Content-Based Vocabulary Instruction:Using Cognates to Promote the Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension

of Native Spanish Speakers

Liz HowardGail Buller

Eileen GonzalezJennifer Green

University of Connecticut

Igone ArteagoiteaCenter for Applied Linguistics

PART 1: OVERVIEW

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Project Team

University of Connecticut Liz Howard Betsy McCoach - methodologist Eileen Gonzalez Jen Green Sharon Ware Angela Lopez Gail Buller

Center for Applied Linguistics Igone Arteagoitia Cheryl Dressler Patricia Martinez

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VIAS Overview

The Vocabulary Improvement and Assessment of Spanish-speaking Students (VIAS) project is a 5-year program of research: Funded through grants from the National Institute of Child

Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Grants support research on the literacy and language development of Spanish-speaking English-language learners.

Investigators are from the Center for Applied Linguistics, Harvard University, Boston College, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Houston.

VIAS Subprojects and Cores

VIAS program of research comprises four research subprojects, an administrative core, and a research core: Subproject 1: Predicting Spanish-Speaking Children’s Growth in

Reading-- Pre-K through 8th Grade (Nonie Lesaux, Harvard) Subproject 2: Early Childhood Intervention Study--Improving the

Language and Literacy Skills of Spanish-English Bilingual Kindergarteners (Mariela Paez, Boston College)

Subproject 3: Developing English Vocabulary in Spanish-Speaking English-Language Learners (Diane August, CAL)

Subproject 4, Linked IES Research Project: Content-Based Vocabulary Instruction -- Using Cognates to Promote the Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension of Native Spanish Speakers (Igone Arteagoitia, CAL and Liz Howard, UConn)

Core A: Administration Core B: Research and Assessment

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The Key Issue

The reading performance of English language learners (ELLs) and Hispanics is extremely low. Results from the 2005 NAEP* show that:

71% of 8th grade ELLs scored below the basic level in reading

45% of 8th grade Hispanics scored below the basic level in reading

* Data come from Fry, R. (2007). How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners? Pew Hispanic Center.

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Why Focus on Vocabulary/Cognates?

Research on the acquisition of reading skills has shown that there is a strong relationship between knowledge of vocabulary and ability to comprehend a text.

Explicit vocabulary instruction has been associated with improved comprehension.

One of the instructional strategies that has been found to be especially valuable for Spanish-speaking students is their knowledge of cognate words, which account for from a third to as much as half of the active vocabulary of an average educated English speaker.

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Research Questions

1. Relative to each other and to no treatment, what are the effects of a cross-linguistic vocabulary intervention and a monolingual English vocabulary intervention on the development of English vocabulary and reading comprehension skills in native Spanish speakers in the middle school grades?

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Research Questions

2. Do the effects of the interventions vary as a function of the length of time that the students have been in the United States, the amount of instruction that they have received in their native language, their home language and literacy exposure, and/or their current levels of English and Spanish oral proficiency and literacy ability as measured by pretests?

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Research Questions

3. To what extent are students able to transfer knowledge from their native language (Spanish) to their second language (English)? Does transfer occur equally in all domains? Is transfer facilitated by instruction that makes explicit cross-linguistic connections?

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Study Timeline

Phase 1: Development (2008-2009)Purpose:

To begin to develop high quality curricular materials, teacher support materials, and teacher training procedures.

To develop high quality English and Spanish vocabulary assessments.

Sites: Worked with four veteran teachers (ESL teachers and

literacy specialists) in a mid-size district with a high density of ELLs to develop the curriculum.

Worked with an urban district with a large percentage of native Spanish speakers to pilot the two vocabulary assessments.

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Study Timeline

Phase 2: Piloting (2009-2010)Purpose:

To implement the intervention on a small scale in order to get a preliminary sense of its effectiveness and to identify and resolve any remaining issues with the curricular materials, teacher support materials, teacher training procedures, researcher-developed assessments, or assessment procedures.

Site: Worked with the same urban district where the two vocabulary measures were piloted in Spring 2009.

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Study Timeline

Phase 3: Taking the intervention to scale (2010-2011)Purpose:

To fully implement the intervention on a large enough scale so as to be able to respond to all 3 research questions.

Site: Seeking several middle schools with a high density of Latino students who would benefit from a vocabulary intervention.

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Sample

Focus on English Language Learners (ELLs) in 6th-8th grade at the intermediate or advanced ESL levels, as well as those who have been transitioned to mainstream classes. Native Spanish speakers are the primary focus of the study, although other ELLs may receive the intervention as well.

Including native English speakers as well, particularly those who are struggling to develop academic language and literacy.

