Latino English Language Learners Research Articles

Communicating with Parents of Latino English Language Learners: Is Google Translate an Accurate Option?

ABSTRACT This research article examines the accuracy of using Google Translate as a means to offer native language, e-mail communication between teachers and parents of Latino English Language Learners (ELLs). To this end, an elementary teacher’s e-mail message was translated by Google Translate and certified translators and then evaluated and compared according to fluency, adequacy, meaning, and severity as outlined in previous studies. A paired sample t-test yielded a significant difference in the evaluation scores of the Google translation (3.85) and the certified translation (4.86). The evaluators perceived the Google translation as roughly 75% accurate and documented errors related to literal translation, inconsistent register or formality, and overuse of punctuation. Regardless of the errors noted in the Google translation, the evaluators indicate that the translation maintained strong conveyance of meaning. These findings suggest that Google Translate may have limited feasibility for communicating with Spanish-speaking parents via e-mail, because it maintains a significant portion of meaning from the original English message. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.

How Do Effective Upper Elementary Teachers of English Language Learners Show Support?

Background/Context Latino English language learners (ELLs) comprise a rapidly growing portion of the student population, and much empirical attention has been devoted to supporting their English language and literacy proficiency. Less is known about how to support Latino ELLs’ social-emotional needs. Latino ELLs face the dual challenge of learning English and academic content simultaneously; they also may face stigma, anti-immigration sentiment, and deficit perspectives from teachers and peers. Consequently, they may be in especial need of support from their teachers. Research Question This study addresses the question, How do effective teachers show support within upper elementary classrooms with varying levels of English language proficiency? Research Design We employed a multiple and comparative case study approach to answer this question, using videotaped English language arts lessons from the Measures of Effective Teaching data set. We compared how teachers demonstrate supportiveness in three types of fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms: (1) high-ELL and high-gains; (2) no-ELL and high-gains; and (3) high-ELL and low-gains. Conclusion/Recommendations We observed that only high-ELL, high-gains teachers showed supportiveness in the following distinct ways: through contingent and effusive praise, by describing the relevance of content, and by advancing relationships with students. We discussed why these demonstrations of supportiveness may be important, particularly for Latino ELLs. We conclude with ideas for future research and practical implications for teachers and teacher preparation programs.

Supportive classrooms for Latino English language learners: Grit, ELL status, and the classroom context

ABSTRACTStudents' academic achievement is the result of the interplay between person-level and contextual factors (R. R: Greene, 2014; D. E. Hunt, 1975). Students perform better when classroom characteristics support their characteristics. The authors examine whether student perceptions of two classroom characteristics (care and control) fit with two Latino student characteristics (English language learner status and grit) in relation to their academic achievement. Using a sample of fourth- and fifth-grade Latino students from the Measures of Effective Teaching dataset (n = 3,272), the authors conducted a series of nested regression models with two- and three-way interactions between student characteristics and student perceptions of classroom characteristics. Findings revealed that grit is most strongly associated with Latino English language learners’ English/language arts achievement when students perceived that teachers used high levels of care and control. We conclude with implications for practitioners.

The effects of culturally adapted version of First Steps to Success for Latino English language learners: Preliminary pilot study

AbstractFor decades, Latino English language learners (ELLs) have been identified as a high‐risk population for both reading and behavioral problems. A comprehensive approach that provides academic and behavioral support in both home and school settings has been suggested by researchers as a viable option for improving outcomes of students who exhibit problems in both areas. Research has also suggested that cultural adaptations need to be implemented when working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) populations to ensure cultural fit between the target population and the implemented interventions. This paper presents the results of a pilot study that examined the effects of a comprehensive, culturally adapted intervention on Latino ELLs behavior and reading skills. A multiple‐baseline, single‐subject research design was employed in this study. The results suggest that implementing a comprehensive and culturally adapted intervention has promising effects among Latino students and families. Participating students demonstrated decreases in problem behaviors and low–moderate increases in reading skills. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Prereferral Process with Latino English Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities: Perceptions of English-as-a-Second-Language Teachers

This study explored perceptions of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers on the prereferral process for Latino English language learners (ELLs). Using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological approach, qualitative data were collected through interviews with four ESL teachers. Analyses of the data indicated that the ESL teachers used research-based interventions and progress-monitoring in the prereferral process with Latino ELLs. Data analysis also indicated negative participant perceptions of parental and school-level influence on the identification process. Key concerns about the identification of Latino ELLs with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are presented, raising questions about current practices in school districts with small ELL populations.

