Parent involvement in early childhood: a comparison of English language learners and English first language families

This study evaluated parents’ communication, involvement and knowledge of their children’s abilities in reading and mathematics among parents who spoke English as a first language (EL1) and those who were English language learners (ELL). Forty‐two kindergarten‐aged children, their parents and their teachers participated in the study. Results indicated that EL1 parents communicated more frequently with the teacher than ELL parents. However, there were no language group differences in parents’ involvement in their children’s education (as rated by the teacher). For both groups of parents (EL1 and ELL), parents’ ratings of their children’s abilities in reading did not predict children’s reading scores. However, parents’ ratings of their children’s abilities in mathematics did predict their children’s mathematics scores. Further analyses indicated that this relationship was not mediated by parents’ communication or involvement. It is concluded that parents’ accurate knowledge of their children’s abilities in mathematics may be the result of their involvement at home and particularly for ELL parents, their greater understanding of and emphasis on mathematics learning.     

Promoting early literacy through the professional development of preschool teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a professional learning program on the emergent literacy skills of preschool children. Building Blocks for Literacy^® is a program consisting of training supported by mentoring designed to teach early childcare providers how to promote the development of early literacy skills. A previous investigation found positive effects of the program on the pre-literacy skills of children in Vermont. The current study extended their work by replicating the training for Head Start teachers (n?=?27) in another state. Teachers were divided into three groups. One group received the training and live mentoring; a second group received training and distance mentoring; and a third group of teachers served as controls. The results indicate that children (n?=?97) served by teachers who received the training (n?=?18) made higher gains on a measure of early literacy skills than those children (n?=?36) served by control teachers. The gains made by children in the treatment groups were consistent for teachers who received either live or distance mentoring. Implications for practice are discussed.     

The language and literacy development of young dual language learners: A critical review

The number of children living in the United States who are learning two languages is increasing greatly. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the language and literacy development of dual language learners (DLLs), particularly during the early childhood years. To summarize the extant literature and guide future research, a critical analysis of the literature was conducted. A search of major databases for studies on young typically developing DLLs between 2000 and 2011 yielded 182 peer-reviewed articles.     

A Survey of Research into the Text Development in L2 Learners

This paper sums up the research into the text development in L2 learners(1994-2001,the research after 2001 will be discussed in another paper).Based on the analysis of 86 articles from 6 journals,we conclude that discourse analysis is the most studied branch of linguistics on the level of text.Eight methods for discotLrse analysis are provided in this paper,and four of them are discussed in detail.     

Education and skills for development in South Africa: Reflections on the accelerated and shared growth initiative for South Africa

In July 2005, President Mbeki announced the launch of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), a new development strategy designed to help the South African state meet the ANC's 2004 election pledges, namely:

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halve unemployment;     

Language proficiency and early literacy skills of Cantonese-speaking English language learners in the U.S. and Canada

This study describes the language proficiency and early literacy skills of Cantonese-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in kindergarten. A total of 113 Cantonese-speaking kindergarteners in Canada and the United States, composed of three subsamples from three different locations participated in this study. Results showed that on average, the Cantonese-speaking ELLs in this study performed below average on vocabulary measures when compared with monolingual norms, but at or above average on English letter-word identification and phonological awareness (PA) tasks. Cluster analysis was used to identify two new groups of children based on their language proficiency in each language: English dominant and Cantonese dominant. There were no differences on PA in English and Cantonese between the cluster groups. However, the English dominant group performed significantly higher on English vocabulary and English decoding than the Cantonese dominant group. At the same time, the Cantonese dominant group performed significantly higher on Cantonese vocabulary and Cantonese word reading than the English dominant group. Finally, multiple regression analysis revealed that there was cross-language facilitation of PA on Chinese character recognition. Educational implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Capabilities for learning to read: An investigation of social and economic effects for Grade 6 learners in Southern and East Africa

