Education Commons^™

Ebs 701: Issues In Bilingualism, Lingyu Li

Open Educational Resources

This introductory course addresses the nature of bilingualism as a societal and individual phenomenon. It will explore the history and background of bilingual education, policies, approaches, and theories of education for immigrant, bilingual, and language minority students. It will also consider the social, cultural, and economic context surrounding the education of bilingual students with disabilities and issues surrounding the aforementioned topics. (15 fieldwork hours required.)

Considering The Social-Emotional Well-Being Of Multilingual Learners: A Comparative Case Study Across Program Models, Amy J. Heineke, Elizabeth M. Vera, Wenjin Guo, Joseph Kaye, Joseph Elliott

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

This multiple-case study probes the social-emotional well-being of elementary and middle-grade students labeled as English learners who were enrolled in different bilingual program models in the midwestern United States. Using ecological systems theory, this qualitative study probes students’ social-emotional well-being across schools and within different bilingual program models, seeking to determine the structures and practices that nurture positive facets or perpetuate negative facets of student well-being. Findings indicate that interactions with peers and adults in schools influence students’ social-emotional well-being, with program-model variations, community demographics, and societal discourse shaping these in-school experiences, relationships, and sentiments. Implications center on critical consideration …

Fifth Graders’ Use Of Gesture And Models When Translanguaging During A Content And Language Integrated Science Class In Hong Kong, Melanie Williams

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Translanguaging in science includes the use of semiotic repertoires complete with non-linguistic modes of meaning (e.g. gesture, tactile) that until recently have gone unnoticed in research into content language integrated learning (CLIL). Currently, there are calls for classroom research in CLIL settings that examines the semiotic processes in the spontaneous translanguaging of emergent bilinguals. In response, this study aims to expand bilingualism research by investigating the ways in which fifth-grade emergent bilinguals’ draw from their semiotic repertoires when translanguaging in content-based science lessons. Multimodal transcriptions made from video recordings of the lessons allow a cross-case analysis of the emergent bilinguals’ …

Specialized Writing Instruction For Deaf Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Kimberly A. Wolbers, Hannah Dostal, Steve Graham, Lee Branum-Martin, Leala Holcomb

Theory and Practice in Teacher Education Publications and Other Works

Strategic and Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI) involves teaching cognitive writing strategies and apprenticing novices within collaborative writing communities. It is responsive to deaf students' diverse language experiences through embedded metalinguistic/linguistic components. A randomized controlled trial of SIWI was conducted with 15 teachers and 79 students in grades 3-5. Recount, information report, and persuasive genres were taught across three 9-week periods. Writing samples analyzed for writing traits, language clarity, and language complexity were collected prior to instruction for the genre, immediately following, and 9 weeks after withdrawal of instruction for the genre. Standardized writing measures and motivation surveys were collected at …

Iskay Simipi Yachay: El Papel De La Educación Intercultural Bilingüe En La Preservación Y Valoración De La Lengua Quechua En Perú, Tori Wiese

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Perú es un país multicultural y multilingüe, con una historia rica, especialmente con respecto a sus poblaciones indígenas. Específicamente, Perú tiene una población grande de quechua hablantes que viven principalmente en la región andina en el país. Más de tres millones de personas hablan quechua en Perú—el 13 por ciento de la población del país. Con un número tan significativo, el peligro que rodea al quechua puede no ser aparente, pero sin embargo existe. Durante su historia, Perú como un país sofocó la lengua quechua a favor de la lengua castellano. Esta represión de la lengua quechua también incluye la …

Multilingual/Translanguaging: Narrative Writing Through Authentic Language, Lucia E. Brea

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

Soft Skills That Employers Are Seeking, Adrienne J. Royo

Faculty Works

As a university professor who wishes to discover ways in which I can enhance my students/advisees knowledge on how to prepare and plan for their future, I have executed a literature search relevant to the soft skills that employers are seeking in the graduates of the 21^st Century. The following article summaries purposely seek to elucidate this question for today’s graduates. A summary is provided at the end.

