“What should I do tomorrow?” Evidence-based and Recommended

Practices with Dual Language Learners

Lillian Durán, PhD Utah State University Amy Santos, PhD University of Illinois

Demographic Trends Currently over 180 languages

are spoken by children enrolled in Head Start programs (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008)

It is projected that by 2050 nearly 1 in every 4 children will come from a home where a language other than English is spoken (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010)

Over 80% of all young dual language learners speak Spanish (Garcia & Jensen, 2009)

How should we respond to these changes? Our programs should no longer be designed with monolingual

English-speaking children as the main or only target population Tier 1 environments need to be developed that not only will

meet the basic needs of the specific populations that will attend the program, but that will also maximize the benefit of the program and produce optimal outcomes for that population

As diversity in the U.S. increases, defining Tier 1 environments and what constitutes a Tier 2 intervention may not be universal in all communities

Tier 1 environments should have the same underlying focus on quality but given this focus may have unique features in specific communities such as New Ulm, MN, Takoma Park, MD, Baton Rouge, LA, or in Las Cruces, NM, etc….

What are our desired outcomes for Dual Language Learners?

English language development AND continued home language development

Acquiring early literacy skills in English and in their home language if possible

Improving Kindergarten Readiness Developing social skills that are critical to school success Maintaining a strong connection to their families, culture,

and community Developing and maintaining a good self-concept and pride

in their identity

What works? There is currently not enough research in all of these areas to

guide all of our practices. We have studies that directly investigate specific practices that

enhance language and literacy development in both a child’s home language and English, but we have very few that delve into best practices for social-emotional development (Center for Early Care and Education Research—Dual Language Learners (CECER-DLL; 2011). Research brief #7. Social-emotional development in dual language learners: A critical review of the research. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Institute, Author.)

Another understudied area is how early childhood practices may affect identity development and how this might affect both academic and life outcomes (Portes, Fernández-Kelly, & Haller, 2009)

Additionally there is a critical need for more research with children with disabilities who are DLLs (Cheatham & Santos, 2010)

Review of the Literature Based on related work for the Head Start’s National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning: Empirical studies (i.e., quantitative, qualitative,

interventions, correlational, etc.) published from 1995-2011.

Preschool-aged dual language learners – with and without disabilities.

Yield = ~ 25 studies 2 expert reviewers “Deep” read to code articles

What practices will we cover today? Language and literacy

supports Effective teaching strategies

for young DLLs in predominantly English classroom environments

Family collaboration

Practices to enhance Language and Literacy development

Bilingual instruction Explicit early literacy

instruction Intentional vocabulary

instruction

First: What are our goals? Farver, Lonigan, & Eppe, 2009 “In summary, these results suggest that the answer to the

question concerning the relative benefits of language of instruction, at least for preschool children, depends on the desired outcome. If the goal is to help children develop English language preliteracy skills, the language of instruction—as long as it includes a substantial component of English language instruction—may not be important. In this study, both approaches were effective. However, if bilingualism is viewed as an asset in terms of promoting advanced metacognitive, meta-linguistic, and conceptual development, and higher levels of

cognitive attainment (August & Hakuta, 1997; Bialystok, 1997; Hakuta & Garcia, 1989) and the goal is to develop and maintain bilingualism among ELL children, then young children may need to be given direct instruction to develop their preliteracy skills in their first language as well as in English.”

Bilingualism as an asset We DO think that bilingualism is

an asset and that as a field we should strive to implement practices that support dual language and literacy development whenever possible.

Additionally, young children need to be supported in communicating in their natural environments. If we only focus on English we may limit that child’s ability to communicate at home and in his/her community (Wong-Fillmore, 1991)

Bilingual Instruction Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas, Jung, Blanco, 2007; Durán, Roseth, &

Hoffman, 2010 In both of these studies bilingual instruction (TWI and TBE)

were compared to English-only instruction In both studies there was no statistical difference in English

language development In both studies Spanish language development significantly

increased only in the group that received instruction in Spanish

Both of these studies provide evidence that bilingual instruction is a viable approach to supporting both English and home language and literacy development

Early literacy instruction Farver, Lonigan, & Eppe, 2009

Ninety-four Spanish-speaking preschoolers were randomly assigned to High Scope (control, n=32) or to English-only (n=31) or Spanish transitioning to English (n=31) Literacy Express curriculum that has an explicit focus on language and literacy development

Findings from this study are convergent with Barnett et al., 2007 and Durán et al, 2010 in that Spanish language and literacy gains were only made in the group that received Spanish language instruction.

There were no differences between the two Literacy Express groups in English language outcomes.

Both groups that received the Literacy Express curriculum outperformed the control group that only received the High Scope curriculum.

This study provides evidence that we need to include explicit early literacy instruction in our programs for DLLs. Even a high quality program may not be enough to improve outcomes specifically in these critical areas.

Additionally if one of our goals is to support native language and literacy development then we need to provide specific and high quality language and literacy instruction in that language. Just having bilingual staff in the room is not enough. We need to be intentional about instruction delivered in the target language.

Intentional Vocabulary Instruction Native Language Facilitation

Lugo-Neris, Jackson, & Goldstein, 2010 Twenty-two Spanish-speaking children were randomly

assigned to receive 2 weeks of each instruction: (a) word expansions in English or (b) English readings with word expansions in Spanish.

Findings indicated significant improvement in naming, receptive knowledge, and expressive definitions for those children who received Spanish bridging. Spanish expansions produced the greatest gains in the children’s use of expressive definitions.

This study provides evidence that it is important to consider using the child’s native language as a bridge for second language vocabulary acquisition.

