Reading with your child in French Immersion: What research tells us and how it can help you read with your child to promote success in both languages!

Reading with your child in French Immersion: What research tells us and how it can help you read with your child to promote success in both languages!

EDPY 903 Final Project M.Ed. In Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 2011P. Natos-Parrila

Definition of LiteracyDefinition of Literacy

• Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.

• Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society.

• UNESCO

What does it mean to be a fluent What does it mean to be a fluent reader?reader?

• The following is an excerpt from the famous nonsense poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. Try reading it aloud.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe.

How did you feel? Could read this as if you knew what it meant if you had to – could you ‘fake’ it?

Reading research tells us that:Reading research tells us that:

• These skills - sounding out letters and breaking words apart into patterns – are learned. We all sound out words and we may not be aware of it.

• We learned these skills consciously at one time, and as we improved, they became automatic and unconscious to us; children need to go through the process of learning the skills consciously and practicing them until they become automatic.

http://foundationsforliteracy.ca

Challenges to Literacy DevelopmentChallenges to Literacy DevelopmentWhy is literacy so important?Why is literacy so important?

• 28% of Canadian 6-year-olds have cognitive or behavioral problems, which make them unprepared for the challenges of Grade 1 (Willms, 2002)

• At ages 4 and 5, about 1/5 of all children show delays in vocabulary development (Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth

Services)

• Many children who successfully learn to read in Grade 1 or 2 are unable to understand books they need to read by Grade 3 or 4 (Scarborough, 2001; Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005;

Storch & Whitehurst, 2002; Rupley & Nichols, 2005)

Why is literacy so important?Why is literacy so important?

• By Grade 3, 1/3 (Ontario) students fails to meet the provincial standards for reading and writing

• 40% of Grade 4 students read at low fluency levels (Daane, Campbell, Grigg, Goodman, & Oranje, 2005)

• Students who score

lower on fluency also

score lower on

comprehension(Jenkins, Fuchs, Espin, van den Broek, & Deno, 2003)

Exploding Reading MythsExploding Reading Myths

Myth 1 •Learning to read, like learning to talk, is a natural process

• Response from research: oral language develops naturally from birth; however, not all children will learn to read without proper instruction (Lyon, 1998;

Pressley, 2006)

• Systematic exposure to early literacy is the foundation for later instruction.

Myth 2 Myth 2

• Genetics rule: if a child has dyslexia, he or she cannot be helped

• Response from research: Although dyslexia is influenced by genetics, most children with dyslexia can learn to read (Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2007; Olson, 2006)

• Early intervention both at home and at school can have an important impact

• Providing a rich home literacy environment early on and working closely with the school is key!

Myth 3 Myth 3 • If you start at a disadvantage, you will

never catch up• Response from research: Children who enter

school at-risk for reading difficulties can become strong readers if they have skilled literacy teachers for two years in a row (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998)

• Support from small group (differentiated) instruction in the classroom and targeted small group instruction from trained reading teachers may also be necessary for certain students to catch up; a process that often takes more than one school year.

Myth 4 Myth 4 • After Grade 3, children are finished

learning how to read• Response from research: Not every aspect of

reading has been taught or learned before a child completes Grade 3 (Pressley, 2006)

• In a second language context, students are learning to read throughout elementary school as vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar become increasingly complex.

• Generally, learning to read is throughout elementary years in French immersion with reading to learn a concurrent goal in a second language that spans many years of study.

Learning the finer points of any second language can last Learning the finer points of any second language can last many years.many years.

How to support my child’s reading in How to support my child’s reading in French…when I donFrench…when I don’’t speak French?t speak French?

What research tells us: •Developing reading skills in one’s own maternal language can be a predictor of success or failure in a second language. Early intervention in English can help a child transfer fundamental reading skills to French. (Jared et al., 2011)

•Researchers also support the existence of a link between English phoneme manipulation in kindergarten and both English and French reading outcomes in Grade 2. These results provide information about what phonological awareness measures can be used in kindergarten to predict later reading outcomes for children learning to read in an L2 (Haigh et al., 2011).

What does this mean for my child?What does this mean for my child?

