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.
Elementary (K-6)
English Language Learners: Boosting Academic Achievement
Author: American Educational Research Association
Summary: With nearly one in twelve public school children receiving special assistance to learn English, researchers are investigating effective ways to teach English literacy and boost academic achievement for ELLs. This American Educational Research Association brief estimates that with explicit phonics instruction and frequent assessment, young ELLs can master the basics of English literacy. To sustain academic achievement, vocabulary and comprehension strategies must continue to develop in a structured, supported, and inclusive learning environment.
Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Comprehension; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Language Proficiency; Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Placement; Spelling; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary;
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary
Research Questions the Report Poses: In spite of the debate over bilingual versus English-only education, the fundamental question remains: What are the best ways to teach English literacy to English language learners, and what rate of achievement in English is realistic to expect?
Findings:
- ELLs need the same kind of reading instruction that works for native speakers, more of it, and they need to be watched carefully so they get help adjusted to their language development needs as soon as they encounter problems;
- ELL students can learn basic English reading skills in two years, but their chances of falling behind later in school are greater than native English speaking children;
- There is no evidence that the extra teaching that ELLs need can be effectively offered in "pullout" programs that are not closely integrated with the main literacy program;
- ELLs benefit from lengthening the school day and/or year; and
- ELLs need teachers who can deliver reading instruction shown to be most effective, and these teachers need intensive professional development
Policy Recommendations:
- Give English language learners extra time and instruction in literacy, either through longer school days or extended years;
- Assign the best teachers to English learners and provide professional development in effective teaching strategies;
- Use proven techniques for teaching basic word recognition skills, including phonics and phonological awareness;
- Provide lots of practice reading and frequent assessments to pinpoint children's reading strengths and weaknesses;
- Provide structured academic conversation, built around books and other subject matter activities to build vocabulary and comprehension; and
- Provide several years of intensive, high-quality instruction to help students master the vocabulary, comprehension, and oral language skills that will make them fully fluent in speaking, reading, and writing English.
- Download research brief (89KB PDF)*
Resnick, L.B., Ed. (2004). English Language Learners: Boosting Academic Achievement. Research Points, 2(1). American Educational Research Association: Washington DC.
Improving Reading Across Subject Areas with Word Generation
Author: Joshua F. Lawrence, Claire White, and Catherine E. Snow, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Center for Research on Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners.
Summary: Using the evidence that reading comprehension supports vocabulary development and that vocabulary development supports reading comprehension, the authors describe the relationship between these two processes as one of reciprocal causation. It has been widely noted that less able students are likely to fall farther and farther behind if they struggle with learning processes linked by reciprocal causation. Fortunately, there is evidence that vocabulary instruction can have an important and lasting impact on student word learning. There is reason to think, then, that a robust vocabulary intervention that targets academic language may improve vocabulary and reading comprehension in the short run while also supporting the struggling reader's facility at learning new words independently. To study this further, the authors have conducted a quasi–experiment to assess the effectiveness of the "Word Generation Program," an intervention firmly grounded in what is currently known about effective practice, while also casting light on how enhanced vocabulary levels relate to improved reading comprehension. To this end, the research team compared the academic word–learning of schools that chose to implement the program versus schools that chose not to.
Tags: Comprehension; Reading; Vocabulary;
Target Population: Elementary School
Research Questions the Report Poses:
- What is the relationship between reading comprehension and vocabulary development?
- How effective is the "Word Generation Program" in improving academic word–learning?
Findings:
- Participation in 20–22 weeks Word Generation curriculum was equivalent to two years of incidental learning. However, these results are skewed due to differences in timing of pretest, meaning that while the Word Generation did improve word–learning, it was not as significant as this result would indicate.
- Boys learned more words than girls.
- Participants in Word Generation Program learned more words than non–participants.
- Language minority students learned words at a relatively faster rate than English–only students in treatment schools, but not comparison schools.
- Students who benefited most from participation in Word Generation had higher MCAS scores than students with similarly improved vocabularies acquired without Word Generation exposure.
- A longitudinal quasi–experiment follow–up showed that students who participated in the intervention maintained their relative improvements at both follow–up assessments. This indicates that Word Generation does in fact promote long–term vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Lawrence, J.F., White, C., Snow, C.E. (2011.) "Improving Reading Across Subject Areas with Word Generation." Center for Research on Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners. Retrieved from: http://www.cal.org/create/resources/pubs/pdfs/improving-reading-across-subject-areas-with-word-generation.pdf
Summer Reading Loss
Author: Mraz, M. and Rasinski, T.V.
Summary: Children who do not practice their reading skills during the summer often return to school in the fall reading at a lower level than when they left for summer vacation. In Summer Reading Loss, Maryann Mraz and Timothy Rasinski point out that children from low-income families are particularly at risk for summer reading loss, which serves to widen the achievement gap between these children and children from middle-class families. In this article, the authors provide a brief review of existing research on summer reading loss, and they discuss what schools and families can do to combat this problem.
Tags: Books and Other Reading Materials; Libraries; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Reading; Struggling Readers;
Target Population: Elementary
Research Questions the Report Poses:
- How does summer loss affect students' reading achievement?
- Why does summer reading loss occur?
- What can be done to curb summer reading loss?
- What elements contribute to family literacy participation?
Findings:
- While reading and academic gains during the school year are comparable among student groups, studies and tests show that reading loss is much more significant in low-income students, which ultimately contributes to a widening achievement gap as they progress into higher grades.
