English Language Learners Students Research Articles

An Investigation of Thai Students’ English Language Problems and Their Learning Strategies at English Study Program of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Riau Islamic University

The purpose of this study was to investigate the English language problems and learning strategies. The study employed a survey design which involved administering questionnaires of rating scales, using Rubin, J., & Thompson, I. (1994) and Rebecca Oxford (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), to measure English language problems and language learning strategies from 10 Thai students of English Study Program of Teacher Training and Education Faculty at Riau Islamic University. The result of this study revealed that the most serious problem of Thai students in English Language Learning is listening and writing skills while reading skill is the least problem. Another big problem involved being unable to write an essay within limited time and always have a listening problem. Beside, the problem least mentioned is unable to understand classroom lectures in English. All Participant reported a high frequency use of strategy on the SILL. The participants reported using social strategies most frequently and metacognitive strategies least frequently but in medium range. The most frequently used strategies involved asking lecture or classmate for helping. Not trying guess if they do not fully understand what is being said was the least frequently used.

Use of Mobile Devices for English Language Learner Students in the United States

Mobile devices have become widely used in K-12 education settings for teaching diverse students. We comprehensively reviewed 11 studies published between 2005 and 2016 that examined the use of mobile devices for teaching K-12th grade English language learner students in the United States. We also examined the methodological quality of the studies. Results of the review indicated promising effects from using mobile devices for teaching K-12th grade students who are learning English. Using the devices for instruction led to improved learning, self-efficacy, and engagement and increased students’ time with the academic content. Results of the review also indicated that additional studies are needed with improved methodological quality. We discussed directions for future research and implications for practice.

Teachers' Perceptions of ELL Students: Do Their Attitudes Shape Their Instruction?

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this parallel mixed-methodology study was to examine how the perceptions of early childhood teachers toward their early childhood English Language Learners (ELL) shape their pedagogical practices. The study was conducted in 10 early childhood classrooms, ranging from grades pre-K to third, in one suburban school with a culturally and linguistically diverse student population. Quantitative data was gathered through the administration of Pohan and Aguilar's (2001) Professional beliefs about diversity Likert scale. Additionally, qualitative data w`ere collected. Although some survey responses and interviews indicated that participants were aware of and accepting of all students' funds of knowledge and were eager to draw on their students' cultural backgrounds languages, most were ill-equipped or unwilling to differentiate their instruction for ELL students. Implications for inservice teacher professional development to gain understandings of the theories of second language acquisition and culturally responsive pedagogy are discussed.

Special Education Policy Change

Research suggests that disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education has been a recurring topic of concern in the field of special education within the United States. Over the past few years, this concern has shifted to focus on the disproportionate representation of English Language Learners (ELLs) in categories of mild to moderate disabilities, specifically within the category of learning disabilities. Although improvements in educational policy have been made through federal legislation, local rural school districts continue to battle this concern, especially those in rural areas. The following article focuses on the recommendations for development, implementation, and evaluation of local policy change to improve the disproportionate representation of ELL students within rural school districts.

Visual immersion for cultural understanding and multimodal literacy

ABSTRACTWhen considering inclusive art curriculum that accommodates all learners, including English language learners, two distinct yet inseparable issues come to mind. The first is that English language learner students can use visual language and visual literacy skills inherent in visual arts curriculum to scaffold learning in and through the arts. Second, in facilitating a sense of belonging for students whose home language and cultural aesthetic may be different from those of the dominant school culture, an authentically developed multicultural art curriculum can guide self-efficacy and inclusiveness. Both aspects of teaching art for English language learners can have the added benefits of facilitating collaborative learning opportunities and increasing worldviews for all students.

Engaging English language learners through interactive read-alouds: a literature review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review published research on using interactive read-alouds in the instruction of English language learners (ELLs). In particular, this paper emphasizes the practical application of research findings to help classroom teachers and other educators make instructional decisions that promote both effective and equitable instruction.Design/methodology/approachFor this literature review, the authors conducted a systematic keyword search of multiple electronic databases to identify relevant research studies. Once studies were identified, the authors used a qualitative content analysis method (Guba and Lincoln, 1981; Holsti, 1969; Lincoln and Guba, 1985) to identify themes.FindingsThe findings were grouped into three distinct categories: pedagogy, language and culture. While many aspects of effective interactive read-alouds are similar for ELLs and mainstream students, this paper highlights elements of interactive read-alouds that are different or especially important for ELLs.Originality/valueThis review, unlike the 2,000 potentially relevant studies initially identified, considers the interplay of pedagogy, language and culture when using interactive read-alouds with ELLs. The explicit focus on practical classroom application makes this literature review useful for both researchers and practitioners.

