Title: Improving Literacy Outcomes for Latino Students: Ideology, Research, and Practice Claude Goldenberg,
1Improving Literacy Outcomes for Latino Students
Ideology, Research, and PracticeClaude
Goldenberg, CSU Long BeachIRA Reading Research
ConferenceApril 30, 2005
2Ideology
- a body of ideas characteristic of a particular
social group or class - ideas that help to legitimate a dominant
political power - systematically distorted communication
- forms of thought motivated by social interests
- socially necessary illusion
- how conscious social actors make sense of their
world - action-oriented sets of beliefs
- semiotic closure
- Source Eagleton, T. (1991). Ideology An
introduction. London Verso.
3Ideology
What persuades men and women to mistake each
other from time to time for gods or vermin is
ideology. Eagleton (1991)
4Outline of the rest of my comments
- The Latino population in the US
- What guidance does the research offer?
- The ideological (and political) challenges
5The need is great
- Number of ELLs (limited English proficient) in
US schools has increased considerably - Nearly 5 million ELLs (gt70--3.5
million--Latino) in public schools, nearly 10 of
public K-12 enrollment. - ELLs--and Spanish-speaking in particular--tend
to lag behind English-proficient peers in
academic achievement. - There are serious consequences for youth and
adults whose literacy levels are low and who
remain limited-English proficient.
6The US Latino population
- Very diverse, but overall tends to be
- younger (36lt18yrs old vs. 24 non Hisp whites)
- poorer (2335K/yr vs. 49)
- less educated (57 high school vs. 88)
- than native-born or other foreign-born US
residents.
7The US Latino population
- More likely to be immigrant or child of
immigrants than the rest of the US population
(gt39 Latinos foreign born). - 1/4 of Latino students speak mostly Spanish at
home 17 speak English and Spanish equally. - Within the Latino population, persons of
Mexican and Central American origin tend to have
lowest levels of income and education Cubans the
highest.
8Latinos comprise 14 of the total US population
(40/291 million) and growing
9What guidance does the research offer?
10Some general observations on ELL research
- There is useful research, but surprisingly
little on many important topics (e.g.,
accelerating English acquisition) - What exists is often of uneven quality,
non-programmatic, and difficult to use as basis
for policy and practice - Much of the research that exists suggests that
ELLs learn in much the same way as EOs - Differences that exist have to do with language
limitations rather than socio-cultural
differences in how students learn - Ideological and political issues are difficult
to disentangle from empirical research
11Research topics
- Transfer
- Language of instruction
- Other instructional studies
- More complex approaches
- Sociocultural factors
12Transfer of literacy skills from first to second
language
- What is transfer? (positive and negative)
- Does knowing academic skills in one language
help learn academic skills in another?
13Transfer of literacy skills
- Positive transfer L1 (Spanish) to L2 (English)
- Few negative transfer outcomes
- Vocabulary transfer from cognate languages
- Transfer of comprehension strategies
- Little/nothing about phonics transfer
14Transfer of literacy skills
- Writing
- Positive transfer
- Invented spelling
- Orthography is important
- Spelling
- Negative transfer to surface structure, but
- invented spelling might be positive.
15Language of instruction
- L1 (e.g., Spanish) instruction is beneficial
for L2 (e.g., English) achievement (3
meta-analyses). - Effect size approximately .3-.4 (small to
moderate cf phonics instruction) - Better designed studies get stronger results
- Inconclusive data on length of time for L1
instruction - 2way instruction very promising
- No data on use of L1 in English immersion
16Other instructional studies
- Generally, what works for L1 literacy works for
L2 literacy - Results largely consistent with findings for L1
reading Instruction in phonemic awareness,
phonics, oral reading fluency, vocabulary,
reading comprehension (NRP areas), and writing
promotes literacy learning - HOWEVER...
17- Adjustments are necessary when teaching L2
literacy, e.g. - tasks must be very clear
- mispronunciations should not be counted as
errors - particular sounds might cause confusion (/ch/,
/sh/) - cultural or background knowledge can influence
comprehension - Too few studies to make determinations in any
one area, e.g., different approaches to
comprehension or phonemic awareness
18Experimental studies of complex approaches to
literacy teaching
- Intensive early intervention with at risk
students--very promising - Enhanced literature discussions and enriched
language arts instruction--promising - Encouraging reading in L2--maybe positive
effect - Encouraging reading in L1--little to no effect
- Reading aloud--hard to say
- Reading recovery/tutoring--effects on L1 but
unknown effects on L2
19Social and Cultural Influences
- Familiarity with the content has a positive
effect on comprehension. - Parents can have a positive effect on literacy
outcomes. However, schools typically do not take
advantage of this. - Little other evidence for the impact of
cultural factors (aside from language per se) or
social group factors (aside from SES-related) on
literacy outcomes. - Culturally compatible instruction might
positively affect motivation, engagement, and
participation achievement effects are unknown.
20Practice What can we conclude from the research?
- L1 instruction should be used.
- As needed, students should be taught to
transfer what they know in L1 to L2 learning
tasks (dont assume they know). - Teaching/learning L1 literacy and L2 literacy
can be approached in similar ways, but
adjustments are needed. - Basics are important, but enhanced instruction
is necessary and probably beneficial. - Given the opportunity, parents can make a
meaningful contribution to childrens school
achievement.
21- The ideological challenges
22Three important ones
- Language at school and at home
- Economic and educational status
- Preschool (Head Start) funding
23Language THE issue
- Language policy--our forgotten bilingual legacy
- Language use in school
- Language use at home
24What language should parents use at home?
- Conventional wisdom Parents use of the
language they know best will support both L1 and
L2 achievement. - Little adequate research, but what exists does
not tend to support this.
25Analysis of recent data
- Spanish at home ? Spanish achievement
- English at home ? English achievement
- BUT.
26Analysis of recent data (contd)
- Spanish at home ? - English achievement
-
- English at home ? - Spanish achievement
- CAUTIONS
- These are correlational data
- Several possible explanations
- Data only for K-2
27- Can we deal with the ideological quandary?