Sample records for foreign language literacy

  1. Empowering the Foreign Language Learner through Critical Literacies Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keneman, Margaret

    2016-01-01

    This article examines current pedagogical trends in the foreign language classroom and argues that a critical literacies pedagogical approach (Freire, 1970) should guide instruction. A critical literacies pedagogical approach is then discussed in the context of foreign language teaching and learning, and particular attention in this article is…

  2. Teaching Strategies to Develop Inquiry and Literacy Skills: "Languaging" in Foreign Language Immersion Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Husbye, Nicholas; Dorner, Lisa M.

    2017-01-01

    One-way, or foreign language, immersion schools face unique challenges as they seek to support the literacy development of their students. This manuscript draws on sociocultural theories of literacy development and the concept of languaging, the process of using language to make meaning. Working with two classrooms over one semester, we asked:…

  3. Advanced Foreign Language Learning: A Challenge to College Programs. Issues in Language Program Direction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrnes, Heidi, Ed.; Maxim, Hiram H., Ed.

    This book includes the following chapters: "Literacy and Advanced Foreign Language Learning: Rethinking he Curriculum" (Richard G. Kern); "A Template for Advanced Learner Tasks: Staging Genre Reading and Cultural Literacy Through the Precis" (Janet Swaffar); "Fostering Advanced L2 Literacy: A Genre-Based, Cognitive…

  4. "Those Anime Students": Foreign Language Literacy Development through Japanese Popular Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fukunaga, Natsuki

    2006-01-01

    Using multiliteracies and sociocultural perspectives on language and literacy learning, this article describes three Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) students' literacy development through involvement with Japanese popular culture. As part of a larger qualitative ethnographic study, the author interviewed JFL learners who have a particular…

  5. Researching Literacies and Textual Thinking in Collegiate Foreign Language Programs: Reflections and Recommendations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paesani, Kate

    2018-01-01

    This article reflects on the literacy turn in collegiate foreign language (FL) programs, taking as its central argument that the focus in FL curriculum, instruction, and research should not be on the content we teach, be it language, literature, or culture, but rather on textual thinking and literacies development. After providing a snapshot of…

  6. Beyond Reading: Developing Visual Literacy in French.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sacco, Steven J.; Marckel, Beverly G.

    Reading can and should be a more widely used foreign language skill, and visual literacy in a foreign language goes beyond comprehension of basal reading materials. Authentic, real-life reading need not wait for foreign language mastery, but can begin at an early level if materials geared to the students' prior knowledge and interest are chosen.…

  7. Cultural Shifts: Putting Critical Information Literacy into Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hicks, Alison

    2013-01-01

    This paper uses the example of foreign languages to explore the integration of critical information literacy into the curriculum of various disciplines. By closely examining the practices and values inherent in the foreign language information environment, the paper suggests that a critical vision of information literacy provides the most…

  8. Developing Literacy and Literacy Competence: Challenges for Foreign Language Departments.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrnes, Heidi; Kord, Susanne

    This chapter provides a dialogue between two teachers that challenges philosophical and practical divisions both inside and outside the academy regarding the development of literacy and literary competence in foreign language departments. It also describes curricular revisions at their institution that address those divisions. One teacher crafts…

  9. Differential Influences of Parental Home Literacy Practices and Anxiety in English as a Foreign Language on Chinese Children's English Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin; Chui, Barbie Hiu-Tung; Lai, Michael Wei-Chun; Kwok, Sylvia Y. C. L.

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the differential influences of maternal and paternal factors on Chinese children's English as a foreign language development. It took into account both behavioral (i.e. parental home literacy practices, HLP; and children's vocabulary knowledge) and emotional (i.e. parental and children's foreign language reading anxiety,…

  10. 32 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    .... Academic skills. Competencies in English, reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, and computer skills that..., degree competencies (e.g., foreign language, computer literacy), and elective course options that... course requirements, degree competencies (e.g., foreign language, computer literacy), and elective course...

  11. 32 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    .... Academic skills. Competencies in English, reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, and computer skills that..., degree competencies (e.g., foreign language, computer literacy), and elective course options that... course requirements, degree competencies (e.g., foreign language, computer literacy), and elective course...

  12. Investigating Predictors of Nonacademic ESOL Learners' L2 Literacy Ability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ro, Eunseok; Ryu, Jin

    2013-01-01

    The factors determining foreign language abilities have received copious attention from foreign language studies, and these research findings provided highly converging pedagogical implications for language teachers. However, not many studies have focused on non-academic learners especially with respect to their literacy skills. To fill this gap,…

  13. Moving toward Multiliteracies in Foreign Language Teaching: Past and Present Perspectives … and Beyond

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warner, Chantelle; Dupuy, Beatrice

    2018-01-01

    In recent years, literacy has emerged as a key critical term in foreign language (FL) teaching and learning. This essay reflects on the history of literacy and on current developments, in particular those related to the development of multiliteracies paradigms. The article concludes with a discussion of emergent topics related to literacy and…

  14. Computer Literacy of Iranian Teachers of English as a Foreign Language: Challenges and Obstacles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dashtestani, Reza

    2014-01-01

    Basically, one of the requirements for the implementation of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' ability to use computers effectively. Educational authorities and planners should identify EFL teachers' computer literacy levels and make attempts to improve the teachers' computer competence.…

  15. The Missing Link in Vision and Governance: Foreign Language Acquisition Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kramsch, Claire J.

    1987-01-01

    Foreign language acquisition research (concerned with the theoretical and practical issues related to socialization into and literacy in another language and culture) can help integrate language, literature, and culture in foreign language departments because it draws on insights gained from such diverse fields as anthropology, sociology,…

  16. Alternative and Asset-Based Evaluation and Assessment in Language Teaching and Literacy: Resources for Research, Classroom Instruction and Evaluation of Language Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eaton, Sarah Elaine

    2011-01-01

    This annotated bibliography surveys key resources and research related specifically to language learning and literacy. It focuses on resources that will be valuable to teaching professionals and researchers who specialize in the areas of foreign and second language teaching, language arts and first and second language literacy. Significant…

  17. From First Language Literacy to Second Language Proficiency to Second Language Literacy: The Act of Writing in a Foreign Language Context.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crerand, Mary E. Lavin

    A study investigated how a second language (L2) learner's writing skills develop in a second-language context. The three research questions addressed the effect of: (1) first-language (L1) literacy skills, (2) L2 proficiency, and (3) the instructional context on L2 writing. Subjects were 70 university French students. Data were drawn from 300…

  18. Exploring English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher Trainers' Perspectives on Challenges to Promoting Computer Literacy of EFL Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dashtestani, Reza

    2014-01-01

    Computer literacy is a significant component of language teachers' computer-assisted language learning (call) knowledge. Despite its importance, limited research has been undertaken to analyze factors which might influence language teachers' computer literacy levels. This qualitative study explored the perspectives of 39 Iranian EFL teacher…

  19. Teaching English as a Foreign Language from a New Literacy Perspective: A Guide for Egyptian EFL Student Teachers (Chapter One: Setting the Scene)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdallah, Mahmoud M. S.

    2011-01-01

    The article presents Chapter One of my recent the book entitled, "Teaching English as a Foreign Language from a New Literacy Perspective: A Guide for Egyptian EFL Student Teachers." The chapter deals with the new reality of Teaching English as a Foreign in this ICT-dominated age in which the Internet has been playing a vital role in…

  20. Reconnecting Proficiency, Literacy, and Culture: From Theory to Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warford, Mark K.; White, William L.

    2012-01-01

    What does it mean to capably communicate across languages? This article introduces two theoretical models and a lesson plan format designed to facilitate the integration of proficiency, literacy, and culture teaching in foreign language teaching. The Second Symbolic Competencies Model configures proficiency and literacy as subordinate clusters of…

  1. Applied Linguistics and Primary School Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellis, Sue, Ed.; McCartney, Elspeth, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    Modern primary teachers must adapt literacy programmes and ensure efficient learning for all. They must also support children with language and literacy difficulties, children learning English as an additional language and possibly teach a modern foreign language. To do this effectively, they need to understand the applied linguistics research…

  2. Thai EFL Online Diaries: Literacy Practice and Self-Expression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meechai, Jiraporn

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation aims to expand the definition of literacy beyond its usual text and school-based practice. It studies the online diary as a sociocultural and literacy practice that allows people from various languages and cultures to share their personal experiences and values. The participants are five Thai English as foreign language (EFL)…

  3. Composing in French and in English: What the Writers Are Telling Us.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crerand, Mary E. Lavin

    A study investigated the following questions: (1) How does writing develop in a foreign language context? (2) What are the learners' perceptions of writing in a foreign language? (3) What is the influence of first language literacy skills on second language writing? (4) What is the influence of second language proficiency on second language…

  4. "Bridging Activities," New Media Literacies, and Advanced Foreign Language Proficiency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thorne, Steven L.; Reinhardt, Jonathon

    2008-01-01

    In this article we propose the pedagogical model "bridging activities" to address advanced foreign language proficiency in the context of existing and emerging internet communication and information tools and communities. The article begins by establishing the need for language and genre-focused activities at the advanced level that attend to the…

  5. Measuring Digital Competence and ICT Literacy: An Exploratory Study of In-Service English Language Teachers in the Context of Saudi Arabia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al Khateeb, Ahmed Abdulteeef M.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to measure in-service English language teachers' digital competence, particularly for the enhancement of teaching English as a second/foreign language in schools in Saudi Arabia. Information and communication technology (ICT) knowledge is currently considered as a vital skill for foreign language teachers in…

  6. Assessment Literacy of Foreign Language Teachers: Findings of a European Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vogt, Karin; Tsagari, Dina

    2014-01-01

    Training of pre- and in-service teachers constitutes one of the most important aspects in the quality assurance of language testing and assessment (LTA). For instance, foreign language (FL) teachers have to deal with standardised tests as well as their own classroom-based assessment procedures. This means they need the necessary expertise that can…

  7. Literacy in the U.S.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weber, Rose-Marie

    1991-01-01

    Current definitions of literacy reflect a holistic view of reading and writing as linguistic enterprises situated in social and intellectual contexts. This article reviews early reading and writing, aspects of comprehension, reading/writing learning problems, and second and foreign language literacy. (99 references) (LB)

  8. Foreign Languages and International Studies: Case for Survival.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buzash, Michael D.

    An argument is made for continued and strengthened programs in foreign language instruction in business curricula. Among the points made are the following: economic and commercial development in post-World War II America established strong international ties; the Vietnam War emphasized U.S. inadequacies in cultural literacy; some higher education…

  9. Students as Producers and Collaborators: Exploring the Use of Padlets and Videos in MFL Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Berg, Anna

    2016-01-01

    In today's digital age, Languages graduates need more specific skills than fluency in the foreign language and intercultural competence. Employers expect from all applicants a high level of computer literacy and a set of soft skills such as creativity or the ability to solve problems and work on team projects. Modern Foreign Language (MFL)…

  10. Bringing out Children's Wonderful Ideas in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Yi

    This paper describes one after-school program at the Cambridge Chinese School, dedicated to teaching Chinese literacy to Chinese K-12 students in the Boston, Massachusetts area. In 1998, the school initiated the "Chinese as a Foreign Language" program to cater to the needs of U.S. families with an interest in the Chinese language and culture…

  11. English as a Foreign Language Spelling Development: A Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kahn-Horwitz, Janina; Sparks, Richard L.; Goldstein, Zahava

    2012-01-01

    English as a foreign language (EFL) spelling was examined longitudinally three times (4th, 9th, 12th grades) during 9 years of EFL study among Hebrew first language (L1) students. The study examined the impact of L1 literacy variables including phonemic awareness, word attack, and spelling on EFL spelling and the relationship between EFL literacy…

  12. Combat Literacy: Creating a Command Climate With Greater Appreciation for the Operational Role of Foreign Language

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-10-23

    language and culture of the battle space is critical to effective operational design. Analysis of steps taken by the U.S. military to provide the...advocacy. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Foreign Language, Culture , Linguists, Interpreters, Translators, Training, Situational Awareness 16. SECURITY...DIRECTION 10 CHANGING THE CULTURE 12 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 16 NOTES 18 BIBLIOGRAPHY

  13. Foreign Language Reading and Spelling in Gifted Students with Dyslexia in Secondary Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Viersen, Sietske; de Bree, Elise H.; Kalee, Lilian; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H.; de Jong, Peter F.

    2017-01-01

    A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language…

  14. Instructional Model of Critical Literacy in an EFL Context: Balancing Conventional and Critical Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huh, Seonmin

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the general patterns of interactions between the teacher and students during the different instructional steps when the teacher attempted to incorporate both conventional skill-based reading and critical literacy in an English as a foreign language (EFL) literacy class in a Korean university. There has been a paucity of EFL…

  15. Developing General Literacy Ability and Intercultural Sensitivity through English Literacy Instruction: Using Global Literature for Korean EFL Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bae, Jiyoung

    2012-01-01

    This study explored L2 literacy ability and intercultural sensitivity of Korean late elementary to early middle school students learning English as a foreign language. This study investigated the latent variable structure of L2 literacy abilities, including fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and writing abilities, and intercultural…

  16. The Complex Relationship between Home and School Literacy: A Blurred Boundary between Formal and Informal English Literacy Practices of Greek Teenagers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothoni, Anastasia

    2018-01-01

    This article reports on findings of an ethnographically oriented multiple case study research study on teenagers' everyday literacy practices in English as a foreign language in contemporary Greece. Drawing on new literacy studies, discourse analysis, and ethnography, the study extended over a period of 18 months and employed multiple data…

  17. Exploring the Roles of Parents and Students in EFL Literacy Learning: A Colombian Case

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hurtado Torres, Sergio Aldemar; Castañeda-Peña, Harold Andrés

    2016-01-01

    There is little scholarly information about parent involvement in their children's English as a Foreign Language (EFL henceforth) literacy learning in the Colombian context. This exploratory-qualitative study looks into the possible roles of parents and children in EFL literacy learning at home, with special emphasis on parental roles and…

  18. Music as Means To Enhance Cultural Awareness and Literacy in the Foreign Language Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Failoni, Judith Weaver

    1993-01-01

    The use of music in the foreign language classroom offers a unique approach to enhance students' awareness of another culture, and also can aid in the practice of communication skills. Music provides an interesting mirror of the history, literature, and culture of a country, that can be seen in song texts and in musical style. Musical styles and…

  19. Introduction to Computer Aided Instruction in the Language Laboratory.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughett, Harvey L.

    The first half of this book focuses on the rationale, ideas, and information for the use of technology, including microcomputers, to improve language teaching efficiency. Topics discussed include foreign language computer assisted instruction (CAI), hardware and software selection, computer literacy, educational computing organizations, ease of…

  20. A Study To Determine Instructors Self-Reported Instructional Strategies Which Foster Science Literacy In An EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noseworthy, Mark Joseph

    2011-12-01

    This research titled 'A Study to Determine Instructors Self-Reported Instructional Strategies Which Foster Science Literacy in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Environment' is an ethnographic study based on grounded theory principles and research design. The essence of the research was to answer five research questions that would ultimately create a foundation for instructional strategies allowing science instructors to foster science literacy in an EFL environment. The research attempts to conceptualize the research participants' instructional strategies that promote strong science literacy skills. Further to this, consider the complexities that this learning environment inherently offers, where the learning event is occurring in an English environment that is a second language for the learner. The research was designed to generate personal truths that produced common themes as it relates to the five research questions posed in this thesis; what instructional strategies do current post secondary science instructors at one College in Qatar believe foster science literacy in an EFL environment? As well, do science instructors believe that total immersion is the best approach to science literacy in an EFL environment? Is the North American model of teaching/learning science appropriate in this Middle Eastern environment? Are the current modes of teaching/instruction optimizing student's chances of success for science literacy? What do you feel are the greatest challenges for the EFL learner as it relates to science?

  1. Developing Critical L2 Digital Literacy through the Use of Computer-Based Internet-Hosted Learning Management Systems such as Moodle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meurant, Robert C.

    Second Language (L2) Digital Literacy is of emerging importance within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Korea, and will evolve to become regarded as the most critical component of overall L2 English Literacy. Computer-based Internet-hosted Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as the popular open-source Moodle, are rapidly being adopted worldwide for distance education, and are also being applied to blended (hybrid) education. In EFL Education, they have a special potential: by setting the LMS to force English to be used exclusively throughout a course website, the meta-language can be made the target L2 language. Of necessity, students develop the ability to use English to navigate the Internet, access and contribute to online resources, and engage in computer-mediated communication. Through such pragmatic engagement with English, students significantly develop their L2 Digital Literacy.

  2. Foreign language reading and spelling in gifted students with dyslexia in secondary education.

    PubMed

    van Viersen, Sietske; de Bree, Elise H; Kalee, Lilian; Kroesbergen, Evelyn H; de Jong, Peter F

    2017-01-01

    A few studies suggest that gifted children with dyslexia have better literacy skills than averagely intelligent children with dyslexia. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that giftedness-related factors provide compensation for poor reading. The present study investigated whether, as in the native language (NL), the level of foreign language (FL) literacy of gifted students with dyslexia is higher than the literacy level of averagely intelligent students with dyslexia and whether this difference can be accounted for by the difference in their NL literacy level. The sample consisted of 148 Dutch native speaking secondary school students divided in four groups: dyslexia, gifted/dyslexia, typically developing (TD), and gifted. All students were assessed on word reading and orthographic knowledge in Dutch and English when they were in 7th or 8th grade. A subsample ( n  = 71) was (re)assessed on Dutch, English, French, and German literacy one year later. Results showed that Dutch gifted students with dyslexia have higher NL literacy levels than averagely intelligent students with dyslexia. As in the NL, a stepwise pattern of group differences was found for English word reading and spelling, i.e., dyslexia < gifted/dyslexia < TD < gifted. However, it was not found for French and German literacy performance. These results point towards compensation: the higher English literacy levels of gifted/dyslexic students compared to their averagely intelligent dyslexic peers result from mechanisms that are unique to English as a FL. Differences in results between FLs are discussed in terms of variation in orthographic transparency and exposure.

  3. Receptive English Vocabulary in a Foreign Language Context: A Case Study of Preschoolers in Mauritius

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Auleear Owodally, Ambarin Mooznah

    2014-01-01

    In Mauritius, English, the least socially used language, is the main language of literacy and the main written medium of instruction throughout the education system, starting from the first year of compulsory primary education. The importance of English as a school language is reflected in the 2003 Preschool Curriculum Guidelines, which mention…

  4. SLA and the Literature Classroom: Fostering Dialogues. Issues in Language Program Direction: A Series of Annual Volumes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Virginia M., Ed.; Tucker, Holly, Ed.

    This monograph offers eight papers in four sections. Section 1, "Renewed Debates," includes "The Gordian Knot: Language, Literature, and Critical Thinking" (Jean Marie Schultz). Section 2, "Colleagues in Dialogue," includes "Developing Literacy and Literary Competence: Challenges for Foreign Language Departments" (Heidi Byrnes and Susanne Kord)…

  5. The English or Foreign Language Major and Liberal Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liberal Education, 2009

    2009-01-01

    Study in language, literature, and culture has long been a defining feature of education in the liberal arts. Speaking, reading, and writing have traditionally stood at the heart of education because the arts of language and the tools of literacy are key qualifications for full participation in social, political, economic, and cultural life. Today…

  6. Articulating the Curriculum through Cultural Themes: A Literacy and Genre Approach to Teaching Protest, Rebellion, and the Reevaluation of the Past

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, N. Jeff; LeCompte, Laurie; Plumly, Vanessa

    2012-01-01

    Conceived of as a response to the 2007 MLA Report on the state of foreign language teaching and learning in the United States, this article takes up some of the report's recommendations and puts them into practice. The first part of the article offers a response to current debates concerning foreign language programs and lays the conceptual…

  7. Math Literacy through French Language Learning: Connecting with the Common Core in the Lower Elementary Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis-Wiley, Patricia; Miller, Roy V.

    2013-01-01

    Among the reported proven positive results of early world Language (WL) study are improved cognitive abilities and "higher achievement test scores in reading and math" (Stewart: 11), which are expected student performance outcomes for the Common Core Standards. The future viability of Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES)…

  8. Web-Based Machine Translation as a Tool for Promoting Electronic Literacy and Language Awareness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Lawrence

    2006-01-01

    This article addresses a pervasive problem of concern to teachers of many foreign languages: the use of Web-Based Machine Translation (WBMT) by students who do not understand the complexities of this relatively new tool. Although networked technologies have greatly increased access to many language and communication tools, WBMT is still…

  9. Using News Articles to Build a Critical Literacy Classroom in an EFL Setting

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Yujong

    2011-01-01

    This article examines an effort to support critical literacy in an English as a foreign language (EFL) setting by analyzing one college EFL reading classroom in which students read and responded to articles from "The New Yorker". Data include transcribed audiotapes of classroom interaction and interviews with students, classroom materials, and…

  10. Redesigning an Introductory Language Curriculum: A Backward Design Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Paesani, Kate

    2017-01-01

    In response to calls for curricular change in foreign language programs and institutional requirements to evaluate programmatic effectiveness, this article presents a backward design approach to the redesign of an introductory French curriculum grounded in the framing concept of cultural literacy. In addition, data from student evaluations,…

  11. The Gordian Knot: Language, Literature, and Critical Thinking.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schultz, Jean Marie

    This chapter contains a dialogue that challenges philosophical and practical divisions both inside and outside the academy regarding the development of literacy and literary competence in foreign language departments. It also describes curricular revisions that address those divisions. One author crafts an argument for reform based on the notion…

  12. English as a Foreign Language in Bilingual Language-minority Children, Children with Dyslexia and Monolingual Typical Readers.

    PubMed

    Bonifacci, Paola; Canducci, Elisa; Gravagna, Giulia; Palladino, Paola

    2017-05-01

    The present study was aimed at investigating literacy skills in English as a foreign language in three different groups of children: monolinguals with dyslexia (n = 19), typically developing bilinguals (language-minority) (n = 19) and a control group of monolinguals (Italian) (n = 76). Bilinguals were not expected to fail in English measures, and their gap with monolinguals would be expected to be limited to the instructional language, owing to underexposure. All participants were enrolled in Italian primary schools (fourth and fifth grades). A non-verbal reasoning task and Italian and English literacy tasks were administered. The Italian battery included word and non-word reading (speed and accuracy), word and non-word writing, and reading comprehension; the English battery included similar tasks, except for the non-word writing. Bilingual children performed similarly to typical readers in English tasks, whereas in Italian tasks, their performance was similar to that of typical readers in reading speed but not in reading accuracy and writing. Children with dyslexia underperformed compared with typically developing children in all English and Italian tasks, except for reading comprehension in Italian. Profile analysis and correlational analyses were further discussed. These results suggest that English as a foreign language might represent a challenge for students with dyslexia but a strength for bilingual language-minority children. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. The Path to English Literacy: Analyzing Elementary Sight Word Procurement Using Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in Contrast to Traditional Methodologies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Madill, Michael T. R.

    2014-01-01

    Didactical approaches related to teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) have developed into a complex array of instructional methodologies, each having potential benefits attributed to elementary reading development. One such effective practice is Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL), which uses various forms of technology such as…

  14. Searching for French Civilization: Reflections On Situating Information Literacy Skills in an Undergraduate Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Reilly, Carmel

    2014-01-01

    This chapter questions and reflects on the changing role of the foreign language and civilization lecturer as educator, when information literacy skills are situated in an undergraduate curriculum. As such, it does not set itself the task of providing solutions. Instead, it considers all the complications which occur en route to a greater use of…

  15. Chocolate: Reading across the Five C's

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schneider, Jody

    2007-01-01

    The reading and literacy focus of a unit that centers on chocolate can provide a context for using the interpretive mode of the communication standard from the "National Standards in Foreign Language Education." This article presents a thematic unit that is applicable to all languages and adaptable to any level. Inspired by Woodlands'…

  16. A Novel Approach for Enhancing Student Reading Comprehension and Assisting Teacher Assessment of Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jun-Ming; Chen, Meng-Chang; Sun, Yeali S.

    2010-01-01

    For students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), reading exercises are critical not only for developing strong reading comprehension, but also for developing listening, speaking, and writing skills. Prior research suggests that social, collaborative learning environments are best suited for improving language ability. However, opportunities…

  17. "Critical Literacy Helps Wipe Away the Dirt on Our Glasses": Towards an Understanding of Reading as Ideological Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Shin-Ying

    2011-01-01

    This paper reports on a qualitative teacher inquiry conducted in a tertiary, English-as-a-foreign-language classroom in Taiwan. The purpose of the study was, first, to implement a poststructuralist view of critical literacy that focuses not only on texts but also on the practice of reading as constructed and contested, and second, to examine the…

  18. Contextual explanations for numeracy and literacy skill disparities between native and foreign-born adults in western countries.

    PubMed

    Levels, Mark; Dronkers, Jaap; Jencks, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    Using new direct measures of numeracy and literacy skills among 85,875 adults in 17 Western countries, we find that foreign-born adults have lower mean skills than native-born adults of the same age (16 to 64) in all of the examined countries. The gaps are small, and vary substantially between countries. Multilevel models reveal that immigrant populations' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, employment, and language proficiency explain about half of the cross-national variance of numeracy and literacy skills gaps. Differences in origin countries' average education level also account for variation in the size of the immigrant-native skills gap. The more protective labor markets in immigrant-receiving countries are, the less well immigrants are skilled in numeracy and literacy compared to natives. For those who migrate before their teens (the 1.5 generation), access to an education system that accommodates migrants' special needs is crucial. The 1 and 1.5 generation have smaller numeracy and literacy skills gaps in more ethnically diverse societies.

