kimberly lenters, 2004

Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young Second-Language Learners

Kimberly Lenters, 2004

No half measures: Reading instruction for young

second-language learners

The Reading Teacher, 58(4), 328-336.


Potential Benefits of Bilingualism

Children experience important cognitive and affective gains through bilingualism when both languages are developed to the point where transfer can occur between them.


Controversy 1

Some assertions regarding reading instruction made withinthe field of bilingual education even appear to be contradictory.

•Second-language reading instruction must be delayed until first-language reading is firmly established (Weber, 1991; Wong-Filmore & Valdez,as cited in Anderson & Roit, 1996);

•Some question the validity of waiting that long (Fitzgerald & Noblit, 1999).


How to untangle the conflicting views

• In the absence of detailed longitudinal studies, a return to first principles regarding bilingualism and the young child seems the wisest approach to untangling the conflicting interpretations drawn from limited research.

• In an era when political rhetoric and budget constraints seek to determine educational policy, it is crucial that teachers have a solid understanding of the educational needs of young bilingual children.


Cummins’ Interdepedence Theory

•Interdependence theory states that development of competence in a second language is partially a function of the type of competence already developed in the first language at the time when intensive exposure to the second language begins (Cummins).


Cummins’ Threshold Hypothesis

•Threshold hypothesis suggests that there are threshold levels of linguistic competence that bilingual children must achieve in both of their languages for two reasons: to avoid cognitive disadvantages and to allow the benefits of bilingualism to influence cognitive functioning (Cummins & Swain, 1986).


Cognitive Benefits to Bilingualism

• There are enormous cognitive benefits to bilingualism

–cognitive flexibility, –superior language–skills, and a higher IQ.

• These benefits are found only in additive forms of bilingualism, where careful support, development, and maintenance of the first language are provided (Cummins & Swain).


Immersion vs. Submersion

• When young second-language children in submersion programs are immersed in the target language and receive no instruction in their first language, the results are typically a loss over time of the first language—in addition to cognitive and affective difficulties in the immersion program (Cummins & Swain, 1986).

• Minority-language high school students are characterized by high dropout rates and poor academic achievement when their teachers fail to take an interest in these students' first languages.

• Significant measures should be taken to prevent first-language loss.


Problems of Bilingual Education

• Critical shortage of trained bilingual teachers in the United States, resulting in teachers not trained in ESL pedagogy being employed in bilingual classrooms and delivering programs where English dominates the instruction.

• Half measures abound.

• Budget cuts


Age and Bilingualism

• Cummins stated that "the better developed the conceptual foundation of children's first language, the more likely children are to develop similarly high levels of conceptual abilities in their second language“ (p. 51). Longitudinal studies have found that immigrant children, from advantaged families, who arrived in the United States at ages 8 and 9 with first-language literacy skills already developed, performed better in U.S. schools than younger children, ages 5 and 6, who came without developed first-language literacy skills.

• It took more than 7 to 10 years for these children to perform at grade level in English, as opposed to 5 to 7 years for the older children. The children in this study entered submersion programs, and the younger children did not receive formal first language instruction, which accounted for their difficulties (Collier & Thomas, as cited in Snow et al., 1998).


Bilingual Interdependence

• Verhoeven's (1994) study, examining linguistic interdependence among Turkish children learning Dutch as a second language, found that transfer between two languages can proceed in two directions at the level of literacy skills.

• Chang and Watson (as cited in Garcia, 2000) did an investigation of predictable texts used in the reading instruction of Chinese bilingual kindergarten students who attended weekend Chinese school. It showed that these children transferred what they knew about reading in English to their Chinese reading.

• This phenomenon is also demonstrated in Canadian French immersion programs. Children first receive formal instruction in second-language reading and then move on to begin formal first language reading instruction in the third or fourth grade. The documented success of French immersion programs that actively promote proficiency in both languages does support the finding that language of initial literacy need not be the child's native language.


The Right Kind of L2 Literacy Instruction

• In an ideal world, children would receive instruction in their first language to the point where they were proficient in all aspects of it. At that time transition to second-language learning would begin.

• This typically would occur somewhere around the age of 7. Reading instruction in the second language would seek to build on what the child knew about reading in the first language and would encourage transfer of skills.


Similarities and Differences in L1 and L2


Oral language proficiency• Reading in the first or second language is founded upon or

al knowledge of the language.