Intentional Vocabulary Instruction English-only

Collins, 2010 Eighty Portuguese-speaking

preschoolers were matched by English Receptive scores and then randomly assigned to a control group that were simply read the book three times a week or to an experimental group that received targeted vocabulary instruction of selected words from the book.

Vocabulary Instruction Protocol Collins, 2010 1. Point to the illustration of the target word 2. Provide a general definition of the word 3. Provide a synonym 4. Make a gesture of the word, when applicable 5. Use the word in a context different from that

in the book—Maybe at a different time of the day or during play

Results indicated that children learned more vocabulary and in the group with intentional vocabulary instruction (33% versus 50% )

Teaching strategies for young DLLs in predominantly English-speaking environments Visual supports Understanding a child’s level of English language

proficiency and using intentional language scaffolding techniques

Peer –mediated teaching strategies

Visual Supports (Tabors, 2008)

Use materials, music, photographs, and other visuals in the classroom that reflect the contemporary cultures of the children that are not stereotypical.

Label the environment in the children’s home language as well as in English.

Use gestures, body language, props and other visual cues to support children’s English language acquisition.

Circle Time Board

Give the child a way to communicate needs

Storyboards-Brown Bear Brown Bear

Alegre

Masaya Trsite

Malungkot

Orgulloso

Hambog

Nervioso

Matakutin

Enojado

Galit Frustado

Bigo

Solitario

Nag-iisa

Avergonzado

Napahiya

English Proficiency and Level of Instruction It is critical to assess a child’s level of proficiency in English,

particularly if you are only providing instruction in English and you are working with many sequential bilinguals with limited proficiency inEnglish. In order to effectively scaffold second language acquisition you need to know where you are starting!

In early childhood we have not yet developed adequate models of the stages young children might go through in the process of acquiring a second language ages 3-5. For the purposes of discussion and this example we will adopt the model from the book “Classroom Instruction the Works with English language Learners” that is designed for Kindergarten through 6th grade.

Stages of Second Language Acquisition: Preproduction Early production Speech emergence Intermediate fluency Advanced fluency (Hill & Flynn, 2006)

Stellaluna Example

The Goal? The goal in the following example is to provide

differentiated instruction in English to children at various stages in their acquisition of English. Drawing on Vygotsky’s ideas regarding scaffolding and teaching within a child’s zone of proximal development this chart is meant to help practitioners think about not being to “high” or too “low” in their choice of vocabulary or in their questioning. Keep in mind that children can be in different stages in their home language and practitioners should also assess instructional levels in the child’s home language to also provide targeted instruction in that language as well if possible.

1. Preproduction Target vocabulary: Bat, night, mother, baby,

bird, bugs, fruit, fly Appropriate questions: Point to the bat? Where is her mother? Show me the bug.

2. Early production Target Vocabulary: Owl, branch, forest,

wings, Stellaluna, cold, fear Appropriate questions: What is this? (point to items in the book) Where does Stellaluna try to land? Where does Stellaluna live? Tell me the names of the baby birds Stellaluna

meets?

3. Speech emergence Target vocabulary: Spied, shrieking, tiny,

silent, useless, daybreak Appropriate questions: What happened to Stellaluna? Why was she scared? Who did Stellaluna meet? What did they eat? Did she like it? What do

bats like to eat?

4. Intermediate/advanced Target vocabulary: Clutched, sultry, dodging,

limp, embarrassing Appropriate questions: Why did the mama bird get upset with

Stellaluna? What happened when Stallaluna tried to land

on a branch? How did the mother bat know that Stellaluna

was her baby?

An example of a supplemental “home-made” vocabulary book for Stellaluna

Supporting Vocabulary Acquisition Possible staff activity

Use the stages of second language acquisition hand-out Choose a children’s book and read the story Then choose five vocabulary words for each stage of

second language acquisition. Write two questions you would ask about the book for

each level as well. How else might you incorporate that vocabulary

throughout the child’s day? Emphasize intentionality behind teaching vocabulary and

using specific strategies based on the child’s language proficiency!

Peer Mediators (Tabors, 2008)

Create and support opportunities that encourage children with emerging English skills to interact with their peers who are fluent in English.

Systematically train children who are fluent in English to effectively communicate with their peers with emerging English skills.

Create and support opportunities that encourage children to communicate in their home language with their peers who share the same language.

Families are critical to children’s language development

Key ideas: Continued use of family’s native

language with their child. Family’s active engagement in

their child’s early education. A strong foundation in child’s

home language can lead to better language and literacy outcomes in English (August & Shanahan, 2006; Rolstad, Mahoney, & Glass, 2005; Slavin & Cheung, 2005)

Support Collaborations with Families Encourage families to continue using their home language(s) Share resources and information on ways they can support their

children’s language development at home.

Send home or make books and other materials with the families that relate to lessons, concepts and vocabulary being introduced in the classroom so that families can support their child’s learning of these skills in their home language. Provide some guidance and instruction to the families on how to use

the materials with their child.

Invite families to share their home language and culture (e.g., family photos, collections, songs, dance, stories, and rhymes) when volunteering in the classroom.

Migrant Head Start Family Literacy Night-Book Making (Boyce, Innocenti, Roggman, Jump Norman, Ortiz, 2010)

Conclusion Evidence-based and recommended practices recognize

needs specific to dual language learners There is also increasing emphasis on dual language

support, rather than only providing instruction/support in English

Active family engagement in their child’s education is also a critical component of supporting home language development and strong home-school collaboration

There are many strategies here that you could implement “tomorrow” and others that you may need more resources or planning time in order to implement.

Stay in tune with emerging research! Keep current in new findings by attending presentations and

reading and stay open to change! This is an exciting new field and many minds are currently

working on developing new practices and interventions to improve the outcomes of this growing and important part of our population.