English Language Learning Research Review

7/30/2019 English Language Learning Research Review

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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

English Language Learning Research Review

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