The dissertation that met the action research (AR) this student found to examine was “The Biliteracy Achievement of Latino English Learners in Two-Way Immersion Elementary Programs.” This study focused on the “biliteracy achievement of Latino English learners in two program models of two-way immersion to determine if learning two languages sequentially is indeed more effective for English Learners” (Moraga, 2010, p.74). There was several research questions discussed throughout this study. However, the one question this student mostly interesting on was “How are data used at school site level to determine the biliteracy attainment of English learners?” (p. 74). This question was the most relevant to this learner because she wanted to examine
She maintains this will allow them to generate cognitive and linguistic progress that nurtures their transition to English (Stover, 2015). Therefore, according to Dr. Vonderlack-Navarro, the “English only” approach can be detrimental to learning English (Stover, 2015). Vonderlack-Navarro contends school board members need to endorse specific strategies and support multilingual classrooms in response to the question, “How does the school board make these literacy gains in a classroom with English language learners who speak different languages?” (Stover, 2015).
As our nation shifts towards a more culturally diverse population both educators and families have to find a common ground to ensure that English Language Learners are academically successful. All stakeholders must carefully consider the social cultural impact on an ELL education. The process of raising bilingual learners take more than a language a school and a language learned at home. The transition must have a purpose and a goal.
The proposed research is designed to analyze one of the major issues in contemporary education which is the educational achievement gap between ESL (English as a Second Language) students and native English speakers. The research is designed to study the lack of effort from school officials to integrate cultural needs of minorities in their education which enables them to succeed as much as others. The focus of this study is to compare the academic opportunities between ESL students and native English speaker students and said opportunities affect their academic success. Participants will be 100 siena students 50 ESL and 50 native English speakers. Participants will take a survey in which they will provide information about their educational experience in middle school and high school and how said experiences affected their educational achievements in a negative and/or positive way.
Doctors Ana Iddings and Mary Combs are Associate Professors from the University of Arizona who conducted research on how to help English language learners become successful in grades Kindergarten through 12 along with Dr. Luis Moll who is a Professor Emeritus from the named university. Dr. Iddings has conducted individual research on many topics, one being the education and professional development of teachers to work with English language learners (ELLs) and their families. Dr. Combs currently teaches courses in bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses on the graduate and undergraduate levels. Dr. Moll’s main research was conducted in education of Latino children in the United States.
In many schools throughout the country, there are populations of students that have been pushed to the side, with their education thought of as just their specialized teachers’ responsibility. While this situation is changing for some students, such as those with disabilities and students who are lucky enough to have dual language immersion programs in their school, many students who are learning English are still struggling to access the same curriculum that everyone else in the school has a chance to learn. Guadalupe Valdés (2001) looked at the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at a school which she called Garden Middle School. Although Valdés completed this study over fifteen years ago, the experience that her focal students had
From the data, one theme that was deduced from repeating data was discrimination. Marissa’s school sent a letter to her parent’s saying she needed to be evaluated for ESL, when English is the official language of her home country. Because she uses a dialect and pronounces her words differently from the mainstream American society, they assume she is English deficient, a language bias because she is an immigrant. As stated by P. Rudy Mattai in the article ‘Rethinking the Nature of Multicultural Education: Has it Lost its Focus or is it Being Misused?’ “…the affirmation of minority culture in various bilingual, bicultural and ethnic programs represent a direct challenge to the centrality of Anglo values in the school curriculum and the notion that minority culture and language are “naturally” deficient…” (p. 69).
