This study described how three English language learners from Korean cultural backgrounds in first grade (7 years old) learned and interacted by applying Collaborative Strategic Reading to their reading comprehension instruction. This article also reported the perceptions of three Korean English language learners in cultural aspects of group work. The theoretical framework of Collaborative Strategic Reading relied on reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning. As an instrumental intervention and strategy, this method has been formed to help English language learners and students with reading disabilities improve their ability to comprehend texts. Before examining the impact of Collaborative Strategic Reading, this research focused on the nature of collaborative importance in multicultural consideration by providing students with opportunities to develop more collaborative abilities. / text

This study looks at two methods of identification for a specific learning disability in reading – Response to Intervention and Discrepancy Testing – and examines their efficacy with English Language Learners (ELL). A McNemar chi square analysis will be used to compare the outcomes of the two methods. Additionally, a multiway contingency table will be constructed and the association between English as a First Language (EFL)students and ELL students will be determined by using a conditional odds ratio. It is expected that both methods of learning disability testing will have difficulty distinguishing between a learning disability in reading and a language acquisition problem. The results will help prevent the misplacement of ELLs into Special Education. / text

Federal mandates require that all students participate in large-scale assessments. A population of students with learning disabilities and who are second language learners are emerging within the schools. The purpose of this descriptive study was to gain additional knowledge about accommodation use by determining what accommodations were provided and whether the accommodations used were related to student achievement. Information was collected on accommodation use by 6th and 7th grade students who participated in a large-scale assessment. A post hoc data analysis was conducted to investigate accommodation use during the AIMS-DPA reading assessment. The collected data indicated a high percentage of accommodations were provided to English language learners, who have learning disabilities in 6th grade than 7th grade. A higher number of non-linguistic accommodations were provided than language-related accommodations. Language-related accommodations were provided more frequently to 6th grade students. Analyses indicated that reading performance and accommodations were not significantly related.

The purpose of this study was to describe the ways in which one elementary teacher included English language learners (ELLs) in her mainstream classroom. A case study design was chosen to obtain an in-depth understanding of this teacher’s beliefs and practices about ELLs and their inclusion. Descriptive data were collected from teacher interviews, classroom observations, and various artefacts. Data from these three sources were found to be highly consistent, indicating a close relationship between the teacher’s beliefs and practices. Two main themes emerged relating to the teacher’s ways of supporting and including young ELLs. The first theme was concerned with the teacher’s beliefs in and employment of broad-based instructional strategies such as differentiating instruction and assessment; emphasizing engagement through the use of a variety of meaningful activities and materials; focusing on oral language; stressing problem solving and cooperative learning; and encouraging students to take the lead. While the literature endorsed these general practices, it also stressed the need for teachers to address ELLs’ distinct language and cultural needs. Appreciating and incorporating diversity to facilitate ELLs’ inclusion was the second theme. Here, the data primarily came from interviews with the teacher who reported the value of exposing children to diversity and examining one’s and others’ biases, as well as utilizing practices that integrate the cultural knowledge of various groups and involve parents of diverse linguistic/cultural backgrounds. An analysis of these data found that many of the teacher’s approaches to incorporating diversity were integral to her program and addressed diversity from a critical standpoint. It was in this way that the findings connected to Dei et al.’s (2000) work–a key component of the study’s theoretical framework. Upon examining the data through the lenses of various theoretical constructs, one main concern regarding this teacher’s views and practices was raised throughout. Although the teacher appeared to recognize the value of students maintaining their home languages, there was little evidence of her promoting first language usage in the classroom. Ramifications of this omission were discussed, pointing to the need for further research to uncover some of the concerns educators may have about supporting ELLs’ first languages in the classroom. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-16 12:45:04.765