  19. Critical Literacy Practices in EFL Reading Classroom--An Experimental Study towards Chinese University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Yang

    2017-01-01

    English as a world language is more than a way to exchange information but a means to solidify certain social hierarchy and represent certain social interests. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers should instruct critical awareness to empower students to transform social injustice and fulfill responsibilities as global citizens. This…

  20. Exploring the Relationship between EFL College Students' Multimodal Literacy Practices and Identity on Academic Language Use

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wu, Hsiao-Ping

    2011-01-01

    The study investigates whether the informal interactive written discourse in instant messaging (IM) is permeating the more formal writing of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) college students, and how students' identities are constructed in terms of English multiliteracies in Taiwan. The study is designed as a qualitative case study. The…

  1. Motivation to Read and Thoughtful Literacy in an English as Second or Foreign Language Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xu, Heng

    2013-01-01

    Traditionally, English reading has been thought of as an approach used to acquire language proficiency rather than as a way to understand information and elicit thoughtfulness. Although a positive correlation has been found between motivation and engagement, no study has yet been undertaken to discover the relationship between motivation and…

  2. Literacy and FLES. Connecting to the Common Core Learning Standards

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martino, Al; Barnett, Harriet

    2013-01-01

    At present, Whole Language (WL) teachers DO teach reading as a part of their curriculum. However, the new common core learning standards set the stage for Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) teachers to take a more active role, if not lead the way in developing important reading skills in children. Although this new challenge may at…

  3. Functional Foreign Language Literacy for Higher Education and Research: The Case of French in Nigerian Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uhuegbu, Alozie R.; Edung, Mike T. U.

    2015-01-01

    African nations have always considered the knowledge of each other's official language, principally English and French, as a means for their scientists to exchange their research work and findings with their counterparts across the linguistic barriers on the continent and in the world, and thereby hasten the pace of national development. Nigerian…

  4. Teachers' Views on Digital Educational Tools in English Language Learning: Benefits and Challenges in the Turkish Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çelik, Servet; Aytin, Kübra

    2014-01-01

    Despite the clear benefits provided by digital educational tools, Turkish teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) are often seen as failing to take advantage of computing technologies in the classroom. Deficiencies in terms of teachers' digital literacies are often faulted for this omission. The majority of studies concerning Turkish EFL…

  5. Contextual explanations for numeracy and literacy skill disparities between native and foreign-born adults in western countries

    PubMed Central

    Jencks, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    Using new direct measures of numeracy and literacy skills among 85,875 adults in 17 Western countries, we find that foreign-born adults have lower mean skills than native-born adults of the same age (16 to 64) in all of the examined countries. The gaps are small, and vary substantially between countries. Multilevel models reveal that immigrant populations’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, employment, and language proficiency explain about half of the cross-national variance of numeracy and literacy skills gaps. Differences in origin countries’ average education level also account for variation in the size of the immigrant-native skills gap. The more protective labor markets in immigrant-receiving countries are, the less well immigrants are skilled in numeracy and literacy compared to natives. For those who migrate before their teens (the 1.5 generation), access to an education system that accommodates migrants’ special needs is crucial. The 1 and 1.5 generation have smaller numeracy and literacy skills gaps in more ethnically diverse societies. PMID:28301541

  6. The Challenges of Digital Literacy in the Context of the Spanish Government Educational Policies: The Statement of the Question

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Díaz, Carmen Guillén; Quílez, Mariá Teresa Blasco

    The "(r)evolution" of the literacy concept and our duty as Languages' Teachers' Trainers at the Faculty of Education and Social Work in Valladolid's University (Spain), guides this research in progress. Our research develops in the framework of the Spanish Higher Education System, within the development of the eight key competences established by the European Council, for the Education and Training of the European citizens for lifelong learning in the knowledge society. We focus on the competences 1, 2 and 4: Communication in the mother tongue, Communication in foreign languages and Digital competence, both as essential competences in the professional language's teacher's profile and as a challenge in the Teacher's Education and Training in the Spanish government policies context.

  7. Digital Literacy and Netiquette: Awareness and Perception in EFL Learning Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nia, Sara Farshad; Marandi, Susan

    2014-01-01

    With the growing popularity of digital technologies and computer-mediated communication (CMC), various types of interactive communication technology are being increasingly integrated into foreign/second language learning environments. Nevertheless, due to its nature, online communication is susceptible to misunderstandings and miscommunications,…

  8. Carl Rogers and Me: Revisiting Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Li-Te

    2003-01-01

    Discusses connections between Carl Rogers and literacy by introducing Rogers' major contributions and by discussing the implementation of his ideas in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom in Taiwan. Explains Rogers' ideas about teachers as facilitators; learner-centered learning; and building freedom. Concludes that person-centered…

  9. Using Digital Storytelling to Improve Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Menezes, Helena

    2012-01-01

    The paper shows the importance of Storybird, an online platform, for developing writing and storytelling among young learners of a foreign language. Storybird is an extremely engaging collaborative storywriting website that embodies three ideas--creating, reading, and sharing. It is also a collaborative storytelling tool that allows students to…

  10. Media Education in Kazakhstan: Work Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laila, Akhmetova

    2016-01-01

    In the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2012 started work on formation of literacy in the field of media education for journalists, educators, and youth. Studied publishing foreign scientists, work experience in different countries, manuals, seminars and workshops, publishes scientific works in the Kazakh and Russian languages, and considers issues of…

  11. Proceedings of the Asian Reading Conference (Tokyo, Japan, August 3-4, 1993).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Japan Reading Association, Tokyo.

    This proceedings of the 1993 Asian Reading Conference contains the following 20 papers: "Adverse Effects of Lower Cognitive Processing Capacity on Achievement: What Can We Do?" (James M. Furukawa); "The Impact of Foreign Language Literacy on Higher Education in Thailand" (Uthai Piromruen); "Reading Achievement of Students…

  12. The Effect of Storytelling and Retelling and Higher Order Thinking on Oral Performance of Elementary Students in English as Foreign Language (EFL) Program: A Pilot Study in Mainland China and Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Pei-lin; Tong, Fuhui; Irby, Beverly J.; Lara-Alecio, Rafael; Ramos, Norma; Nava-Walichowski, Miranda

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of Story Telling and retelling and higher order thinking for "E"nglish "L"anguage and "L"iteracy "A"cquisition (STELLA) on the English oral proficiency of elementary students in Mainland China and Taiwan, where English is taught as a foreign…

  13. Language in education: The case of Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nababan, P. W. J.

    1991-03-01

    Although over 400 languages are spoken in Indonesia, by 1986 60% of the population had some competence in the Indonesian national language, a substantial increase over 1971. Bahasa Indonesia was declared the state language in the 1945 constitution, and reformed spelling was agreed in 1972. It is the sole medium of instruction, except in the first three grades of elementary school in nine regions, where vernaculars may be used transitionally. Thereafter vernaculars are taught as school subjects. Bilingualism, and even multilingualism in Indonesian and one or more vernaculars and/or foreign languages is increasing, and despite the use of Indonesian for official documentary purposes at all levels it does not appear that vernaculars are dying out, although their spheres of use are restricted. Bahasa Indonesia fulfils the four functions: cognitive, instrumental, integrative and cultural, while vernaculars are only integrative and cultural. The curriculum of Indonesian, established centrally, is pragmatic or communicative. It is expressed in a standard syllabus for course books. This approach equally applies to foreign languages, which are introduced at secondary level, although here receptive reading is given more weight than productive skills. A full description of the syllabus organization of the various languages is given. Nonformal language learning also takes place, in the national basic education and literacy programme, which teaches Bahasa Indonesia, and in vocational courses in foreign languages for commerce.

  14. Novel Spoken Word Learning in Adults with Developmental Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conner, Peggy S.

    2013-01-01

    A high percentage of individuals with dyslexia struggle to learn unfamiliar spoken words, creating a significant obstacle to foreign language learning after early childhood. The origin of spoken-word learning difficulties in this population, generally thought to be related to the underlying literacy deficit, is not well defined (e.g., Di Betta…

  15. Seeking Understanding of Foreign Language Teachers' Shifting Emotions in Relation to Pupils

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruohotie-Lyhty, Maria; Korppi, Aino; Moate, Josephine; Nyman, Tarja

    2018-01-01

    Teaching is recognised as an emotional practice. Studies have highlighted the importance of teachers' emotional literacy in the development of pupils' emotional skills, the central position of emotions in teachers' ways of knowing, and in their professional development. This longitudinal study draws on a dialogic understanding of emotion to…

  16. English, Identity and Critical Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Qu, Weiguo

    2011-01-01

    While we hold that cultural colonization in English teaching in the cross-cultural context is a legitimate concern, we argue that when overstretched it tends to ignore the complex power relations within a culture by imposing homogeneity on it. It may also fossilize the role a foreign language can play in a multilingual context, which, we believe,…

  17. PA-EFL: A Phonological Awareness Program For Indigenous EFL Students with Hearing Disabilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yonovitz, L.; Yonovitz, A.; Palmer, Juan C.

    2000-01-01

    Australia's indigenous populations have endemic levels of otitis media with conductive hearing loss. PA-EFL is a phonological awareness program designed for indigenous Australians who are at high risk for hearing disabilities and who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Hearing support services were provided; remarkable literacy gains…

  18. Problematizing Videogames: Teaching Students to Be Critical Players

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Love, Mark

    2017-01-01

    This contribution aims to familiarize educators with the unique ways in which videogames convey meaning as a media form and to provide an instrument, based on videogame theory, that educators can easily employ in intermediate and advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms to teach critical media literacy. In order to equip teachers…

  19. "Organizing the Mess in My Mind": EFL Teachers' Perceptions and Knowledge of English Orthography

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kahn-Horwitz, Janina

    2015-01-01

    English foreign language (EFL) literacy achievement is a major challenge for EFL pupils in Israel. To better understand this challenge, this study used a quantitative approach to examine differences between experienced and preservice EFL teachers' content knowledge of the English orthography and the impact of a semester course on this knowledge. A…

  20. Effects of Direct Instruction of Visual Literacy Skills on Science Achievement When Integrated into Inquiry Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Galyas, Lesley Crowell

    2016-01-01

    Understanding of visual representations is a pivotal skill necessary in science. These visual, verbal, and numeric representations are the crux of science discourses "by scientists, with students and the general public" (Pauwels, 2006, p.viii). Those who lack the understanding of these representations see it as a foreign language, one…

  1. Elementary English-as-a-Foreign-Language Teachers' Beliefs about English Literacy Interventions in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Chien-Hung

    2009-01-01

    The implementation of English education at the elementary level in Taiwan is still in its early stage. However, researchers and educators in this field have noticed the variation of student English proficiency which increases the difficulty of teaching in today's EFL classes and results in calls for intervention programs. The purpose of this study…

  2. Building Global Graduates and Developing Transnational Professional Skills through a Telecollaboration Project in Foreign Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guadamillas Gómez, Ma Victoria

    2017-01-01

    The development of e-literacies and e-skills is of primary importance in gaining transferable aptitudes for the job market. Students in higher education need to take part in shared intercultural experiences which allow them to understand and cope with their peers in preparation for their futures. Furthermore, virtual exchange of information,…

  3. First Steps toward Critical Literacy: Interactions with an English Narrative Text among Three English as a Foreign Language Readers in South Korea

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Young Ju

    2017-01-01

    Three Korean children, whose English reading test scores were comparably lower than their peers' and who showed a tendency to withdraw from class activities or resist texts, participated in a reading tutoring programme in South Korea. By reflecting on the three students' interactions with an English text, the current paper argues that resistant…

  4. Dedos de Luna. Children's Literature in Spanish: Bilingual Edition. Guia para maestros en espanol e ingles. Elementary Literature Series, Part II.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Dana; Huerta, Mario

    This curriculum unit is designed to give primary school students foreign language experiences and also to support the cultural literacy strand of the California State History-Social Science Framework. The unit is part of an elementary literature series which utilizes quality primary source literature from various world regions and countries and…

  5. American Music Immersion: Influencing Factors and Its Impact on Taiwanese EFL Learners Engaged in Web-Based, Multimedia Music Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beasley, Robert; Chuang, Yuangshan; Liao, Chao-chih

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence American music immersion (AMI) in Taiwanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and to determine if AMI is a predictor of vocabulary acquisition and American lifestyle literacy improvement during online, multimedia music study. The results of this study suggest that…

  6. Family Literacy Programmes and Young Children's Language and Literacy Development: Paying Attention to Families' Home Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Jim; Anderson, Ann; Sadiq, Assadullah

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we review the literature on the impact of family literacy programmes on young children's language and literacy learning. After defining family literacy, we present a brief historical overview of family literacy programmes, including persistent questions regarding their effectiveness with respect to young children's language and…

  7. Becoming Literate in English as a Second Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldman, Susan R., Ed.; Trueba, Henry T., Ed.

    A collection of articles on English-as-a-Second-Language literacy and literacy education include: "Contextual Issues in the Study of Second Language Literacy" (Susan R. Goldman); "Mexican Adult Literacy: New Directions for Immigrants" (Concha Delgado-Gaitan); "Factors Affecting Development of Second Language Literacy" (Richard Duran); "Reading in…

  8. Computer-Based Internet-Hosted Assessment of L2 Literacy: Computerizing and Administering of the Oxford Quick Placement Test in ExamView and Moodle

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meurant, Robert C.

    Sorting of Korean English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) university students by Second Language (L2) aptitude allocates students to classes of compatible ability level, and was here used to screen candidates for interview. Paper-and-pen versions of the Oxford Quick Placement Test were adapted to computer-based testing via online hosting using FSCreations ExamView. Problems with their online hosting site led to conversion to the popular computer-based learning management system Moodle, hosted on www.ninehub.com. 317 sophomores were tested online to encourage L2 digital literacy. Strategies for effective hybrid implementation of Learning Management Systems in L2 tertiary education include computer-based Internet-hosted L2 aptitude tests. These potentially provide a convenient measure of student progress in developing L2 fluency, and offer a more objective and relevant means of teacher- and course-assessment than student evaluations, which tend to confuse entertainment value and teacher popularity with academic credibility and pedagogical effectiveness.

  9. Literacy in Indigenous Communities. Research Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Broekhuizen, L. David

    In this research synthesis, notions of literacy from a variety of inclusive rather than exclusive perspectives are presented. Notions of national literacies, mother-tongue literacies, multiple literacies, and bi-literacies are explored. Information and research pertaining to threatened languages, language shift, and language loss is presented,…

  10. Adult EFL Reading Selection: Influence on Literacy (Procesos de selección de lecturas en estudiantes adultos de inglés como lengua extranjera y su influencia en la habilidad lectora)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basallo Gómez, Juan Sebastián

    2016-01-01

    This paper is about the impact of systematic reading selection used to promote English as foreign language learning in adult students. A qualitative action research methodology was used to carry out this project. Ten class sessions were designed to provide students an opportunity to select texts according to criteria based upon their language…

  11. Literacy in Local Languages in Thailand: Language Maintenance in a Globalised World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kosonen, Kimmo

    2008-01-01

    In a globalised world, literacy in local languages is affected by at least three significant trends: globalisation, regionalisation and nationalism. Literacy in local languages plays a major role in language maintenance and the management of identity. Local literacies in local languages can also be a source of resistance to the rapid sociocultural…

  12. Language Assessment Literacy: Implications for Language Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giraldo, Frank

    2018-01-01

    Recently, the applied linguistics field has examined the knowledge, skills, and principles needed for assessment, defined as language assessment literacy. Two major issues in language assessment literacy have been addressed but not fully resolved--what exactly language assessment literacy is and how it differs among stakeholders (e.g., students…

  13. The Home Literacy Environment Is a Correlate, but Perhaps Not a Cause, of Variations in Children's Language and Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Puglisi, Marina L.; Hulme, Charles; Hamilton, Lorna G.; Snowling, Margaret J.

    2017-01-01

    The home literacy environment is a well-established predictor of children's language and literacy development. We investigated whether formal, informal, and indirect measures of the home literacy environment predict children's reading and language skills once maternal language abilities are taken into account. Data come from a longitudinal study…

  14. The home literacy environment and Latino head start children's emergent literacy skills.

    PubMed

    Farver, Jo Ann M; Xu, Yiyuan; Lonigan, Christopher J; Eppe, Stefanie

    2013-04-01

    This study examined children's early literacy skills in both English and Spanish at entry to preschool to investigate the pattern of association among these skills and their families' home language and literacy practices. The participants were 392 primarily Latino immigrant (85%) families and their children. Mothers completed questionnaires about their families and their home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills were measured in English and Spanish at the outset of the preschool year. Project assistants interviewed mothers in their homes and tallied the presence of literacy-related materials. Results of structural equation modeling showed that the 3 preliteracy skills were significantly associated within and across English and Spanish, suggesting the possible transfer of these early preliteracy skills across languages. For the English language HLE, parents' literacy-related behaviors, sibling-child reading, and families' literacy resources were all associated with children's English oral language skills, and their English print knowledge was associated with their home resources. For the Spanish language HLE, only parents' literacy-related behaviors were related to children's Spanish oral language and print knowledge skills. There were no significant cross-linguistic relations between any aspect of the English HLE and children's Spanish preliteracy skills, whereas parents' literacy-related behaviors in Spanish were negatively associated with children's English oral language and phonological awareness skills. Given the importance of oral language and vocabulary in promoting children's literacy, these results indicate that parents can support this skill in both languages, but their relative impact seems to be within rather across language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Rotation Conversation: A Tip on How To Organize a Conversation Class; Amazing Sentences of Indian Students: A Simple Writing Activity that Triggered Profound Ideas; "Short and Sweet" in a Thai Classroom (A Lesson Plan Based on a Mini Literacy Text); A Pile of Pictures: Ten Practical Ideas for Your Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singleton, Pat; Dhanavel, P.; Lwin, Phyu Phyu; Yoel, Judith

    2002-01-01

    Techniques for teaching in the English-as-a-Second/Foreign-Language classroom are included. They focus on planning a conversation class, teaching writing, a lesson plan based on a multiliteracy text, and how a pile of pictures can be used in different ways. (Author/VWL)

  16. Endangered Languages and Literacy. Proceedings of the Fourth FEL Conference (Charlotte, North Carolina, September 21-24, 2000).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ostler, Nicholas, Ed.; Rudes, Blair, Ed.

    Papers for the fourth Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL) Conference include the following: "Endangered languages and Literacy" (Nicholas Ostler, Blair Rudes); "Keynote Address: On Native Language Literacy: a Personal Perspective" (Ofelia Zepeda); "A Community's Solution to Some Literacy Problems: The Mayangna of…

  17. Home Language and Literacy Practices among Immigrant Second-Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dixon, L. Quentin; Wu, Shuang

    2014-01-01

    Because certain home language and literacy practices have been found to be beneficial to monolingual children's literacy development, we examine immigrant children's home language and literacy practices in different countries. Presenting findings from 92 post-2000 articles, we examine research into these practices, what factors influence…

  18. Language Correlates of Disciplinary Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fang, Zhihui

    2012-01-01

    Disciplinary literacy is defined here as the ability to engage in social, semiotic, and cognitive practices consistent with those of content experts. Characterizing literacy development as a process of braiding 3 language strands of everyday language, abstract language, and metaphoric language, this article describes the lexical and grammatical…

  19. Language, Literacy, Children's Literature: The Link to Communicative Competency for ESOL Adults.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flickinger, Gayle Glidden

    Developing literacy in adults who speak English as a second language (ESL) means more than rote memorization of letters and sounds, because literacy implies a familiarity with the language and culture sufficient for comfortable interaction and communication of ideas to others. Literacy can be defined as (1) a matter of language, (2) having many…

  20. Impact of Home Language and Literacy Support on English-Chinese Biliteracy Acquisition among Chinese Heritage Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Chan; Koda, Keiko

    2011-01-01

    Studies on monolingual children have shown that home language and literacy support is crucial in children's early literacy acquisition. However, such support has not been examined as thoroughly among bilingual children, including heritage speakers. This study investigated the effect of home language and literacy support on important precursors of…

  1. Metamorphological awareness and EFL students' memory, retention, and retrieval of English adjectival lexicons.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Lawrence Jun

    2002-12-01

    Research has shown that foreign or second language learners' metalinguistic awareness has important effects on their acquisition of the target language. Important among a multitude of the concerns are problems these learners encounter when they have to process the morphological features of individual words, particularly in the acquisition of literacy skills. Nevertheless, for students who learn English as a foreign or second language for academic purposes, one of the biggest challenges in their advanced study is how they can effectively remember, retain, and retrieve the colossal number of newly learnt English vocabulary, including adjectival lexicons, to enhance their academic success. Results from the present report on the effects of metamorphological awareness of 65 adult Chinese EFL learners' memory, retention, and retrieval of adjectival lexicons show that, although the subjects in the two groups did not differ significantly in their performance on a pretest designed to check their lexical knowledge and no sex difference was observed, statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in both conditions (immediate and delayed retrievals) on a posttest. The experimental group and women predominantly performed better in the memory-retention-retrieval tasks assigned to them. Implications for educational research and practices are also discussed.

  2. Home Literacy Environment and English Language and Literacy Skills among Chinese Young Children Who Learn English as a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeung, Susanna S.; King, Ronnel B.

    2016-01-01

    The present study explored the home literacy environment for Chinese ESL kindergarteners and examined the relationships between home literacy practices and language and literacy skills. Ninety Hong Kong Chinese ESL kindergarteners were assessed for English vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter knowledge and word reading. Their parents…

  3. Language Policy and Literacy Practices in the Family: The Case of Ethiopian Parental Narrative Input

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stavans, Anat

    2012-01-01

    The present study analyses the Family Language Policy (FLP) in regards language literacy development of children in Ethiopian immigrant families. Bridging the gap between linguistic literacy at home and at school hinders a smooth societal integration and a normative literacy development. This study describes the home literacy patterns shaped by…

  4. Improving Latino Children's Early Language and Literacy Development: Key Features of Early Childhood Education within Family Literacy Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jung, Youngok; Zuniga, Stephen; Howes, Carollee; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; Parrish, Deborah; Quick, Heather; Manship, Karen; Hauser, Alison

    2016-01-01

    Noting the lack of research on how early childhood education (ECE) programmes within family literacy programmes influence Latino children's early language and literacy development, this study examined key features of ECE programmes, specifically teacher-child interactions and child engagement in language and literacy activities and how these…

  5. Predictors of English Health Literacy among U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: The importance of language, bilingualism and sociolinguistic environment

    PubMed Central

    Hund, Lauren; Soto Mas, Francisco

    2016-01-01

    In the United States, data confirm that Spanish-speaking immigrants are particularly affected by the negative health outcomes associated with low health literacy. Although the literature points to variables such as age, educational background and language, only a few studies have investigated the factors that may influence health literacy in this group. Similarly, the role that bilingualism and/or multilingualism play in health literacy assessment continues to be an issue in need of further research. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of English health literacy among adult Hispanic immigrants whose self-reported primary language is Spanish, but who live and function in a bilingual community. It also explored issues related to the language of the instrument. An analysis of data collected through a randomized controlled study was conducted. Results identified English proficiency as the strongest predictor of health literacy (p < 0.001). The results further point to the importance of primary and secondary language in the assessment of heath literacy level. This study raises many questions in need of further investigation to clarify how language proficiency and sociolinguistic environment affect health literacy in language minority adults; proposes language approaches that may be more appropriate for measuring health literacy in these populations; and recommends further place-based research to determine whether the connection between language proficiency and health is generalizable to border communities. PMID:27127416

  6. Predictors of English Health Literacy among U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: The importance of language, bilingualism and sociolinguistic environment.

    PubMed

    Jacobson, Holly E; Hund, Lauren; Soto Mas, Francisco

    In the United States, data confirm that Spanish-speaking immigrants are particularly affected by the negative health outcomes associated with low health literacy. Although the literature points to variables such as age, educational background and language, only a few studies have investigated the factors that may influence health literacy in this group. Similarly, the role that bilingualism and/or multilingualism play in health literacy assessment continues to be an issue in need of further research. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of English health literacy among adult Hispanic immigrants whose self-reported primary language is Spanish, but who live and function in a bilingual community. It also explored issues related to the language of the instrument. An analysis of data collected through a randomized controlled study was conducted. Results identified English proficiency as the strongest predictor of health literacy (p < 0.001). The results further point to the importance of primary and secondary language in the assessment of heath literacy level. This study raises many questions in need of further investigation to clarify how language proficiency and sociolinguistic environment affect health literacy in language minority adults; proposes language approaches that may be more appropriate for measuring health literacy in these populations; and recommends further place-based research to determine whether the connection between language proficiency and health is generalizable to border communities.

  7. Language![R]. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    What Works Clearinghouse, 2013

    2013-01-01

    "LANGUAGE!"[R] is a language arts intervention designed for struggling learners in grades 3-12 who score below the 40th percentile on standardized literacy tests. The curriculum integrates English literacy acquisition skills into a six-step lesson format. During a daily lesson, students work on six key literacy strands (which the…

  8. Language-Independent and Language-Specific Aspects of Early Literacy: An Evaluation of the Common Underlying Proficiency Model.

    PubMed

    Goodrich, J Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J

    2017-08-01

    According to the common underlying proficiency model (Cummins, 1981), as children acquire academic knowledge and skills in their first language, they also acquire language-independent information about those skills that can be applied when learning a second language. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relevance of the common underlying proficiency model for the early literacy skills of Spanish-speaking language-minority children using confirmatory factor analysis. Eight hundred fifty-eight Spanish-speaking language-minority preschoolers (mean age = 60.83 months, 50.2% female) participated in this study. Results indicated that bifactor models that consisted of language-independent as well as language-specific early literacy factors provided the best fits to the data for children's phonological awareness and print knowledge skills. Correlated factors models that only included skills specific to Spanish and English provided the best fits to the data for children's oral language skills. Children's language-independent early literacy skills were significantly related across constructs and to language-specific aspects of early literacy. Language-specific aspects of early literacy skills were significantly related within but not across languages. These findings suggest that language-minority preschoolers have a common underlying proficiency for code-related skills but not language-related skills that may allow them to transfer knowledge across languages.

  9. National Literacy Trust Survey in Partnership with Nursery World: Investigating Communication, Language and Literacy Development in the Early Years Sector

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Halden, Amanda; Clark, Christina; Lewis, Fiona

    2011-01-01

    In May 2011 "Nursery World" and the National Literacy Trust launched its language development survey to celebrate Hello; the national year of communication. The National Literacy Trust teamed up with "Nursery World" to carry out research into the sector's support for children's language and literacy development. Two hundred…

  10. Literacy through Languages: Connecting with the Common Core

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandrock, Paul

    2013-01-01

    The Common Core Standards have defined literacy and outlined the mission for English Language Arts in a way that provides a natural fit with the National Standards for Language Learning. Taking advantage of this connection, language teachers can showcase the importance of learning languages by demonstrating how literacy is learned, practiced, and…

  11. Language and Literacy: The Case of India.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sridhar, Kamal K.

    Language and literacy issues in India are reviewed in terms of background, steps taken to combat illiteracy, and some problems associated with literacy. The following facts are noted: India has 106 languages spoken by more than 685 million people, there are several minor script systems, a major language has different dialects, a language may use…

  12. Urban Literacies: Critical Perspectives on Language, Learning, and Community. Language & Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinloch, Valerie, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    Urban Literacies showcases cutting-edge perspectives on urban education and language and literacy by respected junior and senior scholars, researchers, and teacher educators. The authors explore--through various theoretical orientations and diverse methodologies--meanings of urban education in the lives of students and their families across three…

  13. Heritage Language Literacy Maintenance: A Study of Korean-American Heritage Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Catherine E.; Pyun, Danielle O.

