172 \ Childhood Education

This column presents and sum-marizes recent resources identi-fied by the Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative related to working with preschool children who are English language learners.

Books

NEW VOICES—NUEVAS VOCES GUIDE TO CULTURAL & LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD. Dina C. Castro, Betsy Ayankoya, & Christina Kasprzak, 2011. 184 pp. (Available from: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, Baltimore, Maryland.)Thisfive-module program is designed to provide preschool teachers practi-calguidanceforworkingeffec-tively with diverse children and families. The modules include foundations of cultural diversity, cross-cultural communication, understanding diverse families, supporting language develop-ment in bilingual children, and working with linguistically di-verse children.

ONE CHILD, TWO LANGUAGES: A Guide for Preschool Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language. 2nd Ed. Patton O. Tabors, 2008. 195 pp. (Available from: Paul H. Brookes Publishing, Baltimore, Maryland.) This book is a guide for teachers who are working with children and their parents whose home language is not English. Strategies are sug-

gested to promote the acquisition of English while supporting the child’sfirstlanguage.Topicsin-clude appropriate assessment and internationally adopted children.

Journal Articles

MANY LANGUAGES, ONE TEACHER: Supporting Language and Literacy Development for Preschool Dual Language Learners. Elizabeth S. Magruder, Whitcomb W. Hayslip, Linda M. Espinosa, & Carola Matera. Young Children, Vol. 68, No. 3 (2013): 8-15. www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201303/Many_Languages_Margruder_0313_0.pdf. This ar-ticle reinforces the importance of encouraging dual language learning in young children whose home language is not English. The authors describe the use of Personalized Oral Language(s) Learning (POLL), focusing on young dual language learners. POLL involves family connec-tions, environmental support, and instructional support.

DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS: Effective Instruction in Early Childhood. Claude Goldenberg, Judy Hicks, & Ira Lit. American Educator, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2013): 26-29. www.aft.org/pdfs/american-educator/summer2013/Goldenberg_Hicks_Lit.pdf. This article includes a review of recent research indi-cating the importance of using the child’s home language, promoting language development in both

languages, and involving fami-lies.TheeffectivenessofEnglish-only programs for those learning English and those whose home language is English is compared.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: A Synthesis From Four Perspectives. L. Quentin Dixon, Jing Zhao, Jee-Young Shin, Shuang Wu, Jung-Hsuan Su, Renata Burgess-Brigham, Melike Unal Gezer, & Catherine Snow. Review of Educational Research, Vol. 82, No. 1 (2012): 5-60. http://rer.sage-pub.com/content/82/1/5. This article is based on integrated research from several studies related to young second-language learners. Findings describe the variations in optimal conditions for second-lan-guage learning, characteristics of successful learners, characteristics ofeffectiveteachers,andthetimerequiredforproficiencyinsecond-language acquisition by children. Those younger when learning a second language showed greater skill in pronunciation and gram-mar than those who began at a later age, but older learners learned one in a shorter time.

DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN THE EARLY YEARS: Getting Ready to Succeed in School. Keira Gebbie Ballantyne, Alicia R. Sanderman, & Nicole McLaughlin. National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition (November 2008). www.ncela.gwu.edu/files/uploads/3/DLLs_in_the_Early_Years.

Working With Preschool ChildrenWho Are English Language Learners

ECAP ReportNancy McEntire, Editor

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pdf. This report suggests that education for young dual lan-guagelearnersismoreeffectivewhen teachers involve them in classroom social interactions and include explicit vocabulary in-struction. Research indicates these children can transfer skills from their home language to English and need four to six years to be-comeproficientinEnglish.

Web Resources

INSTRUCTION IN SPANISH AND OUTCOMES FOR PRE-KINDERGARTEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. Research Brief. Margaret Burchinal, Samuel Field, Michael L. López, Carollee Howes, & Robert Pianta. (2013). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544023.pdf. This research re-port, based on data from two large studies, points out that instruction in both English and Spanish in high-quality classrooms enhanced

the progress in reading and math of children who were English lan-guage learners.

HELPING PRESCHOOLERS LEARN IN TWO LANGUAGES. Illinois Early Learning Project. (Revised 2013). http://illinoisear-lylearning.org/tipsheets/bilingual-classroom.htm. (Also in Spanish and Polish.) This Tip Sheet suggests ways teachers can help preschool-ers whose home language is other than English—even if the teachers arenotfluentinthechild’shomelanguage.

SCREENING AND EVALUATING CHILDREN WHO ARE DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNERS: What Every Teacher Should Know. Rosa Milagros Santos. (May 2013). http://illi-noisearlylearning.org/blogs/ell/rs-eval2lang.htm. This blog includes several ideas related to appropri-ate screening and evaluation for

children who are dual language learners. Evaluating a child is an important way to identify any ad-ditional support he many need, but it can be a challenge for teach-ers who do not speak the child’s home language.

CHALLENGING COMMON MYTHS ABOUT YOUNG ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS. Linda Espinosa. Foundation for Child Development Policy Brief (January 2008). http://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/MythsOfTeachingELLsEspinosa.pdf. This review of research indicates young English language learn-ersbenefitfrommaintainingthehome language while learning English. Literacy skills, more eas-ily learned in the home language, may transfer to literacy skills in English.Teacherscaneffectivelysupport learning English while maintaining the home language even if the teacher is not bilingual.