A Sentence Construction Intervention For Elementary-Aged Spanish-Speaking Language-Minority Students With Writing Difficulties, Tim Andress

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present replication study used a multiple probe across participant single-case experimental design to measure the effect of a sentence construction intervention on Spanish-speaking language-minority students with writing difficulties. Participants were two males and one female, aged eight to ten. Dependent variables tracked were frequency of correct word sequences, incorrect word sequences, complete sentences, and incomplete sentences written in one-minute sentence construction probes. A pre-and post-test five-minute paragraph probe served as a secondary measure to determine whether sentence-level instruction improved paragraph-level writing. Results were an increase in frequency of correct word sequence and complete sentences for all participants, as well …

Promoting Student Success: Bilingual Education Best Practices And Research Flaws, Lillian Fassero

Senior Honors Theses

This paper first determines the benefits which bilingual education offers and then compares transitional, dual-language, and heritage language maintenance programs. After exploring the outcomes, contexts, and practical implications of the various bilingual programs, this paper explores the oversight in most bilingual studies, which assess students’ syntax and semantics while neglecting their understanding of pragmatics and discourse structures (Maxwell-Reid, 2011). Incorporating information from recent studies which question traditional understandings of bilingualism and argue that biliteracy requires more than grammatical and vocabulary instruction, this paper proposes modifications in current research strategies and suggests best practices for transitional, dual-language, and heritage maintenance programs.

Neighbors Link's Parent-Child Together Program: Supporting Immigrant Parents' Integration To Promote School Readiness Among Their Emergent Bilingual Children, Carola Otero Bracco, Judith Eisenberg

Publications and Research

The authors of this article describe Neighbors Link, a multi-service community and worker center in suburban Westchester County, NY. This organization created Parent-Child Together in the belief that supporting immigrant parents' integration and social inclusion, in activities that also engage long-term community residents, would improve school readiness outcomes for preschool children. A key assumption in the program design is that immigrant parents are best supported when teaching respects their home language and incorporates their home culture and customs. Among the program's positive results has been greater acceptance of the assets and strengths that immigrants bring to the community. The community, …

Not Another One: The Over Identification Of Hispanic Children In Ecse, Gail I. Becker, Aaron R. Deris

Special Education Department Publications

This session presents a current study that examined the overrepresentation of Hispanic English language learners in early childhood settings. Results of this phenomenological study will be reviewed along with implications for practitioners. Participants will gain an understanding of the needs of English language learners and ways to increase school professionals' efficacy.

Does Being Bilingual Make You Better At Math?, Enxhi Elezi

Honors Projects in Mathematics

The purpose of this study is to examine if there is any relationship between being bilingual, defined as speaking your native language at home and another language in school, and your mathematical ability. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was used to compare the math grades of students who were not born in the US and speak English, Spanish, or Other at home. Also, data from the Bryant University first year students was used to test if students who speak a different language at home have a higher mathematical average than their monolingual peers. Results show that …

Immigrant Children In The Age Of Educational Reform, Audrey Figueroa Murphy

Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

Immigrant children are the fastest growing subgroup among United States schoolchildren today. This paper explores how the new testing movement affects these students, many of which are English language learners.The passage of new federal laws mandating that all students be tested within one year of entrance into a U.S. school is refuted by long standing research. Studies have demonstrated that it takes five to seven years for students to attain the academic language necessary to achieve success in educational settings.This paper explores the instructional program options for immigrant students and advocates for changes in the current testing protocol for them.

Two-Way Bilingual Education In Boston Public Schools: Required Features, Guidelines And Recommendations, Virginia Diez, Faye Karp

Gastón Institute Publications

The current investigation was conceived to support the expansion of two-way bilingual programs in BPS. Two-way bilingual (TWB) is an intrinsically equitable educational model which provides children from different linguistic, socio-economic, and racial backgrounds a rigorous, enriching education. All students are expected to attain high achievement markers by state and federal standards, as well as bilingualism, biliteracy, and cultural competencies in English and a partner language (Spanish most frequently). This report, which defines TWB narrowly as one in a handful of dual-language education options, establishes a baseline of practices that are widely regarded as pivotal features of well-implemented TWB programs. …

Navigating Tensions In The Process Of Change: An English Educator’S Dilemma Management In The Revision And Implementation Of A Diversity-Infused Methods Course, Mileidis Gort, Wendy J. Glenn

Teaching and Learning Articles and Papers

In response to growing concerns among faculty regarding the lack of attention to the bilingual student population in our pre-service teacher education program, the authors engaged in a shared self-study of the process of revising and implementing a secondary English methods course with explicit attention to the special needs of bilingual/bicultural learners. The paper describes how the second author, an English educator, with support from the first author, a mentor/colleague in bilingual education, identified and negotiated tensions and dilemmas that arose in a process of curricular transformation toward culturally and linguistically responsive teacher education practice. The study highlights several points …

Exploring Writing Of English Language Learners In Middle School: A Mixed Methods Study, Robin L. Danzak