    2014-01-01

    How heritage learners successfully maintain their heritage language (HL) and literacy is a significant topic of discussion in the field of bilingual education. This study examines what factors are most closely associated with literacy competence by inspecting Korean heritage learners' language and literacy practice patterns and their literacy…

  14. Oral language and narrative skills in children with specific language impairment with and without literacy delay: a three-year longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Boons, Tinne; Ghesquière, Pol; Zink, Inge

    2012-01-01

    This longitudinal study compared the development of oral language and more specifically narrative skills (storytelling and story retelling) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay. Therefore, 18 children with SLI and 18 matched controls with normal literacy were followed from the last year of kindergarten (mean age=5 years 5 months) until the beginning of grade 3 (mean age=8 years 1 month). Oral language tests measuring vocabulary, morphology, sentence and text comprehension and narrative skills were administered yearly. Based on first and third grade reading and spelling achievement, both groups were divided into a group with and a group without literacy problems. Results showed that the children with SLI and literacy delay had persistent oral language problems across all assessed language domains. The children with SLI and normal literacy skills scored also persistently low on vocabulary, morphology and story retelling skills. Only on listening comprehension and storytelling, they evolved towards the level of the control group. In conclusion, oral language skills in children with SLI and normal literacy skills remained in general poor, despite their intact literacy development during the first years of literacy instruction. Only for listening comprehension and storytelling, they improved, probably as a result of more print exposure. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Oral narrative skills: Explaining the language-emergent literacy link by race/ethnicity and SES.

    PubMed

    Gardner-Neblett, Nicole; Iruka, Iheoma U

    2015-07-01

    Although children's early language skills have been found to predict literacy outcomes, little is known about the role of preschool oral narrative skills in the pathway between language and emergent literacy or how these associations differ by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The current study uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to explore how language at age 2 is associated with narrative skills at age 4 and emergent literacy outcomes at age 5 for a nationally representative sample of children. Findings demonstrate that early language is associated with narrative skills for most children. Oral narrative skills were found to mediate the pathway between early language and kindergarten emergent literacy for poor and nonpoor African American children. Implications for children's literacy development and future research are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Exploring the Synergy between Science Literacy and Language Literacy with English Language Learners: Lessons Learned within a Sustained Professional Development Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carrejo, David J.; Reinhartz, Judy

    2012-01-01

    Thirty-five elementary teachers participated in a yearlong professional development (PD) program whose goal was to foster science content learning while promoting language literacy for English Language Learners (ELL). The researchers utilized an explanatory design methodology to determine the degree to which science and language literacy…

  17. "Teacher, There's an Elephant in the Room!" An Inquiry Approach to Preschoolers' Early Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kampmann, Jennifer Anne; Bowne, Mary Teresa

    2011-01-01

    Children need sound language and literacy skills to communicate with others and actively participate in a classroom learning community. When an early childhood classroom offers a language- and literacy-rich environment, children have numerous opportunities to practice language and literacy in a social setting. A language-rich classroom includes an…

  18. The Teaching of Reading, Writing and Language in a Clinical Speech and Language Setting: A Blended Therapy Intervention Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ammons, Kerrie Allen

    2013-01-01

    With a growing body of research that supports a link between language and literacy, governing bodies in the field of speech and language pathology have recognized the need to reconsider the role of speech-language pathologists in addressing the emergent literacy needs of preschoolers who struggle with literacy and language concepts. This study…

  19. A Growth Curve Analysis of Literacy Performance among Second-Grade, Spanish-Speaking, English-Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gutiierrez, Gabriel; Vanderwood, Mike L.

    2013-01-01

    The literacy growth of 260 second-grade English learners (ELs) with varying degrees of English language proficiency (e.g., Beginning, Early Intermediate, Intermediate, Early Advanced and Advanced English language proficiency) was assessed with English literacy skill assessments. Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills measures were…

  20. The Foundations of Literacy Development in Children at Familial Risk of Dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Hulme, Charles; Nash, Hannah M; Gooch, Debbie; Lervåg, Arne; Snowling, Margaret J

    2015-12-01

    The development of reading skills is underpinned by oral language abilities: Phonological skills appear to have a causal influence on the development of early word-level literacy skills, and reading-comprehension ability depends, in addition to word-level literacy skills, on broader (semantic and syntactic) language skills. Here, we report a longitudinal study of children at familial risk of dyslexia, children with preschool language difficulties, and typically developing control children. Preschool measures of oral language predicted phoneme awareness and grapheme-phoneme knowledge just before school entry, which in turn predicted word-level literacy skills shortly after school entry. Reading comprehension at 8½ years was predicted by word-level literacy skills at 5½ years and by language skills at 3½ years. These patterns of predictive relationships were similar in both typically developing children and those at risk of literacy difficulties. Our findings underline the importance of oral language skills for the development of both word-level literacy and reading comprehension. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    August, Diane, Ed.; Shanahan, Timothy, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    This volume reports the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. The formal charge to the panel--a distinguished group of expert researchers in reading, language, bilingualism, research methods, and education--was to identify, assess, and synthesize research on the education of language-minority children and…

  2. Engaging K-12 Language Learners in Media Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Egbert, Joy; Neville, Chon

    2015-01-01

    Calls to integrate media literacy into K-12 language classrooms appear to have gone largely unheeded. However, media literacy skills are seen as crucial for 21st-century learners. This article answers the calls for a focus on media literacy in the language classroom by addressing both why and how systematic attention might be brought to this issue…

  3. Literacy in the Southern Sudan: A Case Study of Variables Affecting Literacy Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cowan, J. Ronayne

    1983-01-01

    Describes the Local Languages Literacy Project in the Southern Sudan; delineates the most important educational, socioeconomic, and linguistic variables affecting the success of large-scale literacy programs in Africa; and questions the widely held assumption that indigenous language literacy is essential to subsequent literacy in the prestige…

  4. Language, Literacy, and Communication Regarding Medication in an Anticoagulation Clinic: Are Pictures Better Than Words?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-05-01

    visual concordance rates varied with the patient’s language and level of health literacy . Fifty percent of patients achieved verbal concordance and...and having inadequate health literacy were associated with a lower odds ratio for verbal concordance compared to being an English speaker and having...adequate health literacy . Neither language nor health literacy was associated with visual discordance. The authors conclude that clinician-patient

  5. Accent on Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McWilliams, Larry; And Others

    A guide on foreign languages is presented for counselors, administrators, teachers, and parents. An introductory section discusses reasons for foreign language study, college entrance or exit requirements, foreign language and SAT scores, careers that use foreign languages, myths about learning foreign languages, and information about French,…

  6. Laying a Firm Foundation: Embedding Evidence-Based Emergent Literacy Practices Into Early Intervention and Preschool Environments.

    PubMed

    Terrell, Pamela; Watson, Maggie

    2018-04-05

    As part of this clinical forum on curriculum-based intervention, the goal of this tutorial is to share research about the importance of language and literacy foundations in natural environments during emergent literacy skill development, from infancy through preschool. Following an overview of intervention models in schools by Powell (2018), best practices at home, in child care, and in preschool settings are discussed. Speech-language pathologists in these settings will be provided a toolbox of best emergent literacy practices. A review of published literature in speech-language pathology, early intervention, early childhood education, and literacy was completed. Subsequently, an overview of the impact of early home and preschool literacy experiences are described. Research-based implementation of best practice is supported with examples of shared book reading and child-led literacy embedded in play within the coaching model of early intervention. Finally, various aspects of emergent literacy skill development in the preschool years are discussed. These include phonemic awareness, print/alphabet awareness, oral language skills, and embedded/explicit literacy. Research indicates that rich home literacy environments and exposure to rich oral language provide an important foundation for the more structured literacy environments of school. Furthermore, there is a wealth of evidence to support a variety of direct and indirect intervention practices in the home, child care, and preschool contexts to support and enhance all aspects of oral and written literacy. Application of this "toolbox" of strategies should enable speech-language pathologists to address the prevention and intervention of literacy deficits within multiple environments during book and play activities. Additionally, clinicians will have techniques to share with parents, child care providers, and preschool teachers for evidence-based literacy instruction within all settings during typical daily activities.

  7. Writing, Literacy, and Applied Linguistics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leki, Ilona

    2000-01-01

    Discusses writing and literacy in the domain of applied linguistics. Focus is on needs analysis for literacy acquisition; second language learner identity; longitudinal studies as extensions of identity work; and applied linguistics contributions to second language literacy research. (Author/VWL)

  8. Identifying differences in early literacy skills across subgroups of language-minority children: A latent profile analysis.

    PubMed

    Lonigan, Christopher J; Goodrich, J Marc; Farver, JoAnn M

    2018-04-01

    Despite acknowledgment that language-minority children come from a wide variety of home language backgrounds and have a wide range of proficiency in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages, it is unknown whether differences across language-minority children in relative and absolute levels of proficiency in L1 and L2 predict subsequent development of literacy-related skills. The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of language-minority children and evaluate whether differences in level and rate of growth of early literacy skills differed across subgroups. Five-hundred and twenty-six children completed measures of Spanish and English language and early literacy skills at the beginning, middle, and end of the preschool year. Latent growth models indicated that children's early literacy skills were increasing over the course of the preschool year. Latent profile analysis indicated that language-minority children could be classified into nine distinct groups, each with unique patterns of absolute and relative levels of proficiency in L1 and L2. Results of three-step mixture models indicated that profiles were closely associated with level of early literacy skills at the beginning of the preschool year. Initial level of early literacy skills was positively associated with growth in code-related skills (i.e., print knowledge, phonological awareness) and inversely associated with growth in language skills. These findings suggest that language-minority children are a diverse group with regard to their L1 and L2 proficiencies and that growth in early literacy skills is most associated with level of proficiency in the same language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Literacy and Languages. The Second Yearbook of Literacy and Languages in Asia, International Reading Association Special Interest Group. Selection of Speeches and Papers From the International Conference on Literacy and Languages (1st, Seoul, South Korea, August 12-14, 1985).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Byong Won, Ed.

    Cosponsored by Hanyang University as a demonstration of its founding philosophy, "love in deed and truth," this conference focused on literacy and languages from cross-cultural and instructional perspectives. The papers selected for this yearbook and their authors are as follows: (1) "Designing Tasks for Slow Learners in L2"…

  10. Health Literacy and the Role of the Speech-Language Pathologist

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hester, Eva Jackson; Stevens-Ratchford, Regena

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: This article reviews concepts of health literacy and discusses the role of speech-language pathologists in improving the health literacy of individuals with and without communication disorders. Method: A literature review was completed of health literacy definitions, concepts, and health literacy assessment and intervention studies with…

  11. Language and Literacy Development in Bilingual Settings. Challenges in Language and Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Durgunoglu, Aydin Yucesan, Ed.; Goldenberg, Claude, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    Grounded in state-of-the-art research, this book explores how English language learners develop both the oral language and literacy skills necessary for school success. Chapters examine the cognitive bases of English acquisition, and how the process is different for children from alphabetic (such as Spanish) and nonalphabetic (such as Chinese)…

  12. Teachers Fostering the Co-Development of Science Literacy and Language Literacy with English Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carrejo, David J.; Reinhartz, Judy

    2014-01-01

    Thirty-five elementary teachers participated in a yearlong professional development (PD) program that was designed to foster a culture of on-going teacher learning to promote the co-development of science and language literacy for English language learners (ELL). An explanatory design methodology was used to determine the degree to which science…

  13. Art Education, Literacy, and English Language Learners: Visual Arts Curriculum to Aid Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renish, Angela J.

    2016-01-01

    Nineteen students whose first language is not English (English Language Learners, ELL) participated in an action research study that focused on the marriage of an art education curriculum and literacy practice. The study introduced students to the consistent use of language in art education as a means to discuss, inform, explain, and demonstrate…

  14. Learning to Read the World: Language and Literacy in the First Three Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knapp-Philo, Joanne, Ed.; Rosenkoetter, Sharon E., Ed.

    2006-01-01

    The newborn is amazingly equipped to acquire language and literacy--these early years are the foundation upon which later learning is built. Drawing on current research, the authors of this book examine the elements of beginning language and literacy and look at how families, programs, and communities can encourage beginning language and literacy…

  15. Translation and validation of a Spanish-language genetic health literacy screening tool.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez, Sally Ann; Roter, Debra L; Castillo-Salgado, Carlos; Hooker, Gillian W; Erby, Lori H

    2015-02-01

    Literacy deficits and underutilization of medical services have been linked to health disparities among minorities, and this appears especially relevant for the Latino population. Given the increasing importance of genetics, assessment of genetic health literacy may direct future efforts to better serve this vulnerable population. The current study was designed to contribute to this area by translating and validating a Spanish-language genetic health literacy measure. This was a cross-sectional study involving an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Eligible individuals were Latinos between the ages of 18 and 75 residing in Maryland, who self-reported Spanish as their primary language, recruited through convenience sampling. The genetic health literacy measure components were adapted from existing English-language measures [Erby, Roter, Larson, & Cho's (2008) Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Genetics (REAL-G) and Hooker et al.'s (2014) Genetic Literacy and Comprehension]. An existing Spanish-language general health literacy measure was used to establish preliminary concurrent validity [Lee, Bender, Ruiz, & Cho's (2006) SAHLSA]. 116 individuals completed the assessment. The Spanish-language REAL-G (REAL-G-Sp) was found to correlate well with the SAHLSA (Pearson's r = .77, p < .01). A cut-off score of 59 (out of 62) distinguished low versus high genetic health literacy with a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 71%, identifying 28% of participants as having inadequate genetic health literacy. The REAL-G-Sp was found to have preliminary concurrent validity with an existing health literacy measure in the Latino population residing in Maryland. Significant proportions of this population are predicted to have limitations in genetic health literacy, even when information is provided in Spanish.

  16. Predicting health literacy among English-as-a-second-Language older Chinese immigrant women to Canada: comprehension of colon cancer prevention information.

    PubMed

    Todd, Laura; Hoffman-Goetz, Laurie

    2011-06-01

    Inadequate health literacy has been identified as a barrier to the utilization of health-care services, including cancer screening. This study examined predictors of health literacy among 106 older Chinese immigrant women to Canada and how colon cancer information presented in their first versus second language affected health literacy skill. Only 38.7% of the women had adequate health literacy based on Short Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults, and 54.3% had adequate comprehension of the colon cancer information. Comprehension of the cancer information was significantly lower among women who received the information in English compared with those who received the information in Chinese. Age, acculturation, self-reported proficiency reading English, and education were significant predictors of health literacy but varied depending on the measure of health literacy used and language of the information. Presentation of cancer prevention information in one's first rather than second language improves health literacy but does not eliminate comprehension difficulties for older ESL Chinese immigrants.

  17. Structural correlates of literacy difficulties in the second language: Evidence from Mandarin-speaking children learning English.

    PubMed

    Li, Hehui; Booth, James R; Bélanger, Nathalie N; Feng, Xiaoxia; Tian, Mengyu; Xie, Weiyi; Zhang, Manli; Gao, Yue; Ang, Chen; Yang, Xiujie; Liu, Li; Meng, Xiangzhi; Ding, Guosheng

    2018-06-12

    Several neuroimaging studies have explored the neural basis of literacy difficulties in the second language (L2). However, it remains unclear whether the associated neural alterations are related to literacy abilities in the first language (L1). Using magnetic resonance imaging, we explore this issue with two experiments in Mandarin-speaking children learning English as second language. In the first experiment, we investigated children with literacy difficulties in L2 and L1 (poor in both, PB) and children with literacy difficulties only in L2 (poor in English, PE). We compared the brain structure in these two groups to a control literacy (CL) group. The results showed that the CL group had significantly less gray matter volume in the left supramarginal gyrus compared to the PB group and moderately less gray matter volume compared to the PE group. In addition, the PB group had significant greater gray matter volume in the left medial fusiform gyrus compared to the PE group and had marginally greater gray matter volume compared to the CL group. In the second experiment, we explored the relationship between the two atypical regions and literacy abilities in the two languages in an independent sample consisting of children with typical literacy. Correlation analyses revealed that the left supramarginal gyrus was significantly associated with literacy performance only in the second language, English, whereas the left medial fusiform gyrus did not correlate with the performances in either L1 or L2. Taken together, these findings suggest that literacy difficulties in an alphabetic L2 are associated with a structural abnormality in the left supramarginal gyrus, a region implicated in phonological processing, which is independent of literacy abilities in the native language. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Emergent literacy profiles of preschool-age children with specific language impairment.

    PubMed

    Cabell, Sonia Q; Lomax, Richard G; Justice, Laura M; Breit-Smith, Allison; Skibbe, Lori E; McGinty, Anita S

    2010-12-01

    The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills among preschool-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) through examination of profiles of performance. Fifty-nine children with SLI were assessed on a battery of emergent literacy skills (i.e., alphabet knowledge, print concepts, emergent writing, rhyme awareness) and oral language skills (i.e., receptive/expressive vocabulary and grammar). Cluster analysis techniques identified three emergent literacy profiles: (1) Highest Emergent Literacy, Strength in Alphabet Knowledge; (2) Average Emergent Literacy, Strength in Print Concepts; and (3) Lowest Emergent Literacy across Skills. After taking into account the contribution of child age, receptive and expressive language skills made a small contribution to the prediction of profile membership. The present findings, which may be characterized as exploratory given the relatively modest sample size, suggest that preschool-age children with SLI display substantial individual differences with regard to their emergent literacy skills and that these differences cannot be fully determined by children's age or oral language performance. Replication of the present findings with a larger sample of children is needed.

  19. Family Literacy and the New Canadian: Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Learning: The Case of Literacy, Essential Skills and Language Learning in Canada

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eaton, Sarah Elaine

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines literacy and language learning across the lifespan within the context of immigrants in the Canadian context. It explores the process of improving literacy skills and acquiring second or third language skills through the systems of formal, non-formal and informal learning, as defined by the OECD [Organisation for Economic…

  20. Using Oral Language Skills to Build on the Emerging Literacy of Adult English Learners. CAELA Network Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vinogradov, Patsy; Bigelow, Martha

    2010-01-01

    In addition to learning to read and write for the first time, adult English language learners with limited or emerging literacy skills must acquire oral English. Often, learners with limited print literacy in their first language have oral skills in English that exceed their English literacy skills (Geva & Zadeh, 2006). While this mismatch of oral…

  1. Developing a Successful Community Supported Literacy Program. The Adivasi Oriya-Telugu Adult Literacy Project, Araku Valley, India.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gustafsson, Uwe

    A literacy project in the eastern hill ranges of India is reported, based on 20 years of involvement, at the beginning of which the tribal language, Adivasi Oriya, was not yet a written language. The literacy rate among tribals in the agricultural community is about 10%. Researchers studied the tribal language, gave it an alphabet, adapted the…

  2. The Impact of Language and Culture Diversity in Occupational Safety.

    PubMed

    De Jesus-Rivas, Mayra; Conlon, Helen Acree; Burns, Candace

    2016-01-01

    Occupational health nursing plays a critical part in improving the safety of foreign labor workers. The development and implementation of safety training programs do not always regularly take into account language barriers, low literacy levels, or cultural elements. This oversight can lead to more injuries and fatalities among this group. Despite established health and safety training programs, a significant number of non-native English speakers are injured or killed in preventable, occupation-related accidents. Introducing safety programs that use alternative teaching strategies such as pictograms, illustrations, and hands-on training opportunities will assist in addressing challenges for non-English laborers. Occupational health nursing has an opportunity to provide guidance on this subject and assist businesses in creating a safer and more productive work environment. © 2015 The Author(s).

  3. Incidental acquisition of foreign language vocabulary through brief multi-modal exposure.

    PubMed

    Bisson, Marie-Josée; van Heuven, Walter J B; Conklin, Kathy; Tunney, Richard J

    2013-01-01

    First language acquisition requires relatively little effort compared to foreign language acquisition and happens more naturally through informal learning. Informal exposure can also benefit foreign language learning, although evidence for this has been limited to speech perception and production. An important question is whether informal exposure to spoken foreign language also leads to vocabulary learning through the creation of form-meaning links. Here we tested the impact of exposure to foreign language words presented with pictures in an incidental learning phase on subsequent explicit foreign language learning. In the explicit learning phase, we asked adults to learn translation equivalents of foreign language words, some of which had appeared in the incidental learning phase. Results revealed rapid learning of the foreign language words in the incidental learning phase showing that informal exposure to multi-modal foreign language leads to foreign language vocabulary acquisition. The creation of form-meaning links during the incidental learning phase is discussed.

  4. Development of Early English Language and Literacy Skills among Spanish-Speaking Children: Does Preschool Make a Difference?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Myae; Silva, Luisa; Vukelich, Carol; Buell, Martha; Hou, Likun

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the early English language and literacy skill development of 179 children from 11 Head Start classrooms who participated in an added focus on language and literacy skill-building supported by Early Reading First programme. Of this sample, 118 children were Spanish-speaking English Language Learners (ELL). All children were…

  5. Developing Literacy in Second-Language Learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Executive Summary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    August, Diane, Ed.; Shanahan, Timothy, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    Teaching language-minority students to read and write well in English is an urgent challenge in the nation's K-12 schools. Literacy in English is essential to achievement in every academic subject-and to educational and economic opportunities beyond schooling. Compounding this challenge are increasing numbers and diversity of language-minority…

  6. Oral Language and Narrative Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment with and without Literacy Delay: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Boons, Tinne; Ghesquiere, Pol; Zink, Inge

    2012-01-01

    This longitudinal study compared the development of oral language and more specifically narrative skills (storytelling and story retelling) in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay. Therefore, 18 children with SLI and 18 matched controls with normal literacy were followed from the last year of…

  7. Prolepsis, Syncretism, and Synergy in Early Language and Literacy Practices: A Case Study of Family Language Policy in Singapore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ren, Li; Hu, Guangwei

    2013-01-01

    This article reports a case study of two Chinese-English bilingual families in Singapore and illustrates the importance of incorporating two hitherto disconnected fields of research--family language policy and family literacy practices--to an understanding of early language and literacy acquisition in the familial milieu. Specifically, this work…

  8. The Language of Literacy: A National Resource Directory of Aboriginal Literacy Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sabourin, Beverly; Globensky, Peter Andre

    This directory presents, in narrative form, core information about the operations of approximately 100 Aboriginal literacy programs throughout Canada. To qualify for inclusion in the directory, each program had to offer basic, functional, or advanced literacy training; offer literacy training in English, French, or an Aboriginal language; be…

  9. Evaluation Study of "Language, Literacy, & Vocabulary!" Spring 2006 Pilot

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNabb, Mary

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: A pilot study of the "Language, Literacy, & Vocabulary!" program was conducted by Learning Gauger, Inc., for National Geographic School Publishing, in spring 2006. The program evaluation examined the classroom adoption approaches used by participating teachers and the subsequent impact of the "Language, Literacy, &…

  10. Reading, Language Arts & Literacy. [SITE 2001 Section].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthew, Kathy, Ed.

    This document contains the following papers on reading, language arts, and literacy from the SITE (Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education) 2001 conference: (1) "Improving the Teaching of Reading, Language Arts and Literacy through WebCT: A Work in Progress" (Linda Akanbi); (2) "A Survey of Computer Software…

  11. Literacy in Language and Mathematics: More in Common Than You Think

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Denisse R.; Rubenstein, Rheta N.

    2014-01-01

    This paper shares perspectives on literacy in mathematics, particularly highlighting commonalities with literacy in language arts. We discuss levels of language development appropriate for the mathematics classroom, issues related to mathematical definitions, implied meanings in many mathematics concepts, and the importance of justification. We…

  12. Language and Literacy in Social Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maybin, Janet, Ed.

    Readings on language and literacy within their social context include: "The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages" (Bronislaw Malinowski); "Toward Ethnographies of Communication" (Dell Hymes); "Language as Social Semiotic" (M. A. K. Halliday); "Language and Ideology" (V. N. Volosinov); "Family…

  13. Alternative Perspectives in Assessing Children's Language and Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holland, Kathleen, Ed.; And Others

    Suggesting many ways (not just one way) to understand what children are doing with language and literacy, this book presents essays that address the need for alternative perspectives as well as anthropological, socio-psycholinguistic, and reader response perspectives in assessing children's language and literacy. After "Introducation: What Is an…

  14. Linguistic Perspectives on Literacy: A Systemic-Functional Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Halliday, M. A. K.

    Literacy is examined from the viewpoint of systemic linguistics. It is proposed that "literacy" means intervening in the social processes by working with written language, and this can not be accomplished by an individual alone. "Using written language" can not be isolated from "using language." While sociologically,…

  15. Building the Foundations: Outcomes from the Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Search Conference. Discussion Paper

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER), 2011

    2011-01-01

    Adult language, literacy and numeracy are essential ingredients for greater workforce participation, productivity and social inclusion. Both national and international research demonstrate the relationship between increasing levels of language, literacy and numeracy proficiency and positive outcomes for individuals, as well as for communities and…

  16. Love, Language, and Emergent Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zambo, Debby; Hansen, Cory Cooper

    2007-01-01

    How can language and literacy enhance emotional development in the very young (birth to three years)? Although all children begin to understand their world through language and social interaction, literacy differs from culture to culture. It can range from oral stories of personal and cultural relevance to songs of ethnic pride and includes a…

  17. Multilingual Literacies in the Primary Classroom: Making the Connections.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diaz, Criss Jones

    This report explores how students' multilingual literacies can become part of everyday classroom practices. It discusses the contribution made by the home language in English language learning and literacy by highlighting the connections between languages in mainstream classroom settings. The strategies highlighted here focus on the representation…

  18. Australian Policy Activism in Language and Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lo Bianco, Joseph, Ed.; Wickert, Rosie, Ed.