Reaching Below Level ELL’s Reading Comprehension

The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in mainstream classrooms is increasing every year. Developing reading comprehension skills in lower level ELL students can be a challenging but important task for educators. It is crucial for classroom teachers to identify students’ proficiency levels, and then differentiate instruction to meet the reading needs for each of these students. As an elementary classroom teacher, this teacher inquiry study investigates four strategies including: visuals/realia, graphic organizers, language objectives, and building background as a means to support reading comprehension skills among three participants in a third grade classroom. The study investigates the research question, “In what ways can I differentiate instruction to increase reading comprehension in lower level ELL students?”

Opportunity to Teach: Push-In and Pull-Out Models of English Learner Instruction

<p><em>As the number of US English Language Learners (ELLs) increases, elementary educators struggle to make decisions related to curriculum and instruction. This research fills an important gap in the research on program models for ELLs by presenting a two-part investigation of push-in and pull-out English Language Development (ELD) instruction from the vantage point of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. The first part of the investigation uses nationally administered surveys to capture the practices, beliefs, and challenges of ESL professionals working in these models. The second part highlights the concerns raised by those ESL teachers regarding the extent to which a cohort of 175 ELL students received their ELD instruction. We explore the implications for the academic achievement of ELLs in the primary grades when their access to consistent ELD instruction is curtailed. We illuminate the problematic aspects of both models and call for greater attention to the implementation and monitoring of services for young ELLs.</em></p>

Supporting emergent literacy for English language learners with computer‐assisted instruction

The growing number of students whose primary language does not match the language of their schools and a steadily growing performance gap has prompted widespread attention to support emergent literacy gains for those students. This study randomly assigned schools in a Southwestern U.S. state with English language learners (ELLs) in kindergarten and first grade to an experimental computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) condition or a ‘business as usual’ control. The study tracked ELLs performance over one academic year using a nationally normed standardised reading test. The results demonstrated first‐grade students in the experimental condition demonstrated greater gains compared with the control students in the domains of vocabulary, phonics, phonological awareness and text comprehension. Gains for kindergarten were less consistent; however, the lowest language proficient students using CAI experienced greater gains in vocabulary when compared with controls. Results extend prior studies targeting ELL students' reading skill development with targeted CAI interventions.What is already known about this topic English language learners (ELLs) face additional struggles in gaining literacy proficiency in the early grades. Computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) programs support learning for non‐ELLs, provided the instructional materials target specific literacy needs directly. Efficacy of CAIs (and any instructional program) is dependent upon the match between learner needs, classroom curriculum and programmatic features. What this paper adds Large randomised control trial testing the effects of a CAI on ELL literacy development in kindergarten and first‐grade students. Measures of progressive learner development in critical literacy skills using a nationally normed measure of reading achievement. Explicit attention to the levels of language proficiency intersecting with the use of the CAI to identify interaction effects Implications for theory, policy or practice Computer‐assisted instruction support for second language learners can be effective for targeted literacy gains, provided the program materials support critical literacy needs. Use of CAI may be instrumental to support emergent literacy given the ability to capitalise on the proposed pedagogical interventions for second language learners. Stress the importance of maintaining attention to the existing language skills of second language learners when examining the efficacy of literacy interventions.

‘Does it answer the question or is it French fries?’: an exploration of language supports for scientific argumentation

ABSTRACTReform initiatives around the world are reconceptualising science education by stressing student engagement in science practices. Yet, science practices are language-intensive, requiring students to have strong receptive and productive language proficiencies. It is critical to address these rigorous language demands to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all students, including English language learners (ELLs). Little research has examined how to specifically support ELL students’ engagement in science practices, such as argumentation. Using case-study methodology, we examined one middle school science teacher's instructional strategies as she taught an argumentation-focused curriculum in a self-contained ELL classroom. Findings revealed that three trends characterized the teacher’s language supports for the structural and dialogic components of argumentation: (1) more language supports focused on argument structure, (2) dialogic interactions were most often facilitated by productive language supports, and (3) some language supports offered a rationale for argumentation. Findings suggest a need to identify and develop supports for the dialogic aspects of argumentation. Furthermore, engaging students in argumentation through productive language functions could be leveraged to support dialogic interactions. Lastly, our work points to the need for language supports that make the rationale for argumentation explicit since such transparency could further increase access for all students.

