Helping ELLs Meet the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science: The Impact of an Instructional Intervention Focused on Academic Language

August, Diane; Branum‐Martin, Lee; Cárdenas-Hagan, Elsa; Francis, D.; Powell, Jennifer; Moore, Sarah; Haynes, Erin

doi:10.1080/19345747.2013.836763

Cited by 44 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…A possibly even more troubling finding was reported in a meta‐analysis of inquiry science education for ELs and non‐ELs, in which August et al’s (2009, 2014) studies were included. Estrella et al (2018) found that inquiry science instruction for ELs was modestly more effective in promoting learning of science knowledge and literacy as compared with traditional or business‐as‐usual instruction (mean effect size = 0.28).…”

Section: Beyond Foundational Skills and Beginning And Early Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading Wars, Reading Science, and English Learners

Goldenberg¹

2020

Reading Research Quarterly

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Learning and developing as a reader are more complicated in a language the reader is simultaneously learning to speak and understand. This challenge is faced by millions of English learners (ELs) who are in all‐English programs and must therefore learn to read, write, and develop as readers and writers while learning and becoming proficient in English. The author summarizes what is known about teaching ELs beginning and more advanced reading skills, all in English, as they progress through school. Drawing on classroom studies, interventions, and neurolinguistic research, the author focuses on how learning to read in a second language is similar to learning to read in a first language and what differences might exist. These differences, not surprisingly, have to do with ELs’ limited English proficiency. The author’s intent is to begin with the knowledge base of the science of reading, build onto it research on effective literacy instruction for ELs, and then begin articulating what could become a science of reading instruction for students who are learning and progressing as readers in English while learning to speak and understand it. Promoting higher levels of literacy for ELs will require teachers to use what is currently known about effective practices in literacy instruction for students in general and, in addition, help ELs achieve higher levels of English language proficiency. Both English literacy and English oral language proficiency must be priorities if these students are to have adequate and equitable opportunities for success in school and beyond.

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Section: Beyond Foundational Skills and Beginning And Early Readingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading Wars, Reading Science, and English Learners

Goldenberg¹

2020

Reading Research Quarterly

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“…The remaining studies were classed as medium (Hwang et al, 2015) and low (Lesaux et al, 2014). The intervention effects seen ranged from small (August et al, 2014;Lesaux et al, 2014) to large (Crosson & Moore, 2017). Effect sizes were not reported by Hwang et al (2015).…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of language and literacy interventions in children and adolescents with English as an additional language (EAL)

Oxley

Cat

2019

The Language Learning Journal

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Objective: A synthesis of evidence discussing the effectiveness of language and literacy interventions in children with English as an additional language. Our key research questions were: 1) What intervention studies have been published since 2014 addressing the language and literacy development of children with English as an additional language? 2) What is the impact of those interventions? We sought to update a 2015 systematic review evaluating language and literacy outcomes for EAL children (Murphy & Unthiah, 2015) with current intervention studies and to see which of those interventions could be adapted for classrooms in the UK. Methods: Four databases were searched; PsychInfo, British Education Index, Education Resources Information Center and Web of Science. Only peer reviewed journal articles published between 2014 and 2017 and written in English were included. The population tested were children of school age with English as an Additional Language who were classed as typically developing. All interventions had language or literacy as an outcome. Data was extracted using a standardised form and quality was assessed through a risk of bias analysis. From this screening process, 26 studies were eligible for inclusion in the current review. Key Findings:  Explicit vocabulary instruction and targeted oral language practise yield language gains for EAL learners, with a tendency for larger intervention gains in learners with the lowest initial pre-test scores.  Shared reading interventions show positive effects when combined with the preteaching of vocabulary, embedded definitions into the text, or post-reading reinforcement activities.  Voice recognition software appears promising, as demonstrated in three interventions with small to medium effects on reading fluency and comprehension.  There is a lack of interventions taking place in the UK.  There is a lack of interventions for adolescents, especially those in upper secondary school (ages 14-18).  More interventions targeting continued professional development for teachers are recommended. Conclusions: Children with English as an additional language can benefit from targeted interventions. Suggestions are made as to how the most beneficial interventions could be replicated in the UK. Limitations: Limitations include a variability in terms of the rigour of intervention methodologies, leading to a high risk of bias and inconsistent effect sizes for several studies in this report. A proportion of successful interventions used the child's first language to aid learning. Such interventions might not be replicable in the UK, where classrooms typically feature children from a very large number of different home languages.

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“…Despite this, the research is scant specifically regarding EL and EC students and the exploration of the relationship between academic language and overarching conceptual understanding in science. However, a few researchers (e.g., [12,13,[26][27][28][29][30]) have provided solid evidence that inquiry-based instructions increase, in particular, ELs' and ECs' conceptual understanding of science, particularly when literacy is connected to science instruction. The inquiry-based instruction referred to in our study includes engaging ELs and ECs in practices such as asking questions, planning investigations, developing models, and interpreting data, all while promoting language and literacy skills.…”

Section: Literacy-infused Inquiry-based Science For Els and Ecsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Conceptual Understanding via Literacy-Infused, Inquiry-Based Science among Middle School English Learners and Economically-Challenged Students

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The overarching purpose of our study was to compare performances of treatment and control condition students who completed a literacy-infused, inquiry-based science intervention through sixth grade as measured by a big idea assessment tool which we refer to as the Big Ideas in Science Assessment (BISA). First, we determine the concurrent validity of the BISA; second, we investigate the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control English Learners (ELs), controlling for their performance in the pre-test; third, we analyze the differences in the post-test of the BISA between treatment and control non-ELs, controlling for their performance in the pre-test; and fourth, we examine the relationship between students' English language proficiency as measured by standardized assessment, and their performance in the BISA among ELs and non-ELs, respectively. Our findings indicate: (a) literacy-infused science lessons with big ideas, implemented through the tested intervention, improved students' language acquisition and science concept understanding for ELs and economically challenged students (ECs); (b) there was a positive relationship between language and content for both ELs and non-ELs, with a similar magnitude, suggesting that students with a higher level of English proficiency score higher in science assessment; and (c) the lesson plans prepared were successful for promoting a literacy-infused science curriculum via a 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) that includes three to five of the Es used daily. A pedagogical approach for a literacy-infused science model with big ideas is proposed.

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Helping ELLs Meet the Common Core State Standards for Literacy in Science: The Impact of an Instructional Intervention Focused on Academic Language

Cited by 44 publications

References 25 publications

Reading Wars, Reading Science, and English Learners

Reading Wars, Reading Science, and English Learners

A systematic review of language and literacy interventions in children and adolescents with English as an additional language (EAL)

Assessing Conceptual Understanding via Literacy-Infused, Inquiry-Based Science among Middle School English Learners and Economically-Challenged Students

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