ASHA in Atlanta has come and gone and another year is coming to a close. What a great year! The conference was really fantastic. Met some new people from different parts of the country and made new friends from Puerto Rico. I enjoyed the presentations and wished I could have attended others. If you didn’t go to the convention this year, you can access the conference by purchasing audiotapes or printing off the handouts from the ASHA convention Web Page. The papers will be up until February. Many presenters are still trying to get their papers on the Web Page, so check back regularly.
The Bilingual Institute was a success, thanks to the hard work of Alina De la Paz, Miami, Fl. Thanks Alina for such a great job. Questions at that Institute are now concerned with the language of intervention and how that is going to be addressed. IDEA doesn’t address language of intervention only assessment. But there is still the practice of common sense and ethics. If a child cannot understand English, then you should be presenting intervention in the home language. One school district that can’t provide native language treatment for children with language impairments is now calling English only therapy, ESL (English as a Second Language) therapy. Now we’re getting into semantics. Give the treatment another name even though the approach is the same and it now becomes acceptable.
I wanted to share my poster presentation and also one by Katherine Schryver from Los Angeles. Ms. Schryver’s poster was interesting and one I think you’ll want to print up and use as a handout for yourself as a reminder and also maybe to pass around to other clinicians. My poster session was really a review of the literature and what other researchers recommend for bilingual children.
Hope you have had an excellent year and hope you’re planning an outstanding new year!
Confused about Second Language Learners?
What does ASHA say?
Katherine A. Schryver
Lennox School District, Los Angeles, CA
kathyschryver@go.com
In which language should I perform the assessment?
ASHA Position Statement Clinical Management of Communicatively Handicapped Minority Language Population, 1985
“[For clients who] are proficient in their native language but not in English, assessment and intervention of speech and language disorders of limited English proficient speakers should be conducted in the client’s primary language.”
“[For clients who are] possessing limited communicative competence in both languages…speech and language should be assessed in both languages to determine language dominance.”
P.L. 94-142 stipulates that testing and evaluation procedures must be provided and administered in the language or mode of communication in which the child is most proficient.
Paul, 1995: “ If we test a child with LEP in English, of course, all we find out is that he or she has limited English skills” (p.164).
Mattes& Omark, 1991: “…it is essential that information be obtained about their languages even if the child seems to be a ‘dominant’ English speaker” (p.50).
Yavas, & Goldstein, 1998: “It would be considered most appropriate to assess phonological skills in all the child’s language even if the child seems to be a ‘dominant’ English speaker” (p.50).
In which language should I perform intervention?
ASHA position Statement Clinical Management of Communicatively Handicapped Minority Language Populations, 1985
“[For clients who] are proficient in their native language but not in English, assessment and intervention of speech and language disorders of limited English proficient speakers should be conducted in the client’s primary language.”
“[For clients who are] possessing limited communicative competence in both languages…speech and language should be assessed in both languages to determine language dominance for intervention would be determined from this assessment.”
Perozzi, 1985: “…the subjects learned both Spanish and English faster when Spanish was taught first than when English was taught first. These results support the practice of initial intervention in Spanish for Spanish-speaking, language-handicapped children when bilingualism is a goal” (p. 406).
Perozzi & Sanchez, 1992: “ Group A received instruction in Spanish prior to instruction in English, and Group received instruction in English only. The results indicated that the subjects in Group A acquired the English prepositions and pronouns twice as rapidly as the subjects in Group B” (p.348).
Kiernan & Swisher, 1990: “For each child, the number of trial to criterion for L2 word learning was smaller under the bilingual condition than under the monolingual condition of training” (p.710).
Gutierrez-Clellen, 1999: “ The findings of greater L2 gains in bilingual versus L2-only condition for children with limited L2 proficiency indicated that a bilingual approach in intervention may facilitate language development in children with special needs” (p. 298). “ The research clearly shows that mediation in the native language does not slow development or learning a second language” (p.299).
Brice, 2000: “ …the language in which the parent s can best maintain communication with their child should be used for intervention…The current literature supports the notion that the native or home language is the best medium for working with children” (p.2).
What language should the parent speak to the child?
ASHA article When your student’s parent speaks Portuguese ( or any other language ), 2000
“… the field of second language acquisition, bilingualism, and special education recommended that parents continue using their native language at home.”
“Every child’s brain has the capacity and the facility to learn more than one language …Children who have been diagnosed with language/learning problems by bilingual professionals have been observed to acquire and use more than one language…Parents who do not know how to speak English will offer their children limited, inconsistent, incomplete, or inappropriate models.”
Dolson, 1985: “Maintaining Spanish as the primary home language does not seem to have any detrimental effects on the general school progress of Hispanic students. In fact, the evidence generally supports the idea that Spanish language use in the home actually fosters improved scholastic performance…In this study, more Spanish at home commonly resulted in better English skills and improved subject matter attainment… The findings of this study suggest that the continued use of Spanish as the main home language positively influences Hispanic students’ psychosocial adjustments and interactions at school” (p.150-151).