Efficacy of Peer-Mediated Incremental Rehearsal for English Language Learners

.School psychologists will likely become more involved in supporting the reading achievement of English language learners (ELLs). This requires evidence-based interventions that are validated for ELL students. Incremental rehearsal (IR) is an evidence-based intervention for teaching words, but the resource intensity often precludes its use. Using peers as interventionists may increase the contextual validity of IR while maintaining the benefits when compared with other drill techniques. This efficacy study examined if (a) peer-mediated IR (PMIR) was effective for teaching ELL students high-frequency words and (b) improvements in word reading generalized to changes in students' oral reading fluency. Five ELL students participated in a randomized multiple-baseline design across participants. Results indicated that PMIR was functionally related to an increase in word reading for all 5 participants. Effect sizes estimated using TauU and multilevel modeling indicated that PMIR had a large effect on sight-word reading. No functional relationship between PMIR and oral reading fluency was observed. PMIR was generally acceptable to target students and peer tutors. Limitations and potential implications of the results are discussed.

Hubungan Gaya Belajar Mahasiswa Dengan Prestasi Belajar Mahasiswa Pada Kampus V UNM PGSD Parepare Pada Mata Kuliah Bahasa Inggris

Each Students has different learning styles, learning styles as a way of learning habits of students in a lesson, which greatly affect the learning outcomes of students. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship of auditory learning styles of students with the achievement of students at UNM Campus V PGSD Pare Pare on the subject of English. This type of research used in this study is a correlation study. This research is located in the Campus V UNM Faculty of Education UPP PGSD Parepare and the population in this study is the UPP students PGSD Parepare force in 2015, amounting to 63 people consisting of three classes and 33 used as a sample in this study. Techniques used data collection using observation technique, documentation, questionnaire and value students' achievement in the subject of English. The technique of analyzing data using descriptive statistic data analysis and correlation analysis. Conclusions about the relationship auditory learning styles of students and academic achievement in English language learning students UPP PGSD Pare Pare, shows that there is a correlation between auditory learning styles of students and academic achievement in English language learning students UPP PGSD Pare Pare. Keywords: Correlation study, auditory learning style

Is the Library’s Online Orientation Program Effective with English Language Learners?

In this paper, the author examines four years of assessment data (N=4,786) from Brooklyn College’s Library Online Orientation Program (LOOP; url: https://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu/resources/loop/loop.php ), which is used to provide all English 1010 students with an orientation to the library, to see if English language learners (ELLs) are performing as well as their non-ELL peers. This paper also reports on how useful the LOOP is to ELLs when compared to non-ELLs. By comparing data from ELL and non-ELL students using several independent samples T-tests, this paper shows that ELLs on the average scored lower on the quiz component of the LOOP than non-ELLs, though they found the LOOP tutorial more useful. In addition to reporting these assessment results, this paper includes a review of the different kinds of English language learners, discusses how to statistically operationalize this population for further quantitative studies for other libraries who would like to include these additional independent variables in their assessment data collection, and provides suggestions for making the LOOP more useful to ELL students in the future.

Different Skills? Identifying Differentially Effective Teachers of English Language Learners

AbstractNationwide, K–12 students designated as English language learners (ELLs) must learn both language and content simultaneously, and ELLs score far below the national average in math achievement. Many educators have suggested that identifying or developing teachers with skills specific to ELLs’ instructional needs may be critical to addressing this challenge. This study seeks to identify the characteristics and learning experiences of general education teachers who are differentially effective at promoting math achievement among ELLs compared to non-ELLs. Our analyses indicate that individual teachers can learn specific skills that make them more effective with ELL students. In particular, prior experience teaching ELLs predicts improvements in novice teachers’ differential instructional effectiveness with ELLs. We also find that both in-service and pre-service training focused on ELL-specific instructional strategies are associated with higher differential gains for ELLs. Our findings lend support t...

Examination of teachers’ preparedness and strategies used to teach English language learners in kindergarten

ABSTRACTThe intent of the present study was to examine kindergarten teachers’ preparedness and training to teach English language learner (ELL) students and strategies that they utilise in the classroom to teach this population. Teacher surveys and phone interviews were employed to gather data. The majority of the teachers felt prepared to teach ELL students, felt committed to work with this population, and were eager to attend professional training workshops related to this topic. Follow-up interviews provided further insights into the issue of their preparedness to work with this population, challenges to meeting the needs of ELL children, and need for more professional training opportunities on this topic. The implications of these findings for the field of early childhood care and education and suggestions for future research have been discussed in detail.

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Narrative Story Retells of School-Aged English Language Learners.