Research on English Language Learners’ (ELL) test performance in relation to their language use at home and attitudes towards mathematics have rarely been investigated. This study examines the effects of different test formats and constructs, learner characteristics, and attitudes towards mathematics on ELLs’ performance in the Education Quality Accountability Office (EQAO) Grade 9 mathematics test. The participants include a total of 2867 ELLs in Grade 9 who participated in the EQAO Grade 9 mathematics test (1887 from the academic course and 980 from the applied course). The overall results of the study supported the following conclusions. First, ELLs tend to score better in Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) over Open Response Questions (ORQ), and language use at home has interaction effects on their performances on various test formats and constructs. Secondly, significant interactions occurred between language use at home and ELLs’ performance of test formats and constructs. In addition, ELLs who speak another language (only another language) scored higher in performance in both test formats and constructs than ELLs who spoke only English at home. From the ELLs’ questionnaire responses at both the academic and applied levels, two learner characteristics were derived from the section of the questionnaire measuring attitudes towards mathematics: perceived mathematics competency and mathematics interest. The questionnaire also revealed that ELLs in the academic level viewed mathematics in separate constructs (i.e., numerical and spatial mathematics), whereas ELLs in the applied level viewed mathematics as a whole. By extracting from learner characteristics, perceived mathematics competency was found to be the significant predictor for mathematics test performance of ELLs in the academic and applied levels. Moreover, perceived numerical and spatial mathematics ease are significant predictors for mathematics test performance in the academic level. On the other hand, perceived mathematics ease was found to be a significant predictor for the applied level. Results are discussed in relation to second language development, mathematics teaching and learning, and cultural differences. Limitations of the present study were presented where implications for research, test development, and practice are suggested for future research. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2012-06-29 23:49:17.068

This phenomenological study explores the beliefs and practices of New Zealand early childhood teachers in supporting English acquisition for Asian immigrant English language learners (ELLs). The focus of the study is on the analysis of early childhood teachers’ beliefs about how they can support English acquisition among Asian immigrant ELLs and how these beliefs influence the teachers’ practices in early childhood education (ECE) settings. The theoretical framework of this research draws on a range of sociocultural perspectives, including (i) the sociocultural positions initially defined by Lev Vygostky (1978), (ii) the notion of guided participation articulated by Barbara Rogoff (2003), (iii) theories of second language acquisition discussed by Lantolf and Thorne (2000), and by Krashen (1982, 1985), and (iv) acculturation as addressed by Berry (2001). The main participants of this study were seven early childhood teachers and six Asian immigrant ELLs from two ECE centres. Four Asian parents participated in interviews to ascertain the parents’ perspectives about their children’s learning of English and their maintenance of home language. Research methods for the teachers included observations and semi-structured pre- and post-observation interviews. For each centre, observations were carried out over a six week period which enabled a series of snapshots of how the teachers supported the ELLs as they acquired English. The findings were analysed using thematic analysis, and presented three themes: English dominance, social cultural adaptation, and guided participation. These themes impacted the learning experiences of the Asian immigrant ELLs and other children attending the ECE as well as the teaching approaches of the early childhood teachers. The findings revealed that there were dissonances between the teachers’ beliefs and their practices, as well as variation between individual teachers’ beliefs and practices. Because of a significant increase in the number of ELLs in New Zealand ECE centres, it is important for early childhood teachers to understand the emphasis upon sociocultural theories in the ECE curriculum, so that they can effectively apply these theories to their practices. This study will provide a basis from which to consider how early childhood teachers in New Zealand can draw upon sociocultural perspectives to better support ELLs as they acquire English, while valuing and supporting their linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Although studies have addressed high school English language arts (ELA) instruction, little is known about the decision-making process of ELA teachers. How do teachers decide between the resources and instructional strategies at their disposal? This study focused on two monolingual teachers who were in different schools and grades. They were teaching mainstream students or English Language Learners. Both employed an approach to writing instruction that emphasized cultural mediation. Two questions guided this study: How does the enactment of culturally mediated writing instruction (CMWI) in a mainstream classroom compare to the enactment in an ESL classroom? What is the nature of teacher decision-making in these high school classrooms during English language arts instruction? Data were collected and analyzed using qualitative methodologies. The findings suggest that one teacher, who was familiar with CMWI’s principles and practices and saw students as partners, focused her decisions on engagement and participation. The other teacher deliberately embedded CMWI as an instructional stance. Her decisions focused on empathy, caring and meaningful connections. These teachers enacted CMWI in different ways to meet their students’ needs. They embraced the students’ cultural resources, used and built on their linguistic knowledge, expanded thinking strategies to make difficult information comprehensible, provided authentic learning opportunities, used formative assessments as instructional guides, and delivered just-in-time academic and non-academic support.

