Language Development of Young Hispanics in the U.S.: A Research Synthesis

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Language Development of Young Hispanics in the
U.S. A Research Synthesis
Bryant T. Jensen Arizona State University
AERA 2007 Chicago, IL

Presentation based on García, E., Jensen, B.
(2007). Language Development and Early Education
of Young Hispanic Children in the United States.
Working Paper. National Task Force on Early
Childhood Education for Hispanics. Available
online at http//www.ecehispanic.org/work/lang_dev
.pdf
www.ecehispanic.org
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Questions guiding research synthesis

• What range of linguistic proficiency do young
  Hispanic children in the US demonstrate?
• How do linguistic properties between Spanish and
  English relate and develop for young Hispanic
  children?
• What relationship does social context have with
  the language and literacy development of young
  Hispanic children in the U.S.?
• What schooling program options are available to
  young Hispanic children learning English and what
  does the evidence show in terms of programmatic
  features that promote literacy, academic
  achievement, and academic English proficiency?

www.ecehispanic.org
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Methods

• Over 250 reviewed coded thematically (by
  research question and sub-categories)
• Review of theory and empirical studies
  (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method
  research) that span several decades emphasis on
  educational concerns
• An interdisciplinary synthesis studies from
  linguistics, psycholinguistics, psychology,
  sociology, anthropology, and education

www.ecehispanic.org
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Language Diversity
Hispanic home language environments at 9-months
34 primarily Spanish with English 22 primarily
English with Spanish 19 Spanish only 21 English
only 4 other - More than half in mostly
Spanish environments - Two-fifths in mostly
English environments - 3 in 4 are exposed to
Spanish in the home - 3 in 4 are exposed to
English in the home

Source Lopez, Barrueco and Miles (2006)
www.ecehispanic.org
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Language Diversity
Census 2000 Hispanic children ages 5-8 33 are
competent bilinguals 26 of 1st generation 43 of
2nd generation 22 of 3rd () generation 34
Limited English Proficient 67 of 1st
generation 42 of 2nd generation 12 of 3rd ()
generation
Census data are report data which do not permit
evaluation regarding academic language
proficiency

Source Hernandez (2006)
www.ecehispanic.org
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Language and Poverty
Hispanic Children Ages 0-8 Below Official Poverty
by Fathers English Fluency

Source Hernandez (2006)
www.ecehispanic.org
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Percentage of Bilingual and English Proficiency
of Hispanic Children Ages 5-8 by State or
Geographic Region

a Taken from parent report data, ages 5-8. b
Parent indicates child is fluent in English and
speaks another language in the home, ages
5-8. Calculated from Census 2000 5 microdata
(IPUMS) by Donald J. Hernandez.
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Language Diversity

• Variance in Spanish, English, and bilingual
  proficiencies of young children is largely
  accounted for by language-use and practices in
  the home- Parent educational attainment is
  associated with the quality of non-English native
  language (i.e., Spanish) proficiency/development
  where more formal education is linked with
  stronger Spanish maintenance and bilingual
  proficiency

www.ecehispanic.org
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Context, Language, and Learning

• Sociocultural theory
• Linguistic, cognitive, and social development
  are fundamentally connected and interrelated
• A childs basic cognitive framework is shaped by
  his or her early language and cultural
  experiences
• Current research suggests that bridging
  home-school differences in interaction/discourse
  patterns can increase ELL students engagement
  and participation
• Further research combining well-designed
  experiments with ethnographic methods is needed.

www.ecehispanic.org
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Dual-language Development

• The relationships of linguistic properties among
  Spanish and English are complex
• Transfer theory posits that language skills from
  the first language transfer to the second when
  grammatical structures between languages are
  similar
• Contextually-reduced and cognitively demanding
  linguistic skills are the most likely to transfer

www.ecehispanic.org
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Dual-language Development

• The quality of early linguistic development in
  the second language is dependent on the quality
  of native language development for young Hispanic
  ELLs (except for oral/conversational skills,
  which do not appear to transfer between
  linguistic systems)
• Factors that mediate dual-language transfer
  include individual factors (such as motivation)
  as well as contextual factors including language
  practices in the home and instructional practices
  in the school

www.ecehispanic.org
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Language and Learning

• Spanish-use in classroom instruction has been
  shown to strengthen transfer of letter learning,
  phonemic awareness, word reading, and passage
  comprehension skills from Spanish to English for
  young Hispanic ELLs
• Evidence suggests that the benefit of
  Spanish-use in classroom instruction varies by
  sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., levels of
  human capital in the home).

www.ecehispanic.org
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Language and Learning

• In another study, the strength of transfer of
  early literacy skills (i.e., phonemic awareness)
  from Spanish to English was found to vary by
  receptive vocabulary scores in Spanish (L1). No
  evidence of transfer was found for those with
  limited receptive vocabulary in Spanish (Atwill
  et al., 2006)
• Child linguistic competencies and home language
  experiences influence rate of transfer and
  relationship between Spanish-use during
  instruction and early achievement. Further
  research is needed.

