Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Adolescent (7-12)
A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School
Summary: Cognitive strategies, such as predicting, summarizing, and reflecting-strategies used by experienced readers and writers, are vital to the development of academic literacy, but these strategies are too rarely taught explicitly, especially to English Language Learners (ELLs). This study reports the results of a California Writing Project study in which 55 teachers implemented a cognitive-strategies approach to reading and writing instruction for their ELL secondary students over an eight-year period and includes a detailed description of a teacher's cognitive strategies "tool kit."
Tags: Curriculum; Reading; Writing;
Copyright 2007 by the National Council of Teachers of English. Used with permission. Olson, C.B. and Land, R. (2007). A Cognitive Strategies Approach to Reading and Writing Instruction for English Language Learners in Secondary School. Research in the Teaching of English, 41(3), http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/rte/articles/126617.htm.
Advancing Adolescent Literacy: The Cornerstone of School Reform
Author: Carnegie Corporation of New York
Summary: The emergence of a global economy has raised the standards of literacy around the world. This report examines the trend of adolescent readers not holding up to the international literacy standards and the initiatives/reforms being done to combat this. The report is a summation of additional reports compiled by the organization “focused on a range of relevant topics such as comprehension assessment, out-of-school learning, writing in adolescence, literacy coaching standards, instructional needs of second language learners and literacy in the content areas.”
Tags: Books and Other Reading Materials; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Spelling; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Writing;
Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: What steps can be taken improve literacy instruction in grades 4-12 (especially among adolescents)?
Findings:
- The most recent data show that although U.S. students in grade four score among the best in the world, those in grade eight score much lower. And by grade ten, U.S. students score among the lowest in the world.
- Lack of literacy skills renders students unable to understand, evaluate and judge the information they hear and read, or to convey complex ideas, whether in the college classroom or the workplace-all of which act as a barrier to finding employment and exercising their full rights as citizens.
- A lack of capacity, time and will for middle and high school teachers to teach literacy within their content areas;
- Inadequate reinforcement of comprehension of "informational text" in early reading;
- Few strategies provided pupils at the end of the third grade for dealing with a rapid shift from narrative to expository text;
- Absence of systemic thinking in schools about literacy beyond age eight;
- Decrease in students' motivation to read as they progress from fourth through twelfth grade;
- Middle and high school designs with insufficient capacity to identify and target students requiring literacy assistance;
- Little awareness by parents and community groups that literacy instruction needs to continue after children have acquired basic decoding skills.
- Districts need to focus on increasing capacity (particularly training teachers) to adopt literacy practices within the school day, especially to embed literacy practices within content areas.
- Attention should be devoted to special challenges of English language learners.
- Reform efforts need to make literacy a central concern and to build ideas for advancing literacy into school redesign.
Advancing Adolescent Literacy: The Cornerstone of School Reform. (2010). New York, NY: Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and Academic Literacy for Adolescent English Language Learners
Summary: Adolescent English Language Learners, who must simultaneously learn English and age–appropriate subject material, must perform double the work of their native language peers because they are held to the same accountability standards. This paper is the resulting work of a panel of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners convened to elucidate the issues and challenges adolescent ELLs face. They identify 6 main challenges to improving the literacy of ELLs, followed by suggested practical solutions and strategies for each, concluding with policy implications and recommendations.
Tags: Curriculum; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language Proficiency; Struggling Readers;
Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the Work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English language learners– A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
Improving Literacy Outcomes for English Language Learners in High School: Considerations for States and Districts in Developing a Coherent Policy Framework
Author: National High School Center, Nanette Koelsch
Summary: This overview from the National High School Center examines the roles of states and school districts in supporting English Language Learners. Among the key findings: ELL students who access accelerated and enriching academics, rather than remediation, succeed at higher levels. In addition, Latino ELL students are overrepresented in special education. In order to build the capacity of teachers to appropriately identify which ELL students would benefit from special education services and which would benefit from more inclusive strategies, states must be explicit about what is expected of professional development and teacher preparedness.
Tags: Comprehension; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language Proficiency; Latino ELL Students; Placement; Writing;
Target Population: Middle, High School, Post-Secondary
Research Questions the Report Poses: What issues should states consider to improve schooling for English language learners?
Findings:
- ELLs need high quality instruction focused on advanced literacy skills and not just on language acquisition; and
- Immersion-only programs lead to increased special education placements
- Latino ELLs are overrepresented in special education and lower tracked classrooms;
Policy Recommendations:
- States and districts need to redesign literacy work for ELLs in high schools to change from remediation to academic enrichment; and
- States and districts need to ensure that ELLs participate in rigorous, college preparation courses and receive support so that they can succeed in these courses
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a
Koelsch, N. (2006). Improving literacy outcomes for English language learners in high school: Considerations for states and districts in developing a coherent policy Framework. National High School Center .
Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning: Part One: Focus on Motivation and Engagement
Author: Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory (LAB), The Education Alliance at Brown University, Julie Meltzer and Edmund Hamann
Summary: This article reviews the major research findings as they relate to engagement and motivation of ELL adolescents. The highlighted research is meant to explore the confluence of two areas of study — literacy development and schooling practices for ELLs and native English speakers — and serve as a guide for professional development for secondary teachers. The literature review explores school and classroom contexts; instructional principles like relevance, choice, and student-centered classrooms; and instructional practices like scaffolding and activating prior knowledge as they relate to adolescent ELLs.