- Summer reading loss seems to have its greatest impact on low-achieving students and at-risk students-those who can least afford to fall further behind.
- Access to reading materials is a vital element in enhancing the reading development of children, but low-income students experience several barriers to reading at home.
- It is not enough to simply tell parents that it is important to read to children. Parents, particularly lower socioeconomic-status parents, need concrete, specific programs, suggestions on how to participate in family literacy, and support.
Policy Recommendations:
- Parent workshops just before summer break.
- Schools should coordinate with the local public library for their summer reading program.
- Required summer reading list of 3-5 proven favorites for children, with adequate access to them for all students.
- Reading Millionaires Program
- TV programs and movies based on books can encourage reading; Parents can turn down the volume and turn on the captions so kids have to read.
- Use daily routines as reading activities such as cooking, web surfing, reading directions in a manual, etc.
Mraz, M. and Rasinski, T.V. (2007). Summer reading loss. The Reading Teacher, 60(8). International Reading Association. 784-789.
Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners
Author: What Works Clearinghouse; U.S. Department of Education
Summary: "Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners" discusses the importance of teaching English learners to read in English while they are developing oral proficiency, and how this helps them increase vocabulary, speak in English, and learn other subject-matter content. Specifically, it recommends and explains successful practices in 5 different areas based on solid research: assessment, small-group instruction, vocabulary instruction, academic English development, and cooperative learning.
Tags: Comprehension; Instructional Programs; Language Proficiency; Reading; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary;
Target Population: Elementary School
Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the best methods to teach literacy to elementary school English language learners?
Findings:
- English learners can learn to how to read in English at about the same rate as native speakers. This was not known five or ten years ago.
- English language development and comprehension needs to be improved, by introducing academic English as early as kindergarten or pre-K.
- The importance of richer vocabulary instruction than most that found in conventional reading books is critical.
- It is very productive for kids to work with their peers, and with a structured procedure, as early as kindergarten, working in groups of either two or four, assuring they know what to do.
- The most effective professional development is for grade-level teams to meet in small groups, discuss articles, and immediate determine how they apply to their own schools and programs specifically.
- The approach suggested here appears to work with all current models about language instruction.
- There is no need to delay beginning reading instruction, as long as the instruction reflects current research findings.
Policy Recommendations:
- Conduct formative assessments to screen for reading problems and monitor progress.
- Provide intensive, small group reading interventions for English learners at risk for reading problems.
- Provide extensive and varied vocabulary instruction throughout the day.
- Develop academic English competence beginning in the primary grades.
- Schedule regular peer-assisted learning opportunities, including structured language practice.
Teaching Literacy in English to K-5 English Learners. U.S. Department of Education: Doing What Works. Washington, D.C.
Technology and Teaching Children to Read
Author: Diana Sherman, Glenn Kleiman, and Kirsten Peterson
Summary: This article shares strategies for effectively implementing technology within K-6 reading programs. Research-based guidelines from the National Reading Panel report (NRP, 2000) frame the discussion about the potential uses of multimedia digital technology to enhance reading instruction.
Tags: Comprehension; Fluency; Motivation; Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Vocabulary;
Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: What does recent research say about the benefits of technology in helping students learn to read?
Findings:
- Available research points to many possibilities for technology to enhance reading instruction.
- Decisions about the effective uses of technology need to be based on an understanding of the school or district reading program.
- Understanding of the potential uses of technology and a careful analysis of the alignment between the needs of the reading program and the capabilities brought by the technology is vital.
- Technology can help make a good reading program more effective, but technology's value depends upon the quality of the overall reading program and the thoughtful and careful implementation of technology.
Policy Recommendations:
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To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
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Sherman, D., Kleiman, G., and Peterson, K. (2004). Technology and Teaching Children to Read. Education Development Center.
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
Author: S. Irujo, The ELL Outlook
Summary: In this article, Suzanne Irujo discusses the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth in the context of her own experience as an ELL teacher. Irujo organizes her discussion around the five essential components of reading instruction identified by the National Reading Panel (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) and offers specific recommendations for enhancing ELL reading instruction in each of those areas.
Tags: Comprehension; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Fluency; Instructional Programs; Intervention; Language Proficiency; Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Reading; Struggling Readers; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary;
Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School
Research Questions the Report Poses: What does research tell us about teaching reading to English Language Learners?
Findings:
- Literacy in the native language is an advantage.
- ELLs cannot develop phonological awareness in English until they are familiar with the sounds of English; once phonological awareness has developed in any language, it transfers to other languages that are learned.
- Systematic phonics instruction can be very effective in helping ELLs learn to decode words: the most effective reading programs for ELLs combine systematic phonics instruction with a print-rich environment that provides exposure to appealing reading materials in varied genres.
- ELLs cannot achieve fluency in oral reading before they have achieved fluency in speaking: self-consciousness about accents and errors can affect reading fluency.
- ELLs need more vocabulary instruction than their native-speaking peers, with different vocabulary words and vocabulary teaching techniques.
- ELLs are more likely than native speakers to lack the background knowledge necessary for understanding texts
Policy Recommendations:
- Substantial coverage of the five essential elements of reading instruction-phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension-helps.
- Reading programs for ELLs should include intensive language development as well as instruction in literacy strategies and skills.
- Instruction needs to be adjusted to meet the needs of ELLs.
Irujo, S. (2007). What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners? Haverhill, MA: The ELL Outlook.
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