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Young English Learners' Interlanguage as a Context for Language and Early Literacy Development.
Abstract
This article challenges the notion that English language learners who experience home language loss do not have any language proficiency. This assumption is based on misunderstandings of the transitory phase of children's second language acquisition. It can result in children missing learning opportunities or receiving inappropriate assessments and unwarranted referral for special education evaluation. We describe characteristics of children's bilingualism that play a role in early educators' assumptions about children's shifting language proficiencies and present recommendations for teaching young English language learners.
... Language experiences are more likely to be enriching when families communicate in their home language (Chi tester 2007). Children's home language proficiency is a strong predictor of overall language development, and research repeatedly shows that literacy experiences in home languages transfer to English as children develop English literacy competency (Bialystok 2001;Goldenberg 2008;Cheatham & Ro 2010 Parents who are not confident in their English language usage often find it difficult to feel comfortable with and capable of helping their children with English-language experiences. Because the program valued the families' home language and showed appreciation for the role of literacy in their cultural practices, parents expanded their literacy skills and modeled these skills for their children. ...
... Since these parents were learning English as a second language, they were not able to supply rich English-language experiences. They could, however, aid their children's literacy development by discussing books and other experiences in Spanish (Cheatham & Ro 2010 ., . ,, ... . ...
Dual Language Learners are part of the educational landscape across the United States. Public school enrollment of dual language learners increased by 51 percent from 1997 to 2008 (NCELA 2011). At the same time, students who are DLLs meet the same academic standards as English-only students after an adjustment period (Goldenberg, 2008). The challenge for our schools and communities is educating all students while
helping DLLs close the gap in language and cultural understanding so they can succeed in the American educational system.
... The learners of English are increasingly occurring in recent decade (Cheatham & Ro, 2010). Learning English in the Play Group needs supports from many people especially students' parents. ...
... Previous research has shown similar patterns of language development for bilingual and monolingual children with disabilities and language delays Ohashi et al. 2012;Reetzke et al. 2015;Valicenti-McDermott et al. 2013). Despite this evidence, instruction and support is often delivered only in English to students that come from bilingual homes (Cheatham and Ro 2010;Mueller et al. 2004;Paneque and Rodriguez 2009). ...
We evaluated the effects of tact training when instruction was presented in English only compared to tact training in a bilingual format (in English and the home language, Portuguese) for a participant diagnosed with a communication disorder. The participant’s parents completed a questionnaire describing his exposure to both languages prior to the start of the study. We also conducted formal language assessments to determine the participant’s preexisting language abilities. An adapted alternating treatment design was used to compare the rate of acquisition in the two training conditions. Results show the participant emitted more correct responses during tact training in English than during the bilingual tact training. Generalization and maintenance of acquired tact responses for stimuli trained in the bilingual condition were greater than for stimuli trained in the English-only condition. These results are discussed with respect to implications for language-training programs for children with language delays and developmental disabilities, and we outline suggestions for future research in this area.
... Teaching English to youngsters is emerged as a new area of study (Abello-Contesse, 2009;Cheatham & Ro, 2010;Ellis, 2008;Krashen, 1982). It has long been discussed that children learn a foreign language better than adults and this is often used to support the early introduction of foreign language teaching (Cameron, 2003;Crain, 2005;Dekeyser, Alfi-Shabtay&Ravid, 2010;Dominguez &Pesso, 2005;Ellis, 2008;Eyres, 2007;Larson-Hall, 2006;Pinter, 2006;Stern, 1991;Topçuoğlu, 2006). ...
It is important to know how youngsters acquire a foreign language, which activities and content should be chosen for their age. Hence, choosing the most appropriate activities, method or techniques which will help young learners learn languages better gains significance. This study aimed to obtain the strategies that language teachers use in very young learner classes. 34 language teachers participated in the study and they filled out a questionnaire that asked their opinions about the most frequently used strategies, the most effective ones and their easiness of preparation. Then a semi-structured interview was organized with volunteer 8 teachers. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 17.00 and descriptive statistics were conducted. The results showed that the most frequently used activities, methods or techniques were found effective by the language teachers and these were also easy to prepare.
... Consequently, these families and children tend to focus instead on survival in monolingual English schooling (Tabors & Snow, 2001;Tse, 2001). In the process, they typically lose their heritage identity and language (Crawford, 2000;Tabors, 2008), and their heritage language and identity loss can result in 6 INDETERMINATE FUTURES AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION cognitive, emotional, social, cultural, and educational disadvantages especially in young bilingual learners' lives (Cheatham & Ro, 2010). ...
In-depth investigation of permanent and temporary families’ daily educational activities in diverse settings—home and their communities (e.g., school, after-school, playground, heritage language school, church)—creates a picture of daily bilingual discourses, literacy practices, and socio-cultural influences. As a part of an ethnographic longitudinal seven-year study, the study presented in this paper focused on two immigrant families’ transnational biliteracy practices as they relate to identity transformation, linguistic ideology, and socio-cultural influences on home/heritage language/literacy retention and development. These factors appear likely to impact heritage language acquisition and retention as they relate to U.S. immigrant families’ indeterminate residency futures. Thus, this study focused on socially-shaped and culturally-influenced bilingual and biliteracy development and the vector of residential indeterminacy related to the challenges of heritage language and literacy maintenance and development of two Korean immigrant children (i.e., one permanent immigrant Korean- American student and one temporary immigrant Korean student) and their families.
