Second Language Acquisition & Research

I wanted to share some of the most up-to-date findings that appeared in the article "Teaching English Language Learners: What the Research Does—and Does Not—Say" in the summer of 08' edition of American Educator. Whenever we talk to the administration or parents, we should definitely bring up this research, which is one of the most comprehensive and conclusive in recent years.

There are definitive research-proven practices that promote English Language development. Here are the three major points highlighted in the article:


I. Teaching students to read in their first language (L1) promotes higher levels of reading achievement in English (L2)

• Common sense doesn’t always turn to be the truth. ("If we only relied on common sense, we would still think the sun revolves around a flat earth")
• National research (2008) suggests that literacy and other skills and knowledge transfer across languages.
• Implementing a bilingual or dual language program supports ELLs’ English language acquisition.

II. What we know about good instruction and curriculum in general holds true for ELLs

• Good instruction for students in general tends to be good instruction for ELLs in particular.
• Best practices include: clear goals and learning objectives; meaningful, challenging and motivating contexts; curriculum rich with content; well-designed, structured and paced instruction; active engagement and participation; opportunities to practice, apply, and transfer new learning; feedback; periodic review and practice; frequent assessments to gauge progress; opportunities to interact with other students in motivating and appropriately structured contexts.

III. When instructing English language learners in English, teachers must modify instruction to take into account students’ language limitations.

• Good differentiation is essential in teaching ELLs
• Improving oral English proficiency is essential.
• Some essential modifications include:

o Making text in English more comprehensible by using texts with content familiar to students

o Building vocabulary in English

o Using primary language for support

o Assessing Knowledge and Language Separately

o Promote productive Interaction among ELLs and English Speakers

o Adding Time (after school, extended year, summer school, etc.)

The above is a very brief summary of the article; I suggest you check it out in its entirety. You can download for free by clicking this link (if it doesn't work, just copy and paste in your browser):


http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/summer08/goldenberg.pdf


Also, Kenji Hakuta, an education professor at Standford has a quick introduction video about the article, its sources and why is relevant. You may watch it here:



Reference:
Goldenberg, C. (2008). Teaching English language learners: What the research does and does not say. American Educator. 32(2), 8.