The relative importance of English versus Spanish language skills for low-income Latino English language learners’ early language and literacy development

ABSTRACTThe association between monolingual children’s early language abilities and their later reading performance is well established. However, for English language learners, the pattern of associations between early language skills and later literacy is much less well understood for English language learners. This study examined language predictors of preschool, low-income Latino English language learners’ (N = 112) spring vocabulary and literacy skills. Only children’s English language skills at the start of preschool, not Spanish or conceptual vocabulary (child received credit for knowledge of word in either English or Spanish), were significant predictors of subsequent vocabulary and literacy scores. In addition, vocabulary and language comprehension together accounted for more variance in spring performance than vocabulary alone. Finally, data from a small subset of parents (N = 21) suggested that the children’s Spanish skills were being maintained through activities at home. Discussion focuses on the application of findings to assessment and practice in the preschool classrooms.

The Good Behavior Game for Latino English Language Learners in a small-group setting

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a group contingency intervention that has effectively reduced disruptive behavior and improved classroom management in many replications, for various settings and populations. The student composition of American public schools is changing, leading to culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms with unique psychoeducational needs. The present study used a single-subject, delayed multiple baseline design across two students to evaluate the GBG as a targeted intervention for third-grade Latino English Language Learners (L-ELLs) who participated in a small group for behavior support. Results suggested that the intervention had a moderate effect on the interrupting behavior of the target students, although outcomes for out-of-seat behavior were found to be negligible. Overall, the results continue to provide further support for the use of the GBG with culturally and linguistically diverse students, suggesting a potentially positive impact for the individual student in a small-group setting.

Emergent Target Language Identities Among Latino English Language Learners

ABSTRACTDuring 2nd language acquisition, a learner’s identity is consigned, juxtaposed, coconstructed, and reified through various affective positions and mitigating linguistic behaviors. Our study of adult Latino ESL students in Dallas, Texas, shows how language socialization experiences are shaped by the learners’ affective stances toward the project of learning and using the English language. Students reflected on how their specific social barriers created conditions that impeded interaction with interlocutors who could potentially aid their socialization process in English.

Video as a Professional Development Tool to Support Novice Teachers as They Learn to Teach English Language Learners

ABSTRACTThis two-year study investigated how an innovative video tool enhanced novice-teacher noticing abilities and instructional practice in relation to teaching mathematics to English language learners in third grade classrooms. Specifically, teachers viewed videos of their mathematics lessons that were filmed by Latino English language learners who wore head-mounted video cameras. Viewing and discussing these video clips through a collaborative partnership with a university teacher educator facilitated growth in who, what, and how teachers noticed and ultimately improved their teaching. We present an adapted framework from research on teacher noticing introduced by van Es (2011) and van Es and Sherin (2008) that focuses on English language learners.

Latino English Language Learners’ Writing During Literacy-Enriched Block Play

Although growing numbers of young English language learners (ELLs) from low-income homes enroll in U.S. schools, there remains a lack of research on how they respond to common school literacy practices including a literacy-enriched play. This exploratory study aims to examine the writing behaviors of six kindergarteners in their classroom's literacy-enriched block center. The results were varied since all children engaged in different types and frequencies of writing. However, most ELLs responded positively to the intervention and practiced their emergent writing skills. Therefore, literacy-enriched play centers can benefit early childhood classrooms serving culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students.

Promoting social-emotional learning in adolescent Latino ELLs: A study of the culturally adapted Strong Teens program.

The current study evaluated the effects of the culturally adapted Jóvenes Fuertes (Strong Teens) Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program on the social-emotional outcomes of Latino English language learners (ELLs). A quasi-experimental design with random assignment by classrooms was used to assess the intervention's effects on students' knowledge of SEL and resiliency. A sample of 102 Spanish-dominant Latino ELLs enrolled in middle or high school participated in this study. The results indicated significant intervention effects on SEL knowledge and social-emotional resiliency. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for preventive, culturally responsive SEL programs in school settings.