We examined the relationship between maternal level of education as an index of socioeconomic status (SES) on the narrative story retells of school-aged children who are English language learners (ELLs) to guide interpretation of results. Using data available from the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts database (Miller & Iglesias, 2012), we were able to compare the language samples of 907 ELL students in kindergarten and 2nd grade whose parents had different levels of education. We used a simple linear regression to see if maternal level of education was predictive of measures of vocabulary, syntax, and narrative structure in Spanish and English narrative story retells. There were no differences in language measures between children from different SES backgrounds for the Spanish language samples. There were differences with the English language samples in four of the five measures for the kindergarten sample and only three of five measures for the older children, with a smaller percentage of the variance explained. Despite common knowledge that SES has a negative influence on language, the actual influence on the narrative productions of school-aged ELLs was less than anticipated for English and absent for Spanish. The implications for assessment are discussed and concluded.

The Measurement Invariance of the Student Opinion Scale across English and Non-English Language Learner Students within the Context of Low- and High-Stakes Assessments.

Student effort on large-scale assessments has important implications on the interpretation and use of scores to guide decisions. Within the United States, English Language Learners (ELLs) generally are outperformed on large-scale assessments by non-ELLs, prompting research to examine factors associated with test performance. There is a gap in the literature regarding the test-taking motivation of ELLs compared to non-ELLs and whether existing measures have similar psychometric properties across groups. The Student Opinion Scale (SOS; Sundre, 2007) was designed to be administered after completion of a large-scale assessment to operationalize students’ test-taking motivation. Based on data obtained on 5,257 (41.8% ELL) 10th grade students, study purpose was to test the measurement invariance of the SOS across ELLs and non-ELLs based on completion of low- and high-stakes assessments. Preliminary item analyses supported the removal of two SOS items (Items 3 and 7) that resulted in improved internal consistency for each of the two SOS subscales: Importance, Effort. A subsequent multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) supported the measurement invariance of the scale’s two-factor model across language groups, indicating it met strict factorial invariance (Meredith, 1993). A follow-up latent means analysis found that ELLs had higher effort on both the low- and high-stakes assessment with a small effect size. Effect size estimates indicated negligible differences on the importance factor. Although the instrument can be expected to function similarly across diverse language groups, which may have direct utility of test users and research into factors associated with large-scale test performance, continued research is recommended. Implications for SOS use in applied and research settings are discussed.

Growth in Oral Reading Fluency of Spanish ELL Students With Learning Disabilities

The process of learning to read is difficult for many children, and this is especially true for students with learning disabilities (LD). Reading in English becomes even more difficult when a student’s home language is not English. For English language learner (ELL) students with LD, acquiring the necessary skills to read fluently is an even greater challenge. The process of repeated reading has been beneficial for many students with LD, yet there is little information regarding its effect on ELL students. This column discusses the use of a fluency-based reading intervention with elementary-level, Spanish-speaking ELL students with specific LD.

ELL School Readiness and Pre-Kindergarten Care

The increased utilization of non-parental pre-kindergarten care has spurred interest by both researchers and policy makers as to what types of care might be effective at boosting school readiness. Under-developed in the research has been an assessment of the influence of pre-kindergarten care on school readiness for English Language Learners (ELLs). This research gap is critical to fill, as ELL students are not only a growing segment of the U.S. schooling population but also enter school at a disadvantage compared with other students. This study fills this gap by using nationally representative data (i.e., Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Kindergarten [ECLS-K]) to examine the influence of pre-kindergarten care in the year before kindergarten entry on a range of socio-behavioral school readiness indicators measured at kindergarten entry. The findings indicate that ELL students in center-based care or non-center/non-parental care have lower problem behaviors and higher social skills compared with ELL students exclusively in parental care. Implications are discussed.

Incorporating Vocabulary Instruction in Individual Reading Fluency Interventions With English Language Learners

The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine whether incorporating vocabulary instruction in individual reading fluency interventions for English Language Learners (ELLs) would improve reading comprehension. Two vocabulary instructional procedures were contrasted with a fluency-building only condition in an alternating-treatments design with four ELL students in Grades 3 and 5. Results indicated that the two vocabulary instructional procedures, on average, did not affect reading comprehension. Despite no consistent overall effects, one student had better comprehension of passages used in fluency-building activities when definitions of key target words were taught, and two students demonstrated better comprehension of untaught passages following vocabulary instruction that included processing questions; however, all effects were of small magnitude. Reducing instructional time spent on fluency-building activities to incorporate the vocabulary activities did not attenuate intervention effects on reading fluency. Practical recommendations and future directions for incorporating vocabulary instruction in individual reading interventions are discussed.