    This book presents the dynamics of language and literacy policy activism in Australia. The introduction is "Activists and Policy" (LoBianco, Wickert). Part 1, "From Policy to Anti-Policy" (LoBianco), sets a frame and overarching context of the pattern of Australian language and literacy policy. Part 2 contains accounts of how…

  19. Literacy-Related School Readiness Skills of English Language Learners in Head Start: An Analysis of the School Readiness Survey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Yujeong; Gurel, Sungur; Oh, Jihyun; Bettini, Elizabeth A; Leite, Walter

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Head Start on early literacy skills relevant to school readiness of English language learners compared to their peers. The comparisons of literacy outcomes were conducted between English language learners and non-English language learners when both groups participated and were not in Head…

  20. Literacy in South America.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hornberger, Nancy H.

    1991-01-01

    Literacy in South America must be understood in terms of the linguistic diversity there, where only 2 of 14 nations and territories are monolingual. Oral traditions, standardization of indigenous languages, nonstandard varieties of colonial languages, bilingual education and mother tongue literacy, literacy teaching, and politics are discussed.…

  1. Relationship among Iranian EFL Students' Foreign Language Anxiety, Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Their Listening Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Serraj, Samaneh; Noordin, Noreen Bt.

    2013-01-01

    Anxiety is an influential factor in a foreign language learning domain and plays a crucial role in language learners' performance. The following study was conducted to explore the possible impact of Foreign Language Anxiety and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety on language learners' listening skill. The researcher was interested to know the…

  2. The effect of first written language on the acquisition of English literacy.

    PubMed

    Holm, A; Dodd, B

    1996-05-01

    The relationship between first and second language literacy was examined by identifying the skills and processes developed in the first language that were transferred to the second language. The performance of 40 university students from The People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Australia were compared on a series of tasks that assessed phonological awareness and reading and spelling skills in English. The results indicated that the Hong Kong students (with non-alphabetic first language literacy) had limited phonological awareness compared to those students with alphabetic first language literacy. The reading and spelling tasks showed no differences between the groups on real word processing. However, the students from Hong Kong had difficulty processing nonwords because of their poor phonological awareness. The results supported the hypothesis that people learning English as a second language (ESL) transfer their literacy processing skills from their first language to English. When the phonological awareness required in English had not been developed in the first language, ESL students were limited to a whole-word, visual strategy. The findings indicate that students from non-alphabetic written language backgrounds might have difficulties with new, or unfamiliar words when attending universities where English is the medium of instruction.

  3. Disciplinary Literacy from a Speech-Language Pathologist's Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ehren, Barbara J.; Murza, Kimberly A.; Malani, Melissa D.

    2012-01-01

    Disciplinary literacy is an increasingly popular focal area in adolescent literacy. In disciplinary literacy, the discourse features of specific knowledge domains (e.g., literature, history, science, and math) assume major importance in understanding and constructing meaning in each discipline. Because language plays a significant role in…

  4. Library Literacy Programs for English Language Learners. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McMurrer, Eileen; Terrill, Lynda

    This digest summarizes the history of public libraries and library literacy programs; describes current delivery models; and discusses initiatives in library literacy, profiling one successful public library program that serves adult English language learners and their families. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (Author/VWL)

  5. Why do early mathematics skills predict later reading? The role of mathematical language.

    PubMed

    Purpura, David J; Logan, Jessica A R; Hassinger-Das, Brenna; Napoli, Amy R

    2017-09-01

    A growing body of evidence indicates that the development of mathematics and literacy skills is highly related. The importance of literacy skills-specifically language-for mathematics development has been well rationalized. However, despite several prominent studies indicating that mathematics skills are highly predictive of literacy development, the reason for this relation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify how and why early mathematics is predictive of early literacy development. Participants included 125 preschool children 3-5 years old (M = 4 years 3 months). Participants were assessed on mathematics, literacy, and cognitive measures in both the fall and spring of their preschool year. Mediation analyses indicated that the relation between early mathematics and literacy skills is mediated by children's mathematical language skills. These findings suggest that, in prior research identifying mathematical performance as a significant predictor of later literacy skills, mathematical performance may have acted only as a proxy measure for more complex language skills such as those assessed on a mathematical language measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. Evaluating Corpus Literacy Training for Pre-Service Language Teachers: Six Case Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heather, Julian; Helt, Marie

    2012-01-01

    Corpus literacy is the ability to use corpora--large, principled databases of spoken and written language--for language analysis and instruction. While linguists have emphasized the importance of corpus training in teacher preparation programs, few studies have investigated the process of initiating teachers into corpus literacy with the result…

  7. Using Visual Literacy to Teach Science Academic Language: Experiences from Three Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly-Jackson, Charlease; Delacruz, Stacy

    2014-01-01

    This original pedagogical study captured three preservice teachers' experiences using visual literacy strategies as an approach to teaching English language learners (ELLs) science academic language. The following research questions guided this study: (1) What are the experiences of preservice teachers' use of visual literacy to teach science…

  8. Language and Literacy in the Borderlands: Acting upon the World through "Testimonios"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saavedra, Cinthya M.

    2011-01-01

    Saavedra discusses how children in the borderlands can inform our language and literacy practices through the Latin American literary genre known as "testimonio." Drawing from the work of Chicana/Latina feminist pedagogy, I frame my "experiencias" with language and literacy in three different moments in my life. Through these…

  9. Measuring Teachers' Knowledge about Early Language and Literacy: Practical Implications and Considerations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hindman, Annemarie H.; Wasik, Barbara A.

    2011-01-01

    This study examined 1 tool for evaluating Head Start teachers' knowledge about early language and literacy. Results indicated that teachers varied in their knowledge. Teachers with more knowledge had more education, as did teachers who received language and literacy professional development. Teachers with greater knowledge also demonstrated higher…

  10. Here's the Story: Using Narrative to Promote Young Children's Language and Literacy Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meier, Daniel, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    Featuring contributions from a unique mix of authors--classroom teachers, teacher educators, and children's book authors--this volume explores the value of stories in promoting children's language and literacy learning. Major sections cover the most fundamental and critical foundations for language and literacy growth--including first language…

  11. Developmental Disorders of Language and Literacy: Special Issue

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Chloe R.; Messaoud-Galusi, Souhila

    2010-01-01

    Language and literacy are cognitive skills of exceptional complexity. It is therefore not surprising that they are at risk of impairment either during development or as a result of damage (e.g. stroke) later in life. Impaired language and literacy can arise from a general learning impairment. However, two developmental disorders, specific language…

  12. Literacy at a Distance in Multilingual Contexts: Issues and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ofulue, Christine I.

    2011-01-01

    Literacy is perhaps the most fundamental skill required for effective participation in education (formal and non-formal) for national development. At the same time, the choice of language for literacy is a complex issue in multilingual societies like Nigeria. This paper examines the issues involved, namely language policy, language and teacher…

  13. Language, Literacy, and Performance: Working Identities in the Back of the House

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunter, Judy

    2007-01-01

    In the 21st century concerns about workplace language and literacy skills, particularly in the service and manufacturing sectors, continue to drive education and testing policy in many OECD countries. Employers tend to adopt deficit assumptions about service workers' skills, conflating social identities and language and literacy, which can blind…

  14. Beginning Literacy with Language: Young Children Learning at Home and School.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickinson, David K., Ed.; Tabors, Patton O., Ed.

    Based on findings of the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development, this book examines the relationship between early parent-child and teacher-child interactions and children's kindergarten language and literacy skills. Participating in the study were more than 70 young children from diverse backgrounds whose home and school…

  15. Preservice Teachers' Understanding of the Language Arts: Using a Lens of Critical Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bender-Slack, Delane; Young, Teresa

    2016-01-01

    Preservice teachers are placed in educational environments to learn about teaching literacy and about literacy's role in the English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. Of particular significance is how preservice teachers perceive and understand the varied components of language arts (i.e., reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually…

  16. Multilingual Language and Literacy Practices and Social Identities in Sunni Madrassahs in Mauritius: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Owodally, Ambarin Mooznah Auleear

    2011-01-01

    This study analyzes the connections among multilingual language practices, multilingual literacy practices, and social identities in two Sunni madrassahs in Mauritius. The study is framed by sociolinguistic and poststructuralist perspectives on language and identity, and social practice views of literacy. Data collection and analysis involved…

  17. An Integrative Approach to Foreign Language Teaching: Choosing Among the Options. ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series, Vol. 8.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jarvis, Gilbert A., Ed.

    This volume on foreign language teaching and learning concerns the following topics: lifelong learning, small-group learning, the minicourse, student attitudes toward foreign languages, problems in secondary schools, humanistic education, curricula in uncommonly taught languages, foreign languages in elementary and adolescent-centered education,…

  18. The role of home literacy practices in preschool children's language and emergent literacy skills.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Joanne; Jurgens, Julia; Burchinal, Margaret

    2005-04-01

    This study examined how 4 specific measures of home literacy practices (i.e., shared book reading frequency, maternal book reading strategies, child's enjoyment of reading, and maternal sensitivity) and a global measure of the quality and responsiveness of the home environment during the preschool years predicted children's language and emergent literacy skills between the ages of 3 and 5 years. Study participants were 72 African American children and their mothers or primary guardians primarily from low-income families whose home literacy environment and development have been followed since infancy. Annually, between 18 months and 5 years of age, the children's mothers were interviewed about the frequency they read to their child and how much their child enjoyed being read to, and the overall quality and responsiveness of the home environment were observed. Mothers also were observed reading to their child once a year at 2, 3, and 4 years of age, and maternal sensitivity and types of maternal book reading strategies were coded. Children's receptive and expressive language and vocabulary were assessed annually between 3 years of age and kindergarten entry, and emergent literacy skills were assessed at 4 years and kindergarten entry. The specific home literacy practices showed moderate to large correlations with each other, and only a few significant associations with the language and literacy outcomes, after controlling for maternal education, maternal reading skills, and the child's gender. The global measure of overall responsiveness and support of the home environment was the strongest predictor of children's language and early literacy skills and contributed over and above the specific literacy practice measures in predicting children's early language and literacy development.

  19. Exploring Literacy Practices in a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parlindungan, Firman

    2017-01-01

    There has been a consensus in research and practices that social and cultural aspects of lives contribute to literacy development, particularly in second language learning. The conception of literacy has been shifting from the lens of formal literacy learning in school settings into broader opportunities in sociocultural contexts, and some may…

  20. Adult Literacy Action Campaign: Projects around Australia. A Review of State and Territory Level Adult Literacy Projects Funded under the Adult Literacy Action Campaign of the National Policy on Languages. Occasional Paper Number 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Australian Advisory Council on Languages and Multicultural Education, Canberra.

    This collection of papers is a review of the adult literacy projects in Australia funded under the 1987-89 Adult Literacy Action Campaign (ALAC) of the National Policy on Languages. Fourteen authors describe various literacy projects and, often, their outcomes. The projects described are grouped in seven areas. On the subject of Literacy Training…

  1. Web-Based New Literacies and EFL Curriculum Design in Teacher Education: A Design Study for Expanding EFL Student Teachers' Language-Related Literacy Practices in an Egyptian Pre-Service Teacher Education Programme

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdallah, Mahmoud Mohammad Sayed

    2011-01-01

    With the dominance of the Web in education and English language learning, new literacies have emerged. This thesis is motivated by the assumption that these literacies need to be integrated into the Egyptian pre-service EFL teacher education programmes so that EFL student teachers can cope with the new reality of language teaching/learning.…

  2. Educational Environment and Cultural Transmission in Foreign Language Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Memis, Muhammet Rasit

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language teaching is not to teach grammar and vocabulary of the target language and to gain basic language skills only. Foreign language teaching is teaching of the language's culture at the same time. Because of language and community develop and shape together, learning, understanding and speaking a foreign language literally requires…

  3. Effectiveness of a Parent-Implemented Language and Literacy Intervention in the Home Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ijalba, Elizabeth

    2015-01-01

    Few studies explore parent-implemented literacy interventions in the home language for young children with problems in language acquisition. A shift in children's use of the home language to English has been documented when English is the only language of instruction. When parents are not proficient in English, such language shift can limit…

  4. The Relative Importance of English versus Spanish Language Skills for Low-Income Latino English Language Learners' Early Language and Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sonnenschein, Susan; Metzger, Shari R.; Dowling, Rebecca; Baker, Linda

    2017-01-01

    The 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…

  5. Adult Literacy, Numeracy and Language: Policy, Practice and Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tett, Lyn, Ed.; Hamilton, Mary, Ed.; Hillier, Yvonne, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    This book explores the social practice of literacy, numeracy and language and its implications for teaching and learning adult basic skills. Leading international experts argue that literacy, numeracy and language are more than just a set of skills or techniques, but are shaped by the social and cultural context within which they are taking place;…

  6. Size Matters: Early Vocabulary as a Predictor of Language and Literacy Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Joanne

    2011-01-01

    This paper investigated the predictive ability of expressive vocabulary size and lexical composition at age 2 on later language and literacy skills from ages 3 through 11. Multivariate analysis of covariance was performed to compare 16 language and literacy outcomes between children with large expressive vocabulary size at 24 months (N = 1,073)…

  7. Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development through Conversations, Interactive Read-Alouds, and Listening Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Cathy Puett

    2010-01-01

    Preschool and kindergarten educators know that strong oral language skills must be in place before children can learn to read. In "Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development through Conversations, Interactive Read-Alouds, and Listening Games," Cathy Puett Miller helps educators teach those early literacy skills with engaging…

  8. On Mixed Methods: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research (An NCRLL Volume). Language & Literacy Series (NCRLL Collection)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calfee, Robert; Sperling, Melanie

    2010-01-01

    This book examines the use of mixed methods for conducting language and literacy research, defining how and why this approach is successful for solving problems and clarifying issues that researchers encounter. Using research findings, the authors explore how an intermingling of multiple methods expands the possibilities of observation and…

  9. Home Literacy Environment Profiles of Children with Language Impairment: Associations with Caregiver- and Child-Specific Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tambyraja, Sherine R.; Schmitt, Mary Beth; Farquharson, Kelly; Justice, Laura M.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Numerous studies suggest a positive relationship between the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills, yet very little research has focused on the HLE of children with language impairment (LI). Children with LI are at risk for reading difficulties; thus, understanding the nature and frequency of their…

  10. Home Literacy Environments and Young Hispanic Children's English and Spanish Oral Language: A Communality Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Uhing, Brad M.

    2008-01-01

    The authors examine dimensions of the home literacy environment relative to oral language outcomes for high-risk Hispanic children. They also illustrate the use of commonality analysis for understanding the contribution of home literacy to oral language outcomes. Forty-eight children and their families participated in the study. Commonality…

  11. Children, Language, and Literacy: Diverse Learners in Diverse Times. Language & Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Genishi, Celia; Dyson, Anne Haas

    2009-01-01

    In their new collaboration, Celia Genishi and Anne Haas Dyson celebrate the genius of young children as they learn language and literacy in our diverse times. Despite burgeoning sociocultural diversity, many early childhood classrooms (pre-K to grade 2) offer a one-size-fits-all curriculum in which learning is too often assessed by standardized…

  12. Implementation Fidelity of MyTeachingPartner Literacy and Language Activities: Association with Preschoolers' Language and Literacy Growth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamre, Bridget K.; Justice, Laura M.; Pianta, Robert C.; Kilday, Carolyn; Sweeney, Beverly; Downer, Jason T.; Leach, Allison

    2010-01-01

    There is surprisingly little empirical research examining issues of fidelity of implementation within the early childhood education literature. In the MyTeachingPartner project, 154 teachers were provided with materials to implement a supplemental classroom curriculum addressing six aspects of literacy and language development. The present study…

  13. Qualitative Aspects of Developmental Language Impairment Relate to Language and Literacy Outcome in Adulthood

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitehouse, Andrew J. O.; Line, E. A.; Watt, Helen J.; Bishop, Dorothy V. M.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Developmental language disorder is a heterogeneous diagnostic category. Little research has compared the long-term outcomes of children with different subtypes of language impairment. Aims: To determine whether the pattern of language impairment in childhood related to language and literacy outcomes in adulthood. Methods & Procedures:…

  14. Plain language: a strategic response to the health literacy challenge.

    PubMed

    Stableford, Sue; Mettger, Wendy

    2007-01-01

    Low health literacy is a major challenge confronting American and international health organizations. Research in the past decade has documented the prevalence of limited literacy and limited health literacy skills among adults worldwide. This creates a major policy challenge: how to create text-based health information - a common method of health communication - that is accessible to the public. Plain language is a logical, flexible response. While touted by American, Canadian, and European health policy makers, adoption and promotion of plain language standards and skills in health-focused organizations have lagged. Most text-based health information continues to be too hard for most adults to read. Barriers to more rapid diffusion of plain language are reflected in a set of myths perpetuated by critics. These myths are identified and refuted. While plain language is only one of many broad-based solutions needed to address low health literacy, the benefits to everyone demand increased use by health organizations.

  15. Is Literacy Enough? Pathways to Academic Success for Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snow, Catherine E.; Porche, Michelle V.; Tabors, Patton O.; Harris, Stephanie R.

    2007-01-01

    Four literacy experts lay out the evidence in this compelling book, based on the well-known Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development that inspired the landmark resource "Beginning Literacy with Language." Following a group of children living in low-income families from preschool through high school, the authors charted the students'…

  16. Differentiated Literacy Strategies for English Language Learners, Grades K-6

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gregory, Gayle H.; Burkman, Amy

    2011-01-01

    As you tailor your teaching to engage the increasing number of English language learners, the key to success is focusing on literacy. Adapted from the highly successful "Differentiated Literacy Strategies for Student Growth and Achievement in Grades K-6", this book provides a wealth of grade-specific literacy strategies that not only increase…

  17. Phonemic awareness of English second language learners

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Background The PA skills of phonological blending and segmentation and auditory word discrimination relate directly to literacy and may be weak in English second language (EL2) learners. In South Africa, literacy skills have been found to be poor in especially EL2 learners. Objectives The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of vowel perception and production intervention on phonemic awareness (PA) and literacy skills of Setswana first language (L1) learners. These learners are English second language (EL2) learners in Grade 3. Method The present study employed a quasi-experimental, pre-test–post-test design. Results The findings of low–literacy skill levels concurred with previous investigations. However, post-test results of intervention in PA seemed to improve the literacy skills of EL2 learners. Conclusion PA skills should be a crucial part of the literacy curriculum in South Africa. PMID:28155282

  18. Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling to Examine How Individual SLPs Differentially Contribute to Children's Language and Literacy Gains in Public Schools.

    PubMed

    Farquharson, Kelly; Tambyraja, Sherine R; Logan, Jessica; Justice, Laura M; Schmitt, Mary Beth

    2015-08-01

    The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine the unique contributions in children's language and literacy gains, over 1 academic year, that are attributable to the individual speech-language pathologist (SLP) and (b) to explore possible child- and SLP-level factors that may further explain SLPs' contributions to children's language and literacy gains. Participants were 288 kindergarten and 1st-grade children with language impairment who were currently receiving school-based language intervention from SLPs. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we partitioned the variance in children's gains in language (i.e., grammar, vocabulary) and literacy (i.e., word decoding) that could be attributed to their individual SLP. Results revealed a significant contribution of individual SLPs to children's gains in grammar, vocabulary, and word decoding. Children's fall language scores and grade were significant predictors of SLPs' contributions, although no SLP-level predictors were significant. The present study makes a first step toward incorporating implementation science and suggests that, for children receiving school-based language intervention, variance in child language and literacy gains in an academic year is at least partially attributable to SLPs. Continued work in this area should examine the possible SLP-level characteristics that may further explicate the relative contributions of SLPs.

  19. Foreign Language Planning in Saudi Arabia: Beyond English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Payne, Mark; Almansour, Maram

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of foreign language planning in Saudi Arabia. In terms of official policy, the sole foreign language taught in Saudi public schools is English. Therefore, researching foreign languages there is often limited to researching the area of English as a Foreign Language. However, evidence shows that…

  20. 34 CFR 658.1 - What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... Foreign Language Program? 658.1 Section 658.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.1 What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program is designed...

  1. 34 CFR 658.1 - What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Foreign Language Program? 658.1 Section 658.1 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of... STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.1 What is the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program is designed...

  2. Orthographic learning and self-teaching in a bilingual and biliterate context.

    PubMed

    Schwartz, Mila; Kahn-Horwitz, Janina; Share, David L

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine self-teaching in the context of English as a foreign language literacy acquisition. Three groups comprising 88 sixth-grade children participated. The first group consisted of Russian-Hebrew-speaking bilinguals who had acquired basic reading skills in Russian as their first language (L1) and literacy and who were literate in Hebrew as a second language. The second group consisted of Russian-Hebrew-speaking bilinguals who had not learned to read in their native Russian but had acquired Hebrew as their first literate language. The third group consisted of Hebrew-speaking monolingual children who were literate in Hebrew. This design facilitated examining the effect of biliteracy and bilingualism on basic English reading skills. We hypothesized that due to the proximity between the Russian and English orthographies as opposed to the Hebrew-English "distance," the Russian-Hebrew-speaking biliterate group who acquired basic reading and spelling skills in L1 Russian would have superior self-teaching in English as opposed to the two other groups. The standard two-session self-teaching paradigm was employed with naming (speed and accuracy) and orthographic choice as posttest measures of orthographic learning. Results showed that after 4 years of English instruction, all three groups showed evidence of self-teaching on naming speed and orthographic recognition. The Russian-Hebrew-speaking biliterate group, moreover, showed a partial advantage over the comparison groups for initial decoding of target pseudowords and clear-cut superiority for measures of later orthographic learning, thereby showing self-teaching while supporting the script dependence hypothesis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Made to Measure: Language, Literacy and Numeracy in TCF [Textile, Clothing, and Footwear] Industry Training. A Guide for Workplace Trainers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patterson, Sue

    This guide is designed to help workplace trainers in the textile, clothing, and footwear (TCF) industry to become more aware of the language, literacy, and numeracy demands of training. It is divided into two main sections. Section 1, "Background Information," covers understanding language, literacy, and numeracy; understanding training…

  4. Is Dosage Important? Examining Head Start Preschoolers' Language and Literacy Learning after One versus Two Years of "ExCELL"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hindman, Annemarie H.; Wasik, Barbara A.

    2017-01-01

    The current study examined whether Head Start children who experienced a high-quality preschool intervention, "Exceptional Coaching for Early Language and Literacy" ("ExCELL"), as three-year-olds began the subsequent pre-kindergarten (or four-year-old) year with stronger language and literacy skills than same-age peers who…

  5. Long-Term Outcome of Oral Language and Phonological Awareness Intervention with Socially Disadvantaged Preschoolers: The Impact on Language and Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henning, Caroline; McIntosh, Beth; Arnott, Wendy; Dodd, Barbara

    2010-01-01

    Early intervention aims to prevent poor literacy outcomes associated with social disadvantage. This study examined whether the short-term positive effect of a preschool classroom-based oral language and phonological awareness (PA) programme was maintained and transferred to literacy 2 years later. The vocabulary knowledge, grammatical skill,…

  6. Critical Literacies: Negotiating Powerful and Pleasurable Curricula--How Do We Foster Critical Literacy through English Language Arts?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comber, Barbara

    All over the world educators work towards social justice in a variety of classroom projects. How might teachers of English language arts be informed by this variety of projects--all of which involve young people and their teachers exploring relationships between language and power? Theoretically, protagonists of critical literacies have many…

  7. Assessing Foreign Language Proficiency of Undergraduates. Issues in Language Program Direction: A Series of Annual Volumes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teschner, Richard V., Ed.

    This collection of papers includes: "Foreign Language Testing Today: Issues in Language Program Direction" (Frank Nuessel); "Assessing the Problems of Assessment" (M. Peter Hagiwara); "Testing in Foreign Language Programs and Testing Programs in Foreign Language Departments: Reflections and Recommendations" (Elizabeth…

  8. Family Treasures: A Dual-Language Book Project for Negotiating Language, Literacy, Culture, and Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roessingh, Hetty

    2011-01-01

    This article advances a framework for early language and literacy development among young English language learners (ELLs). A dual-language book project undertaken in partnership with a local elementary school provides a context within which to address children's need to negotiate language, culture, and identity as they transition and make meaning…

  9. Training a new generation of speech-language pathologists with competences in the management of literacy disorders and learning disabilities in Hong Kong.

    PubMed

    Yuen, Kevin C P

    2014-01-01

    One of the recent developments in the education of speech-language pathology is to include literacy disorders and learning disabilities as key training components in the training curriculum. Disorders in reading and writing are interwoven with disorders in speaking and listening, which should be managed holistically, particularly in children and adolescents. With extensive training in clinical linguistics, language disorders, and other theoretical knowledge and clinical skills, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the best equipped and most competent professionals to screen, identify, diagnose, and manage individuals with literacy disorders. To tackle the challenges of and the huge demand for services in literacy as well as language and learning disorders, the Hong Kong Institute of Education has recently developed the Master of Science Programme in Educational Speech-Language Pathology and Learning Disabilities, which is one of the very first speech-language pathology training programmes in Asia to blend training components of learning disabilities, literacy disorders, and social-emotional-behavioural-developmental disabilities into a developmentally and medically oriented speech-language pathology training programme. This new training programme aims to prepare a new generation of SLPs to be able to offer comprehensive support to individuals with speech, language, literacy, learning, communication, and swallowing disorders of different developmental or neurogenic origins, particularly to infants and adolescents as well as to their family and educational team. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  10. Literacy Instruction in Multilingual Classrooms: Engaging English Language Learners in Elementary School. Language & Literacy Series--Practitioners Bookshelf

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Helman, Lori

    2012-01-01

    This hands-on guide shows elementary school teachers how to create multilingual classroom communities that support every learner's success in reading, writing, and general literacy development. The author provides a practical overview of key ideas and techniques and describes specific literacy activities that lead to vocabulary and oral English…

  11. Does Mother Tongue Education Support Development of Environmental Literacy in Turkey? An Analysis of Turkish Course Books

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Uyar, Yusuf; Ensar, Ferhat

    2016-01-01

    Development of environmental literacy needs an interdisciplinary effort. Especially language classes, with environment related texts, have potential to support environmental literacy. In this research it is aimed to analyze the Turkish language course books in terms of components of environmental literacy. To this end, four Turkish course books…

  12. The Use of Literacy Bags Promotes Parental Involvement in Chinese Children's Literacy Learning in the English Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, SuHua

    2013-01-01

    This study employed an ethnographic methodology to explore the use of "literacy bags" (LBs) to promote parental involvement in Chinese children's literacy learning in the English language. It was conducted with a first-grade class consisting of 18 students and their parents in Taiwan. Data resources were obtained from teaching…

  13. Mapping Literacy, Mapping Lives: Teachers Exploring the Sociopolitical Context of Literacy and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ordonez-Jasis, Rosario; Jasis, Pablo

    2011-01-01

    In this article the authors explore a language and literacy community mapping project carried out by public school teachers in southern California. They chronicle the knowledge produced by teachers about the depth and diversity of language and literacy resources present in the neighborhoods surrounding their various urban school sites. (Contains 6…

  14. Integrating Literacy, Culture, and Language to Improve Health Care Quality for Diverse Populations

    PubMed Central

    Andrulis, Dennis P.; Brach, Cindy

    2016-01-01

    Objective To understand the interrelationship of literacy, culture, and language and the importance of addressing their intersection. Methods Health literacy, cultural competence, and linguistic competence strategies to quality improvement were analyzed. Results Strategies to improve health literacy for low-literate individuals are distinct from strategies for culturally diverse and individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). The lack of integration results in health care that is unresponsive to some vulnerable groups’ needs. A vision for integrated care is presented. Conclusion Clinicians, the health care team, and health care organizations have important roles to play in addressing challenges related to literacy, culture, and language. PMID:17931131

  15. A Qualitative Research on the Teaching Strategies and Class Applications of the High School Teachers Who Teach English in Turkey as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gocer, Ali

    2010-01-01

    Nowadays, whichever position the individuals work in, they feel the need to learn a foreign language even a second foreign language. In parallel with the need for a foreign language, the importance of the foreign language teaching increases. In language teaching, conditions such as the facilities of the environment, learner's features, the social…

  16. Important Constructs in Literacy Learning across Disciplines

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foorman, Barbara R.; Arndt, Elissa J.; Crawford, Elizabeth C.