“The Biggest Problem”: School Leaders’ Covert Construction of Latino ELL Families—Institutional Racism in a Neoliberal Schooling Context

This critical discourse analysis focuses upon the discursive construction of Latino English language learners (ELL) identity within a Texas neoliberal schooling context. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the construction of Latino ELL identities in the discourses of Texas school leaders practicing under the aegis of neoliberal schooling. Important to this construction was the context of the discourse. School leaders’ discourse was colorblind and largely silent about both ELL status and ethnicity/race. Instead the dominant Discourse constructed economically disadvantaged families as deficit. However, in the discursive context Latino ELL families were disproportionately economically disadvantaged; thus, they were covertly constructed as deficient. The covert nature of the deficit construction makes it difficult to identify and thus resist. Given the other negative effects of neoliberal policies and practices, the implication of these findings is that neoliberal school policies are a manifestation of institutional racism, as they induce multiple forms of covert oppression for Latino ELLs. Yet the data also revealed a counter-Discourse that contested and resisted deficit low-income families, and therefore deficit Latino ELL identities, by drawing from a subordinated discourse of systemic inequities and social justice.

A Math Intervention for Third Grade Latino English Language Learners at Risk for Math Disabilities

Word problems for English language learners (ELLs) at risk for math disabilities are challenging in terms of the constant need to develop precise math language and comprehension knowledge. As a result of this, ELLs may not only need math support but also reading and linguistic support. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a word problem–solving strategy called Estratégica Dinámica de Matemáticas (EDM). This strategy was designed to provide math support in the native language based on students' math comprehension levels. A changing criterion multiple baseline design was used to instruct six second-grade Latino ELLs at risk for math disability. As compared with the baseline phase, EDM increased word problem solving for all participants. All students' level of performance were maintained and generalized during follow-up sessions. This study has implications for a native language intervention that focuses on strategy training to facilitate word problem–solving performance.

The Importance of SES, Home and School Language and Literacy Practices, and Oral Vocabulary in Bilingual Children’s English Reading Development

This study explores the role that socioeconomic status (SES), home and school language and literacy practices, and oral vocabulary play in the development of English reading skills in Latino English language learners (ELLs) and how these factors contribute differentially to English reading outcomes for children of different ages and in different settings: 292 Spanish-speaking kindergarteners in mostly English instruction, 85 Spanish-speaking third graders in bilingual instruction, and 70 Spanish-speaking fifth graders in both English and bilingual settings. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression. Findings indicate that for each sample, English oral vocabulary is a significant predictor of English reading accuracy and comprehension once SES and home and school language and literacy factors have been considered. Beyond oral vocabulary, however, there is considerable variability across samples in the home and school language and literacy variables that are predictive of English reading outcomes. The study points to the importance of looking closely at the texture of children’s lives in coming to an understanding of second-language literacy development.

The Teachers' Choices Cognate Database for K–3 Teachers of Latino English Learners

AbstractThe purpose of the present paper is to introduce the Teachers’ Choices Cognate Database. English‐Spanish cognates are words that are orthographically and semantically identical or nearly identical in both English and Spanish. To create this free online database, the cognates from every one of the 146 International Reading Association's Teachers’ Choices books for the years, 1998‐2012, were compiled and published at www.angelfire.com/ill/monte/teacherschoices.html.The cognates in the database may be used to create vocabulary lessons or mini‐lessons to accompany book read‐alouds for Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) in the early primary grades. Ideas for teaching English‐Spanish cognates through picture book read‐alouds are presented and discussed.