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The study's purpose was to assess, through mixed methods, written linguistic features of 20 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) in middle school. Students came from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. Participants wrote two expository and two narrative formal texts, each in Spanish and English, for a total of eight writing samples each. Additionally, students developed 10 journal entries in their language of choice, and 6 randomly selected, focal participants were interviewed for the qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis involved scoring formal texts at the lexical, syntactic, and discourse levels. Scores were analyzed using Friedman's 2-way ANOVA by ranks, …

“Why Do We Do This?” Reflections Of A Two-Way Immersion School Principal On The Roles Of Parents, Teachers, And Her Own, In The Program, Franciso Ramos

Education Faculty Works

The present article offers the reflections of the principal of the longest-running two-way immersion school in Southern California on some of the key factors positively impacting the program, namely parental involvement, teacher commitment, and principal support. Additionally, it includes some of the critical challenges she must continuously face as part of her job, i.e., scarcity of qualified and minority language proficient teachers, lack of funding and adequate materials in the minority language, as well as the impact of federal and state education laws on the autonomy of the program. She also gave some recommendations, based on her professional experience, for …

Discomfort, Deficiency, Dedication: Pre-Service Teachers Voice Their Ell-Related Concerns, Wendy J. Glenn, Mileidis Gort

Teaching and Learning Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Parental Involvement In Education: A Comparison Of English And Spanish Speaking Parents, Lisa Kelly-Vance, Collette Nero, Juan F. Casas, Carey S. Ryan, Bridget O. Ryalls, Sarah A. Kurien, Angela Ferguson

Psychology Faculty Publications

We examined the educational involvement of English speaking and Spanish speaking parents of students in a Dual Language Program. Parents responded to open-ended questions about how they were involved, what they would like to be involved in but were not, and what barriers prevented them from being more involved. Monitoring/assisting with homework was the most frequently mentioned involvement activity fir both groups, followed by reading with their children, school involvement and communication, and providing social and emotional support to their children. The top areas in which parents wanted to do more were school involvement and communication, social and emotional support, …

Does My Identity Speak English? A Pragmatic Approach To The Social World Of An English Language Learner With Language Impairment, Robin L. Danzak, Elaine R. Silliman

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The case description provides a comprehensive picture of the complex social and linguistic factors that shape the social identity of an English language learner with the additional challenge of language impairment (LI). These issues were explored over 6 months with Fernando, an 8-year-old, Spanish-speaking male with LI in grade 3. A pragmatic, or practical, approach to problem solving was developed for two purposes: first, to obtain a multifaceted understanding of Fernando’s world at school, and second, to arrive at possible educational/clinical solutions that met a standard of cultural appropriateness and practicality. The patterns found that, contrary to teacher interpretations of …

Five Things Most People Believe About American Education That Are Wrong, David E. Drew

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

Will Rogers said, "People's ignorance isn't the problem; it's what they know for sure that isn't true." One reason that reform of our educational system often fails is that every politician and voter holds strong opinions about American schools. After all, they all went through the school system. Some of those opinions are simply wrong.

Cross-Language Synonyms In The Lexicons Of Bilingual Infants: One Language Or Two?, Barbara Zurer Pearson, Sylvia C. Fernandez, D.Kimbrough Oller

Adjunct Faculty Author Gallery

This study tests the widely-cited claim from Volterra & Taeschner (1978), which is reinforced by Clark's Principle of Contrast (1987), that young simultaneous bilingual children reject cross-language synonyms in their earliest lexicons. The rejection of translation equivalents is taken by Volterra & Taeschner as support for the idea that the bilingual child possesses a single-language system which includes elements from both languages. We examine first the accuracy of the empirical claim and then its adequacy as support for the argument that bilingual children do not have independent lexical systems in each language. The vocabularies of 27 developing bilinguals were recorded …

The Language Of 5 1/2-Year-Old Children From Homes Where Macedonian, Vietnamese And An Aboriginal Tribal Language Are Used As The Language Of The Home, A. L. Mcgregor

Research outputs pre 2011

Throughout the world migration patterns and changing attitudes towards education and other cultures have led over the past three or four decades to a remarkable growth in the learning of second or foreign languages. Within this area the learning of English by speakers of other languages takes up the largest numbers and is to be found in every part of the globe.

Nevertheless to date comparatively little is known of processes and patterns in second language development. Evidence on phonological and semantic development is exceedingly skimpy. Hernandez (in Ervin-Tripp 1970), Malmberg (1945), Wode (1976) and Ervin-Tripp (1974) have examined the …