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Core Elements of the Interventions

Graves (2006) four-part model:

1. Providing rich and varied language experiences

2. Teaching individual words

3. Teaching word-learning strategies

4. Fostering Word Consciousness

Existing Research-Based Practices

Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) – approach to effective instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse learners developed by Deborah Short, Jana Echevarria and Mary Ellen Vogt (http://www.cal.org/siop/) Building background Including language objectives as well as content objectives Incorporating multimedia and enhancing use of visual images and

realia Increasing the use of cooperative structures Teaching strategies for word learning For the cross-linguistic group, making explicit connections to the

native language

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Existing Research-Based Practices

Word Generation – vocabulary curriculum developed for 6th-8th graders by Catherine Snow and colleagues at Harvard University through the SERP Initiative www.wordgeneration.org

• 5 words per week • words introduced through passages inspired by current

events• coordinated effort by teams of teachers across content

areas -10 min/week per teacher

Existing Research-Based Practices

Our core modifications to Word Generation include: providing an explicit framework of sheltered instruction; increasing the length of time per unit and the number of words

per unit; incorporating more word study activities that focus on structural

analysis of roots and affixes, and in the cross-linguistic curriculum, activities that focus on the relationships of these across English and Spanish;

modifying the content to a more Latino-centric curriculum requiring delivery from a single teacher (typically Language

Arts) creating two versions – a monolingual English version and a

cross-linguistic version;

The Two Approaches

Monolingual English High quality, research-based approach building on existing practices

that have been shown to be effective Focusing on general academic vocabulary in English – the fact that all

words are cognates is not made explicit to students; however, if students discover cognate connections on their own, they are told that they are correct.

Cross-linguistic High quality, research-based approach building on existing practices

that have been shown to be effective Focusing on general academic vocabulary in English – the fact that all

words are cognates is made very explicit, and connections are continuously made across English and Spanish with regard to target words and their constituent parts (i.e. roots and affixes)

PART 2: WORD SELECTION

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General Academic Vocabulary

The intervention, like Word Generation, focuses on general academic vocabulary, frequently referred to as Tier 2 words (Beck, McKeown & Kucer, 2002) Tier 1: e.g. man, happy Tier 2: e.g. persistence, divergent Tier 3: e.g. mitochondria, photosynthesis

General academic words are important because they are used across academic disciplines but are not discipline-specific, and are therefore not as commonly taught (Hiebert & Lubliner, 2008), e.g. perspective, obtain, mandated

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Cognates

Cognates are words in two or more languages that share a common root and are therefore similar in meaning, spelling, and/or pronunciation. (Lubliner & Hiebert, 2009)

Many academic words in English are derived from Latin or Greek and therefore have parallel forms in Romance languages such as Spanish and Portuguese.

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Word Selection

We began with the 5 target words for our chosen Word Generation passages and retained all of those that were cognates.

We searched the Word Generation passages for other cognates and cross-checked these words on a number of frequency lists, including the Academic Word List

(http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist/default.aspx), the Corpus of Contemporary American English

(http://www.americancorpus.org/), the Educator’s Word Frequency Guide (Zeno, 1995), the BYU corpus (http://corpus.byu.edu/) and the

Corpus del Español (http://www.corpusdelespanol.org/).

Our goal was to retain words that were likely to be known in Spanish but not in English.

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Word Selection

Year-Unit English

AWL Sublist

BYU Corpus

Frequency (SFI) Dispersion Spanish

Corpus del español

Occurrence in this Unit Reading Passage

Occurrence in other Units

Y1-U01 analyze 1 5331 50.2 0.7840 analizar 723 1  

  analyzed 5488 47.9 0.8489  

  analyzing 3342 47.4 0.7319  

  analyzes 966 38.8 0.4412  

  TOTAL   15,127           0

Word Selection: Phase 2

If a given passage did not contain at least 10 appropriate cognates, we modified it to incorporate the needed number of target words.

Emphasis on target roots and affixes as well: Is the root or affix frequently used in English and Spanish? Are

the English and Spanish forms of the exemplar words orthographically and phonologically similar?

Is the root or affix clearly identifiable within the English and Spanish exemplar words? (e.g. PORT in import/importar; IM in impossible/imposible)

Is the meaning of the root or affix clear in the meaning of English and Spanish exemplar words?

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Developing the Glossary

The glossary consists of all of the target words in all of the units. Each entry contains the following information: Part of speech Definition in student-friendly language Target word used in a sentence Picture to accompany each sentence to create a mental image The unit in which the word is introduced

The cross-linguistic version of the glossary contains all of this information in both English and Spanish.