Reading in English first matters….in fact, it helps!•Several research studies have concluded that the ‘variables that predicted English reading development were consistent with studies of monolingual English children, even though participants were concurrently learning to read in French. (Desrosiers, 2009, Genesee,et al., 2011, Jared et al., 2011)

•[These] findings provide evidence that at least some of the skills that play a role in learning to read are general cognitive and linguistic skills that transfer across languages and that phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid automatized naming, and grammatical ability in English were able to predict reading ability in French (Jared et al., 2011)

Support for the Transfer of Skills From First Support for the Transfer of Skills From First Language to Second LanguageLanguage to Second Language

• The following video clip is of Dr. Fred Genesee, McGill University, speaking about the connection between first language acquisition (L1) and how that impacts second language learning (L2) in a French Immersion setting, which may include English language instruction at the end of division one (Gr.2 or 3) or earlier (Kindergarten).

• At risk learners are also discussed in terms of the link between using English assessments early on – often in Grade one – to identify students at risk for reading problems in French in later grades.http://foundationsforliteracy.ca/index.php/D._Support_for_the_Transfer_of_Skills_From_First_Language_to_Second_Language

How you can help – first steps:How you can help – first steps:

• The foundation for future language and literacy skills is laid in early childhood(Coulombe, Tremblay, & Marchand, 2004)

• Parents are the first ‘teachers’…so singing songs, making up silly rhymes and just playing with language is really important – it is ‘phonemic awareness’ and it trains an early reader to do this in any language.

• All that you do in your first

Language builds the

Foundation for any second

language.

What are the ‘must haves’ or the Components What are the ‘must haves’ or the Components of Literacy Developmentof Literacy Development

Concepts about Print/Print Awareness• Early exposure to text in the home environment

influences print awareness• Multiple exposures = increased print awareness

(Wood, 2004; Cunningham & Allington, 2007)

• With a literacy-rich environment and explicit instruction at school, children can catch up with their peers (Cunningham & Allington, 2007)

• For French Immersion students, a

solid base in their first language

helps to learn a second language

Components of Literacy DevelopmentComponents of Literacy Development

Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/Decoding

• Oral language and print development must be closely integrated and coordinated in reading instruction (Blaiklock, 2004; Foorman, Chen, Carlson, Moats, Francis, & Fletcher, 2003; Schneider, Roth, & Ennemoser, 2000; What Works Clearinghouse, 2006b)

• Television shows such as, 'Between the Lions’, ‘Word World’, ‘Super Why’, ‘Sesame Street', and ‘Electric Company’ are worth watching as they all target these key skills.

• And, watching French kids programming on television is an excellent addition to time well spent on

good viewing activities.

Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/DecodingConnecting Speech Sounds to Print/DecodingPhonological Awareness• Definition: All aspects of speech processing and

production

• Regular exposure to activities that promote phonological awareness skills enhance reading development (Blachman, 2000)

• Activities: Syllable segmentation, Rhyming, Phoneme isolation

http://foundationsforliteracy.ca

• (Examples: sing ‘Down by the Bay’, sound out a word and add a new beginning, middle, end to make a new word or nonsense word, write your spelling words on paper, then cut up and move them around, put them back together again…)

Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/Decoding Connecting Speech Sounds to Print/Decoding (cont’d)(cont’d)

What is the Alphabetic Principle and Phonics• Alphabetic Principle – understanding that letters and letter

patterns in written words represent the phonemes in spoken words in systematic, predictable relationships

• Phonics – teaching term for the study of the alphabetic principle

http://foundationsforliteracy.ca

• Play with word families, adding and taking away sounds, looking for patterns – which words start the same way or end the same way?

• Play clapping and rhyming

games that reinforce both!

The Alphabetic Principle and PhonicsThe Alphabetic Principle and Phonics

Synthetic or specific Phonics Instruction• Teach specific pronunciation patterns (e.g., silent ‘e’ rule)

as well as exceptions in irregular words (e.g., through)

• Provide many examples to build sight word recognition of irregular words

• Allow inventive spellings to practice connecting sounds with letter patterns; once the connection is made,

• Correct spelling patterns should be emphasized. (http://foundationsforliteracy.ca)

• Listen to spelling music CD’s in the car (ex: Sarah Jordan), and explain ‘rules’ about language as you read together.

Creating a literature rich environmentCreating a literature rich environment……

Encourage your child to…• Take out books from the

School and/or local library At his/her independent readingLevel (this means about a10 – 15% error rate that is notdifficult to explain to someone)

• Buy and trade friends for both French and English books – translations of English favorites into French is an excellent way to learn new vocabulary and ensure comprehension! (Ex: Magic Treehouse)

• Ask your child to explain what is going on in a French book or what a particular word means so that you monitor understanding even if you don’t speak French – most kids won’t make up a definition – but will let you look it up for them!

