The relation of language of instruction and vocabulary to the English spelling of bilingual first graders receiving either English or Spanish literacy instruction and of monolinguals in English literacy instruction was explored. Only bilingual students in Spanish literacy instruction (SLI) exhibited Spanish-influenced spelling, indicating a powerful effect of language of literacy instruction. SLI without English literacy instruction (ELI) may be a prerequisite for the appearance of Spanish influences in English spelling. Spanish-influenced spelling appears to be a normal developmental phenomenon only for those bilingual first graders who have received no ELI. The students in ELI, on average, wrote more orthographically plausible English pseudowords than students in SLI, indicating that the students in SLI simply had not yet learned conventional spelling patterns in English. In addition, children with good Spanish vocabulary showed more Spanish-influenced spelling, while English vocabulary predicted more orthographically plausible English spellings. The relationship between English vocabulary and English spelling was similar for children instructed in Spanish and English. English vocabulary and literacy instruction both made unique, positive contributions to English pseudoword spelling, while Spanish literacy instruction played a more important role than Spanish vocabulary in the production of Spanish-influenced spelling in English.
This study explores influences on bilingual children's phonological awareness (PA) performance in English, examining the role of language of instruction and vocabulary. English monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual kindergartners and first graders receiving either English or Spanish literacy instruction were assessed in English PA and in English and Spanish vocabulary, as appropriate. Spanishinstructed bilinguals were more likely than English-instructed bilinguals or English monolinguals to treat diphthongs as two units, reflecting their analysis in Spanish phonology and orthography. Surprisingly, unbalanced bilinguals dominant in either English or Spanish scored better on English PA than children with approximately equal scores on the English and the Spanish vocabulary test. This finding suggests that familiarity with many lexical items within a language constitutes a source of analyzable phonological knowledge.Learning to read in alphabetic languages presents a number of challenges to all children, such as mastering the alphabetic principle and learning to manipulate the sounds of oral language, an ability referred to as phonological awareness (PA). A bilingual child's oral exposure to two languages and experience with formal reading instruction in one or both of those two languages affect the resources
High-quality early childhood education has been shown to improve school outcomes in several developing and developed nations. The history of policy around pre-school education in Costa Rica is described as background to presenting cross-sectional data on the emergent literacy skills of low-income Costa Rican children in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade from six schools (n5335). These data suggest that Costa Rican children show rather limited emergent literacy knowledge at the end of kindergarten. In addition, instruction in nine kindergarten classrooms is described and evaluated in order to provide vignettes of educational practice. The need for developmentally appropriate practice around emergent literacy skills and articulation with 1st grade is discussed and appropriate professional development is called for.
This article analyzes the perceptions of sexual affective diversity among teachers in Spanish high schools. Specifically, we address LGBTphobia, and teacher intervention and training through a survey study of 119 teachers. We administered a questionnaire to investigate these issues based on Pichardo andPenna (2012). The data were analyzed on the basis of descriptive statistics. We attempted to answer three research questions: How do teachers analyze LGBTphobia in high schools? What is their experience and teaching intervention with regard to affective and sexual diversity? What perception exists in high schools about the need for training and education on affective and sexual diversity? The study concludes that high schools and their communities remain hostile places for LGBT students.Therefore, incorporating training into teaching practice and rethinking pedagogy from a queer perspective is fundamental to building an inclusive educational culture.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.