This paper considers what multilevel modelling approaches to analysing large scale cross-national surveys of education quality can tell us about the capabilities that support primary school children in learning to read. The impact of pupil background characteristics on achievement in reading towards the end of the primary cycle in sub-Saharan Africa is investigated via an analysis of the second wave of data collected by the Southern and East African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) in six low income countries and four lower middle income small states. The findings on various pupil background, social and economic wealth-related factors associated with disadvantage/advantage are interpreted using a capability approach. Hence, the study goes beyond reiterating the well-known relationship between socio-economic status and rurality with learning outcomes to identify what it is that primary school pupils in East and Southern Africa can or cannot do that influences their acquisition of literacy.     

浅谈农村小学语文教师的语文素养及其提升策略

文章以文献研究的方法梳理了语文素养的内涵,得出语文素养包含人文素养、语文知识、语文技能等内容。同时,文章分析了农村小学语文教师群体存在的问题：语文教师群体结构不良、语文素养内涵不足、缺乏竞争压力和自我发展意识,进而提出提升其语文素养的策略：将年轻高学历毕业生充实到农村教师队伍中、对现有教师进行适当的在职培训、建立合理的考核与退出机制,保障高素养教师从事农村语文教育。     

The role of derivational morphology in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking English language learners

This study examined the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in English among Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) followed from fourth through fifth grade. Students’ ability to decompose derived words while reading was assessed using an experimental task. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the contribution of performance on this task to reading comprehension above and beyond word reading skills, phonological awareness, and breadth of vocabulary knowledge. The relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension was found to strengthen between fourth and fifth grade, and in fifth grade, morphological awareness was found to be a significant predictor of reading comprehension. The findings were robust across two measures of reading comprehension and two methods of scoring the experimental task of morphological awareness, and thus support the inclusion of derivational morphology in a model of the English reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking ELLs.

外向型汉语词典用词用字探析

本文对近期编写的《实用汉语近义虚词词典》的用词用字进行了考察,以此为主要依据,提出了一整套具体可操作的统计、控制外向型词典用词用字的方法和步骤;并对控制的结果进行了分析和思考,提出了对用词用字数量和范围的看法。     

Reading in multilingual learners of Urdu (L1), English (L2) and Arabic (L3)

The present study examined the language and literacy skills and their relations to each other in multilingual children, who have a broad range of oral and written language proficiency in each language that they “know”. Reading and vocabulary skills were tested in 50 Canadian children (ages 6–10 years) who were Urdu–English speakers, learning Arabic. Reading skills were related to within-language oral proficiency and across languages with similar and different orthographies. The results suggest the need for hybrid models of language acquisition that combine language-general and language-specific components. The results also are discussed in terms of the need to consider the language and literacy skills of multilingual individuals in current theories of language and literacy acquisition.     

The needs and perceptions of South African Grade 4 educators,teaching English second-language (ESL) learners

Abstract

Although mother tongue education is recommended by policymakers, researchers and language learning authorities, the reality in South Africa is that many parents/caregivers and learners believe that English is the best choice as Language of Learning and Teaching. Many English second-language (ESL) learners experience barriers to learning, because of a limited English proficiency. An empirical study was conducted to identify the needs and perceptions of Grade 4 educators regarding ESL learners with a limited English proficiency. The following factors were targeted in the study: demographic factors; language issues; educators' perception of learners with language barriers; and teaching of ESL learners who have limited English proficiency. The findings suggest that educators teaching ESL learners are in need of support.     