    2011-01-01

    Currently students who struggle with language and literacy learning are classified with various labels in different states--language learning disabilities, dyslexia, specific language impairment, and specific learning disability--in spite of having similar diagnostic profiles. Drawing on the research on comprehension of written language, we…

  17. Yetta Goodman, Maxine Greene, Louise Rosenblatt, and Margaret Meek Spencer: Language, Literacy, and Politics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Denny

    2004-01-01

    Profiles of Yetta Goodman, Maxine Greene, Louise Rosenblatt, and Margaret Meek Spencer are given. They are the members of International Scholars' Forums in Literacy Studies at Hofstra, whose focus is language, literacy, politics and education.

  18. Pre-Service Preschool Teachers' Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning and Early Foreign Language Teaching in Slovenia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin; Skubic, Darija

    2017-01-01

    The implementation of foreign languages in preschool education has prompted the need for qualified teachers. However, most recent studies report a gap between the supply of qualified foreign language teachers of young learners and the demand for such teachers as foreign languages are introduced earlier and earlier. The authors of this paper…

  19. The Relative Effectiveness of Two Approaches to Early Literacy Intervention in Grades K-2. REL 2017-251

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foorman, Barbara; Herrera, Sarah; Dombek, Jennifer; Schatschneider, Chris; Petscher, Yaacov

    2017-01-01

    Understanding written language is crucial to academic success in all content areas. Ensuring a strong foundation in the components of written language--that is, the literacy skills of reading, writing, and oral language--is essential if students are to read with understanding and, thus, is a primary goal of early literacy instruction and of the…

  20. Home Literacy Environment and Word Knowledge Development: A Study of Young Learners of Chinese as a Heritage Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Dongbo; Koda, Keiko

    2011-01-01

    This study examined young Heritage Language (HL) learners' home literacy environment and its impact on HL word-knowledge development, focusing on a group of Chinese-English bilingual children learning to read in Chinese as a Heritage Language in the United States. A home literacy survey revealed that parents mostly used HL to talk to children,…

  1. What Works for Early Language and Literacy Development: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Intervention Strategies. Fact Sheet. Publication #2011-18

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chrisler, Alison; Ling, Thomson

    2011-01-01

    Given the importance of the early childhood period as a time when the foundation is laid for later language and literacy, it is important to determine what activities and experiences lead to positive language and literacy outcomes in early childhood. This Fact Sheet reviews fifteen experimentally-evaluated programs and intervention strategies that…

  2. Re-Framing Literacy: Teaching and Learning in English and the Language Arts. Language, Culture, and Teaching Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrews, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Imaginative and attractive, cutting edge in its conception, this text explicates a model for the integration of language arts and literacy education based on the notion of framing. The act of framing--not frames in themselves--provides a creative and critical approach to English as a subject. "Re-framing Literacy" breaks new ground in the language…

  3. Managing Heritage Language Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese, Italian and Pakistani Urdu-Speaking Families in the UK

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curdt-Christiansen, Xiao Lan; La Morgia, Francesca

    2018-01-01

    Drawing on theories of family language policy and literacy environment, this inquiry explores and describes how family language policy is managed through literacy resources and literacy related activities in transnational families in the UK. A total of 66 families, each with at least one child between the age of 2 and 8, participated in this…

  4. Socioeconomic Status, Parent Report of Children's Early Language Skills, and Late Literacy Skills: A Long Term Follow-Up Study among Chinese Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pan, Jinger; Kong, Yan; Song, Shuang; McBride, Catherine; Liu, Hongyun; Shu, Hua

    2017-01-01

    Previous research on the longitudinal prediction of literacy development has focused mainly on the relationship between early cognitive/language skills and late literacy skills. The present study aimed to test the reliability of a number of measures reported by parents as compared to measuring cognitive and language skills in predicting subsequent…

  5. Supporting Self-Improvement in Teaching, Literacy, Language and Numeracy. Tools for Staff Development. Module 5: Integrating Literacy Language and Numeracy into a Range of Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basic Skills Agency, 2007

    2007-01-01

    Develop the skills of staff across your organisation to successfully implement an embedded approach to LLN. Unpacking the practical issues involved, this module will help specialist LLN teachers to work effectively with colleagues who teach other subjects, supporting a "whole organisation approach" to developing literacy, language and numeracy.…

  6. Young children's communication and literacy: a qualitative study of language in the inclusive preschool.

    PubMed

    Kliewer, C

    1995-06-01

    Interactive and literacy-based language use of young children within the context of an inclusive preschool classroom was explored. An interpretivist framework and qualitative research methods, including participant observation, were used to examine and analyze language in five preschool classes that were composed of children with and without disabilities. Children's language use included spoken, written, signed, and typed. Results showed complex communicative and literacy language use on the part of young children outside conventional adult perspectives. Also, children who used expressive methods other than speech were often left out of the contexts where spoken language was richest and most complex.

  7. The Effects of Multisensory Structured Language Instruction on Native Language and Foreign Language Aptitude Skills of At-Risk High School Foreign Language Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Richard; And Others

    1992-01-01

    A multisensory structured language (MSL) approach was utilized with two groups of at-risk high school students (n=63), taught in either English and Spanish (MSL/ES) or Spanish only. Foreign language aptitude improved for both groups and native language skills for the MSL/ES group. A group receiving traditional foreign language instruction showed…

  8. Learning about the Literacy Development of English Language Learners in Asynchronous Online Discussions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Oliveira, Luciana C.; Olesova, Larisa

    2013-01-01

    This study examined asynchronous online discussions in the online course "English Language Development" to identify themes related to participants' learning about the language and literacy development of English Language Learners when they facilitated online discussions to determine whether the participants developed sufficient…

  9. New Perspectives and Issues in Educational Language Policy: A Festschrift for Bernard Dov Spolsky.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cooper, Robert L., Ed.; Shohamy, Elana, Ed.; Walters, Joel, Ed.

    This edited volume contains 15 chapters. Part one, "Language Teaching, Language Learning, and Literacy," has three chapters: "The Monolingual Teaching and Bilingual Learning of English" (Henry G. Widdowson); "Literacy: The Extension of Languages Through Other Means" (Ellen Bialystok); "Bilingual Processing…

  10. Second Language Literacy Development From Theory to Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobson, Julie

    2003-01-01

    Discusses instructional strategies to: promote language and literacy development; enhance comprehension of content area material; and make informed decisions that effectively meet the individual needs of each second language student. Reviews six instructional principles in the area of second language learning and a lesson incorporating the…

  11. The emotional impact of being myself: Emotions and foreign-language processing.

    PubMed

    Ivaz, Lela; Costa, Albert; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

    2016-03-01

    Native languages are acquired in emotionally rich contexts, whereas foreign languages are typically acquired in emotionally neutral academic environments. As a consequence of this difference, it has been suggested that bilinguals' emotional reactivity in foreign-language contexts is reduced as compared with native language contexts. In the current study, we investigated whether this emotional distance associated with foreign languages could modulate automatic responses to self-related linguistic stimuli. Self-related stimuli enhance performance by boosting memory, speed, and accuracy as compared with stimuli unrelated to the self (the so-called self-bias effect). We explored whether this effect depends on the language context by comparing self-biases in a native and a foreign language. Two experiments were conducted with native Spanish speakers with a high level of English proficiency in which they were asked to complete a perceptual matching task during which they associated simple geometric shapes (circles, squares, and triangles) with the labels "you," "friend," and "other" either in their native or foreign language. Results showed a robust asymmetry in the self-bias in the native- and foreign-language contexts: A larger self-bias was found in the native than in the foreign language. An additional control experiment demonstrated that the same materials administered to a group of native English speakers yielded robust self-bias effects that were comparable in magnitude to the ones obtained with the Spanish speakers when tested in their native language (but not in their foreign language). We suggest that the emotional distance evoked by the foreign-language contexts caused these differential effects across language contexts. These results demonstrate that the foreign-language effects are pervasive enough to affect automatic stages of emotional processing. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Literacy Crisis and Color-Blindness: The Problematic Racial Dynamics of Mid-1970s Language and Literacy Instruction for "High-Risk" Minority Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lamos, Steve

    2009-01-01

    This article argues that mid-1970s discourses of literacy crisis prompted a problematic shift toward color-blind ideologies of language and literacy within both disciplinary and institutional discussions of writing instruction for "high-risk" minority students. It further argues that this shift has continuing import for contemporary…

  13. Home Literacy Exposure and Early Language and Literacy Skills in Children Who Struggle with Behavior and Attention Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haak, Jill; Downer, Jason; Reeve, Ronald

    2012-01-01

    Research Findings: This study investigated the relationships between behavior and attention problems and early language and literacy outcomes for 4-year-olds who experienced varied early home literacy environments. Participants were 1,364 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care…

  14. "What More Is Literacy?" The Language of Secondary Preservice Teachers about Reading and Content

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McArthur, Kerry Gordon

    2007-01-01

    Reform in the fields of adolescent and content area literacy have focused on broadening a definition of literacy beyond the ability to read and write. In a broader definition the language processes of reading, writing, speaking and listening become literacy tools to engage students in the learning of concepts and afford the learner ways to…

  15. Measuring English Linguistic Proficiency and Functional Health Literacy Levels in Two Languages: Implications for Reaching Latino Immigrants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rojas-Guyler, Liliana; Britigan, Denise H.; Murnan, Judy; King, Keith; Vaughn, Lisa M.

    2013-01-01

    The purposes of the study were to determine the health literacy levels of Latinos in the Greater Cincinnati Area in both English and Spanish by utilizing two standardized quantitative measures of health literacy, and to undertake an assessment of the relationship between language, health literacy and acculturation in this community. Given a rapid…

  16. Cradling Literacy: Building Teachers' Skills to Nurture Early Language and Literacy from Birth to Five. A ZERO TO THREE Training Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Im, Janice H.; Osborn, Carol A.; Sanchez, Sylvia Y.; Thorp, Eva K.

    2007-01-01

    "Cradling Literacy" provides field-tested instructional materials for instructors to help early childhood teachers develop knowledge and skills in nurturing early language and literacy in young children from birth to 5 years. The research and strategies presented in the instructional manual center on how child, parent, and teacher can work…

  17. Is Language a Factor in the Perception of Foreign Accent Syndrome?

    PubMed

    Jose, Linda; Read, Jennifer; Miller, Nick

    2016-06-01

    Neurogenic foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is diagnosed when listeners perceive speech associated with motor speech impairments as foreign rather than disordered. Speakers with foreign accent syndrome typically have aphasia. It remains unclear how far language changes might contribute to the perception of foreign accent syndrome independent of accent. Judges with and without training in language analysis rated orthographic transcriptions of speech from people with foreign accent syndrome, speech-language disorder and no foreign accent syndrome, foreign accent without neurological impairment and healthy controls on scales of foreignness, normalness and disorderedness. Control speakers were judged as significantly more normal, less disordered and less foreign than other groups. Foreign accent syndrome speakers' transcriptions consistently profiled most closely to those of foreign speakers and significantly different to speakers with speech-language disorder. On normalness and foreignness ratings there were no significant differences between foreign and foreign accent syndrome speakers. For disorderedness, foreign accent syndrome participants fell midway between foreign speakers and those with speech-language impairment only. Slower rate, more hesitations, pauses within and between utterances influenced judgments, delineating control scripts from others. Word-level syntactic and morphological deviations and reduced syntactic and semantic repertoire linked strongly with foreignness perceptions. Greater disordered ratings related to word fragments, poorly intelligible grammatical structures and inappropriate word selection. Language changes influence foreignness perception. Clinical and theoretical issues are addressed.

  18. Effects of Web-Mediated Teacher Professional Development on the Language and Literacy Skills of Children Enrolled in Pre-Kindergarten Programs

    PubMed Central

    Downer, Jason; Pianta, Robert; Fan, Xitao; Hamre, Bridget; Mashburn, Andrew; Justice, Laura

    2012-01-01

    As early education grows in the United States, in-service professional development in key instructional and interaction skills is a core component of capacity-building in early childhood education. In this paper, we describe results from an evaluation of the effects of MyTeachingPartner, a web-based system of professional development, on language and literacy development during pre-kindergarten for 1338 children in 161 teachers’ classrooms. High levels of support for teachers’ implementation of language/literacy activities showed modest but significant effects for improving early language and literacy for children in classrooms in which English was the dominant language spoken by the students and teachers. The combination of web-based supports, including video-based consultation and web-based video teaching exemplars, was more effective at improving children’s literacy and language skills than was only making available to teachers a set of instructional materials and detailed lesson guides. These results suggest the importance of targeted, practice-focused supports for teachers in designing professional development systems for effective teaching in early childhood programs. PMID:23144591

  19. Reading: United States.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weber, Rose-Marie

    1983-01-01

    An exploration of the increasingly important role of linguistics in literacy research and instruction reviews literature on reading comprehension, written language, orthography, metalinguistics, classroom language use, reading disabilities, native tongues, nonstandard dialects, bilingual education, adult literacy, and second-language reading. (86…

  20. Foreign Language Research in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Volume 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Bot, Kees, Ed.; And Others

    Papers from a conference on empirical research on foreign language instruction in Europe and the United States include: "Foreign Language Instruction and Second Language Acquisition Research in the United States" (Charles A. Fergurson, Thom Huebner); "Empirical Foreign Language Research in Europe" (Theo van Els, Kees de Bot,…

  1. The foreign-language effect: thinking in a foreign tongue reduces decision biases.

    PubMed

    Keysar, Boaz; Hayakawa, Sayuri L; An, Sun Gyu

    2012-06-01

    Would you make the same decisions in a foreign language as you would in your native tongue? It may be intuitive that people would make the same choices regardless of the language they are using, or that the difficulty of using a foreign language would make decisions less systematic. We discovered, however, that the opposite is true: Using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases. Four experiments show that the framing effect disappears when choices are presented in a foreign tongue. Whereas people were risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses when choices were presented in their native tongue, they were not influenced by this framing manipulation in a foreign language. Two additional experiments show that using a foreign language reduces loss aversion, increasing the acceptance of both hypothetical and real bets with positive expected value. We propose that these effects arise because a foreign language provides greater cognitive and emotional distance than a native tongue does.

  2. Home Literacy Environment and Its Influence on Singaporean Children's Chinese Oral and Written Language Abilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Li, Li; Tan, Chee Lay

    2016-01-01

    In a bilingual environment such as Singaporean Chinese community, the challenge of maintaining Chinese language and sustaining Chinese culture lies in promoting the daily use of Chinese language in oral and written forms among children. Ample evidence showed the effect of the home language and literacy environment (HLE), on children's language and…

  3. The Impact of Teacher Responsivity Education on Preschoolers' Language and Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cabell, Sonia Q.; Justice, Laura M.; Piasta, Shayne B.; Curenton, Stephanie M.; Wiggins, Alice; Turnbull, Khara Pence; Petscher, Yaacov

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This study examined the extent to which teacher responsivity education affected preschoolers' language and literacy development over an academic year. Additional aims were to determine whether children's initial language abilities and teachers' use of responsivity strategies were associated with language outcomes, in particular. Method:…

  4. Conceptions of Literacy in Canadian Immigrant Language Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cray, Ellen; Currie, Pat

    2004-01-01

    For immigrants and refugees, access to a national or majority language is an important issue. According to its immigrant language training policy, Canada offers its newcomers language instruction for the purposes of settlement and integration. One important aspect of settlement and integration involves literacy. Our study examined the concept of…

  5. Foreign Languages and Foreign Cultures.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berman, Russell A.

    2002-01-01

    Calls on foreign language departments to take a closer look at a long-standing component of their curriculum: culture. The discussion focuses on language and culture, teaching foreign cultures, and foreign cultures, transnationality, and globalization. (Author/VWL)

  6. Empirically Based Profiles of the Early Literacy Skills of Children With Language Impairment in Early Childhood Special Education.

    PubMed

    Justice, Laura; Logan, Jessica; Kaderavek, Joan; Schmitt, Mary Beth; Tompkins, Virginia; Bartlett, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to empirically determine whether specific profiles characterize preschool-aged children with language impairment (LI) with respect to their early literacy skills (print awareness, name-writing ability, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge); the primary interest was to determine if one or more profiles suggested vulnerability for future reading problems. Participants were 218 children enrolled in early childhood special education classrooms, 95% of whom received speech-language services. Children were administered an assessment of early literacy skills in the fall of the academic year. Based on results of latent profile analysis, four distinct literacy profiles were identified, with the single largest profile (55% of children) representing children with generally poor literacy skills across all areas examined. Children in the two low-risk categories had higher oral language skills than those in the high-risk and moderate-risk profiles. Across three of the four early literacy measures, children with language as their primary disability had higher scores than those with LI concomitant with other disabilities. These findings indicate that there are specific profiles of early literacy skills among children with LI, with about one half of children exhibiting a profile indicating potential susceptibility for future reading problems. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

  7. 9 CFR 381.128 - Labels in foreign languages.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Labels in foreign languages. 381.128... in foreign languages. Any label to be affixed to a container of any dressed poultry or other poultry product for foreign commerce may be printed in a foreign language. However, the official inspection legend...

  8. E-Books as a Support for Young Children's Language and Literacy: The Case of Hebrew-Speaking Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Korat, Ofra; Shamir, Adina; Segal-Drori, Ora

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we present a series of studies performed in the last decade that examined the contribution of e-books reading to the language and literacy of young Hebrew-speaking children. Children worked with two e-books designed by the researchers to achieve this aim. We present the effect of reading these e-books on the language and literacy of…

  9. The Case of Chichewa and English in Malawi: The Impact of First Language Reading and Writing on Learning English as a Second Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Jaran; Sailors, Misty; McClung, Nicola; Pearson, P. David; Hoffman, James V.; Chilimanjira, Margaret

    2015-01-01

    We investigated the relationship between Chichewa (L1) and English (L2) literacies in Malawi. Through our use of hierarchical linear modeling, we found that cross-language literacy transfer between Chichewa and English did occur, but that the pattern and the strength of the relationships varied depending on the literacy domain (i.e., reading or…

  10. Emergent Literacy Skills in Preschool Children with Hearing Loss Who Use Spoken Language: Initial Findings from the Early Language and Literacy Acquisition (ELLA) Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Werfel, Krystal L.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare change in emergent literacy skills of preschool children with and without hearing loss over a 6-month period. Method: Participants included 19 children with hearing loss and 14 children with normal hearing. Children with hearing loss used amplification and spoken language. Participants completed…

  11. Measuring what matters: Effectively predicting language and literacy in children with cochlear implants

    PubMed Central

    Nittrouer, Susan; Caldwell, Amanda; Holloman, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    Objective To evaluate how well various language measures typically used with very young children after they receive cochlear implants predict language and literacy skills as they enter school. Methods Subjects were 50 children who had just completed kindergarten and were 6 or 7 years of age. All had previously participated in a longitudinal study from 12 to 48 months of age. 27 children had severe-to-profound hearing loss and wore cochlear implants, 8 had moderate hearing loss and wore hearing aids, and 15 had normal hearing. A latent variable of language/literacy skill was constructed from scores on six kinds of measures: (1) language comprehension; (2) expressive vocabulary; (3) phonological awareness; (4) literacy; (5) narrative skill; and (6) processing speed. Five kinds of language measures obtained at six-month intervals from 12 to 48 months of age were used as predictor variables in correlational analyses: (1) language comprehension; (2) expressive vocabulary; (3) syntactic structure of productive speech; (4) form and (5) function of language used in language samples. Results Outcomes quantified how much variance in kindergarten language/literacy performance was explained by each predictor variable, at each earlier age of testing. Comprehension measures consistently predicted roughly 25 to 50 percent of the variance in kindergarten language/literacy performance, and were the only effective predictors before 24 months of age. Vocabulary and syntactic complexity were strong predictors after roughly 36 months of age. Amount of speech produced in language samples and number of answers to parental queries explained moderate amounts of variance in performance after 24 months of age. Number of manual gestures and nonspeech vocalizations produced in language samples explained little to no variance before 24 months of age, and after that were negatively correlated with kindergarten performance. The number of imitations produced in language samples at 24 months of age explained about 10 percent of variance in kindergarten performance, but was otherwise not correlated or negatively correlated with kindergarten outcomes. Conclusions Before 24 months of age, the best predictor of later language success is language comprehension. In general, measures that index a child’s cognitive processing of language are the most sensitive predictors of school-age language abilities. PMID:22648088

  12. The Link between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity and Self-Rated English Proficiency among Chinese Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Ip, Tsui Shan

    2013-01-01

    Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011) while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are believed to boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995). There is prima facie evidence that…

  13. Integrating Language-and-Culture Teaching: An Investigation of Spanish Teachers' Perceptions of the Objectives of Foreign Language Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Castro, Paloma; Sercu, Lies; Mendez Garcia, Maria del Carmen

    2004-01-01

    A recent shift has been noticeable in foreign language education theory. Previously, foreign languages were taught as a linguistic code. This then shifted to teaching that code against the sociocultural background of, primarily, one country in which the foreign language is spoken as a national language. More recently, teaching has reflected on…

  14. Home literacy environment profiles of children with language impairment: associations with caregiver- and child-specific factors.

    PubMed

    Tambyraja, Sherine R; Schmitt, Mary Beth; Farquharson, Kelly; Justice, Laura M

    2017-03-01

    Numerous studies suggest a positive relationship between the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills, yet very little research has focused on the HLE of children with language impairment (LI). Children with LI are at risk for reading difficulties; thus, understanding the nature and frequency of their home literacy interactions is warranted. To identify unique HLE profiles within a large sample of children with LI, and to determine relevant caregiver- and child-specific factors that predict children's profile membership. Participants were 195 kindergarten and first-grade children with LI who were receiving school-based language therapy. Caregivers completed a comprehensive questionnaire regarding their child's HLE, and the extent to which their child engaged in shared book reading, were taught about letters, initiated or asked to be read to, and chose to read independently. Caregivers also answered questions regarding the highest level of maternal education, caregiver history of reading difficulties, and caregiver reading habits. Children completed a language and literacy battery in the fall of their academic year. Latent profile analyses indicated a three-profile solution, representing high, average and low frequency of the selected HLE indicators. Multinomial regression further revealed that caregivers' own reading habits influenced children's profile membership, as did child age and language abilities. These results highlight the considerable variability in the frequency of home literacy interactions of children with LI. Future work examining relations between familial reading practices and literacy outcomes for children with LI is warranted. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

  15. Young offenders' perspectives on their literacy and communication skills.

    PubMed

    Hopkins, Thomas; Clegg, Judy; Stackhouse, Joy

    2016-01-01

    Research has revealed that the youth offending population has low language ability when assessed on standardized language measures. However, little is known about the perceptions young offenders (YOs) have of their own literacy ability and their communicative interactions with others. Such knowledge might further our understanding of the possible association between language, literacy and offending behaviour. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences YOs have of using literacy and communicating with others. It addresses the following questions. How satisfied are YOs with their own literacy and communication skills and how important do YOs perceive these to be? How much do YOs believe they understand others in their communicative interactions? How satisfied are YOs with their communicative interactions with others and how does this influence conflict at home, school, and in the youth justice system? An opportunity sample of 31 YOs on court orders were recruited from a local youth offending service, excluding any who did not have English as a first language or were in receipt of current speech and language therapy provision. Twenty-six qualitative individual semi-structured interviews and two focus group interviews were carried out and analysed using a framework analysis method. Themes revealed participants were dissatisfied with their communication and literacy ability. Other themes identified were difficulty in understanding others, a perceived lack of support and respect gained from others, and a negative impact of communication on self-esteem. The findings suggest that YOs often found themselves in disputes with authority figures, but that they avoided using positive communication to solve such conflicts and also avoided confiding in others. The findings support the results found from quantitative research on the language abilities of YOs. This emphasizes the value in adopting qualitative methodology to understand the relationship between literacy, communication skills and offending behaviour in YOs. The findings highlight a need for increased language, literacy and communication training, and support for YOs, and for the staff who work alongside them. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

  16. Thinking More or Feeling Less? Explaining the Foreign-Language Effect on Moral Judgment.

    PubMed

    Hayakawa, Sayuri; Tannenbaum, David; Costa, Albert; Corey, Joanna D; Keysar, Boaz

    2017-10-01

    Would you kill one person to save five? People are more willing to accept such utilitarian action when using a foreign language than when using their native language. In six experiments, we investigated why foreign-language use affects moral choice in this way. On the one hand, the difficulty of using a foreign language might slow people down and increase deliberation, amplifying utilitarian considerations of maximizing welfare. On the other hand, use of a foreign language might stunt emotional processing, attenuating considerations of deontological rules, such as the prohibition against killing. Using a process-dissociation technique, we found that foreign-language use decreases deontological responding but does not increase utilitarian responding. This suggests that using a foreign language affects moral choice not through increased deliberation but by blunting emotional reactions associated with the violation of deontological rules.