Wharton, Levine, Miller, Bresslau & Greenspan, 2000: “…therapists and other health care personnel should refrain from recommendations that restrict the parents’ use of their native language with their child” (p.150).
Kayser, 2000: “The inappropriate suggestion that parents speak English to the child, to stop speaking the home language, is detrimental to the child and the family” (p.2).
BILINGUALISM AND BILITERACY
Hortencia Kayser
Saint Louis University
ABSTRACT
This presentation reviews literature concerning literacy and children who are learning English. The objectives are to present: 1) reader background characteristics that influence literacy; 2) role of home language and culture in L2 reading; 3) comparisons of L2 and L1 literacy; 4) relationship between L2 orality and L2 literacy; and 5) suggestions for helping children to read.
The United States is experiencing a major growth in population in the schools with children who are learning English as a second language. The education of these children depends upon the development of literacy skills that will foster educational growth. The literature concerning literacy and English language learners is an area that speech language pathologists must be familiar with to better understand the relationship between literacy and bilingualism.
1. Reader Background Characteristics
- Children enter the schools with diverse language backgrounds and experiences.
- The cultural roles & the cultural expectations for children have determined the extent of their language development and literacy experiences.
- These children are also entering the schools with different levels of schooling in their native-language and may be different from mainstream children who are exposed to literature for many beginning in infancy.
- Literacy and the experiences with literacy have an influence in L2 learners’ understanding of the purposes of reading.
- While ¾ of students, who are second language learners, are born in the U.S., over ¾ of their parents are not.
- Almost ¾ of the families are of low income, but proportionately more late-exit (children exit bilingual education at 6th grade) families are the lowest income levels than are early-exit (children exit bilingual education as soon as possible) or immersion strategy families (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta, & Billings, 1991).
- Children in bilingual education classrooms may use English with siblings and Spanish with parents.
- Households may receive English and Spanish language newspapers. Most students play with friends who use both English & Spanish and live in neighborhoods where Spanish is spoken at least half of the time.
- Students who are provided with a substantial and consistent primary language development program learned mathematics, English language, and English reading skill as fast as or faster than the English mainstream population used in study. Their growth is atypical of disadvantaged youth, and provides support for the efficacy of primary language development in facilitating the acquisition of English language skills (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta, Billings, 1991).
- Children may have difficulties because they are forced to use a written symbol system for which he has no oral referent.
- He may be struggling with a set of sounds that he cannot perceive or discriminate.
- He may be expected to comprehend vocabulary and language structures that are totally alien to him (Wall-Thonis, 1976).
2. Comparison of L2 Reading and L1 Reading
- In terms of basic cognitive processes, second-language reading appears to be more similar to native-language reading than different (Fitzgerald, 1995).
- Differences occur in the amount of use and length of time accorded to certain processes. For example, in comparison to native language readers, advanced and intermediate-level ESL readers tend to read and to monitor comprehension more slowly, use fewer and some different metacognitive strategies, and recall subordinate ideas less well.
- The student’s language abilities in English will have an influence on the accuracy of comprehension of details.
3. Role of Home language and Home Culture in L2 Reading
- Children’s home language and culture are resources for developing second language reading proficiency.
- Readers transfer native language knowledge to ESL reading and often demonstrate second-language comprehension more effectively in their native language than in English.
- Use of the home language and incorporation of the home culture into school’s curriculum and instruction should be encouraged (Crawford, 1997 and Cummins, 1996).
- Children who develop first-language knowledge and skills fully during the preschool years often make the transition to schooling in English more easily and effectively than children who do not maintain the home language (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta, & Billings, 1991).
- Late exit parents are more aware that their children have homework and ensure that it is completed than either immersion strategy or early-exit parents. The greater use of the child’s primary language makes it possible for parents to participate and support their child’s learning (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta, & Billings, 1991).
- Students consistently attain high levels of achievement in English reading and writing, math, science and social studies despite receiving instruction in English for no more than 50% of the time (Kirk-Senesac, 2002).
- Research conducted with adults in the U.S. shows that reading in the native language aids the acquisition of and reading ability in a second language.
- Adult learners from diverse language backgrounds such as Spanish, Cambodian, and Korean may benefit from their native language literacy skills because there is a transfer in basic reading skills from the first to the second language irrespective of the scripts involved (Carlo & Skilton-Sylvester, 1994; Wagner & Venezky, 1999).
- Research conducted with children suggests that first language literacy development is strongly related to successful second language learning and academic achievement, and that literacy skills developed in the native language transfer to the second language (Thomas & Collier, 1997).
- The report of the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children recommended that whenever possible, bilingualism and biliteracy should be promoted as it provides intellectual, economic, and social benefits (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998).
- The use of the native language aids in the meaning-making process by allowing learners to read words they know and sentences they understand, to use context effectively, and to self-correct efficiently (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998).