Source Garcia and Jensen (2007)
www.ecehispanic.org
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Language and Schooling

• Programs vary in terms of
• Goals (e.g., whether dual-language proficiency
  is an aim)
• Requirements for staff competency
• Student populations they are designed to serve

www.ecehispanic.org
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Language and Schooling

• In terms of academic achievement of young
  Hispanic students (K-3)
• Meta-analyses, best evidence syntheses, and
  studies of comprehensive school reform (CSR)
  suggest that programs supporting bilingual
  approaches to curriculum and instruction are
  favorable, on average, to English-only and
  English immersion programs in elementary school.
• These programs provide demonstrate, on average,
  academic benefits of .2 to .3 standard deviations
  over and above English-only programsenough to
  close about one-fifth to one-third the early
  Hispanic-White reading gap.

www.ecehispanic.org
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Language and Schooling

• Dual-language (DL)or Two-Way Immersion
  (TWI)programs use English-plus-Spanish (EPS)
  approaches to teach both languages through
  content.
• Studies indicate that language minority and
  majority students perform academically at equal
  or higher rates than peers in other programs
• For young Hispanics ELLs, available study shows
  that pre-k DL programs are favorable to
  English-only approaches in terms of early
  literacy and numeracy (Barnett et al., 2006).
• Further research is needed to assess the
  effectiveness of DL programs and EPS strategies
  for diverse segments and age-groups of the young
  Hispanic populationespecially for those from low
  SES homes in which little to no English is spoken.

www.ecehispanic.org
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Conclusions

• What range of linguistic proficiency do young
  Hispanic children in the US demonstrate?
• The majority of the rapid growth in ELL
  population is attributable to rises in Hispanic
  ELL populations
• Spanish, English, and bilingual proficiency of
  young Hispanic children varies and is largely
  accounted for by language-use and practices in
  the home.
• There is an intergenerational trend toward
  English monolingualism
• Bilingualism and limited English proficient (LEP)
  homes vary by states and national regions
• LEP Hispanic homes are more likely to be in low
  SES groups than other Hispanic families

www.ecehispanic.org
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Conclusions

• How do linguistic properties between Spanish and
  English relate and develop for young Hispanic
  children?
• Transfer theory appears to best account for
  development of linguistic properties between
  languages
• Phonological, word-level, text-level, and reading
  comprehension in the second language are
  associated with development of the same skills in
  the native language
• Oral/conversational skills do not appear to
  cross-transfer between languages
• Individual and contextual variables mediate the
  quality of transfer include individual factors

www.ecehispanic.org
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Conclusions

• What relationship does social context have with
  the language and literacy development of young
  Hispanic children in the U.S.?
• Sociocultural theory represents a promising
  approach to understanding ways in which levels of
  the environment influence language and literacy
  development
• Home language and literacy practices are strongly
  associated with language and literacy development
  for young Hispanic children
• Bridging home-school differences in
  interaction/discourse patterns can increase
  student engagement and participation
• Further research combining well-designed
  experiments with ethnographic methods is needed.

www.ecehispanic.org
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Conclusions

• What schooling program options are available to
  young Hispanic children learning English and what
  does the evidence show in terms of programmatic
  features that promote literacy, academic
  achievement, and academic English proficiency?
• Programs that integrate English-plus-Spanish
  (EPS) strategies produce academic benefits of .2
  to .3 SD over and above English-only or English
  immersion programs
• In terms of early literacy and achievement, DL
  programs present a particularly promising
  approach throughout Pre-k and K-3
• Further research is needed to assess the
  effectiveness of DL programs and EPS strategies
  for diverse segments and age-groups of the young
  Hispanic population (especially for those from
  low SES homes in which little to no English is
  spoken).

www.ecehispanic.org