  17. Foreign Languages for Business in the Secondary School Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grosse, Christine Uber

    A survey of the 20 most populous states concerning their secondary school provision of foreign languages for business is reported. State foreign language supervisors were interviewed for information on state policy or planning for the inclusion of foreign language for business or applied language studies, for information about specific programs or…

  18. The Literate Lives of Chamorro Women in Modern Guam

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santos-Bamba, Sharleen J.Q.

    2010-01-01

    This ethnographic study traces the language and literacy attitudes, perceptions, and practices of three generations of indigenous Chamorro women in modern Guam. Through the lens of postcolonial theory, cultural literacy, intergenerational transmission theory, community of practice, and language and identity, this study examines how literacy is…

  19. Literacy at Work: The Workplace Basic Education Project Model of Delivery. EAE646 Language and Literacies: Contexts and Challenges in the Workplace.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newcombe, Jude

    This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, Language and Literacies: Contexts and Challenges in the Workplace, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. The document traces the historical development of Australia's Workplace Basic Education Project (WBEP) model for taking literacy provision into the…

  20. Development of Phonological Processing Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment with and without Literacy Delay: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Ghesquiere, Pol; Zink, Inge

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To compare the development of phonological skills in children with specific language impairment (SLI) with and without literacy delay and to examine whether kindergarten phonological skills could discriminate these 2 groups. Method: In a longitudinal study, 8 children with SLI and literacy delay, 10 children with SLI and normal literacy,…

  1. The Effect of an Integrated Strategies Approach to Promoting Scientific Literacy on Grade 6 and 7 Learners' General Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webb, Paul; Mayaba, Nokhanyo

    2010-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of a scientific literacy strategy which focuses on reading, writing, talking and doing science on the development of grade six and seven learners' general literacy skills, both in their home language (isiXhosa) and the language of classroom instruction (English). A mixed method design was used. Quantitative data…

  2. Word Reading and Word Spelling in French Adult Literacy Students: The Relationship with Oral Language Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eme, Elsa; Lambert, Eric; Alamargot, Denis

    2014-01-01

    We analysed word reading and spelling in French adults with low levels of literacy (A-IL). As well as examining phonological and lexical processes, we explored the relationship between literacy and oral language skills. Fifty-two adult literacy students were compared with reading level-matched pupils in Years 1-3 of primary school on reading tasks…

  3. BookFun--"There's More to It than Reading a Book"--Implementing a Danish Early Literacy Programme That Supports Professionalism, Language Development and Social Inclusion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clasen, Line Engel; Jensen de López, Kristine

    2017-01-01

    Several early literacy programmes have documented their effectiveness in enhancing children's early literacy and language development. Despite recent interest in implementing evidence-based programmes, only a few studies have set out to capture the implementation process of early literacy programmes as seen from the programme users' perspectives.…

  4. Assessing Health Literacy in Deaf American Sign Language Users.

    PubMed

    McKee, Michael M; Paasche-Orlow, Michael K; Winters, Paul C; Fiscella, Kevin; Zazove, Philip; Sen, Ananda; Pearson, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Communication and language barriers isolate Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users from mass media, health care messages, and health care communication, which, when coupled with social marginalization, places them at a high risk for inadequate health literacy. Our objectives were to translate, adapt, and develop an accessible health literacy instrument in ASL and to assess the prevalence and correlates of inadequate health literacy among Deaf ASL users and hearing English speakers using a cross-sectional design. A total of 405 participants (166 Deaf and 239 hearing) were enrolled in the study. The Newest Vital Sign was adapted, translated, and developed into an ASL version (ASL-NVS). We found that 48% of Deaf participants had inadequate health literacy, and Deaf individuals were 6.9 times more likely than hearing participants to have inadequate health literacy. The new ASL-NVS, available on a self-administered computer platform, demonstrated good correlation with reading literacy. The prevalence of Deaf ASL users with inadequate health literacy is substantial, warranting further interventions and research.

  5. Assessing Health Literacy in Deaf American Sign Language Users

    PubMed Central

    McKee, Michael M.; Paasche-Orlow, Michael; Winters, Paul C.; Fiscella, Kevin; Zazove, Philip; Sen, Ananda; Pearson, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Communication and language barriers isolate Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users from mass media, healthcare messages, and health care communication, which when coupled with social marginalization, places them at a high risk for inadequate health literacy. Our objectives were to translate, adapt, and develop an accessible health literacy instrument in ASL and to assess the prevalence and correlates of inadequate health literacy among Deaf ASL users and hearing English speakers using a cross-sectional design. A total of 405 participants (166 Deaf and 239 hearing) were enrolled in the study. The Newest Vital Sign was adapted, translated, and developed into an ASL version of the NVS (ASL-NVS). Forty-eight percent of Deaf participants had inadequate health literacy, and Deaf individuals were 6.9 times more likely than hearing participants to have inadequate health literacy. The new ASL-NVS, available on a self-administered computer platform, demonstrated good correlation with reading literacy. The prevalence of Deaf ASL users with inadequate health literacy is substantial, warranting further interventions and research. PMID:26513036

  6. Science education and literacy: imperatives for the developed and developing world.

    PubMed

    Webb, Paul

    2010-04-23

    This article explores current language-based research aimed at promoting scientific literacy and examines issues of language use in schools, particularly where science teaching and learning take place in teachers' and learners' second language. Literature supporting the premise that promoting reading, writing, and talking while "doing science" plays a vital role in effective teaching and learning of the subject is highlighted. A wide range of studies suggest that, whether in homogenous or language-diverse settings, science educators can make a significant contribution to both understanding science and promoting literacy.

  7. 34 CFR 658.35 - What priority does the Secretary give?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... school foreign language instruction or that require each graduating student to earn two years of postsecondary credit in a foreign language (or have demonstrated equivalent competence in the foreign language... POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE...

  8. First-Language Longitudinal Predictors of Second-Language Literacy in Young L2 Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shum, Kathy Kar-man; Ho, Connie Suk-Han; Siegel, Linda S.; Au, Terry Kit-fong

    2016-01-01

    Can young students' early reading abilities in their first language (L1) predict later literacy development in a second language (L2)? The cross-language relationships between Chinese (L1) and English (L2) among 87 Hong Kong students were explored in a longitudinal study. Chinese word-reading fluency, Chinese rapid digit naming, and Chinese rhyme…

  9. "I Understand English but Can't Write It": The Power of Native Language Instruction for Adult English Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lukes, Marguerite

    2011-01-01

    This study explores the potential of native language literacy instruction for adult immigrant English language learners who have limited formal schooling or have had interruptions in their formal education. By examining 3 programs that provide native language literacy in combination with English as a second language (ESL) instruction, this study…

  10. Dutch courage? Effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-ratings and observer ratings of foreign language skills.

    PubMed

    Renner, Fritz; Kersbergen, Inge; Field, Matt; Werthmann, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    A popular belief is that alcohol improves the ability to speak in a foreign language. The effect of acute alcohol consumption on perceived foreign language performance and actual foreign language performance in foreign language learners has not been investigated. The aim of the current study was to test the effects of acute alcohol consumption on self-rated and observer-rated verbal foreign language performance in participants who have recently learned this language. Fifty native German speakers who had recently learned Dutch were randomized to receive either a low dose of alcohol or a control beverage that contained no alcohol. Following the experimental manipulation, participants took part in a standardized discussion in Dutch with a blinded experimenter. The discussion was audio-recorded and foreign language skills were subsequently rated by two native Dutch speakers who were blind to the experimental condition (observer-rating). Participants also rated their own individual Dutch language skills during the discussion (self-rating). Participants who consumed alcohol had significantly better observer-ratings for their Dutch language, specifically better pronunciation, compared with those who did not consume alcohol. However, alcohol had no effect on self-ratings of Dutch language skills. Acute alcohol consumption may have beneficial effects on the pronunciation of a foreign language in people who have recently learned that language.

  11. Mobilities of Language and Literacy Ideologies: Dual Language Graduates' Bilingualism and Biliteracy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Granados, Nadia R.

    2017-01-01

    Using qualitative methodology, this research examines how graduates of a K-5 dual language immersion program have experienced multiple and competing social, cultural, institutional, and political forces at play in complex processes that ultimately affect one's mobilities of language, literacy, and learning. These students have now grown into…

  12. Txt Lang: Texting, Textism Use and Literacy Abilities in Adolescents with and without Specific Language Impairment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Durkin, K.; Conti-Ramsden, G.; Walker, A. J.

    2011-01-01

    The present study examined text messaging in adolescence, in particular relationships among textism use, language and literacy skills. Forty-seven typically developing (TD) 17-year-olds and 47 adolescents of the same age with specific language impairment (SLI) participated. Participants completed standardised assessments of cognitive, language and…

  13. Vernacular Literacy in the Touo Language of the Solomon Islands

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dunn, Michael

    2005-01-01

    The Touo language is a non-Austronesian language spoken on Rendova Island (Western Province, Solomon Islands). First language speakers of Touo are typically multilingual, and are likely to speak other (Austronesian) vernaculars, as well as Solomon Island Pijin and English. There is no institutional support of literacy in Touo: schools function in…

  14. Preschool Teachers' Language and Literacy Practices with Dual Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawyer, Brook E.; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Cycyk, Lauren M.; Lopez, Lisa; Blair, Clancy; Sandilos, Lia; Komaroff, Eugene

    2016-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the degree to which teachers used linguistically responsive practices to support the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLL) and (b) to investigate the associations between these practices and select teacher-level factors. The sample consisted of 72 preschool…

  15. Preschool Teachers' Language and Literacy Practices with Dual Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawyer, Brook E.; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Cycyk, Lauren M.; López, Lisa; Blair, Clancy; Sandilos, Lia; Komaroff, Eugene

    2016-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the degree to which teachers used linguistically responsive practices to support the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLL) and (b) to investigate the associations between these practices and select teacher-level factors. The sample consisted of 72 preschool…

  16. Moving across Languages, Literacies, and Schooling Traditions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Leslie C.

    2011-01-01

    Millions of children participate in both Qur'anic schooling and public schooling. For the majority, this double schooling entails learning (in) two different non-native languages. Seeking to understand the double-schooling experiences of Muslim children for whom the language of literacy in both of their schools is not their native language, Moore…

  17. Toward a Renewed Focus. Literacy in Early Language Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Met, Mimi

    2013-01-01

    This article promotes literacy as a a powerful tool for learning new language. Although learners frequently think of comprehensible input as language that is heard, comprehensible input from print can also be accessed. Research has shown that reading has a powerful impact on language learning: much of the vocabulary that educated adults know has…

  18. Language and Literacy Development of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children: Successes and Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lederberg, Amy R.; Schick, Brenda; Spencer, Patricia E.

    2013-01-01

    Childhood hearing loss presents challenges to language development, especially spoken language. In this article, we review existing literature on deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children's patterns and trajectories of language as well as development of theory of mind and literacy. Individual trajectories vary significantly, reflecting access to…

  19. Parental Involvement in Language and Literacy Acquisition: A Bilingual Journaling Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caesar, Lena G.; Nelson, Nickola Wolf

    2014-01-01

    This pilot study examined the feasibility of a home-school partnership for improving emergent literacy skills in Spanish-speaking pre-school children of migrant farmworkers. Parents were requested to send labeled drawings of family activities to their children's classroom for supplementing bilingual language and literacy instruction. Participants…

  20. Uses of Digital Tools and Literacies in the English Language Arts Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beach, Richard

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews research on English language arts teachers' use of digital tools in the classroom to remediate print literacies. Specifically, this review focuses on the affordances of digital tools to foster uses of digital literacies of informational/accessibility, collaboration knowledge construction, multimodal communication, gaming…

  1. The Language of Information Literacy: Do Students Understand?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schaub, Gayle; Cadena, Cara; Bravender, Patricia; Kierkus, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    To effectively access and use the resources of the academic library and to become information-literate, students must understand the language of information literacy. This study analyzes undergraduate students' understanding of fourteen commonly used information-literacy terms. It was found that some of the terms least understood by students are…

  2. Parenting Styles and Home Literacy Opportunities: Associations with Children's Oral Language Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bingham, Gary E.; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; Kwon, Kyong-Ah; Lim, Chaehyun

    2017-01-01

    This study examined associations among parenting style, home literacy practices, and children's language skills. A total of 181 ethnically diverse parents, primarily African American, and their preschool-aged child participated. Results suggest that an authoritative parenting style was positively associated with informal home literacy (book…

  3. Language and Literacy Shifts in Refugee Populations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Long, Lynellyn D.

    The large scale movements of refugees in many areas of the world are having dramatic impacts on indigenous cultures, languages, and literacies. Both anecdotal evidence and research suggest that the experience of uprooting and displacement creates an increased demand for literacy, new forms of literate expression, and more multilingual…

  4. Educational Television as Mediated Literacy Environments for Preschoolers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jennings, Nancy A.; Hooker, Steven D.; Linebarger, Deborah L.

    2009-01-01

    Research on children's television suggests that preschool programs can facilitate literacy and language development. In 1998 Whitehurst and Lonigan described two interdependent sets of skills involved in literacy acquisition: "outside-in" or oral language skills and "inside-out" or code-related skills. Outside-in skills support children's…

  5. Languages in Adult Literacy: Policies and Practices in Education for All and Beyond

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Clinton

    2016-01-01

    Linguistic diversity characterizes many countries with large literacy needs. Meeting these needs will require a multilingual approach based on learning initial literacy in the learner's mother tongue, with other languages used subsequently. This article identifies five major challenges in implementing multilingual programmes and traces the…

  6. A Cross-Cultural Journey into Literacy Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tour, Ekaterina

    2012-01-01

    A significant body of literacy and language research over the last two decades has been informed by a sociocultural perspective and an associated qualitative design, which are often seen as valuable and appropriate for researching literacy. As an emergent researcher, whose understanding of language education was mostly informed by individualistic…

  7. Concepts of Literacy: The Role of WELL.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Millar, Pat

    The Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) program is intended to provide Australian workers with the language, literacy, and numeracy skills needed to meet their current and ongoing employment and training needs. A research methodology based on the principles of naturalistic inquiry was used to examine the extent to which WELL projects…

  8. Language, Literacy and Learning in Educational Practice. A Reader.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stierer, Barry, Ed.; Maybin, Janet, Ed.

    Articles presented include: "Introducing the New Literacy" (John Willinsky); "The Emergence of Literacy" (Nigel Hall); "Media Education: The Limits of a Discourse" (David Buckingham); "Extracts from 'Thought and Language' and 'Mind in Society'" (L. S. Vygotsky); "From Communicating to Talking" (Jerome Bruner); "What Does It Mean To Be Bilingual?"…

  9. Shaping the Future of Foreign Language Education: FLES, Articulation, and Proficiency. Report of Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lalande, John F. II, Ed.

    Selected papers from the 1988 conference on foreign language issues for the future include: "Articulation for Elementary School Foreign Language Programs: Challenges and Opportunities" (Carol Ann Pesola); "Articulation: A Resolvable Problem?" (Dale L. Lange); "Profiles of Frustration: Second Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities"…

  10. Understanding Language Learning: Review of the Application of the Interaction Model in Foreign Language Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dixon, L. Quentin; Wu, Shuang

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: This paper examined the application of the input-interaction-output model in English-as-Foreign-Language (EFL) learning environments with four specific questions: (1) How do the three components function in the model? (2) Does interaction in the foreign language classroom seem to be effective for foreign language acquisition? (3) What…

  11. The Effect of Language Learning Strategies on Proficiency, Attitudes and School Achievement.

    PubMed

    Habók, Anita; Magyar, Andrea

    2017-01-01

    This study examines language learning strategy (LLS) use in connexion with foreign language attitude, proficiency and general school achievement among lower secondary students in Years 5 and 8 ( n = 868) in Hungary. An adapted version of the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire was used for data collection. The results showed that Hungarian students mainly engage in metacognitive strategies in both years. Differences between more and less proficient language learners' strategy use have also been found. With regard to the effect of LLS on foreign language attitude, the foreign language mark and school achievement, path analysis indicated a good fit in both years. The metacognitive, social and memory strategies primarily influenced foreign language attitudes and marks in Year 5. The metacognitive strategies had a slight impact on school achievement as well as on foreign language marks. We demonstrated the dominant effect of metacognitive strategies and the low effect of memory strategies in Year 8. In addition, metacognitive strategies also influenced foreign language marks. The effect of foreign language marks on school achievement was also remarkable. There was a strong impact on the children's attitudes through these variables.

  12. Patterns and Predictors of Language and Literacy Abilities 4-10 Years in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

    PubMed

    Zubrick, Stephen R; Taylor, Catherine L; Christensen, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Oral language is the foundation of literacy. Naturally, policies and practices to promote children's literacy begin in early childhood and have a strong focus on developing children's oral language, especially for children with known risk factors for low language ability. The underlying assumption is that children's progress along the oral to literate continuum is stable and predictable, such that low language ability foretells low literacy ability. This study investigated patterns and predictors of children's oral language and literacy abilities at 4, 6, 8 and 10 years. The study sample comprised 2,316 to 2,792 children from the first nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Six developmental patterns were observed, a stable middle-high pattern, a stable low pattern, an improving pattern, a declining pattern, a fluctuating low pattern, and a fluctuating middle-high pattern. Most children (69%) fit a stable middle-high pattern. By contrast, less than 1% of children fit a stable low pattern. These results challenged the view that children's progress along the oral to literate continuum is stable and predictable. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate risks for low literacy ability at 10 years and sensitivity-specificity analysis was used to examine the predictive utility of the multivariate model. Predictors were modelled as risk variables with the lowest level of risk as the reference category. In the multivariate model, substantial risks for low literacy ability at 10 years, in order of descending magnitude, were: low school readiness, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status and low language ability at 8 years. Moderate risks were high temperamental reactivity, low language ability at 4 years, and low language ability at 6 years. The following risk factors were not statistically significant in the multivariate model: Low maternal consistency, low family income, health care card, child not read to at home, maternal smoking, maternal education, family structure, temperamental persistence, and socio-economic area disadvantage. The results of the sensitivity-specificity analysis showed that a well-fitted multivariate model featuring risks of substantive magnitude did not do particularly well in predicting low literacy ability at 10 years.

  13. The Status of Foreign Language Education: 1984.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiley, Patricia Davis

    1984-01-01

    Presents a brief history of the status of foreign language instruction from 1953 to 1984. Summarizes research on effects of foreign language study. Describes the foreign language education program at the University of Tennessee--Knoxville, providing an overview of the organization, curricular content, and methodology. Evaluates Knoxville's unique…

  14. Incidental Foreign Language Acquisition from Media Exposure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuppens, An H.

    2010-01-01

    A number of experimental studies have demonstrated the incidental acquisition of a foreign language by children and adolescents when watching foreign language television. While such experiments can only establish short-term effects, this article investigates the extent to which children's foreign language skills benefit from their long-term…

  15. Foreign Language Effect and Psychological Distance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shin, Hong Im; Kim, Juyoung

    2017-01-01

    Does using a foreign language result in forming different moral decisions than using our mother tongue? Two studies were conducted to investigate whether there is a relationship between foreign language effects (differences between native vs. foreign language conditions) and psychological distance. Study 1 tested four moral dilemmas adapted from…

  16. The Importance of the Home Literacy Environment for Developing Literacy Skills in Young Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DesJardin, Jean L.; Ambrose, Sophie E.

    2010-01-01

    Young children who are born deaf or hard of hearing are at risk for language and emergent literacy challenges. Emergent literacy skills play a significant role in early reading abilities for typically developing children with hearing. The purpose of this article is to (a) provide an overview of the research relating to oral language and emerging…

  17. Tact Training versus Bidirectional Intraverbal Training in Teaching a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dounavi, Katerina

    2014-01-01

    The current study involved an evaluation of the emergence of untrained verbal relations as a function of 3 different foreign-language teaching strategies. Two Spanish-speaking adults received foreign-language (English) tact training and native-to-foreign and foreign-to-native intraverbal training. Tact training and native-to-foreign intraverbal…

  18. Classroom Promotion of Oral Language (CPOL): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial of a school-based intervention to improve children’s literacy outcomes at grade 3, oral language and mental health

    PubMed Central

    Goldfeld, Sharon; Snow, Pamela; Eadie, Patricia; Munro, John; Gold, Lisa; Le, Ha N D; Orsini, Francesca; Shingles, Beth; Lee, Katherine; Connell, Judy; Watts, Amy

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Oral language and literacy competence are major influences on children’s developmental pathways and life success. Children who do not develop the necessary language and literacy skills in the early years of school then go on to face long-term difficulties. Improving teacher effectiveness may be a critical step in lifting oral language and literacy outcomes. The Classroom Promotion of Oral Language trial aims to determine whether a specifically designed teacher professional learning programme focusing on promoting oral language can lead to improved teacher knowledge and practice, and advance outcomes in oral language and literacy for early years school children, compared with usual practice. Methods and analysis This is a two-arm cluster multisite randomised controlled trial conducted within Catholic and Government primary schools across Victoria, Australia. The intervention comprises 4 days of face-to-face professional learning for teachers and ongoing implementation support via a specific worker. The primary outcome is reading ability of the students at grade 3, and the secondary outcomes are teacher knowledge and practice, student mental health, reading comprehension and language ability at grade 1; and literacy, writing and numeracy at grade 3. Economic evaluation will compare the incremental costs of the intervention to the measured primary and secondary outcomes. Ethics and dissemination This trial was approved by the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee #CF13/2634-2013001403 and later transferred to the University of Melbourne #1545540. The investigators (including Government and Catholic partners) will communicate trial results to stakeholders, collaborators and participating schools and teachers via appropriate presentations and publications. Trial registration number ISRCTN77681972; Pre-results. PMID:29162571

  19. Dictionary Use of Undergraduate Students in Foreign Language Departments in Turkey at Present

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tulgar, Aysegül Takkaç

    2017-01-01

    Foreign language learning has always been a process carried out with the help of dictionaries which are both in target language and from native language to target language/from target language to native language. Dictionary use is an especially delicate issue for students in foreign language departments because students in those departments are…

  20. Connecting Science and Literacy in the Classroom: Using Space and Earth Science to Support Language Arts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wessen, A. S.; Cobabe-Ammann, E. A.

    2009-12-01

    The connections between science and literacy in the classroom have received increasing attention over the last two decades, as more and more evidence demonstrates that science provides an exciting vehicle in which to engage students on the path to literacy improvement. Combining literacy with science allows students to creatively explore the world or universe, and it. Combining science and literacy improves both reading and science scores, and increases students’ interest in science. At a time when over 40% of students beyond the 5th grade are reading two or more levels below grade level and are struggling with their current materials, finding ways to excite and engage them in the reading process is key. Literacy programs incorporating unique space science content can help prepare children for standardized language arts tests. It also engages our nation’s youngest learners and their teachers with the science, math, and technology of exploration in a language arts format. This session focuses on programs and products that bring the excitement of earth and space science into the literacy classroom, with a focus on research-based approached to combining science and language arts. Reading, Writing and Rings! Grades 1-2

  1. Elizabeth Usher Memorial Lecture: Language is literacy is language - Positioning speech-language pathology in education policy, practice, paradigms and polemics.

    PubMed

    Snow, Pamela C

    2016-06-01

    This paper is concerned with the fundamental and intrinsic links between early receptive and expressive oral language competence on the one hand and the transition to literacy in the early school years and achievement of academic (and life) success on the other. Consequently, it also concerns the professional knowledge base of two key disciplines whose work is central to children's early language and literacy success: teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Oral language competence underpins the transition to literacy, which in turn underpins academic achievement. Academic achievement is significant in its own right, conferring opportunities for further education and training post-secondary school, contributing to psychological health and mitigating some of the mental health risks and adversities that can be associated with adolescence and early adulthood. The central thesis is that the linguistic basis of the transition to literacy makes early reading success core business for SLPs. Further, SLPs need a firm grasp of the political and ideological factors that have exerted historical and continuing influence on reading instruction in western nations such as Australia, the US and the UK. This will facilitate the establishment of meaningful working relationships with teaching colleagues, to achieve optimal education outcomes for all children.

  2. Elizabeth Usher Memorial Lecture: Language is literacy is language - Positioning speech-language pathology in education policy, practice, paradigms and polemics

    PubMed Central

    Snow, Pamela C.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract This paper is concerned with the fundamental and intrinsic links between early receptive and expressive oral language competence on the one hand and the transition to literacy in the early school years and achievement of academic (and life) success on the other. Consequently, it also concerns the professional knowledge base of two key disciplines whose work is central to children’s early language and literacy success: teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Oral language competence underpins the transition to literacy, which in turn underpins academic achievement. Academic achievement is significant in its own right, conferring opportunities for further education and training post-secondary school, contributing to psychological health and mitigating some of the mental health risks and adversities that can be associated with adolescence and early adulthood. The central thesis is that the linguistic basis of the transition to literacy makes early reading success core business for SLPs. Further, SLPs need a firm grasp of the political and ideological factors that have exerted historical and continuing influence on reading instruction in western nations such as Australia, the US and the UK. This will facilitate the establishment of meaningful working relationships with teaching colleagues, to achieve optimal education outcomes for all children. PMID:27063684

  3. A Comparison of Inter-Professional Education Programs in Preparing Prospective Teachers and Speech and Language Pathologists for Collaborative Language-Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Leanne; McNeill, Brigid; Gillon, Gail T.

    2016-01-01

    Ensuring teacher and speech and language pathology graduates are prepared to work collaboratively together to meet the diverse language literacy learning needs of children is an important goal. This study investigated the efficacy of a 3-h inter-professional education program focused on explicit instruction in the language skills that underpin…

  4. The Effects of New Jersey's K-8 Foreign Language Authorization on K-5 Foreign Language Teaching: Two Teachers' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raymond, Robert B. L.