The legislation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has brought to educators’ attention the need, requirement, and demand that all children are guaranteed an equitable education. In support of this mandate, Assistant Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Education Kathleen Leos (2006) states, “There are approximately 5 ½ million non-English-speaking students in the United States public schools, speaking 440 different languages and 80% of those English language learners speak Spanish” (p. 2). Continuing, Leos reports that English language learners are the fastest growing K–12 population in the United States with 16 states reporting a 200% increase in English language learner enrollment from 1991–2001, (NCELA, 2006b). The Mississippi English language learner population has steadily grown between 50–100% during this same time period (NCELA, 2006b). Since 1994, the steady growth of numbers of English language learners is an indicator of why NCLB mandates specific requirements for English language learners in school districts across the nation(NCLB, 2002). NCLB includes basic principles that require stronger accountability in all realms of education, increase flexibility and local control, expand options for parents, and emphasize utilizing teaching methods that have proven to work in other school programs. Other stipulations of NCLB include providing assistance to schools in need of improvement, providing better information to teachers and administrators, ensuring teacher quality is a high priority, and giving more resources to the schools to accomplish these goals (USDE, 2004). Furthermore, this law has prioritized that all school-age children must make the grade state-defined education standards by the end of the 2013–2014 school year. Stemming from this legislation, educators and school districts have become more aware of their obligations to identify and provide English language instruction for immigrant students in order for them to understand and perform successfully in an all-English-speaking academic setting. Because of the impact of immigration in Mississippi and the legislation of NCLB, this study was designed to determine the progress of English language acquisition of English language learners (ELLs) on the Stanford English Language Proficiency test (SELP), and the relationship, if any, to the progress of English language learners on the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT). The results of this study show that ELLs showed English language acquisition on the (SELP) and academic progress on the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) and that there was a significant positive relationship between the two assessments administered during the 3-year period of this study in the Rankin County School District in Mississippi.

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The number of English Language Learner (ELL) students in U.S. public schools are increasing yearly. More than 75% of ELL student's home language is Spanish. Their academic performance and graduation rates are lower than their non-ELL peers. Parent involvement contributes to student success in school, and urban leaders must examine how they involve ELL students and parents in school. The purpose of this study was to identify perceived strategies urban high school teachers use to involve ELL parents and to identify whether perceived barriers exist. School leaders can benefit from this qualitative study to address the achievement gap between ELL and non-ELL students. Five ESL teachers, six content teachers, and three Graduation Coaches participated in three focus group interviews. Seven findings arose from the interviews. A few findings include 71% (10 out of 14) of participants perceived that all educators in the building are responsible for ELL students, 93% (13 out of 14) of participants perceived there are practices and policies established to aid teachers with communicating and involving ELL parents, and 80% percent (4 out of 5) of ESL teachers interviewed believed parents are more trusting of the school when schools partner with other community agencies to host events. Teachers perceived barriers exist that inhibit them from involving and communicating with parents. Ninety-three percent (13 out of 14) of participants noted time as a barrier. Almost 43% (6 out of 14) participants noted parents being unaware of their rights as a barrier. / Doctor of Education / Hispanic English Language Learners (ELL) are the fastest-growing group of students in U.S. public schools. There is an achievement gap between ELL students and non-ELL students. The graduation rates and academic performance of ELL students are lower than non-ELL students. Parent involvement is one factor that increases students' academic performance. The research in this study explored the impact and perception of parent involvement. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify perceived strategies urban school teachers use to involve ELL parents and whether teachers perceive the strategies are effective. Content Teachers, Graduation Coaches, and ESL teachers from two high schools within one eastern Virginia school division participated in focus group interviews. The study indicated seven findings and eight implications. A recommendation for future studies is to explore and examine the practices of more diverse areas of Virginia and the impact of ELL parent involvement.