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Monolingual Glossary Example

adapt (verb) When a person or animal adapts, they change because they are in a new situation. After his parents’ divorce, Jason had to adapt to living at his mom’s house during the week and staying at his dad’s house on the weekends.

[Unit 6]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Cross-linguistic Glossary Example

adapt (verb) When a person or animal adapts, they change because they are in a new situation. After his parents’ divorce, Jason had to adapt to living at his mom’s house during the week and staying at his dad’s house on the weekends.

[Unit 6]

adaptar (verbo) Cuando una persona se adapta, es que cambia porque está en una nueva situación. Después del divorcio de sus padres, Jason se tuvo que adaptar a vivir en la casa de su madre durante la semana y en la casa de su padre los fines de semana. [Unidad 6]

________________________________________________________________________________________________

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PART 3: CURRICULUM

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Summary of Interventions

10 target words, 2 roots and 2 affixes per unit – all words are cognates that can be classified as Tier 2 words – that is, words that are low frequency but high utility across domains.

40 days of continuous language arts instruction (50 min. periods): 1, 5-day unit to build background and 5, 7-day units to teach core vocabulary and morphological awareness

Day 1: word study, part 1: affixes Day 2: word study, part 2: roots Day 3: introducing the topic and the vocabulary Day 4: deepening word knowledge Day 5: using words in reading Day 6: using words in oral language and writing Day 7: review and quiz

Integration of listening, speaking, reading, and writing Curriculum aligned with CT ELL and ELA frameworks, as well

as TESOL and NCTE standards

Unit Topics

Based on piloting results, we decided to create a more Latino-centric curriculum featuring our own Eileen Gonzalez, Jason Irizarry, Windham Middle School principal Madeline Negrón and VIAS colleague Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez.

Overcoming adversity (Mancilla-Martinez) Learning a second language (Gonzalez) Paying students to do well in school Bullying Making schools work for all students (Irizarry and Negrón)

Detours Day 1: Affixes

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PREFIXES

Prefixes are letters added to the beginning of a word that change its meaning.

Example: re- is a prefix that means “to do something again.” It also means “back” or “against.”

Whole word prefix + base

recharge re- recharge

Detours Day 2: Roots

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ROOTS•A root is a part of a word that you can attach a prefix or suffix to, but which can’t stand alone. English has many words made of roots that come from Greek and Latin.

tain is a Latin root that means “hold / keep” as in the word “container.”

Draw a picture of a container here:

Whole word Root Whole word means

tain

Word Journeys Day 3: Introducing Target Vocabulary

Illustrate Attributes Maintain Aspire Profoundly Factor Emphasize Motivate Intractable Adversity

Word Journeys Day 4: Gaining practice

If necessary, complete presentations of target words from Day 3.

Continue to gain practice with target words by playing a game such as memory or give me a clue.

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Word Journeys Day 5: Using the words in context

We start by engaging students in a conversation about their experiences with the topic, such as overcoming adversity for Unit 2. Have you ever faced a difficult challenge? What was it, and what did you do

to work through it?

We then show a brief video clip to further develop student engagement with and knowledge about the topic before introducing the target words. I want you to turn to the person next to you and share your ideas about what

you learned from the video about overcoming challenges. Why do you think that Dr. Mancilla-Martinez was able to become so successful despite her challenges?

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Word Journeys Day 5: Using the words in context

We then present the words in context through a cloze reading activity with a passage that relates to the discussion and video.Dr. Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez earned her doctorate from Harvard University. Now she is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is clearly very successful, but her road to success was not always an easy one.

 

Dr. Mancilla-Martinez was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are Mexican immigrants. They came to the United States to find a better life for themselves and their family. They _________ education as the way to get ahead, and they expected their children to study and succeed in school. Jeannette was always a __________ student who worked hard and did well.

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Day 6: Using Words in Oral and Written Language

We provide students an opportunity to use the words in context through an integrated oral language/writing activity.

The oral language activity may come first and provide a scaffold for the writing activity (e.g. debate followed by a writing prompt), or the writing may come first and provide a scaffold for the oral language (e.g. writing a script for a PSA about bullying).

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Word Journeys Day 7: Review

ODD WORD OUT! (Padak, Rasinski, & Newton, 2008)Directions: Look at the four words. Write the one that doesn’t belong on the line. Then write how the others are the same. The “odd word out” may be different because it doesn’t mean the same as the others, because it’s not the same part of speech, or for another reason. It’s your job to figure out why it’s the odd word out!  

Examples:1. lucky happy

dog purple

The one that doesn’t belong is dog. The others are the same because they are adjectives. Dog is a noun.

