Helping Our ELL Students Succeed: Finding the Right

SettingAmy TatascioreEducation 7202

Seminar in Applied Theory and Research IIFall 2010

Table of Contents Statement of Problem:

Slide 3 Review of Related Literature:

Slides 4- 10 Statement of Hypothesis:

Slide 11 Methods:

Slides 12- 15 Results

Slides 16- 18 Discussion:

Slide 19 Implications:

Slide 20 Threats to Validity:

Slide 21 References:

Slides 22-24

Statement of Problem

With the number of ELL students in our schools on the rise, educators struggle to find the right

setting for our students to succeed. While Bilingual education can be a great option, it is

not the only successful setting for ELL students. ESL settings can yield academic achievement.

Related Literature- Pros Structured English Immersion: Breakthrough in

Teaching Limited- English- Proficient Students (Baker, 1998)

The Effects of Integrated Language- Based Instruction in Elementary ESL Learning (Kim, 2008)

Accelerating Early Academic Oral English Development in Transitional Bilingual and Structured English Immersion Programs (Irby,Lara-Acecio, Kwok, Mathes, &Tong, 2008)

Related Literature- Pros Explaining English Language Proficiency Among

Adolescent Immigrant Students (Cahill, Suárez- Orozco, & Páez, 2008)

Order of Difficulty of Standard English Grammatical Features among Cultural Minority Groups in the United States (Day, Gallimore,Tharp,Chan, & Connor,1978)

Supporting Children’s Participation in Second- Language Stories in an Irish- Language Preschool (Mhic-Mhathúna, 2008)

Related Literature- Cons Effects of Bilingual and English as a Second Language

Adaptations of Success for All on the Reading Achievement of Students Acquiring English (Slavin & Madden, 2000)

ELL Programs: Not “One Size Fits All” (Hoinsfeld, 2009)

Variations in Reading Achievement among Spanish Speaking Children in Different Language Programs: Explanations and Confounds (Reese, Goldberg, & Saunders, 2006)

Fostering Biliteracy in A Monolingual Milieu: Reflections on Two Counter- Hegemonic English Immersion Classes (Manyak, 2006)

Related Literature- Neutral Two-way and monolingual English immersion in preschool

education: An experimental comparison (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas, Jung, & Blanco, 2007)

Bilingual Education and English-Only: A Language-Planning Framework (Hornberger, 1990)

Rate of Acquiring and Processing L2 Color Words in Relation to L1 Phonological Awareness (Hu, 2008)

Teaching English Language Learners in the Content Areas (Janzen, 2008)

Related Literature- Neutral Bilingualism: Acquisition of Linguistic and Non

Linguistic Skills in Bilinguals (Kohnert, Windsor & Danaby- Ebert, 2008)

Phonological Sensitivity and Memory in Children with a Foreign Language Learning Difficulty (Palladino, & Ferrari, 2008)

Verbal Ability and School Achievement of Bilingual and Monolingual Children of Different Ages (Tsushima, & Hogan,1975)

Related Literature- Classroom Practices

ESL Placement and Schools: Effects on Immigrant Achievement (Callahan, Wilkinson, Muller, & Frisco, 2009)

Beyond Language: The Many Dimensions of an ESL Program (Ernst, 1994)

Acquiring Academic English in One Year: An Unlikely Proposition for English Language Learners (Guerrero, 2004)

Measuring the Outcomes of LEP Programs: Test Scores, Exit Rates, and Other Mythological Data (Gandara, & Merino,1993)

Related Literature- Classroom Practices

Books Access, Shared Reading, and Audio Models: The Effects of Supporting the Literacy Learning of Linguistically Diverse Students in School and at Home (Koskinen, Blum, Bisson, Phillips, Creamer, & Baker, 2000)

Inviting Conversation: Meaningful Talk About Texts for English Language Learners (Purdy, 2008)

High Stakes Testing: Issues, Implications, and Remedies for English Language Learners (Solórzano, 2008)

Collaborative Teaching to Increase ELL Student Learning: A Three- Year Urban Elementary Case Study (York-Barr, Ghere, & Sommerness, 2007)

Statement of Hypothesis

HR1-The ten ELL students receiving English only guided reading instruction once a week for eleven weeks will yield greater reading progress than the ten ELL students receiving guided reading instruction in a Bilingual classroom at PS X in Brooklyn New York.