... While professionals have argued that schools should provide support in a student's home language (e.g., Gersten and Baker 2000;Paneque and Rodriguez 2009), there is a shortage of bilingual special education teachers (United State Department of Labor 2006) and disagreements regarding language development in children from bilingual families (e.g., Cummins 2009;Paneque and Rodriguez 2009). This situation often results in instruction and support delivered only in English (Cheatham and Ro 2010;Kremer-Sadlik 2005;Mueller et al. 2004;Paneque and Rodriguez 2009). ...
Discrete trial training was delivered using English and Spanish languages to a student with autism from a Spanish-speaking
family. An alternating treatments design was used to examine the effects of language of instruction on the child’s response
accuracy and challenging behavior. More correct responses and fewer challenging behaviors occurred when instruction was delivered
in Spanish compared to English. Results suggest that the language of instruction may be an important variable even when a
student initially presents with very little spoken language and comparable scores on English and Spanish standardized language
assessments.
KeywordsEnglish language learner–Autism–Spanish–Academics–Stereotypy–Discrete trial training–Challenging behavior
This ethnographic case study examines perceptions of literacy and identity for a Korean-American student in a third-grade classroom. The researchers examine how teachers can misinterpret Asian identity in the classroom due to perceptions related to the Model Minority Myth and other stereotypical representations of Asian culture. By focusing solely on academic success, teachers miss opportunities to gain insight for nurturing other areas of student success and adjustment in the classroom environment. Implications for identity formation and authentic integration of language and literacy practices are discussed. Educators interested in culturally-relevant instruction for immigrant students should find this study informative.
Children are constantly learning and experiencing new things. Each time they learn a new fact or skill, they are building on—and adding to—their existing knowledge base. Good language and literacy skills are valued around the world, and those skills are developed, like everything else, through practice. Whether through oral storytelling, play and conversation with older children, or interaction with adults, children are building their literacy skills. In this article, the authors encourage caregivers and families to see learning opportunities everywhere and to foster learning through conversation. They provide examples, ideas, and scenarios to demonstrate how language acquisition and knowledge building occur in everyday situations and how adults can converse with children in ways that enhance learning.
Early literacy skill development is critical during the preschool years. Under that umbrella is emergent writing, a small but important component of overall literacy development. This article presents two writing strategies: (1) writers’ workshop and (2) dictation within the context of storybook reading that preschool teachers can utilize to target emergent writing development. Modifications for diverse learners are also included throughout.
This qualitative study investigates the code-switching patterns of my daughter, a bilingual preschooler (age 2 to 2:8 years) who is being raised to speak two languages simultaneously. I focus on her code-switching when she was involved in English and German shared reading (reading with an adult) and independent reading (solo readings before the reader is able to break the printed code). I compare her code-switching interactions during reading events with activities outside the reading events. Results indicate that (a) melodic text reduced code-switching, (b) her view of the tasks influenced her code-switching, (c) her code-switching patterns during discussions were similar to talk outside the literacy event. These findings suggest qualitatively different benefits resulting from the use of highly predictable and literary texts for the literacy and language development of bilinguals. I interpret the findings in light of current controversies in bilingual education and the literacy field.
Narrative production, especially personal narrative discourse, is a critical aspect of communicative competence. It is important for children in relating to peers and adults, acquiring literacy, receiving medical care, or testifying in legal situations. This article focuses on personal narratives, including their structure, development, and impairments. The Narrative Assessment Profile and high-point analysis are described to show how personal narratives can be assessed and how cultural differences can be contrasted from discourse impairments. The aim of these analyses is to show how misdiagnosis of cultural difference deficits can be prevented and how mistaking deficits in narrative production for cultural differences can be avoided. Implications for intervention are also presented.
The present study discusses and describes codeswitches produced by two trilingual children acquiring English, Spanish and Hebrew simultaneously from birth. Data were collected regularly over a period of 20 months (from age 2;6 to 4;2 for M and from age 5;5 to 7;1 for E), in naturalistic tape-recorded sessions. Codeswitches drawn from transcriptions of 32 h of spontaneous conversation were analysed. We describe and explain trilingual switches involving morphosyntactic boundary violations, some of which have not yet been reported in the literature. We claim that these switches provide incipient evidence for a developing trilingual competence that stands at the base of trilingual performance.
The cognitive architecture of bilingual speakers contains at least four systems involved in verbal communication (i.e., implicit linguistic competence, explicit metalinguistic knowledge, pragmatic abilities and affect/motivation). The neurofunctional system that subserves implicit linguistic competence contains as many subsystems as the speaker has acquired languages. Each subsystem contains its phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and lexicon. These language subsystems are differentially connected to a single conceptual system that groups conceptual features together in accordance with the specific lexical semantic constraints of words in each language and the relevant pragmatic circumstances at the time of their use (Paradis 2004).