    2012-01-01

    Recent research in language education policy (LEP) refocuses attention from the role of governments to local stakeholders that shape LEP. However, little attention has been given to teacher agency in LEP implementation for early foreign language (FL) education in the United States. This pilot study considers the role of foreign language elementary…

  5. Examination of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Achievement in Foreign Language in Turkish University Students in Terms of Various Variables

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogan, Yunus; Tuncer, Murat

    2016-01-01

    This correlational survey study aimed to investigate whether the Turkish prep-class students' foreign language classroom anxiety levels and foreign language achievement significantly differ in terms of such variables as their gender, their experience abroad, perceived level of income and any third language (other than Turkish and English) they…

  6. The "Joint Venture" in International Business, Economics, and Foreign Languages at Appalachian State University: An Interdisciplinary Endeavor.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothschild, Judith Rice

    1982-01-01

    A cooperative program of the economics and foreign languages departments offers three undergraduate majors: an economics B.A., with two foreign languages; a B.A. double major of economics and either French or Spanish, complemented by a second language; and a B.S. in business administration, individually designed, with one modern foreign language.…

  7. Foreign Languages and the Business World: A Close Partnership.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Portuondo, Alicia M.

    The role of foreign languages in the liberal arts colleges and of business training in the foreign language curriculum is examined. In recent years, student interests in foreign languages have shifted from the traditional focus on literary scholarship to practical applications and communication. International studies are also necessary in…

  8. Revisiting Problems with Foreign Language Aptitude

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Safar, Anna; Kormos, Judit

    2008-01-01

    This study investigated three of the issues recently raised in connection with the traditional concept of foreign language aptitude: the relationship between foreign language aptitude and working memory and phonological short-term memory capacity, the role of foreign language aptitude in predicting success in the framework of focus-on-form foreign…

  9. Foreign Language K-12. Program Evaluation 1991-92.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wadden, Jerry M.

    The Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools foreign language program for K-12 is described and evaluated. The evaluation report focuses on six areas, including: (1) school district mission and philosophy of foreign language instruction; (2) context (state policies and standards, foreign language program overview and enrollment, fiber-optic communication…

  10. Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Listening Performance: Conceptualizations and Causal Relationships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Xian

    2013-01-01

    This study used structural equation modeling to explore the possible causal relations between foreign language (English) listening anxiety and English listening performance. Three hundred participants learning English as a foreign language (FL) completed the foreign language listening anxiety scale (FLLAS) and IELTS test twice with an interval of…

  11. SURVEY OF PERSONNEL POLICIES IN RELATION TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCES.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    WELLEMEYER, JOHN F.

    THE PRINCIPLE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT OPERATE IN FIELDS REQUIRING FOREIGN LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES, THE U.S. MILITARY SERVICES AND SOME PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS, WERE SURVEYED TO DETERMINE THEIR OPERATING POLICIES THAT RELATE TO PERSONNEL WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS. THE AGENCIES THAT HAVE THE GREATEST NEED FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE SKILLS…

  12. 16 CFR 14.9 - Requirements concerning clear and conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and sales materials. 14.9 Section 14.9 Commercial... and conspicuous disclosures in foreign language advertising and sales materials. The Federal Trade... are being printed in foreign languages. In recent years the Commission has issued various cease-and...

  13. Teaching Reading in Foreign Language Classes: A Bibliography.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenewald, M. Jane

    This bibliography of articles, books, and ERIC documents on the teaching of reading in foreign language classes is intended for university content reading specialists, reading coordinators and consultants, secondary and university foreign language teachers, and methodologists in foreign language education. More than 95 sources are listed in the…

  14. Foreign Languages: A Guide to Curriculum Development [Revision].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Connecticut State Board of Education, Hartford.

    The guide is designed to help school district planners develop and implement suitable foreign language curricula. Focusing on programs in grades K-12, it provides an overview of current philosophies, objectives, methods, and materials in foreign language education; illustrates how these may be implemented in a sequential foreign language program…

  15. Auditory processing and speech perception in children with specific language impairment: relations with oral language and literacy skills.

    PubMed

    Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Ghesquière, Pol; Zink, Inge

    2012-01-01

    This longitudinal study investigated temporal auditory processing (frequency modulation and between-channel gap detection) and speech perception (speech-in-noise and categorical perception) in three groups of 6 years 3 months to 6 years 8 months-old children attending grade 1: (1) children with specific language impairment (SLI) and literacy delay (n = 8), (2) children with SLI and normal literacy (n = 10) and (3) typically developing children (n = 14). Moreover, the relations between these auditory processing and speech perception skills and oral language and literacy skills in grade 1 and grade 3 were analyzed. The SLI group with literacy delay scored significantly lower than both other groups on speech perception, but not on temporal auditory processing. Both normal reading groups did not differ in terms of speech perception or auditory processing. Speech perception was significantly related to reading and spelling in grades 1 and 3 and had a unique predictive contribution to reading growth in grade 3, even after controlling reading level, phonological ability, auditory processing and oral language skills in grade 1. These findings indicated that speech perception also had a unique direct impact upon reading development and not only through its relation with phonological awareness. Moreover, speech perception seemed to be more associated with the development of literacy skills and less with oral language ability. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Computerized Sign Language-Based Literacy Training for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holmer, Emil; Heimann, Mikael; Rudner, Mary

    2017-01-01

    Strengthening the connections between sign language and written language may improve reading skills in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) signing children. The main aim of the present study was to investigate whether computerized sign language-based literacy training improves reading skills in DHH signing children who are learning to read. Further,…

  17. High School Student Perceptions of First Language Literacy Instruction: Implications for Second Language Writing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kobayashi, Hiroe; Rinnert, Carol

    2002-01-01

    Investigated Japanese students' first language (L1) writing experience and instruction received in high school in order to help their university English-as-a-Second-Language writing teachers understand their needs. Analysis of interview data suggests ways teachers can draw on students' strengths in terms of their literacy background to help them…

  18. Peace by Piece: The Freeing Power of Language and Literacy through the Arts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Mary F.; Kowalczyk, Sandra

    2000-01-01

    Describes a number of class activities and student projects that the authors have used to teach the language and literature of peace in seventh- and eighth-grade reading and language arts classes, via theme-based units, interdisciplinary projects, and original theatrical student productions that celebrate language and literacy through the arts.…

  19. Play to Learn: Self-Directed Home Language Literacy Acquisition through Online Games

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eisenchlas, Susana A.; Schalley, Andrea C.; Moyes, Gordon

    2016-01-01

    Home language literacy education in Australia has been pursued predominantly through Community Language Schools. At present, some 1,000 of these, attended by over 100,000 school-age children, cater for 69 of the over 300 languages spoken in Australia. Despite good intentions, these schools face a number of challenges. For instance, children may…

  20. Case Studies of Multilingual/Multicultural Asian Deaf Adults: Strategies for Success.

    PubMed

    Wang, Qiuying; Andrews, Jean; Liu, Hsiu Tan; Liu, Chun Jung

    2016-01-01

    Case studies of adult d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing Multilingual Learners (DMLs) are few, especially studies of DMLs who learn more than one sign language and read logographic and alphabetic scripts. To reduce this paucity, two descriptive case studies are presented. Written questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, and self-appraisals of language-use rubrics were used to explore (a) the language and literacy histories of two adult Asian DMLs who had learned multiple languages: Chinese (spoken/written), English (written), Chinese Sign Language, and American Sign Language; and (b) how each language was used in different cultural communities with diverse conversational partners. Home literacy environment, family support, visual access to languages, peer and sibling support, role models, encouragement, perseverance, and Deaf identity all played vital roles in the participants' academic success. The findings provide insights into the acquisition of multiple languages and bi-literacy through social communication and academic content.

  1. Relations Among the Home Language and Literacy Environment and Children's Language Abilities: A Study of Head Start Dual Language Learners and Their Mothers.

    PubMed

    Lewis, Kandia; Sandilos, Lia E; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Sawyer, Brook E; Méndez, Lucía I

    This study explored the relations between Spanish-English dual language learner (DLL) children's home language and literacy experiences and their expressive vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities in Spanish and in English. Data from Spanish-English mothers of 93 preschool-age Head Start children who resided in central Pennsylvania were analyzed. Children completed the Picture Vocabulary and Oral Comprehension subtests of the Batería III Woodcock-Muñoz and the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Results revealed that the language spoken by mothers and children and the frequency of mother-child reading at home influenced children's Spanish language abilities. In addition, the frequency with which children told a story was positively related to children's performance on English oral language measures. The findings suggest that language and literacy experiences at home have a differential impact on DLLs' language abilities in their 2 languages. Specific components of the home environment that benefit and support DLL children's language abilities are discussed.

  2. Addressing the Standards for Foreign Language Learning. Dimension '97. Selected Proceedings of the Joint Conference of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching and the South Carolina Foreign Language Teachers' Association (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Terry, Robert M., Ed.

    Seven papers from the annual conference are presented. "Developing Tomorrow's Technology-Using Foreign Language Teachers: Where We Are, Where We Are Going" (Marjorie H. DeWert, Audrey Heining-Boynton) looks at whether language teachers are being trained to take full advantage of educational technology. "Foreign Language Placement in…

  3. 76 FR 45543 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-29

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD. ACTION: Notice; cancellation. SUMMARY: The Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center meeting scheduled for August 3 and 4, 2011...

  4. A SUGGESTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MICHEL, JOSEPH

    DESIGNED FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS AND PERSONS PREPARING TO BECOME FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS, THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS PUBLISHED BETWEEN 1892 AND 1966 CONTAINS SECTIONS OF--(1) THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF LANGUAGE, (2) LINGUISTICS, INCLUDING APPLIED LINGUISTICS FOR SPECIFIC LANGUAGES, (3) PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE, (4) PHYSIOLOGY OF SPEECH, (5)…

  5. Foreign Language Teachers' Language Proficiency and Their Language Teaching Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richards, Heather; Conway, Clare; Roskvist, Annelies; Harvey, Sharon

    2013-01-01

    Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

  6. Mind, Languages, and Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Debes, John L., III

    For the past 100 years we have been acting as if education in school was of words, by words, and for words, but in fact verbal literacy was preceded by visual literacy when humans communicated with body language before they had speech. American educators have been concentrating efforts on the left hemisphere of the brain in which the verbal…

  7. Adult English Language Learners with Limited Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bigelow, Martha; Schwarz, Robin Lovrien

    2010-01-01

    Adult English language learners who lack print literacy or experience with formal education encounter a unique set of challenges in their lives and their efforts to learn English. Educators and policymakers are similarly challenged by how best to help these adults acquire English literacy. This paper reviews a variety of research, including that…

  8. Creating Mathematicians and Scientists: Disciplinary Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mongillo, Maria Boeke

    2017-01-01

    Disciplinary literacy focuses on the specific ways a content area thinks, uses language, and shares information. While much of the literature on disciplinary literacy suggests it is an advanced language strategy to be taught to secondary students, early childhood classrooms may be the ideal environment in which to introduce this type of…

  9. Predictive Validity of Early Literacy Measures for Korean English Language Learners in the United States

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Jeanie Nam; Vanderwood, Michael L.; Lee, Catherine Y.

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the predictive validity of early literacy measures with first-grade Korean English language learners (ELLs) in the United States at varying levels of English proficiency. Participants were screened using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency…

  10. Learning from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: Using Inquiry to Inform Practice. Language & Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fingon, Joan C., Ed.; Ulanoff, Sharon H., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    This resource guide looks at new classroom-based literacy research that supports "all" learners, including culturally and linguistically diverse students. The authors demonstrate how teachers and researchers develop instructional practices based on multiple languages and the literacy contexts of their schools. They describe classrooms where…

  11. Factors Affecting Language and Literacy Development in Australian Aboriginal Children: Considering Dialect, Culture and Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webb, Gwendalyn L.; Williams, Cori J.

    2018-01-01

    Australian Aboriginal children, in general, lag behind their mainstream peers in measures of literacy. This article discusses some of the complex and interconnected factors that impact Aboriginal children's early language and literacy development. Poor health and historically negative socio-political factors are known influences on Aboriginal…

  12. Language, Ethnography, and Education: Bridging New Literacy Studies and Bourdieu

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grenfell, Michael; Bloome, David; Hardy, Cheryl; Pahl, Kate; Rowsell, Jennifer; Street, Brian V.

    2011-01-01

    This frontline volume contributes to the social study of education in general and literacy in particular by bringing together in a new way the traditions of language, ethnography, and education. Integrating New Literacy Studies and Bourdieusian sociology with ethnographic approaches to the study of classroom practice, it offers an original and…

  13. Exploring the Past. "A Senior Literacy Model." Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greater Erie Community Action Committee, PA.

    A program of basic language/writing skills was designed to enhance the literacy levels of 24 multicultural seniors, aged 65 or older, who were recruited from senior centers throughout Erie County, Pennsylvania. Computer literacy and basic word processing skills were taught along with basic language/writing skills in a nonthreatening learning…

  14. Reading Dual Language Books: Improving Early Literacy Skills in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Naqvi, Rahat; Thorne, Keoma J; Pfitscher, Christina M; Nordstokke, David W; McKeough, Anne

    2013-01-01

    Research has determined that dual language books have a positive effect on literacy achievement, motivation, and family involvement in children’s schooling. In this study we used quantitative methods to complement the largely qualitative extant research. We analyzed the early literacy skills of 105 kindergarten children (45 comparison, 60…

  15. English Language Learners' Perceptions of Autonomy Support in a Literacy Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taboada, A.; Kidd, J. K.; Tonks, S. M.

    2010-01-01

    In this study, we explored 3 Grade 4 English Language Learners' (ELLs) perceptions of teacher autonomy-supporting practices in literacy instruction in science. The support of autonomy in literacy classes is central to students' internal motivation for reading. Given that many ELLs are at risk for reading failure, understanding autonomous learning…

  16. Supporting Kindergartners' Science Talk in the Context of an Integrated Science and Disciplinary Literacy Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Tanya S.; Gotwals, Amelia Wenk

    2017-01-01

    Given the growing evidence of limited attention to science, disciplinary literacy, and oral language in elementary classrooms serving low-income children, this study focused on designing and testing an integrated science and disciplinary language and literacy curriculum aligned with NGSS and CCSS ELA standards for kindergarten. We used…

  17. First Language Proficiency and Successful Foreign Language Learning: The Case of High School Students Learning French as a Foreign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gnintedem, Antoine

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated whether there was a correlation between first language proficiency as measured by the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT II) Reading and Language Arts and foreign language proficiency as measured by the French Language Proficiency Test. Data for the independent variable, first language proficiency, was collected from the…

  18. Foreign Language in the Workplace.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambert, Richard D., Ed.; Moore, Sarah Jane, Ed.

    1990-01-01

    Articles in this theme issue of the journal, devoted to the subject of languages in the workplace, include: "Language Use in International Research" (Eugene Garfield, Alfred Welljams-Dorof); "The Foreign Language Needs of U.S.-Based Corporations" (Carol S. Fixman); "Foreign Language Use Among International Business…

  19. Preventing Medication Errors in Ambulatory Care: The Importance of Establishing Regimen Concordance

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-05-01

    primary language. We measured health literacy for English and Spanish speakers using the abbreviated version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in...23 to 36.30 Because health literacy and patient recall may be influenced by unmeasured or undiagnosed cognitive deficits,31–33 we measured cognitive...gender, language, health literacy level, cognitive score (s-CASI ≤ 19), co-morbidity (3 or more co-existing co-morbid conditions), and complexity

  20. Multilingual Effects on EFL Learning: A Comparison of Foreign Language Anxiety Experienced by Monolingual and Bilingual Tertiary Students in the Lao PDR

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phongsa, Manivone; Mohamed Ismail, Shaik Abdul Malik; Low, Hui Min

    2018-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety is common among adult learners, especially those who lack exposure to the language that they are learning. In this study, we compared the foreign language anxiety experienced by monolingual and bilingual tertiary students in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) who were learning English as a Foreign Language. The…

  1. The Health Literacy and ESL study: a community-based intervention for Spanish-speaking adults.

    PubMed

    Soto Mas, Francisco; Ji, Ming; Fuentes, Brenda O; Tinajero, Josefina

    2015-04-01

    Although Hispanics have a documented high risk of limited health literacy, there is a scarcity of research with this population group, and particularly with Hispanic immigrants who generally confront language barriers that have been related to low health literacy. The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy identified community-based English-language instruction as a strategy that can facilitate a health literate society. However, the literature lacks discussion on this type of intervention. This randomized control trial aimed to test the feasibility of using conventional English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of a health literacy/ESL curriculum. The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) in English was used to assess health literacy levels. Analyses included independent sample t test, chi-square, and multiple linear regression. A total of 155 people participated. Results showed a significantly higher increase in the TOFHLA posttest score in the intervention group (p = .01), and noticeable differences in health literacy levels between groups. Results indicate that ESL constitutes a promising venue for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Incorporating health literacy-related content may provide additional benefits.

  2. The Health Literacy and ESL Study: A Community-Based Intervention for Spanish-Speaking Adults

    PubMed Central

    MAS, FRANCISCO SOTO; JI, MING; FUENTES, BRENDA O.; TINAJERO, JOSEFINA

    2015-01-01

    Although Hispanics have a documented high risk of limited health literacy, there is a scarcity of research with this population group, and particularly with Hispanic immigrants who generally confront language barriers that have been related to low health literacy. The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy identified community-based English-language instruction as a strategy that can facilitate a health literate society. However, the literature lacks discussion on this type of intervention. This randomized control trial aimed to test the feasibility of using conventional English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of a health literacy/ESL curriculum. The Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) in English was used to assess health literacy levels. Analyses included independent sample t test, chi-square, and multiple linear regression. A total of 155 people participated. Results showed a significantly higher increase in the TOFHLA posttest score in the intervention group (p = .01), and noticeable differences in health literacy levels between groups. Results indicate that ESL constitutes a promising venue for improving health literacy among Spanish-speaking adults. Incorporating health literacy-related content may provide additional benefits. PMID:25602615

  3. Impacts of a Literacy-Focused Preschool Curriculum on the Early Literacy Skills of Language-Minority Children

    PubMed Central

    Goodrich, J. Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Farver, Jo Ann M.

    2017-01-01

    Spanish-speaking language-minority (LM) children are at an elevated risk of struggling academically and display signs of that risk during early childhood. Therefore, high-quality research is needed to identify instructional techniques that promote the school readiness of Spanish-speaking LM children. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that utilized an experimental curriculum and two professional development models for the development of English and Spanish early literacy skills among LM children. We also evaluated whether LM children's proficiency in one language moderated the effect of the intervention on early literacy skills in the other language, as well as whether the intervention was differentially effective for LM and monolingual English-speaking children. Five hundred twenty-six Spanish-speaking LM children and 447 monolingual English-speaking children enrolled in 26 preschool centers in Los Angeles, CA participated in this study. Results indicated that the intervention was effective for improving LM children's code-related but not language-related English early literacy skills. There were no effects of the intervention on children's Spanish early literacy skills. Proficiency in Spanish did not moderate the effect of the intervention for any English early literacy outcomes; however, proficiency in English significantly moderated the effect of the intervention for Spanish oral language skills, such that the effect of the intervention was stronger for children with higher proficiency in English than it was for children with lower proficiency in English. In general, there were not differential effects of the intervention for LM and monolingual children. Taken together, these findings indicate that high-quality, evidence-based instruction can improve the early literacy skills of LM children and that the same instructional techniques are effective for enhancing the early literacy skills of LM and monolingual children. PMID:28970649

  4. The Need for Foreign Language Competence in the United States. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamayan, Else

    Americans generally lack foreign language competence, and their exposure to foreign languages in the United States is inadequate. Foreign language instruction is deficient in both quality and quantity, and although there are indications of improvement in both areas, it will be many years before the effects of improvements are clear. The…

  5. Look Out World, Here We Come!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snyder, Barbara, Ed.

    1984-01-01

    The journal includes nine articles on the theme of a world view of foreign language teaching. They are: "The Foreign Language Articulation Task Force Survey: A Report" (Reid Baker); "Report of the Ohio Foreign Language Task Force" (Barbara Snyder); "The Akron Story Part I: Summer Foreign Language Camps" (John D. Durden and Sandra K. Strauber);…

  6. Progress Report on the South Carolina Market for Foreign Languages Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgenroth, Robert L.; And Others

    The Market for Foreign Languages Study was begun in South Carolina to ascertain both the state's projected needs for modern foreign language competencies and the state's foreign language resources over the next five years. Questionnaires have been sent to industrial plants, secondary schools, and junior and senior colleges. Of the plants…

  7. Is There a Foreign Language Barrier in Engineering Research?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawks, Carla; And Others

    Perception and effects of foreign language publications in engineering research are examined. Through the use of both survey and archival sources, including coverage in major scientific and technical databases as vended by DIALOG, various aspects of the foreign language barrier were measured. A foreign language barrier is said to exist when…

  8. Teacher to Teacher: Model Lessons for K-8 Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Redmond, Mary Lynn, Ed.; Lorenz, Eileen, Ed.

    This book provides resources for foreign language teachers, supervisors, and others involved in developing and implementing a curriculum. It is the outcome of a 1997 institute, "National Standards for Foreign Language Learning: Curriculum Reform for K-8 Foreign Language Education." The model shows how the national standards can be used…

  9. Bilingual Baby: Foreign Language Intervention in Madrid's Infant Education Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferjan Ramirez, Naja; Kuhl, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    The first years of life represent a unique window of opportunity for foreign language learning. However, key questions are: How much and what kind of foreign language exposure is needed to ignite learning? We conducted a foreign language (English) intervention in four public Infant Education Centers in Madrid, Spain. Intervention children (N =…

  10. New Perspectives and New Directions in Foreign Language Education. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birckbichler, Diane W., Ed.

    The five essays in this volume address broad trends and issues in foreign language education. "Bandwagons Revisited: A Perspective on Movements in Foreign Language Education" (Frank M. Grittner) suggests that the bandwagons flourish because of lack of standardization and centralized authority in American education. Characteristics and results of…

  11. Classroom Management in Foreign Language Education: An Exploratory Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macías, Diego Fernando

    2018-01-01

    This review examines studies in the area of classroom management in foreign language education. It is organized into three large areas: The first area focuses on the distinctive characteristics of foreign language instruction that are more likely to impact classroom management in foreign language classes. The second area provides a description of…

  12. Foreign Language Week: A Successful Public Relations Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reschke, Claus

    A detailed description is presented of a foreign language (FL) week project that was organized and executed by the Houston Area Teachers of Foreign Languages (HATFL) during the 1979-80 academic year. The document describes the preparation activities of the organizing committee, the pre-foreign language week advertising campaigns, the design of…

  13. Foreign Language Study: Fact and Fancy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Virgil

    The purposes of this paper are to: (1) demonstrate the absolute necessity for foreign language study; (2) dispel some of the fancies or fantasies that have grown up concerning the learning of foreign languages; and (3) suggest various alternative programs in foreign language study and possible ways of implementing them. Some of the fallacious…

  14. Critiquing Whole Language and Classroom Inquiry. WLU Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boran, Sibel, Ed.; Comber, Barbara, Ed.

    This book, part of the Whole Language Umbrella Series, offers a critical reexamination of "inquiry" and "whole language" as tools for rethinking literacy, schooling, and humanistic citizenship in the complexities of today's multicultural world. The essays in the book explore the political implications of literacy theories and…

  15. Indigenous Education and Grassroots Language Planning in the USA.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCarty, Teresa L.; Watahomigie, Lucille J.

    1999-01-01

    Indigenous literacy affirms indigenous identity; connects native speakers to the culture and each other; and stimulates other, more diffuse forces for language maintenance. Collaborative, grassroots Native language programs in the United States, New Zealand, Hawaii, Canada, and Puerto Rico are described. Immersion and literacy programs include…

  16. Integrating Language, Literacy, and Academic Development: Alternatives to Traditional English as a Second Language and Remedial English for Language Minority Students in Community Colleges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bunch, George C.; Kibler, Amanda K.

    2015-01-01

    This article argues for the importance of integrating a focus on language, literacy, and academic development for United States-educated language minority (US-LM) students, sometimes called "Generation 1.5." It describes four initiatives at community colleges in California that aim to do so. US-LM students have completed some K-12…

  17. The Effect of Language Learning Strategies on Proficiency, Attitudes and School Achievement

    PubMed Central

    Habók, Anita; Magyar, Andrea

    2018-01-01

    This study examines language learning strategy (LLS) use in connexion with foreign language attitude, proficiency and general school achievement among lower secondary students in Years 5 and 8 (n = 868) in Hungary. An adapted version of the Strategies Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire was used for data collection. The results showed that Hungarian students mainly engage in metacognitive strategies in both years. Differences between more and less proficient language learners’ strategy use have also been found. With regard to the effect of LLS on foreign language attitude, the foreign language mark and school achievement, path analysis indicated a good fit in both years. The metacognitive, social and memory strategies primarily influenced foreign language attitudes and marks in Year 5. The metacognitive strategies had a slight impact on school achievement as well as on foreign language marks. We demonstrated the dominant effect of metacognitive strategies and the low effect of memory strategies in Year 8. In addition, metacognitive strategies also influenced foreign language marks. The effect of foreign language marks on school achievement was also remarkable. There was a strong impact on the children’s attitudes through these variables. PMID:29379461

  18. Language Learning: A Worldwide Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christian, Donna; Pufahl, Ingrid U.; Rhodes, Nancy C.

    2005-01-01

    Numerous reports and articles have decried the mediocrity of U.S. students' foreign language skills and have called for improved language education. One study that looked at foreign language education in 19 countries suggests several characteristics of successful foreign language programs: starting early, providing an articulated framework,…

  19. Even Teachers Get the Blues: Recognizing and Alleviating Language Teachers' Feelings of Foreign Language Anxiety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horwitz, Elaine K.

    1996-01-01

    Argues that many nonnative foreign-language teachers experience foreign-language anxiety and that this anxiety can have negative consequences for language teaching. The article discusses how anxiety affects teachers' feelings of self-confidence, use of the target language, and instructional choices and offers suggestions for increasing teachers'…

  20. The Language and Literacy Development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review

    PubMed Central

    Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Hoff, Erika; Uchikoshi, Yuuko; Gillanders, Cristina; Castro, Dina; Sandilos, Lia E.