Method Participants

ESL Class One Teacher 10 ELL Students

5 Spanish ELL Students 5 Chinese ELL Students

Spanish Bilingual Class One Teacher 5 Spanish ELL Students

Chinese Bilingual Class One Teacher 5 Chinese ELL students

Gender of Participants

Male, 40%

Female 60%

1 2

Method Instrument (s)

DRA Reading Assessment Parental Reading Survey Student Reading Survey

Method Research Design

Quasi Experimental: Nonequivalent Control Group

Three Groups- ESL group (X1), Spanish Bilingual Group (X2), and Chinese Bilingual Group (X3) are pre tested (O), exposed to the treatment (X) and post tested (O).

Symbolic Design: O,X1,O O,X2,O O,X3,O

Groups are not randomly assigned

Method Procedure

Students are given the DRA reading assessment. Letter to the principal, parental consent forms, parent

reading surveys and student reading surveys are distributed and conducted.

Students in ESL and Bilingual students chosen for action research project are grouped based on reading level, native language, and gender.

Teacher in each classroom provides guided reading lessons to each student once a week for eleven weeks

Students participating in the action research project are given another DRA reading assessment from their own teacher.

ResultsPretest Results

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Student Group Number

DRA

Gui

ded

Read

ing

Leve

l

ESL Students

Bilingual Students

Post Test Results

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Student Group Number

DRA

Gui

ded

Read

ing

Leve

l ESL Students

Bilingual Students

60% of ESL students made greater reading growth than their Bilingual counterpart.

20% of ESL students made the same reading growth as their Bilingual counterpart.

*20% of ESL students made less reading growth as their Bilingual counterpart.

*95% of ALL students made at least one level reading growth.

*the ESL student in group 8 moved and a Post Test reading level could not be determined.

Results

"I Listen to My Child Read"

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Student Reading Level

Like

rt Sc

ale

Surv

ey R

atin

g

ESL Parents

Bilingual Parents

Linear (ESL Parents)

Linear (Bilingual Parents)

"I Watch Television"

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Students Reading Level

Like

rt Sc

ale

Surv

ey R

atin

g

ESL Parents

Bilingual Parents

Linear (ESL Parents)

Linear (Bilingual Parents)

There is a negative correlation between the reading level of a student and the amount of hours per week that their parent listens to them read in the ESL setting. -0.50165

There is a weak positive correlation between the reading level of a student and the amount of hours per week that their parent listens to them read in the Bilingual setting. 0.374122

There is a negative correlation between the hours parents spend watching television and reading level in the ESL setting. -0.56809

There is a positive correlation between the hours parents spend watching television and the reading level in the Bilingual setting. 0.522786

Results Although 60% of ESL

students made greater growth in reading, only 40% of ESL students said they enjoyed reading to other people compared to 80% of the Bilingual students who said they enjoyed reading to other people.

"I like Reading to Other People"

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

0 2 4 6 8

DRA Reading Level

Like

rt Sc

ale

Surv

ey R

atin

g

ESL Students

Bilingual Students

Linear (ESL Students)

Linear (Bilingual Students)

Does a students attitude towards reading effect their reading level?

**Please keep in mind that 1 is Agree and 2 is Disagree, so a negative number is actually a positive correlation.**

There is a very weak negative correlation between reading level and desire to read to others in the ESL setting. 0.18006There is a very weak positive correlation between reading level and desire to read to others in the Bilingual setting. -0.06752

Discussion“Russell Gersten and his colleagues found

SEI superior to bilingual education for Vietnamese immigrants in California and for Hispanics in Texas.”(Baker,1998)”

The study is this article has similar demographics to this action research project. The extra time exposed to English promotes the basic English vocabulary founded in lower level books.

Implications Although the hypothesis is supported in this

action research project there are many things that could effect and/or improve the project. More participants included More native languages included More grade levels included A longer period of time

Threats to Internal Validity Threats to External Validity

Would possibly improve Action Research Project

Possibly effected Action Research Project

Threats to Validity Internal

History- There were four fire drills within the eleven weeks. Testing- Student number 1 was given the same reading

test when she failed to make progress five weeks into the study.

Morality- Student number 8 moved External

Multiple Treatments- Lower level groups receive extra one on one time mimicking multiple treatments.

Treatment Diffusion- Students DID discuss books even when told not to do so.

References Baker, K. ( 1998). Structured English Immersion: Breakthrough in Teaching Limited- English-

Proficient Students. Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 80 (3), 199-204. Barnett, W.S. Yarosz,D. Thomas, J. Jung, K. Blanco,D. (2007). Two-way and monolingual English

immersion in preschool education: An experimental comparison. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22 (3), 277-293.

