Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English‐language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms

Abstract

S Gaps in reading performance between Anglo and Latino children are associated with gaps in vocabulary knowledge. An intervention was designed to enhance fifth graders' academic vocabulary. The meanings of academically useful words were taught together with strategies for using information from context, from morphology, from knowledge about multiple meanings, and from cognates to infer word meaning. Among the principles underlying the intervention were that new words should be encountered in meaningful text, that native Spanish speakers should have access to the text's meaning through Spanish, that words should be encountered in varying contexts, and that word knowledge involves spelling, pronunciation, morphology, and syntax as well as depth of meaning. Fifth graders in the intervention group showed greater growth than the comparison group on knowledge of the words taught, on depth of vocabulary knowledge, on understanding multiple meanings, and on reading comprehension. The intervention effects were as large for the English‐language learners (ELLs) as for the English‐only speakers (EOs), though the ELLs scored lower on all pre‐ and posttest measures. The results show the feasibility of improving comprehension outcomes for students in mixed ELL‐EO classes, by teaching word analysis and vocabulary learning strategies.

Knowledge of words, knowledge about words: Dimensions of vocabulary in first and second language learners in sixth grade

“…The empirical basis for the distinction between depth and breadth comes primarily from experimental studies in which instructional approaches targeting ''deep'' word knowledge have been found to be effective in promoting reading comprehension (e.g., Beck, Perfetti, & McKeown, 1982;Carlo et al, 2004;Lesaux, Kieffer, Faller, & Kelley, 2010;Silverman, 2007). Multiple reviews and meta-analyses (e.g., National Institute of Child Heath and Human Development (NICHD), 2000; Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986) concur that instruction that provides rich information about words' meanings and uses in multiple, varied contexts is preferable to instruction that aims to increase the number of words for which students know a single definition, if the ultimate goal is enhancing reading comprehension.…”

Promising Instructional Practices for English Language Learners

“…In the last fifty years researchers examined how dual language, or bilingual practices, support students learning English versus how immersion programs work (Carlo et al, 2004;Cheung & Slavin, 2005;Han, 2012;Rolstad, Mahoney, & Glass, 2005). Other researchers investigated the length of time it takes for ELL students to become fully proficient in the mainstream classroom, suggesting that full academic language proficiency may take up to seven years for students (Barr, Eslami, & Joshi, 2011;Coleman & Goldenberg, 2010;Hakuta, Butler, & Witt, 2000).…”

Improving comprehension online: effects of deep vocabulary instruction with bilingual and monolingual fifth graders

“…In a recent study of vocabulary depth, adolescents in fifth grade were explicitly taught individual words and word learning strategies, including the use of context, polysemy, and Spanish-English cognates (all semantically based strategies) to learn word meanings (Carlo et al, 2004). Students in the intervention group outperformed their control group counterparts in pre-post vocabulary and comprehension growth.…”

“…Nagy and Herman (1985) showed that incidental exposure to words through reading was a major source of vocabulary acquisition. Interventions that strive to incorporate specific target words throughout a variety of textual Bilingual and monolingual vocabulary 521 experiences can manipulate the degree to which words are encountered through independent reading (Carlo et al, 2004). Incorporating these varied yet important perspectives into a single intervention requires deliberate planning to include a broader array of learners than is traditionally considered in most instructional designs.…”

“…To date, there have been few vocabulary interventions that target both Spanish-English and English-speaking populations, and which privilege both English and Spanish in the service of vocabulary acquisition (see, however, Carlo et al, 2004 for a rare exception). Thus, the purpose of the current research was to address this gap by developing and studying a vocabulary and comprehension intervention that targeted Spanish-English-and English-speaking adolescent students, using research-based vocabulary instructional methods, while also privileging Spanish as a means of promoting vocabulary knowledge and comprehension.…”