Tags: Content Areas: Math; Content Areas: Science; Content Areas: Social Studies; Motivation; Placement; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary; Writing;
Target Population: Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: Review of the literature concerning student motivation and engagement on literacy development of adolescents and research on the schooling of adolescent ELLs.
Findings:
- literacy development and effective instruction for ELL and non-ELL adolescents alike share many commonalities;
- isolated ELL students are further negatively impacted as a result of these findings; and
- content-area teachers may benefit from research and practices designed for ELL teachers
Policy Recommendations:
- Teachers should use current secondary school ELL literature to create a blueprint of classroom contexts in which ELLs will be motivated and engaged to read and write across the content areas, and where reading and writing will contribute to their broader academic achievement.
- Schools should train all secondary–school teachers to promote content–area literacy for ELLs.
- To promote ELLs' or other students' continued development and application of literacy skills for academic learning, educators should plan opportunities that
- provide the environmental resources to support the work (i.e., various text materials);
- are grounded by high expectations that students can achieve or surpass the state standards and
- engage students-that they involve choice, are authentic, promote self–efficacy, and support autonomy.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Education Alliance at Brown
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: 800.521.9550
Fax: 401.421.7650
E-mail: info@alliance.brown.edu
Meltzer, J. & Hamann, E. (2004). Meeting the literacy development needs of adolescent English language learners. Part one: Focus on motivation and engagement. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory.
Promoting Academic Literacy Among Secondary English Language Learners: A Synthesis of Research and Practice
Author: UC Davis School of Education
Summary: Provides an overview of issues related to teaching English language learners (ELL), and recommendations for California policy including: challenges secondary ELL students face; needs and limitations of teachers and schools in CA; and best practices cited by researchers and practitioners. The report largely summarizes three days of panel presentations and discussions by ELL experts convened in 2005.
Tags: Differentiated Instruction; Language Proficiency; Placement;
Target Population: middle and high school
Research Questions the Report Poses: What policy steps should occur in California to improve the education of secondary English Language Learners?
Findings:
A number of themes emerged from the panel discussants including:
- the need for identifying ELL students better; inadequate existing programs for ELL secondary students;
- the need for more teachers and administrators who are knowledgeable about the needs of secondary ELL students; and
- the importance of advocacy and staying on-message to improve ELL education.
Policy Recommendations:
The report adopts five policy steps that should occur including:
- Convene a panel of experts;
- Promote pilot programs;
- Develop an effective ELL assessment system;
- Establish a committee in the CA legislature to recruit and retain highly skilled ELL teachers and administrators; and
- Organize a summit to bring attention and focus to the need for improved ELL secondary education.
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
NA
Maxwell-Jolly, J., Gandara, P. & Benavidez L. M. (2005). Promoting academic literacy among secondary English language learners: A synthesis of research and practice. Davis, CA: UC Davis School of Education.
Urgent but Overlooked: The Literacy Crisis Among Adolescent English Language Learners
Author: Alliance for Excellent Education
Summary: ELL students represent the fastest growing segment of the student population and yet with respect to reading and literacy rates, they are among the country's lowest performing students. This article looks at the crisis of low literacy rates among ELL students, what research is currently being done, the findings of that research, and key policy questions needing to be addressed by policymakers. The report also includes a brief look into the types of support needed in order to provide ELL students with effective literacy instruction.
Tags: Reading;
Target Population: Pre-K, Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses:
- How should adolescent ELLs' literacy skills be assessed?
- What kinds of support and professional development will enable teachers to provide effective literacy instruction for ELLs?
- What kinds of programs should be offered to meet ELLs' diverse needs?
- What research is needed to improve the literacy instruction for adolescent ELLs?
- What policy changes are required to meet these goals?
Findings:
- ELLs comprise 10.5 percent of the nation's pre-K-12 school enrollment — double the nation's ELL population in 1990, yet as a group, they are the nation's "lowest-performing students."
- In many ways, the literacy needs of adolescent ELLs' overlap with their non-ELL peers: they also benefit from explicit instruction in comprehension and vocabulary; their reading and writing skills reinforce each other; and ELLs' personal interests and "out-of-school literacy skills" can be used to engage students in the classroom.
- Nevertheless, adolescent ELLs face some unique challenges regarding literacy. These include: limited proficiency in their native language; stronger oral skills; stronger social language (as opposed to academic language); transferring literacy skills from a different writing system (such as Chinese); lack of background knowledge; learning content and language simultaneously.
- Techniques to help ELLs include drawing on students' knowledge and experience; providing key background knowledge before a lesson; previewing vocabulary; bilingual glossaries and dictionaries; native language support for content-area material; and allowing students to explain new content to each other.
Policy Recommendations:
N/A
To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
N/A
(February 2007). Urgent but overlooked: The literacy crisis among adolescent English Language Learners. Retrieved April 11, 2008, from Alliance For Excellent Education Web site: http://www.all4ed.org/files/UrgentOver.pdf
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