2. opinion factorperspective point of view

The one that doesn’t belong is factor. The others are the same because they have the same meaning.

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PART 4: MEASURES

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Instruments and Data Sources

Construct Language Assessment – Subtest

Vocabulary (Reading) English Gates MacGinitie – VocabularySpanish WLPB-R – Reading Vocabulary*English English Vocabulary Test

Spanish Spanish Cognate Test

Reading Comprehension

English Gates MacGinitie - ComprehensionSpanish WLPB-R – Passage Comprehension

Reading Fluency/Decoding

English TOSWRF (Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency)

Global Language Proficiency

English TORC – Syntactic Similarities

Spelling English WTW Developmental Spelling Inventory

Morphology English Suffix Test and Roots Test

Instruments and Data Sources

Data Language Instrument

Home & School Information

Englishor Spanish

VIAS Demographic Survey(Child and Family Information, Student Instructional Information, School Information)

Teacher Qualifications

English Teacher Questionnaire

Quality of Instruction

Englishor Spanish

Classroom Language and Literacy Observation Protocol

Fidelity of Implementation

English Fidelity of ImplementationObservation Protocol

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Measure Development

English Vocabulary Test Purpose: Measure growth on cognates taught and words (cognates and non-

cognates) not taught

Format: Whole-group administered multiple choice (four choices)

Three Subtests: Cognates taught, Cognates not taught, & Non-cognates not taught

Number of Items: 96 (field-tested), 74 (piloted)

This project effort was supported by Grant Number P01HD03950 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.

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Sample Items - English Vocabulary Test

1. He encountered a difficult situation.

a. feared

b. found

c. imagined

d. expected

2. The people thought he was culpable.

a. guilty

b. mistaken

c. dishonest

d. dangerous

3. Taking the test is compulsory.

a. suggested

b. optional

c. important

d. required

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Measure Development

Spanish Cognate Test Purpose: Measure prior knowledge of Spanish

equivalents of English cognate words

Format: Whole-group administered multiple choice

(four choices)

Two Subtests: Cognates taught & Cognates not taught

Number of Items: 62 (field-tested), 52 (piloted)

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Sample Items – Spanish Cognate Test

1. No te puede obligar.

a. engañar (fool you)

b. forzar (force you)

c. regañar (scold you)

d. invitar (invite you)

2. Cuatro botellas de agua es suficiente.

a. razonable (reasonable)

b. demasiado (too much)

c. necesario (necessary)

d. bastante (enough)

3. Hay que terminar ya.

a. abandonar (quit)

b. finalizar (finish)

c. decidir (decide)

d. desaparecer (disappear)

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Field-Test June 2009

Purpose: Validation/optimization of tests

Grades 5-8

Number of Participants: 327 (English monolingual & Spanish speakers)

English version was administered by classroom teachers to whole classes of students

Native Spanish speakers were pulled from class and administered the Spanish test in

small groups by a CAL researcher

This project effort was supported by Grant Number P01HD03950 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.

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Field-Test Analyses

Reliability

English Alpha Reliability= .94..

Spanish Alpha Reliability= .78.

Dimensionality (validity) – The English test was found to

be unidimensional, whereas the Spanish test was not.

Rasch Analyses

Item fit - 21 misfits, 11 of which were modified

Item difficulty – 36 items were eliminated for being too easy

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Development & Field-Test Outcomes

Item Development

Importance of Test Validation

Creating Pilot Tests

Next Steps

Analyze pilot data Develop measure of morphological awareness Continue to recruit sites for this year Refine curricular materials, teacher support materials,

and teacher training procedures

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References

Beck, I., McKeown, M. G., Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction. Guilford Press: New York.

Fry, R. (2007). How Far Behind in Math and Reading are English Language Learners? Pew Hispanic Center

Graves, M. F. (2006). The Vocabulary Book: Learning and Instruction. Teachers College Press: New York.

Hiebert, E. & Lubliner, S. (2008). The nature, learning, and instruction of general academic vocabulary. In What Research Has to Say about Vocabulary Instruction, A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels, Eds. IRA: Newark, DE.

Lubliner, S. & Hiebert, E. (2009). An Analysis of English-Spanish Cognates as a Source of General Academic Language. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

Padak, N., Newton, E., Rasinski, T., & Newton, R. (2008). Getting to the root of word study: Teaching Latin and Greek root words in the elementary and middle grades. In What Research Has to Say about Vocabulary Instruction, A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels, Eds. IRA: Newark, DE.

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Acknowledgements

This project effort was supported by Grant Number R305A070438 from the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Institute of Education Sciences or the U.S. Department of Education.