外语学习焦虑与大学英语分级教学的研究——一项基于三峡大学的调查

在当前英语教学改革的大趋势的推动下分极教学应运而生,从情感的角度对分级教学状态下的外语学习焦虑进行了定量研究,通过数据分析得出的结论将有助于教师改善教学方式和手段。     

The Literacy Early Action Project (LEAP): exploring factors underpinning progress with literacy for a child in his first year of school

In this article, Anthony Feiler, senior lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bristol, and Elaine Logan, lecturer in early years education at the City of Bristol College, present a case study of a child who made strong progress with literacy during his first year at school. The child and his family participated in the Literacy Early Action Project (LEAP), a home-visiting scheme for children judged by school staff to be at risk of struggling with literacy. A teaching assistant made weekly home visits during the year and developed literacy support activities with the child's mother and grandparents. Five key factors underpinning the child's progress are identified here: the flexibility in the teaching assistant's approach that enabled extended family members to become engaged in literacy support; the teaching assistant's sensitivity to family culture; the playful approach to learning adopted by the teaching assistant; putting the child at the centre of the intervention; and the existence of a school culture that strongly promoted involvement for parents. Anthony Feiler and Elaine Logan conclude that teaching assistants in the UK might be given more scope to develop support strategies for early childhood education that involve collaborative work with parents.     

Contributions of word-level and verbal skills to written expression: comparison of learners who speak English as a first (L1) and second language (L2)

The study investigated the role of word-level and verbal skills in writing quality of learners who spoke English as a first (L1) and second (L2) language. One hundred and sixty-eight L1 and L2 learners (M = 115.38 months, SD = 3.57 months) participated in the study. All testing was conducted in English. There was a statistically significant L1 advantage on the measures of writing quality and verbal skills (i.e., vocabulary, verbal working memory, and semantic fluency) but not on word-level skills (i.e., spelling and word reading). Results from the multi-sample structural equation modeling analysis showed that the word-level and verbal skills made independent contributions to writing quality of L1 and L2 learners and the strength of these relationships was invariant (equivalent) across the two samples. The educational implications of research on L2 learners who are learning to write in a majority language were discussed.     

南非“以结果为本的教育”课程模式探析

新南非建立后,针对种族隔离时期所遗留下来的各种教育问题,对教育进行了积极的改革。在课程模式上,南非政府引入了“以结果为本的教育,”结合教育改革进行了适合本国国情的探索。文章试图对南非“以结果为本的教育”课程模式的产生、概念的理解和特征三个方面进行探析,以期为我国的课程模式提供借鉴。     

The influence of speech perception,oral language ability,the home literacy environment,and pre-reading knowledge on the growth of phonological sensitivity: A one-year longitudinal investigation

Individual differences in phonologicalsensitivity are among the most powerfulpredictors of early word decoding ability and adeficit in phonological sensitivity is thoughtto be the primary stumbling block for thosechildren who have difficulty learning to read. However, only recently have researchers begunto search for the potential causes andcorrelates in phonological sensitivitydevelopment. In the present one-yearlongitudinal study, the influences of speechperception, oral language ability, emergentliteracy, and the home literacy environment(HLE) on the growth of phonological sensitivitywere examined in a group of 115 four- andfive-year-old children. When the variables wereentered simultaneously into a multipleregression equation, emergent literacy, orallanguage, and the HLE contributed significantunique variance. However, when theautoregressor was controlled, only phonologicalsensitivity at Time 1 and HLE contributedsignificant unique variance to predictinggrowth in phonological sensitivity. Resultsare discussed in terms of their implicationsfor the education of preschool as well asschool-aged children.     

Preparing the way for mergers in South African higher and further education institutions: An investigation into staff perceptions

Many higher and furthereducation institutions in South Africa arestruggling to survive in a context of financialstringency, declining student enrolments andincreasing competition. For some of theseinstitutions merging or amalgamation with otherinstitutions in the near future is becoming astrong likelihood. The perceptions of staff whowill be directly affected by these processesseem to be very important, as knowledge andunderstanding of those perceptions will empowerdecision-makers and ensure that effectivemanagement of the merging process can beaccomplished. This investigation focused onstaff perceptions of possible merging of threeinstitutions in the Free State Province, whichhad been identified for possible merging withother institutions. The results indicate thatstaff is not opposed to the idea ofinstitutional combinations or merging, but thatcareful consideration needs to be given toparticularly personal factors and that stafffears will have to be addressed in the processto ensure effective merging.