• One cannot read with comprehension a language one cannot speak and comprehend; reading instructors of young second-language learners need to be mindful of this. While a definitive level of the oral proficiency essential for reading instruction to begin is difficult to pinpoint, it appears that readers must be familiar with a minimum of 95% of the vocabulary in the text for comprehension to occur (Laufer, as cited in Carrell & Grabe, 2002).


Oral language proficiency doesn’t equal to literacy proficiency.

Cummins and Swain (1986) reminded us that if second-language learners have reached an acceptable level of conversational ability, we must not assume proficiency has been reached. Because it takes young second-language learners between 7 and 10 years to reach the academic proficiency of their first language peers, explicit attention must be given to building vocabulary throughout the primary and intermediate years of education.


GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL READING INSTRUCTION

Oral language• Develop the child's oral vocabulary to the point of basic co

mmunicative competence before attempting reading instruction.

• Continue to work on vocabulary training with the child well beyond the point of basic communicative competence to ensure adequate vocabulary for increasingly more difficult text.

• Provide opportunity for second-language children to converse in the classroom, being careful not to place undue emphasis on accurate speech.



Reading materials• Remember that the child must know 90% to 95% of the vo

cabulary in the text before that text is used for reading instructional purposes.

• Use graded readers with second-language readers to ensure that text difficulty keeps pace with vocabulary development. But be sure to supplement with authentic literature first in read-alouds, then shared reading, and finally independent reading to ensure second-language readers are exposed to text that reflects natural speech.

• Encourage and provide opportunity for rereading of text.



Phonemic awarenessExtend phonemic awareness training to include phonicsinstruction, using materials that teach sound-symbolcorrespondences in a multi-sensory and systematicmanner.



Comprehension• Use a language experience approach to provide meaningful

materials the child is able to read.

• Pay attention to cultural biases in text and illustrationspresented to young second-language learners.

• Fill in the missing cultural information when materialsmust be used that are culturally unfamiliar to the learner.

• When possible, use translations alongside English texts to enhance comprehension and support first-language reading skills. Parents and older siblings may be enlisted for this process.

• Allow students to respond to text in their first language.


GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL READING INSTRUCTIONFirst-language reading support• Form strong home-school connections with the familiesof second-language learners.

• Value the child's first language.

• Find any means possible to ensure that the child receivesreading instruction in his or her first language.


Ideas to promote oral language forESL reading development

• Scaffold vocabulary development through prereading activity where children take turns with proficient English speakers discussing the illustrations of a story to predict its content prior to reading it.

• Engage in repeated reading of simple, predictable texts such as Red Is Best (Stinson, 1982). New vocabulary and important text structures may be internalized through this method.

• Tape recordings of simple stories and graded readers will allow ESL readers to independently engage in shared and repeated reading.


Ideas to promote oral language forESL reading development

• Highlight the vocabulary and story structure of favorite simple stories the children are learning to read, and have them reconstruct the stories in bookmaking activities. The activity will provide ESL learners with a growing library of personal texts they may read and reread for oral vocabulary and sight word development.


Ideas to promote ESL reading comprehension

• Use language experience book-making methods to help ESL children make the connection between oral and written language, especially in the very early stages of their reading development.

• Use of the cut-up sentence (Clay, 1993) provides a meaningful and engaging vehicle for the ESL child's voice in reading acquisition. Type or print the child's simple dictated stories. Then, with the help of a proficient English speaker, have the child cut the sentences into individual words and glue them into a pre-made blank booklet, which is later illustrated by the child.


Ideas to promote ESL reading comprehension

• Involve parents or older siblings in the making of translations of favorite simple stories. These translations may be illustrated by the student for placement alongside the English version in the classroom library.

• Encourage ESL speakers of the same language background to discuss stories they are reading in English in their native language. Together they will naturally support one another to address gaps in comprehension.


Supporting first-language reading acquisition• Encourage parents to engage in meaningful conversationand read in the first language with their children.

• Allow the children to demonstrate what they can do in first-language reading.

• Purchase first-language texts to match the second languagetexts being used.

• Find a bilingual volunteer to translate the text and make first-language translation audiotapes.

• Help families find first-language resources within the community.

• Advocate for after-hours provision of space within the school building for first-language instruction.