Word Problem Strategy for Latino English Language Learners at Risk for Math Disabilities

English Language Learners (ELLs) at risk for math disabilities (MD) are challenged in solving word problems for numerous reasons such as (a) learning English as a second language, (b) limited experience using math vocabulary, and (c) lack of strategies to improve word-problem-solving skills. As a result of these difficulties, ELLs may not only need math support but also oral language and reading development assistance. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a math comprehension strategy procedure based on a dynamic assessment (DA) framework. The strategy provided scaffolding support based on the student’s reading and language comprehension levels. A multiple baseline was used to assess 6 third-grade Latino ELLs at risk for MD. As compared with baseline, the strategy increased problem-solving ability for all participants. All students’ level of performance was maintained during follow-up sessions. Results suggest that a focus on comprehension strategies may help facilitate math skills development for ELLs at risk for MD.

Development and Validation of the Coping With Acculturative Stress in American Schools (CASAS-A) Scale on a Latino Adolescent Sample

The psychometric properties of the Coping With Acculturative Stress in American Schools (CASAS-A) scale were examined using a sample of 148 Latino middle school students. CASAS-A is a self-report scale designed to identify students in need of culturally responsive social–emotional interventions due to having high levels of school-related acculturative stress. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), analyses of internal consistency, correlations with related measures, and group differences among Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs were examined. The CFA results indicate that the data fit the hypothesized factor structure. The results also support adequate levels of reliability and validity. In addition, significant group differences were found between Latino ELLs and non-ELLs, with Latino ELLs reporting higher levels of acculturative stress in CASAS-A. Implications for future research, as well as recommendations for practitioners who implement culturally responsive interventions, are discussed.

Culturally Responsive Instruction for English Language Learners With Learning Disabilities

This case study describes the culturally responsive instruction of one special education teacher with Latino English language learners (ELLs) with learning disabilities in an urban elementary school setting. This study was situated in a social constructivist research based framework. In investigating this instruction with ELLs, this study focused on how one teacher’s knowledge of culturally responsive pedagogy affected her special education instruction. Findings resulted in three major themes that were aligned with the current literature in this area: Cultural Aspects of Teaching Reading, Culturally Relevant Skills-Based Instruction, and Collaborative Agency Time. The results indicated that the success of special education with ELLs at the elementary education level might be dependent on how well the special education teacher integrates culturally responsive instruction with ELLs’ cultural and linguistic needs.

Handbook of reading interventions

Vadasy, O'Connor, Introduction. O'Connor, Phoneme Awareness and the Alphabetic Principle. Roberts, Preschool Foundations for Reading and Writing Success. Spear-Swerling, Phases in Reading Words and Phonics Interventions. Nunes, Bryant, Morphemic Approaches for Reading Words. Gerber, Richards-Tutor, Teaching Spelling to Students with Learning Difficulties. McKeown, Beck, Making Vocabulary Interventions Engaging and Effective. Hudson, Fluency Problems: When, Why, and How to Intervene. Jitendra, Gajria, Main Idea and Summarization Instruction to Improve Reading Comprehension. Klingner, Morrison, Eppolito, Metacognition to Improve Reading Comprehension. Williams, Pao, Teaching Narrative and Expository Text Structure to Improve Comprehension. Abbott, Greenwood, Buzhardt, Wills, Terry, Peer-Mediated Approaches. Vadasy, Supplemental Reading Instruction by Paraeducators and Tutors: Recent Research and Applications. Ferretti, De La Paz, On the Comprehension and Production of Written Texts: Instructional Activities That Support Content-area Literacy. Orosco, O'Connor, Cultural Aspects of Teaching Reading with Latino English Language Learners. O'Connor, Goodwin, Teaching Older Students to Read.

Effects of the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies (HELPS) Reading Fluency Program with Latino English Language Learners: A Preliminary Evaluation

The Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies (HELPS) Program was developed by integrating 8 evidence-based fluency-building instructional strategies into a structured program that can be feasibly implemented by educators. The HELPS Program has been shown in previous research to significantly improve elementary-aged students’ reading abilities, but the effects of HELPS have not been evaluated with an important and increasing sub-population of U.S. students, English language learners (ELLs). As such, the purpose of this control group comparison study was to evaluate HELPS with Latino ELLs. Findings showed that ELLs who received HELPS scored significantly higher than the control group on standardized measures of fluency and comprehension. Although this study represents an initial attempt to understand the effects of HELPS with ELLs, the findings have implications for educators and researchers who work with ELLs.