“Successful program models for promoting the academic achievement of language minority students are those that enable these students to develop academic skills while learning English. The best program organization is one that is tailored to meet the linguistic, academic, and emotional needs of students; provides language minority students with the instruction necessary to allow them to progress through school at a rate commensurate with their native-English-speaking peers; and makes the best use of district and community resources.” (Colorin Colorado, 2014)
Literacy: a simple word that rolls of your tongue, but it cannot be contained by one definition. It is traditionally the ability to read and write with the ability of language, numbers, and technology. The world may be constantly changing for the better or for worse, but society should be, especially, when it comes down to teaching literacy to students. About a majority of the generation in schools contain Latino and Latina students, who are natives or inhabitants of Latin America. Therefore, how come Latino and Latina Literacy is repressed and in need of schooling? How can society itself change to help Latins? Discourses are a major part in how Latino andLatina literacy can be improved to teach Latin students as well as including Latino literature in school curriculum and integrating
Furthermore, sometimes educators may be challenged in recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of Latino English language learner student’s due to a lack of relationship between them. As stated by Campos et al (2011) that “collaboration with parents comes easy when they know you are genuinely interested in being a part of their community” (p. 102). For example, educators need to find ways to show their students and parents that they care about them outside of the school. Campos et al suggested two organizations and programs that are designed to promote student and family learning, specifically Latino English language learner. They are as following:
An impressive 16.2% of students in the Federal Way public school system self-identify as Hispanic (U.S. Census, 2013) [primary]. Of these students, 23.9% are foreign born (U.S. Census, 2013) [primary]. These students are often multilingual, switching to Spanish when home. In fact, 32.4 percent of students speak a different language at home (U.S. Census, 2013) [primary]. It should not come as a surprise that language is a major component of one’s culture. Most American schools place a heavy emphasis on
In a study by Martínez (2013) the attitudes of Mexican American students towards learning English as a second language in a structured immersion program was investigated. It also analyzed the extent to which these attitudes differed in relation to the variables of gender and performance in English.
English language learners (ELL) consisted of 22.3 percent of the total enrollment in California public schools (Facts about English Learners in California - CalEdFacts, 2015). Tends to be ignored or receives not quite the equality in education as their Native English speakers (NES) counter parts. Over the past few years there has been a surge in dual language immersion (DLI) programs (also known two-way immersion), which have resulted in much success (Lindholm-Leary, 2012, p. 256). It has been found that students in DLI programs show a high level of bilingualism and by biliteracy as well as academic achievement and cross-cultural competence (Lindholm-Leary, 2012, p. 256). Since the population of ELL students in California is so high it would appear that the best way for ELL students to get an education that is equal to their NES counterparts more DLI classes should be implemented. By applying more DLI programs California can benefit both their ELL and NES students in academic development and cross-cultural competence, which will help reduce prejudice and racism in the state.
How are Hispanics getting help with English and what obstacles or barriers are they facing? That is an extremely good question. Everyday, more and more Hispanics are making a move to the United States in hopes of a better life. The only problem is that many of them can not speak any English at all. Since the United States is basically an English speaking nation, it is important that Hispanics learn English to be able to adjust to life within the United States. But, that is easier said than done because it is not easy to get Hispanics the help that they need in learning English. There have to be people who are willing to tutor and fund programs. Of course, there are always obstacles or barriers that stands in the way of progress.
Diverse cultures within the United States are rapidly developing and growing and the educational sector is the number one target to ensure that English –learners are receiving adequate education. Within the educational sector there are administrators and teachers who are involved in students lives on a daily basis to ensure that education is equal. In order to achieve the vital objective of equality, socio-cultural influences on ELL students, bilingualism and home language use, parental and community resources, and partnerships between families and schools all have to be considered to provide an opportunity for equal education.
Best practices for teachers of English Learners consist of creating verbal scaffolds and participation structures that support and extend language performance beyond what English Learners are able to produce independently (Yedlin 2003, 2004). Culturally relevant texts, multicultural literature, and acknowledgement of culturally diverse experiences all promote increased comprehension and engagement (Conant et al., 2001). Early Response to Intervention (RTI) strategies also show promise in providing English Learners with improved early language development. Research indicates that when schools administer early phonological awareness strategies in the student’s native language, such as Spanish word recognition and fluency assessments, this type