Abdallah, an Arabic‐speaking, Palestinian 9‐year‐old student, was observed as he worked to understand his new English language and culture. Some issues and questions addressed in the article include effective methodologies for the assessment of literacy development in the Arabic and English languages, effective instructional strategies to scaffold Arabic‐speaking children's English language learning, and linguistic factors that might affect the Arabic‐speaking students' transition to English. The article sets forth theoretical underpinnings for the chosen assessment and instructional strategies and a summary of supporting research in the area of Arabic‐speaking English‐language learners. If teachers are to be prepared to design and implement instruction for Arabic‐speaking English‐language learners, they must have an understanding of the linguistic and cultural characteristics of this population, the differences between the Arabic and English languages, and effective strategies for assessing and scaffolding language and literacy development.
The authors discuss the challenges encountered by English‐language learners (ELLs) as they attempt to interpret the figurative language of their new cultures. Providing ELL students with explicit instruction in interpreting figurative language—a bridge to reading comprehension—is a significant goal for teachers who design instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse populations. The article includes an account of classroom observations of Alejandro, a Spanish‐speaking ELL tenth grader, as his reading teacher scaffolds his understanding of figurative expressions using explicit instructional techniques. A detailed account of this student's background is given as well as a description of the instructional strategies that were implemented. This teacher's work with Alejandro provides insight on the efficacy of direct strategy instruction in figurative‐language interpretation for ELLs. In addition, the theoretical basis for figurative‐language instruction is delineated.
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