Supporting the Reading Development of Middle School English Language Learners Through Culturally Relevant Texts

Abstract

This article reports on a study that explored the relationship between reading proficiency and the cultural relevance of text for adolescent English language learners. The author presents a rubric that was used to help determine cultural relevance. Participants used this rubric to rate the cultural relevance of 2 stories. Although the stories were at the same reading level, the participants differed in their reading of each story. Data suggested that readers’ proficiency and comprehension were greater when they were reading the more culturally relevant story. The author discusses implications for text selection that supports the reading development of English learners.