Neuroimaging studies have suggested that across different written languages, skilled reading behavior is supported by similar, largely left hemisphere (LH), networks. In addition, recent studies of reading disability (RD) in monolingual readers, conducted in several languages, suggest a common neurobiological signature for this syndrome (disruption of LH posterior regions that support fluent reading). Thus, at the neurobiological level of analysis, reading and its disorders appear to be more similar than dissimilar across languages. In this article, we consider the neurobiology of reading development and RD in English language learners (ELL). There is some evidence suggesting that fluent bilingual readers tend to engage primarily overlapping circuits for both L1 and L2. There is, however, a paucity of neurobiological research on both reading development and RD in this population. Using the existing research on RD as a starting point, we consider in this article how developmental neuroimaging techniques might be applied to (1) help identify RD readers in the ELL populations, and (2) provide neurobiological outcome measures to help evaluate the efficacy of different approaches to the teaching of reading in English.     

English Reading Effects of Small‐Group Intensive Intervention in Spanish for K–1 English Learners

In this article we report small, but statistically significant, effects of brief supplemental instruction on English reading by Spanish‐speaking kindergartners (N = 37) who performed poorly on a bilingual battery of phonological‐processing tasks. Intervention design was compatible with the Reading First initiative and with research on use of multitiered intervention strategies for preventing reading failure among young monolingual students (e.g., L. S. Fuchs & Vaughn, 2003). We describe a Core Intervention Model (CIM) comprised of specific instructional behaviors that teachers might easily learn and employ regardless of curriculum, and discuss implications of our findings for building multitiered preventative instruction for young English learners.     

Effective Writing Assessment and Instruction for Young English Language Learners

The total number of English Language Learners in the American public schools is more than 4.5 million students or 9.6% of the total school population. This article focuses on instructional writing strategies and assessments for English Language Learners in the elementary classroom. This article provides early childhood education teachers with information about differences amongst English Language Learners because they are not a homogenous group. English Language Learners’ academic abilities can range from emergent readers, writers, and speakers of English to proficient readers, writers, and speakers of English.     

The Precursors of Reading Ability in Young Readers: Evidence From a Four-Year Longitudinal Study

We report a longitudinal study investigating the predictors of reading comprehension and word reading accuracy between the ages of 7 to 8 (UK Year 3) and 10 to 11 years (Year 6). We found that different skills predicted the development of each. Reading comprehension skill measured in Year 3 was a strong predictor of comprehension in Year 6; vocabulary and verbal IQ also made significant unique contributions to the prediction of comprehension ability across time. Three comprehension components (inference, comprehension monitoring, and knowledge and use of story structure) emerged as distinct predictors of reading comprehension in Year 6, even after the autoregressive effect of comprehension was controlled. For word reading accuracy, early measures of word reading accuracy and phonemic awareness predicted later performance.     

Reading Instruction for English Learners in the Middle Grades: a Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis synthesizes the last two decades of experimental and quasi-experimental research on reading instruction across academic contexts (e.g., social studies, science, mathematics, English language arts) for English learners (ELs) in grades 4 through 8, to determine (a) the overall effectiveness of reading instruction for upper elementary and middle school students who are ELs and (b) how the magnitude of the effect varies based on student, instructional, and study characteristics. The analysis included a total of 11 studies with 46 individual effect sizes and yielded a mean effect size of g?=?0.35 across all (i.e., standardized and unstandardized) reading measures, g?=?0.01 across standardized reading measures, and g?=?0.43 across unstandardized reading measures. For all reading, unstandardized reading, all vocabulary, and unstandardized vocabulary measures, results suggest that higher quality studies tended to have smaller effects, and these effects were even more evident for unstandardized measures (i.e., one unit increase in study quality was associated with decreased effects: g?=?0.21, g?=?0.30, g?=?0.24, g?=?0.30, respectively). For all comprehension measures, effects were larger for instruction that included both vocabulary and comprehension (g?=?0.39) than for instruction that focused on vocabulary alone (g?=?0.08). Results suggest the benefit of developing and refining high-impact approaches to reading instruction for ELs that can be delivered across content areas and grades.     

成功学习者和不成功学习者英语阅读策略使用现状调查

社会发展速度加快,学生就必须通过大量的阅读来了解更多的信息,这样才能面向世界,展望未来。要进行阅读就必然要用到一些阅读策略,然而学生们使用阅读策略的状况却不尽人意,特别是一些不成功学习者。为了进一步了解不成功学习者使用阅读策略的情况,该文对成功学习者和不成功学习者使用英语阅读策略的情况进行了调查,希望为英语阅读教学提供一些教学启示。     

中国英语学习者词汇量与阅读能力相关性研究

通过实证调查,对词汇量及相关因素对中国英语学习者阅读能力的影响进行研究。研究表明:词汇量是基础,在其他条件不变的情况下,词汇量越大,阅读能力越强;在词汇量一致的情况下,社会背景越广泛,阅读能力越强,越不容易受学术界的界限影响;在词汇量一致的情况下掌握的俚语越多,越能深刻了解英语国家出版文章的深层含义。     

少儿英语教育存在的问题及其对策

本文论述了少儿英语教育发展的现状,从师资条件、教学方法、学生状况、教学条件和教学环境方面分析了存在的问题及解决对策。     

Language Basis of Reading and Reading Disabilities: Evidence From a Longitudinal Investigation

This study examined the contributions of phonological processing and oral language abilities to reading and reading disabilities in young children. Two approaches were taken. First, 604 participants were divided into good and poor readers on the basis of reading performance in second grade. Reading groups were then compared in terms of kindergarten phonological processing and other language abilities. In a second approach, multiple regression was employed to investigate the relative contributions of phonological processing and oral language abilities in predicting second-grade reading achievement across reading groups. Results indicated that over 70% of poor readers had a history of language deficits in kindergarten. Most of these children had problems in both phonological processing and oral language. Regression analyses further indicated that oral language and phonological processing abilities each accounted for unique variance in reading achievement. These results suggest that language-based theories of reading and reading disabilities must include both phonological processing and oral language abilities.     

Proximal and Distal Predictors of Reading Comprehension: Evidence from Young Korean Readers

The present study investigated proximal and distal predictors of reading comprehension by including latent factors such as alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, semantic knowledge, word reading, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension. The sample consisted of 79 five-year-old Korean-monolingual children who were assessed at the end of the school year. The results showed that alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and semantic knowledge latent variables were all positively and highly related to word-reading skills, but phonological awareness made a unique contribution above and beyond alphabet knowledge and semantic knowledge. Word reading was highly related to oral reading fluency and directly related to reading comprehension. Oral reading fluency, although a separate construct from word reading accuracy, was not uniquely related to reading comprehension after accounting for the effects of word reading and semantic knowledge. Semantic knowledge was fairly strongly and uniquely related to reading comprehension.     

Explaining Variation in Findings From Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies for English Reading Interventions for English Learners

Beginning in 2002, researchers developed, implemented, and evaluated the efficacy of an English reading intervention for first-grade English learners using multiple randomized control trials (RCTs). As a result of this efficacy work, researchers successfully competed for an IES Goal 4 effectiveness study using the same intervention. Unlike the efficacy studies, the findings from the effectiveness study begun in 2011 did not yield significant differences in favor of the treatment. We investigated the identification and pre-intervention performance levels of students in efficacy and effectiveness RCT studies and provide data and compare samples from these studies as one means of explaining variation in findings. Findings indicate that pre-intervention performance levels are higher for students in effectiveness RCT studies. This article serves as an exemplar for other effectiveness studies that may not replicate findings from previous efficacy trials.     

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。