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Mary A. Avalos
University
of Miami
This study examines two questions involving students in a transitional
bilingual education program learning to read in a second language.
The first question deals with the impact of second-language (L2)
text structure on comprehension processes, while the second deals
with the level of oral language proficiency necessary to comprehend
L2 texts. Findings demonstrate that comprehension “errors”
begin at the word level and expand to the sentence level (or beyond)
in order for the reader to make meaning from the texts. Oral language
proficiency proved to be an inadequate measure in determining “correct”
comprehension of L2 texts. A generic processor or whole group model
of instruction is inadequate in meeting L2 readers’ needs
because the generic processor perspective assumes that L2 learners
come to school with similar linguistic backgrounds, experiences,
and cultural perspectives. The focus of transition instruction should
be on individual learning needs, assessed in a manner that enables
the teacher to determine the cultural, linguistic, and cognitive
interplay between the text and the reader. Knowing students and
their families, along with their instructional needs, will enable
teachers to help L2 learners move towards a generic processor model
with more success.
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Yuko Goto Butler
University
of Pennsylvania
Michele
Bousquet Gutiérrez
Stanford
University
This study investigates “learning climates” among fourth-grade
students in an English-only school district in California. A student’s
learning climate is defined here as (a) a learner’s perceptions
of his or her own abilities and behaviors, as well as (b) the learner’s
perceptions of others’ beliefs about his or her abilities
and behaviors (or “externalized perceptions,” as we
have termed this throughout this paper). This study aims to understand
how such learning climates may relate to students’ reading
performance among English language learners (ELLs) as well as native
English-speaking (NE) students. A structured interview was conducted.
Positive perceptions toward bilingualism were observed by both students
who read English well and those who struggled with reading English.
However, these two groups differed in their: (a) language-mixing
behavior; (b) first-language literacy skills; (c) fathers’
level of English proficiency; and (d) views of the influence of
their first language on their English reading. Strong ELL readers
tended to have more positive externalized perceptions of NE peers’
attitudes toward their first languages and their language-mixing
behavior. NE students’ perceptions toward bilingualism were
also revealed.
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Craig A. Hughes
Central
Washington University
This study explored the high school experiences of 32 Mexican-descent
students who had successfully graduated and were enrolled in institutions
of higher learning. By conducting extended interviews with these
students, the author sought to identify teachers’ actions
that the students found helpful or harmful to their learning experiences.
These observations can be used to make recommendations for better
preparing preservice teachers for the changing classroom demographics
that are resulting from the rapidly rising percentage of Mexican-descent
students in public schools. Better-prepared teachers may make a
difference in increasing the low high-school completion rate for
these students. One recommendation is that preservice teachers be
aware of cultural differences and include these different cultures
in the curriculum. It is also important that they avoid stereotypes.
Preservice teachers need to realize that all students are capable
of academic success. In addition, preservice teachers must be prepared
to include and challenge Mexican-descent students in all aspects
of their educational experience. Teacher education programs can
assist by providing training specifically targeting these areas
of need.
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Karen Monkman
Florida
State University
Laurie
MacGillivray
University of Southern California
Cynthia Hernández Leyva
Los
Angeles Unified School District
This article argues that instruction should focus on the three “planes”
proposed by Barbara Rogoff—personal, social, and cultural—as
the multilayered sites where learning occurs. Because the psychological
(i.e., personal plane) is commonly the focus of educational instruction,
we focus more on the social and cultural planes. We demonstrate
learning on these multiple planes using two examples drawn from
classroom observations—one a planned routine, the other a
spontaneous teachable moment, and both reflecting social justice
concerns—and draw on interviews of the teacher about her philosophical
and political approaches to learning. The article is intended to
demonstrate how research can inform teaching—how one teacher
is able to engage children in a bilingual classroom in learning
on “three planes” (Rogoff, 1990, 1995) in a way that
infuses social justice into the development and experience of literacy
in which children “read the world” (Freire & Macedo,
1987).
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Todd Twyman
Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller
Jan D. McCoy
Gerald
Tindal
University
of Oregon
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 calls for a radical restructuring
of the educational system, forcing low-performing schools and districts
to make widespread changes in current assessment policies and instructional
practices. Our previous research on low-performing students and
students with disabilities indicates that significant gains in learning
can be attained by intentionally aligning curriculum and instruction
with assessment using an instructional approach called concept-based
instruction. The purpose of this paper is to describe the positive
impact of concept-based instruction on one English language learner
in a rural school district. This research is part of a much larger
effort at validating concept-based instruction as an instructional
approach.
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Jo Worthy
Alejandra
Rodríguez-Galindo
Lori Czop Assaf, Leticia Martínez
Kimberley
Cuero
University
of Texas at Austin
In this paper, we present a yearlong ethnographic study of fifth-grade
students who are either immigrants or the children of immigrants
from Latin American countries, predominantly Mexico. We examined
how they used their two languages at home, in the community, and
at school. We also examined their perspectives, and those of their
parents and teacher, about bilingualism and their awareness of barriers
they may face in the future.
Interviews and observations suggest these students were in a supportive
bilingual environment. Their teacher provided materials and instruction
in both languages. As a fluent Spanish speaker and cultural insider,
she believes that proficiency in Spanish is important and serves
as a strong foundation for acquiring English. The students’
parents all valued maintenance of Spanish, and several were proactive
in trying to ensure their children remained fluent Spanish speakers.
At the time of the study, most students could speak, read, and write
Spanish fluently and were concurrently learning English. At first
glance, it appeared that the students in this study had been largely
sheltered from the pressures to assimilate and that their prospects
for maintaining their native-language proficiency were favorable.
However, contradictory messages about bilingualism soon became apparent.
Students demonstrated awareness of the pressures they will face
in the future and acknowledged they must be prepared to struggle
to maintain their language and culture. This study’s findings
help to explicate the conflicts that students in upper elementary
grades feel about being bilingual within the dominant English monolingual
culture.
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Din Yan Yip
Wing Kwong Tsang
Sin
Pui Cheung
The
Chinese University of Hong Kong
This paper is the first of a series of articles reporting the findings
of a longitudinal study on the impact of a new language policy about
the medium of instruction on science learning of secondary students
in Hong Kong. This paper compares the science achievement of Chinese
students learning science through a second language, English, with
that of students receiving instruction in their mother tongue, Chinese.
Based on the scores on a science achievement test made up of multiple-choice
and free-response questions, the English-medium students, despite
their higher initial ability, were found to perform much more poorly
than their Chinese-medium peers. They were particularly weak in
problems that assess understanding of abstract concepts, the ability
to discriminate between scientific terms, and the ability to apply
scientific knowledge in novel or realistic situations. This result
implies that the English-medium students were handicapped in science
learning by their low levels of English proficiency, and learning
English as a subject through the primary years is not sufficient
to prepare them for a full English immersion program in secondary
school.
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Research
in Practice
Cherie Satterfield Sheffer
Houston,
Texas
This study provides information
about 19 families that have children enrolled in a bilingual kindergarten
class in the Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston,
Texas. This paper concerns the parents’ understanding of the
bilingual program their children attend. The study revealed that
a miniscule number of parents are familiar with the practices and
policies in place at their children’s school and that their
expectations for English-language instruction vary widely from what
is actually happening in the classroom.
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Book
Review
By Tomás Mario Kalmar
Reviewed
by Mario Castro
Arizona
State University
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