4. Relationship Between L2 Orality and L2 Literacy
- The existing research is unclear on the relationship between ESL reading proficiency and ESL oral proficiency. The notion that English orality must be developed to an optimal level for English literacy to develop merits further and more refined examination.
- For some children, second-language speech, reading, and writing appear to develop simultaneously (Fitzgerald, 1995).
- Children in late exit classrooms with consistent level of primary language instruction (40 %) have highest level of the English language scores at the end of 6th grade than classrooms that have less instruction of Spanish (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta & Billings, 1991).
- Limited-English-proficient students who are provided with substantial instruction in their primary language >40% successfully continue to increase their achievement in content areas such as mathematics, while they are acquiring their skills in English; in contrast, students who are quickly transitioned into English only instruction tend to grow slower than the mainstream population (Ramirez, Yuen, Ramey, Pasta & Billings, 1991).
- Programs that emphasize the importance of meaning place learners’ native language and cultural background and experiences at the center of the educational program, using them for instruction. Projects comprise a them-based curriculum for literacy and ESL classes.
- The approach connects their oral language, culture and experience to meaningful literacy activities (Wrigley, 1993).
SUGGESTIONS FOR HELPING A CHILD TO READ
Literacy is central to the learning of a second language. Four areas for particular focus are word recognition, language competence, strategies for reading, and using familiar frameworks (Sutton, 1989). Suggestions are:
Word Recognition
- Label items, locations, and activities in the room.
- Write directions, schedules, calendar information, names, and
work duties on the chalkboard.
- Use language experience activities to describe events in the
classroom.
- Include simple reading/writing activities for beginning-level
students as reinforcement for language practiced orally.
- Write down familiar dialogues and stories and practice these
as choral reading, role-playing, and so on.
- Have students search and identify words in printed material
that they would like to know.
- Provide students with a place to keep track of important words, for example, a notebook.
Language Competence
- Describe familiar values expressed in stories, folklore, maxims,
and historical tales.
- Introduce unfamiliar vocabulary.
- Conduct pre-reading discussion of concepts important to understanding
a particular selection.
- Provide group assignments, allowing students to work with others
to process the text and discuss the ideas.
- Monitor students’ comprehension by questioning them and having students talk about what they have read in their own words.
Strategies
- Help students establish a personal rationale for reading to
direct their attention to the task.
- Familiarize students with the language of different types of
reading materials, for example, stories, science text, drama,
and so on.
- Incorporate learning strategies such as taking notes, integrating
new information into an existing knowledge framework, and making
word associations.
- Demonstrate scanning, skimming, reading for main idea, and reading
for details.
- Introduce summarizing, self-monitoring, recalling events in chronological order, retelling in one’s own words, outlining, and use of graphic organizers.
Familiar Frameworks
- Use folk tales and stories from the students’ native
culture and bridge known to unknown context through literacy.
- Employ materials with familiar experiences and characters.
DEFINING WHOLE LANGUAGE
Whole language is a philosophy or attitude about how people learn; not a program or a curriculum. It applies to all ages and not just children. It reflects the way we learn beyond school as well as in school. It helps children learn to speak, read, and write well in a variety of situations (Goodman, Goodman & Flores, 1979; Holloway, 1979).
Whole language is reading, writing, thinking, and speaking that crosses the curriculum and is student-centered and dynamic.
Assumptions about Whole Language
- Emergent literacy skills. The individual has an awareness that symbols relate to meaning.
- Book handling skills. The child has knowledge about the use of a book and how it is used.
- Metalinguistic awareness. The individual can think about reading.
Whole Language Methods That Promote Reading in a Second Language
- Language experience approach (Goodman et al., 1979). Based on the idea that children are better able to read materials from their own experiences and oral language. It involves eliciting oral language from the children and then shaping their language into written material.
- Shared Reading (Holdaway, 1979). The beginning reading experience is through big books with high interest stories in large print. The children participate through listening, choral reading, or individual reading.
- Dictated stories. Group writing of a story.
- Creative writing. Children learn to write about any topic of interest.
- Dialogue journal writing. Children write personal notes and entries into a notebook that the teacher reads and then writes responses.
Other Opportunities for Writing
- Daily schedule. Writing date, written daily schedule, signing up for activities.
- Functional communication. Making lists such as supply lists; writing teacher or parent reminder notes; developing memo board for oneself, other students, school activities, asking questions; having a complaint box; taking notes by telephone for the school office or nurse; practicing writing name, address, and phone number.
- Self-expression and interpersonal communication. Writing journals, stories about selected pictures; stories about newspaper articles; describing a friend, toy, animal, or object; writing how-to descriptions; writing notes and letters to friends, relative, classmates; writing about feelings and happenings, plans for the future, books read; planning charts for self and group.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS:
- Spend time in one-on-one conversation with young children.
- Read books with children.
- Provide writing materials.
- Support dramatic play that incorporates literacy activities.
- Demonstrate the uses of literacy.
- Maintain a joyful, playful atmosphere around literacy activities (Snow, c. e., Burns, M. S. & Griffin, P., 1998).