What do good readers do that also leads to What do good readers do that also leads to good writing?good writing?

What dogood writers

do?

What do good readers

do?

What do effective parents do?What do effective parents do?First and foremost, create a motivating and risk-freeFirst and foremost, create a motivating and risk-free

environment that is scheduled and predictable. environment that is scheduled and predictable. Teach strategies by asking the right questions:Teach strategies by asking the right questions:

• Talking about the kind of words the author choseTalking about the kind of words the author chose• Finding the rhymes or the patterns in the words Finding the rhymes or the patterns in the words • (word families – ing, and, ap, ot, ight, etc…)(word families – ing, and, ap, ot, ight, etc…)• Pointing out the repetition in words or ideas Pointing out the repetition in words or ideas • Noticing (and discussing) the illustrations – do they match Noticing (and discussing) the illustrations – do they match

the words on the page? How closely?the words on the page? How closely?• Retell the story just looking at the picturesRetell the story just looking at the pictures• Make up a new ending, beginning, or setting etc..Make up a new ending, beginning, or setting etc..• Play with the same story before moving on – read and re-Play with the same story before moving on – read and re-

read and ‘mine’ a favorite book! read and ‘mine’ a favorite book!

Ask many questions and let your child Ask many questions and let your child be the expert! Try the HI 5…and then be the expert! Try the HI 5…and then

some!some!

• Who?• What?• Where?• When?• Why?• What now?• How?• What if?• Have you ever?

•Parents are often the first to get a sense that their child may Parents are often the first to get a sense that their child may be experiencing difficulty. be experiencing difficulty. •According to research, early intervention is key and can According to research, early intervention is key and can prevent reading difficulties later on. prevent reading difficulties later on. •When students struggle at school, it is essential to have When students struggle at school, it is essential to have targeted small group or one on one support – in any language.targeted small group or one on one support – in any language.•Prevention and early literacy are key: the following video Prevention and early literacy are key: the following video clip discusses the role of parents in fostering strong literacy clip discusses the role of parents in fostering strong literacy skills. Dr. Janette Pelletier speaks to strong home-school skills. Dr. Janette Pelletier speaks to strong home-school collaborations and the value of playing with language at collaborations and the value of playing with language at home early on.home early on.http://foundationsforliteracy.ca/index.php/http://foundationsforliteracy.ca/index.php/Video_29:_Janette_Pelletier_–_Role_of_parentsVideo_29:_Janette_Pelletier_–_Role_of_parents

What if my child is struggling with reading – What if my child is struggling with reading – how you can help:how you can help:

Why learn another languageWhy learn another language

The kitty and the goldfish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLSoxZyhau8

funny video

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

• What have I learned about early print

awareness and how to help my child?• What have I learned about

reading development in general?• What have I learned about helping my child

succeed in French Immersion?• What can I do to ensure my child continues to

develop the best possible reading ability in English and French?

• Other questions?

Benjamin Franklin - "Tell me and I Benjamin Franklin - "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. forget. Teach me and I remember.

Involve me and I learn.Involve me and I learn.””

Thank you!Thank you!etet

Merci!Merci!

Questions?Questions?

An example of home reading !

Further reading on home reading research:Further reading on home reading research:

• Sénéchal, M. (2006). Testing the home literacy model: Parent involvement in kindergarten is differentially related to grade 4 reading comprehension, fluency, spelling, and reading for pleasure. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10, 59-87.

• Sénéchal, M., & LeFevre, J. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children's reading skill: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 445-460.

• Tabors, P. O., Snow, C. E., & Dickinson, D. K. (2001). Homes and schools together: Supporting language and literacy development. In D. K. Dickinson, & P. O. Tabors (Eds.), Beginning literacy with language: Young children learning at home and school (pp. 313-334). Baltimore, MD, US: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

Further reading on reading outcomes with French Further reading on reading outcomes with French Immersion students:Immersion students:

• Jared, D, Cormier, P., Levy, B.A., Wade-Wooley, L. (2011). Early predictors of biliteracy development in children in French immersion : A 4-year longitudinal study. Journal of Education Psychology, 103(1), 119-139.

• Fostering Reading Acquisition in French Immersion Written by: Monique Bournot-Trites, Department of Language & Literacy Education,The University of British Columbia. http://www.literacyencyclopedia.ca/index.php?fa=items.show&topicId=240

• Literacy Outcomes in French Immersion. Fred Genesee, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, McGill University (2007)

http://www.literacyencyclopedia.ca/index.php?fa=items.show&topicId=27