Callahan, R. Wilkinson, L. Muller, C. and Frisco, M. (2009). ESL Placement and Schools: Effects on Immigrant Achievement. Educational Gandara, P., Merino, B. (1993). Measuring the Outcomes of LEP Programs: Test Scores, Exit Rates, and Other Mythological Data.

Policy, 23 (2), 355-384. Carhill, A. Suárez- Orozco, M. Páez, M. (2008). Explaining English Language Proficiency Among

Adolescent Immigrant Students. American Educational Research Journal, 45 (4), 1155-1179.

Day, R. Gallimore, R. Tharp, R. Chan, K. Connor, M. (1978). Order of Difficulty of Standard English Grammatical Features among Cultural Minority Groups in the United States. American Anthropological Association, 9 (3), 181-195.

Ernst,G. (1994). Beyond Language: The Many Dimensions of an ESL Program. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 25 (3), 317-335.

Gandara, P., Merino, B. (1993). Measuring the Outcomes of LEP Programs: Test Scores, Exit Rates, and Other Mythological Data. Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Vol. 15 (3),

320-338. Guerrero, M. (2004). Acquiring Academic English in One Year: An Unlikely Proposition for English

Language Learners. Urban Education, 39 (2), 172-199. Hoingsfeld, A. (2009). ELL Programs: Not “One Size Fits All”. Kappa Delta Pi Record, Vol. 45 (4),

166-171.

References Hornberger, N. (1990). Bilingual Education and English-Only: A Language-Planning Framework.

American Academy of Political and Social Science, 508, 12-26. Hu, C-F. (2008). Rate of Acquiring and Processing L2 Color Words in Relation to L1 Phonological

Awareness. The Modern Language Journal, 92 (i), 39-52. Irby, B. Lara-Acecio, R. Kwok, O. Mathes, P. Tong, F. (2008). Accelerating Early Academic Oral

English Development in Transitional Bilingual and Structured English Immersion Programs. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 45 (4), 1011-1044.

Janzen, J. (2008). Teaching English Language Learners in the Content Areas. Review of Educational Research, Vol. 78 (4), 1010-1038.

Kim, Y. (2008). The Effects of Integrated Language- Based Instruction in Elementary ESL Learning. The Modern Language Journal. 92 (3), 431-451.

Kohnert, K. Windsor, J. Danaby- Ebert, K. (2008). Bilingualism: Acquisition of Linguistic and Non Linguistic Skills in Bilinguals. Brain and Language, 109 (2), 101-111.

Koskinen, P. Blum, I. Bisson, S. Phillips, S. Creamer, T. Baker, T. (2000). Books Access, Shared Reading, and Audio Models: The Effects of Supporting the Literacy Learning of

Linguistically Diverse Students in School and at Home. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92 (1), 23-36.

Manyak, P. (2006). Fostering Biliteracy in A Monolingual Milieu: Reflections on Two Counter- Hegemonic English Immersion Classes. Journals of Early Childhood Literacy, 6 (3),

241- 266.

References Mhic-Mhathúna, M. (2008) Supporting Children’s Participation in Second- Language Stories in an

Irish- Language Preschool. Early Years, 28 (3), 299-309. Palladino, P. Ferrari, M. (2008). Phonological Sensitivity and Memory in Children with a Foreign

Language Learning Difficulty. Psychology Press, 16 (6), 604-625. Purdy,J. (2008). Inviting Conversation: Meaningful Talk About Texts for English Language

Learners. Literacy, 42 (1), 44-51. Reese, L. Goldenberg, C. Saunders, W. (2006). Variations in Reading Achievement among

Spanish Speaking Children in Different Language Programs: Explanations and Confounds. The Elementary School Journal, Vol.106 (4), 364- 385.

Slavin, R. Madden, N. ( 2000). Effects of Bilingual and English as a Second Language Adaptations of Success for All on the Reading Achievement of Students Acquiring English. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 4 (4), 393-416.

Solórzano, R. (2008). High Stakes Testing: Issues, Implications, and Remedies for English Language Learners. American Educational Research Association, 78 (2), 260- 284.

Tsushima, W. Hogan, T. (1975). Verbal Ability and School Achievement of Bilingual and Monolingual Children of Different Ages. The Journal of Educational Research, 68 (9), 349- 353.

York- Barr, J. Ghere, G. Sommerness,J. (2007). Collaborative Teaching to Increase ELL Student Learning: A Three- Year Urban Elementary Case Study. Journal of Education for

Students Placed at Risk, 12 (3), 301-335.