    2015-01-01

    The number of children living in the United States who are learning two languages is increasing greatly. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the language and literacy development of dual language learners (DLLs), particularly during the early childhood years. To summarize the extant literature and guide future research, a critical analysis of the literature was conducted. A search of major databases for studies on young typically developing DLLs between 2000–2011 yielded 182 peer-reviewed articles. Findings about DLL children’s developmental trajectories in the various areas of language and literacy are presented. Much of these findings should be considered preliminary, because there were few areas where multiple studies were conducted. Conclusions were reached when sufficient evidence existed in a particular area. First, the research shows that DLLs have two separate language systems early in life. Second, differences in some areas of language development, such as vocabulary, appear to exist among DLLs depending on when they were first exposed to their second language. Third, DLLs’ language and literacy development may differ from that of monolinguals, although DLLs appear to catch up over time. Fourth, little is known about factors that influence DLLs’ development, although the amount of language exposure to and usage of DLLs’ two languages appears to play key roles. Methodological issues are addressed, and directions for future research are discussed. PMID:25878395

  1. Exploring the Language and Literacy Outcomes of Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users

    PubMed Central

    Spencer, Linda J.; Barker, Brittan A.; Tomblin, J. Bruce

    2011-01-01

    Objective The principal goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between language and literacy (i.e., reading and writing) skills in pediatric cochlear implant users. A peripheral objective was to identify the children's skills that were in need of remediation and subsequently to provide suggestions for remedial programming. It was predicted that the robust language skills often associated with children who have cochlear implant experience would facilitate the development of literacy skills. It was further proposed that the language and literacy skills of pediatric cochlear implant users would approximate the language and literacy skills of children with normal hearing. Design Sixteen pediatric cochlear implant users' language and literacy skills were evaluated and then compared with a reference group of 16 age-matched, normal-hearing children. All 32 participants were educated in mainstream classes within the public school system in the Midwest. The “Sentence Formulation” and “Concepts and Directions” subtests of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-3 test were used to evaluate receptive and expressive language skills. Reading comprehension was evaluated with the “Paragraph Comprehension” subtest of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. Performance measures for the writing analyses included productivity, complexity and grammaticality measures. Results Children with cochlear implants performed within 1 SD of the normal-hearing, age-matched children on measures of language comprehension, reading comprehension and writing accuracy. However, the children with cochlear implants performed significantly poorer than the children with normal hearing on the expressive “Sentence Formulation” subtest. The cochlear implant users also produced fewer words on the written narrative task than did the normal-hearing children, although there was not a significant difference between groups with respect to total words per clause. Furthermore there was a strong correlation between language performance and reading performance, as well as language performance and total words produced on the written performance measure for the children using cochlear implants. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that the language skills of pediatric cochlear implant users are related to and correlated with the development of literacy skills within these children. Consequently, the performance of the cochlear implant users, on various language and literacy measures, compared favorably to an age-matched group of children with normal hearing. There were significant differences in the ability of the cochlear implant users to correctly utilize grammatical structures such as conjunctions and correct verb forms when they were required to formulate written and oral sentences. Given this information, it would be appropriate for their educational or remedial language programs to emphasize the use and development of these structures. PMID:12799546

  2. English Language Literacies of Undergraduate Students in Malaysia's Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Environment: Casualties of National Language Policies and Globalisation?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wahi, Wahiza

    2015-01-01

    The issue of Malaysian graduates' unemployment, attributed largely to their flawed English language competence, has been a major concern in the country for many years. The study reported in this paper sought to better comprehend future graduates' perspectives and practices in dealing with the English language literacies prior to graduation. This…

  3. Teaching Literacy to English Language Learners in the Borderlands: A Case Study of A Sixth Grade Language Arts and Reading Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Ann Marie; Salgado, Yolanda

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this case study was to investigate how an English language arts teacher used young adult literature to help English language learners improve English and literacy comprehension. Through the lens of Anzaldua's (2007) "borderlands", and Rolon-Dow's (2005) "critical care", the authors analyze the case study…

  4. The Use of Newspapers and Magazines in the Foreign-Language Classroom. ERIC Focus Reports on the Teaching of Foreign Language, No. 31.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, Charles J.; Lange, Dale L.

    Newspapers and magazines have been used only on a limited basis in the foreign language classroom, because language study has traditionally led to the study of literature. However, this trend is now changing because (1) foreign language curriculum at the secondary school level is expanding to encompass new goals, and (2) the influence from college…

  5. Creative Writing for Language, Content and Literacy Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guillén, María Teresa Fleta; Bermejo, María Luisa García

    2011-01-01

    This paper reports on pedagogies that promote language, content and literacy in English by stimulating learners' creativity. The starting point to promote creativity among learners was music and art. There seems to be a natural connection between music, language and thinking which suggests that incorporating musical experiences into daily…

  6. "Rincones de Lectura" Comes to San Isidro: New Contexts for Biliteracy and Language Maintenance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Francis, Norbert

    2000-01-01

    Reports on a 9-month ethnographic assessment of the Mexican "Rincones de lectura" literacy program as it was implemented in one rural elementary school. Findings are examined to determine the impact of Spanish language literacy materials on the indigenous language, Nahuatl. (Author/VWL)

  7. An Evaluation of Early Reading First (ERF) Preschool Enrichment on Language and Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Goetz, Ernest T.; Hall, Robert J.; Payne, Tara; Taylor, Aaron B.; Kim, Minjung; McCormick, Anita S.

    2011-01-01

    Early Reading First (ERF) was created to address problems related to language and development among economically disadvantaged and language-minority preschool children through quality classroom processes, professional development, and instruction. More than any previous initiative, ERF specifies what early literacy instruction should look like in…

  8. Indigenous Language Education and Literacy: Introduction to the Theme Issue.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCarty, Teresa L.; Zepeda, Ofelia

    1995-01-01

    Discusses the 13 papers in this special issue on American Indian and Alaska Native language education and literacy, the object of which is to critically examine the relationship of pedagogical change to larger sociopolitical and cultural processes affecting native language, bilingual, and bicultural programs. (three references) (MDM)

  9. Teaching Middle School Language Arts: Incorporating Twenty-First Century Literacies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Small Roseboro, Anna J.

    2010-01-01

    "Teaching Middle School Language Arts" is the first book on teaching middle school language arts for multiple intelligences and related twenty-first-century literacies in technologically and ethnically diverse communities. More than 670,000 middle school teachers (grades six through eight) are responsible for educating nearly 13 million students…

  10. Assessment of Language and Literacy: A Process of Hypothesis Testing for Individual Differences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Cheryl M.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Older school-aged children and adolescents with persistent language and literacy impairments vary in their individual profiles of linguistic strengths and weaknesses. Given the multidimensional nature and complexity of language, designing an assessment protocol capable of uncovering linguistic variation is challenging. A process of…

  11. Flow as a Metaphor for Changing Composition Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Green, David

    2017-01-01

    Given that research in language and literacy studies proffers multilingual and translingual literacy studies as central to contemporary English studies, English studies can benefit from increased attention to hip-hop language practices. While some linguists have argued for closer analysis of hip-hop nation language (HHNL) because of its relevance…

  12. Orthographic Consistency and Individual Learner Differences in Second Language Literacy Acquisition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Sun-A; Packard, Jerome; Christianson, Kiel; Anderson, Richard C.; Shin, Jeong-Ah

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated whether orthographic consistency and individual learner differences including working memory (WM), first language (L1) background, and second language (L2) proficiency affect Chinese L2 learners' literacy acquisition. Seventy American college students in beginning or intermediate Chinese classes participated in a character…

  13. Facilitating Emergent Literacy: Efficacy of a Model that Partners Speech-Language Pathologists and Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Girolametto, Luigi; Weitzman, Elaine; Greenberg, Janice

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: This study examined the efficacy of a professional development program for early childhood educators that facilitated emergent literacy skills in preschoolers. The program, led by a speech-language pathologist, focused on teaching alphabet knowledge, print concepts, sound awareness, and decontextualized oral language within naturally…

  14. Do Infant Vocabulary Skills Predict School-Age Language and Literacy Outcomes?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duff, Fiona J.; Reen, Gurpreet; Plunkett, Kim; Nation, Kate

    2015-01-01

    Background: Strong associations between infant vocabulary and school-age language and literacy skills would have important practical and theoretical implications: Preschool assessment of vocabulary skills could be used to identify children at risk of reading and language difficulties, and vocabulary could be viewed as a cognitive foundation for…

  15. Visual Immersion for Cultural Understanding and Multimodal Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smilan, Cathy

    2017-01-01

    When 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.…

  16. LANGUAGE TEACHING--BROADER CONTEXTS. REPORTS OF THE WORKING COMMITTEES OF THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, 1966.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MEAD, ROBERT G., JR.

    TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON CURRENT PROBLEMS CONFRONTING THE PROFESSION, THE 1966 NORTHEAST CONFERENCE ON THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHED ITS WORKING COMMITTEE REPORTS ON LANGUAGE LEARNING RESEARCH, WIDER USES FOR LANGUAGES, AND THE SUPERVISION AND COORDINATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING. THE FIRST REPORT, "RESEARCH AND LANGUAGE LEARNING,"…

  17. Nociones de la programacion de lenguas extranjeras (Ensayo metodologico) (Programming Foreign Languages [A Methodological Study])

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feldman, David

    1975-01-01

    Stresses the importance of language laboratories and other technical devices used in foreign language teaching, particularly in programed language instruction. Illustrates, by means of taxonomies, the various stages a foreign language learning program should follow. (Text is in Spanish.) (DS)

  18. [Union-Endicott Schools: Foreign Language Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Connell, Raymond S.

    This brochure describing language programs to both parents and prospective high school language students in Endicott, New York focuses on developing student motivation and interest. Topics discussed include: (1) reasons for studying foreign language, (2) stages of foreign language learning, (3) course offerings, (4) homework, and (5) examinations.…

  19. Latino English Language Learners' Writing during Literacy-Enriched Block Play

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snow, Marianne; Eslami, Zohreh R.; Park, Jeong Hyun

    2015-01-01

    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…

  20. The Professional Development Requirements of Workplace English Language and Literacy Programme Practitioners. An Adult Literacy National Project Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berghella, Tina; Molenaar, John; Wyse, Linda

    2006-01-01

    This report examines the extent and nature of professional development required to meet the current and future needs of Workplace English Language and Literacy Programme practitioners. While the working environment for such practitioners is becoming more complex, with greater demands on them to have industry knowledge and project management…

  1. Ambientes de lenguaje y alfabetizacion en programas preescolares (Language and Literacy Environments in Preschools). ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snow, Catherine E.; Burns, M. Susan; Griffin, Peg

    Because of the variation in support for literacy development in different homes, many children need high-quality preschool and school environments and excellent primary instruction to be sure of reading success. This Spanish-language Digest discusses the research on preschool literacy environments and their contributions to reading skills…

  2. Learning Together: Creating a Community of Practice to Support English Language Learner Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peercy, Megan Madigan; Martin-Beltran, Melinda; Daniel, Shannon M.

    2013-01-01

    This qualitative case study examines an after-school, bilingual family literacy programme that brought together several groups to form a community of practice (CoP) that worked to support the literacy development of English language learners and their families. We explored the following question: How do parents, teachers, students, and other…

  3. Inclusive Literacy Teaching: Differentiating Approaches in Multilingual Elementary Classrooms. Language and Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Helman, Lori; Rogers, Carrie; Frederick, Amy; Struck, Maggie

    2016-01-01

    Responding to the need to prepare elementary teachers for the increasing linguistic diversity in schools, this book presents key foundational principles in language and literacy development for linguistically diverse students. Readers see these ideas enacted through the journeys of real students as they progress from 1st through 6th grade. What…

  4. Examining English Language Arts Common Core State Standards Instruction through Cultural Historical Activity Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barrett-Tatum, Jennifer

    2015-01-01

    The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards and corresponding assessments brought about many changes for educators, their literacy instruction, and the literacy learning of their students. This study examined the day-to-day literacy instruction of two primary grade teachers during their first year of full CCSS implementation. Engestr?m's…

  5. Disciplinary Literacy in English Language Arts: Exploring the Social and Problem-Based Nature of Literary Reading and Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rainey, Emily C.

    2017-01-01

    Despite many calls for K-12 disciplinary literacy instruction--instruction that teaches students the specialized ways of reading, writing, and reasoning of the academic disciplines--there are questions about what disciplinary literacy instruction means for the prominent school domain of English language arts. This article investigates the…

  6. A Planning Cycle for Integrating Digital Technology into Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hutchison, Amy; Woodward, Lindsay

    2014-01-01

    With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards by most states, the use of digital tools in literacy and language arts instruction has become of critical importance to educators. These changes produce a need for a better understanding of how literacy and language arts teachers can successfully integrate digital tools into their instruction…

  7. Role of Linguistic and Sociocultural Diversity in Reading Literacy Achievement: A Multilevel Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Netten, Andrea; Luyten, Hans; Droop, Mienke; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2016-01-01

    This study examined how linguistic and sociocultural diversity have an impact on the reading literacy outcomes of a representative sample of 3,549 first-language (L1) and 208 second-language (L2) fourth-grade students in the Netherlands. A multilevel modelling analysis was conducted using Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006 data…

  8. Individual versus Peer Grit: Influence on Later Individual Literacy Achievement of Dual Language Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Neal, Colleen R.

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this short-term longitudinal study was to examine individual versus classroom peer effects of grit on later individual literacy achievement in elementary school. The dual language learner, largely Latina/o sample included students from the 3rd through the 5th grades. Participants completed a literacy achievement performance task…

  9. The Challenges of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test for Second Language Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheng, Liying; Klinger, Don A.; Zheng, Ying

    2007-01-01

    Results from the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) indicate that English as a Second Language (ESL) and English Literacy Development (ELD) students have comparatively low success and high deferral rates. This study examined the 2002 and 2003 OSSLT test performances of ESL/ELD and non-ESL/ELD students in order to identify and…

  10. Colby's Growth to Language and Literacy: The Achievements of a Child Who Is Congenitally Deafblind

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bruce, Susan; Randall, Amy; Birge, Barbara

    2008-01-01

    This article tells the story of how Colby, a young boy who is congenitally deafblind, developed language and literacy. Narrative is coupled with video to illustrate how the following four instructional approaches and interventions supported his development: (1) daily schedule, (2) home-school journal, (3) experiential based literacy, and (4)…

  11. Emotional Coping and Literacy Intervention Decisions: How Hearing Parents Guide Their Deaf Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heuer, Christopher Jon

    2009-01-01

    This qualitative case study investigated the process by which eight hearing parents went about making decisions to promote language acquisition and literacy learning in their deaf children, who or what influenced that process, and how they coped emotionally with the impact of deafness on literacy and language acquisition. Data from interview…

  12. The Effects of a Comprehensive Early Literacy Project on Preschoolers' Language and Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xu, Yaoying; Chin, Christopher; Reed, Evelyn; Hutchinson, Cynthia

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a federally funded early literacy project that aimed to promote the school readiness skills of preschool-age children from low income families. Through daily, explicit, and systematic instruction, the project targeted to improve preschoolers' oral language skills, phonological awareness,…

  13. Putting the Cart before the Horse: Interrogating Media Literacy Education in School English Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tan Lee Wee, Lynde

    2010-01-01

    Background: In response to the changing demands of new times, media literacy has been incorporated into the current English Language Syllabus 2010 in Singapore. Although media literacy is mentioned in the syllabus, what this term means needs more clarification. What is clear from the current English Language Syllabus 2010 in Singapore is the…

  14. Quest for Status: Accrediting Kweyol Language and Literacy Courses in the UK.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nwenmely, Hubisi

    1995-01-01

    Describes how the development of a criterion-referenced test for Kweyol led to the accreditation of Kweyol language and literacy courses taught in London. The process of accreditation has relevance for those involved in heritage teaching in countries such as the United States and for those committed to sustaining local literacies in microstates…

  15. Building Facilities/Custodial Services English as a Second Language Workplace Literacy Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arlington County Public Schools, VA. REEP, Arlington Education and Employment Program.

    The Workplace Literacy Curriculum for Custodial Services was developed for English-as-a-Second-Language classes for workers in participating businesses in Arlington County, Virginia, through a national workplace literacy grant with the cooperation of the Arlington County Chamber of Commerce. It is based on an analysis of tasks and interactions at…

  16. Relations between Indian Children's Home Literacy Environment and Their English Oral Language and Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalia, Vrinda; Reese, Elaine

    2009-01-01

    More than 90 million Indian children are becoming literate in English, yet the home literacy environment for Indian children learning English has not been explored. Preschool children (N = 50) from Bangalore, India, were assessed for vocabulary, phonological awareness, and print skills in English, their language of schooling. Parents reported on…

  17. 34 CFR 658.4 - What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... International Studies and Foreign Language Program? 658.4 Section 658.4 Education Regulations of the Offices of... UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.4 What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The definitions in 34 CFR 655.4 apply to this...

  18. 34 CFR 658.4 - What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... International Studies and Foreign Language Program? 658.4 Section 658.4 Education Regulations of the Offices of... UNDERGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM General § 658.4 What definitions apply to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program? The definitions in 34 CFR 655.4 apply to this...

  19. Investigating the Development of Foreign Language Anxiety: An Autobiographical Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trang, Tran Thi Thu; Baldauf, Richard B., Jr.; Moni, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been found to exist in tertiary students learning foreign languages in many countries; however, limited research has explored how it develops. This study investigated how anxiety developed in students of English as a foreign language (EFL), focusing on changes in their feelings about EFL learning as they learned,…

  20. The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Foreign Language Anxiety: A Comparative Study of Taiwanese and American Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duxbury, John G.; Tsai, Ling-ling

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the level of foreign language anxiety in the classroom, plus the correlation between foreign language anxiety and cooperative learning attitudes and practice among university students at one university in the United States and three universities in Southern Taiwan. Two instruments (The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety…

  1. Foreign Language Teaching and Learning in the Netherlands 1500-2000: An Overview

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhelm, Frans

    2018-01-01

    The Netherlands are quite unique in that the Dutch have always learned various foreign languages. Until 1940, French was the most important foreign language. Between roughly 1870 and 1970, Dutch learners in grammar schools and higher secondary schools were even obliged to learn three foreign languages: French, German and English. Since 1970,…

  2. Foreign Languages and Your Career.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourgoin, Edward

    Divided into two major parts, this book is intended to indicate careers in which people need foreign languages in their work and to provide suggestions and sources of further information for those who already have foreign language skills and those who are planning to acquire them. Part 1 discusses careers in which a foreign language is needed as a…

  3. Literacy in Francophone Africa.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kokora, Pascal D.

    1991-01-01

    Literacy in francophone Africa, where literacy is still a privilege, is reviewed in terms of the complex linguistic situation, effects of population change, concepts and definitions of literacy, promotion of literacy in adult nonformal settings (e.g., African language literacy materials, multilingual settings). (23 references) (LB)

  4. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horwitz, Elaine K.; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Identifies foreign language anxiety as a conceptually distinct variable in foreign language learning and interprets it with the context of existing theoretical and empirical work on specific anxiety reactions. Discusses the effects of this anxiety on language learning and its pedagogical implications. (SED)

  5. Foreign language affects the contribution of intentions and outcomes to moral judgment.

    PubMed

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2016-09-01

    We examine whether the use of a foreign language, as opposed to the native language, influences the relative weight intentions versus outcomes carry in moral evaluations. In Study 1, participants were presented with actions that had positive outcomes but were motivated by dubious intentions, while in Study 2 with actions that had negative outcomes but were motivated by positive intentions. Participants received the materials either in their native or a foreign language. Foreign language prompted more positive moral evaluations in Study 1 and less positive evaluations in Study 2. These results show that foreign language reduces the relative weight placed on intentions versus outcomes. We discuss several theoretical accounts that are consistent with the results such as that foreign language attenuates emotions (triggered by intentions) or it depletes cognitive resources. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. The Emotional Impact of Being Myself: Emotions and Foreign-Language Processing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ivaz, Lela; Costa, Albert; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

    2016-01-01

    Native languages are acquired in emotionally rich contexts, whereas foreign languages are typically acquired in emotionally neutral academic environments. As a consequence of this difference, it has been suggested that bilinguals' emotional reactivity in foreign-language contexts is reduced as compared with native language contexts. In the current…

  7. Foreign Language Anxiety of Students Studying English Language and Literature: A Sample from Turkey

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elaldi, Senel

    2016-01-01

    A considerable number of foreign language learners experience a feeling of anxiety in language learning process. The purpose of this research was to find out foreign language anxiety levels of students studying in the Faculty of English Language and Literature at Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey when they were in preparatory class and when…

  8. Foreign Language Display Library Catalog. Supplement to Studies in Language and Language Behavior, Progress Report VIII.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ann Arbor Public Schools, MI.

    Designed as a tool for foreign language teachers attempting to keep updated on the constantly proliferating number of printed materials being produced for use in elementary and secondary school language classes, this catalog attempts to bring together in one collection a representative selection of foreign language texts, readers, workbooks, and…

  9. The development of language and literacy: evaluating the stereotypes.

    PubMed

    Goodman, Judith C; Wagovich, Stacy A

    2009-01-01

    People hold many stereotypes about the development of language and reading. We review current data concerning three stereotypes: (1) Girls learn language faster than boys; (2) Biological factors determine the time course of language acquisition; and (3) Dyslexia is a visual problem involving the reversal of letters. In each case, recent data leads to a different picture of the acquisition of language and literacy and deepens our understanding of the processes involved.

  10. Literacy Development and Language Expression for Adult Learners in Transition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Larrotta, Clarena; Moon, Ji Yoon Christine

    2016-01-01

    This chapter provides examples of transitions that learners face connected to their participation in adult education and English literacy instruction. It describes their efforts to attain relevant language expression skills.

  11. Patterns and Predictors of Language and Literacy Abilities 4-10 Years in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

    PubMed Central

    Zubrick, Stephen R.; Taylor, Catherine L.; Christensen, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Aims Oral language is the foundation of literacy. Naturally, policies and practices to promote children’s literacy begin in early childhood and have a strong focus on developing children’s oral language, especially for children with known risk factors for low language ability. The underlying assumption is that children’s progress along the oral to literate continuum is stable and predictable, such that low language ability foretells low literacy ability. This study investigated patterns and predictors of children’s oral language and literacy abilities at 4, 6, 8 and 10 years. The study sample comprised 2,316 to 2,792 children from the first nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Six developmental patterns were observed, a stable middle-high pattern, a stable low pattern, an improving pattern, a declining pattern, a fluctuating low pattern, and a fluctuating middle-high pattern. Most children (69%) fit a stable middle-high pattern. By contrast, less than 1% of children fit a stable low pattern. These results challenged the view that children’s progress along the oral to literate continuum is stable and predictable. Findings Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate risks for low literacy ability at 10 years and sensitivity-specificity analysis was used to examine the predictive utility of the multivariate model. Predictors were modelled as risk variables with the lowest level of risk as the reference category. In the multivariate model, substantial risks for low literacy ability at 10 years, in order of descending magnitude, were: low school readiness, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status and low language ability at 8 years. Moderate risks were high temperamental reactivity, low language ability at 4 years, and low language ability at 6 years. The following risk factors were not statistically significant in the multivariate model: Low maternal consistency, low family income, health care card, child not read to at home, maternal smoking, maternal education, family structure, temperamental persistence, and socio-economic area disadvantage. The results of the sensitivity-specificity analysis showed that a well-fitted multivariate model featuring risks of substantive magnitude did not do particularly well in predicting low literacy ability at 10 years. PMID:26352436

  12. The Foreign Language Feature Film and Language Teaching Activities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chappell, Martin

    1986-01-01

    Analysis of foreign language films, featuring consideration of film sequence, image and film analysis, and literary adaptation, is an effective teaching activity with foreign language students. An example illustrates film analysis activities in a first-year French class. (CB)

  13. An Investigation of Lexical Progress of Teaching Foreign Languages (TFL) Learners in Terms of Part-of-Speech

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Çerçi, Arif

    2017-01-01

    In the related literature, it has been discussed that issues related to foreign language lexicon have been ignored; therefore, a solid theory of foreign language lexicon has not been constructed yet. In the framework of Turkish as a foreign language, the literature lacks both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. To this end, this longitudinal…

  14. Action for the '80s: A Political, Professional, and Public Program for Foreign Language Education. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, June K., Ed.

    This volume deals with issues in foreign language education that have come to the fore since the publication of the Report of the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies. It contains the following articles: "Action or Inaction: An Editorial Opinion," by June Phillips; (2) "ACTFL's 1980 Agenda: Intention…

  15. Study Abroad and Intercultural Communication. The Challenge of Communication. ACTFL Review of Foreign Language Education, Vol. 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourque, Jane M.

    Preparation for study abroad is a valid part of the foreign language program. One advantage of study abroad is the motivational focus it gives to home-based foreign languages programs. The possibility of participating in the foreign culture and actually using the language are incentives. Teaching intercultural communication and understanding is a…

  16. The Effects of Teaching Songs during Foreign Language Classes on Students' Foreign Language Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dolean, Dacian Dorin

    2016-01-01

    Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) has been the subject of several studies aimed to optimize learning of a foreign language in the classroom. However, few studies provide specific curriculum-based methodological strategies to be used in the classroom in order to lower the anxiety level. In this article, two experimental classes of 8th-grade…

  17. Adult Learners' Perceptions of the Significance of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brooks-Lewis, Kimberly Anne

    2014-01-01

    Is learning about culture important when learning a foreign language? One would think that after its long history in the field of foreign language teaching this question had been answered with a resounding "yes". However, I saw little evidence of this in the classroom when I returned to the university to learn a foreign language or when…

  18. Curriculum, Competence, and the Foreign Language Teacher. The ACTFL Foreign Language Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Higgs, Theodore V., Ed.

    The articles in this book address some of the major issues facing foreign language teachers in the next decade. These issues grow out of the concepts that received most attention in the 1970s: communicative competence, alternatives to traditional instruction, articulation of the curriculum in view of realities in U.S. foreign language departments,…

  19. Communication and Gamification in the Web-Based Foreign Language Educational System: Web- Based Foreign Language Educational System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osipov, Ilya V.; Volinsky, Alex A.; Nikulchev, Evgeny; Prasikova, Anna Y.

    2016-01-01

    The paper describes development of the educational online web communication platform for teaching and learning foreign languages. The main objective was to develop a web application for teaching foreigners to understand casual fluent speech. The system is based on the time bank principle, allowing users to teach others their native language along…

  20. Academic Achievement through FLES: A Case for Promoting Greater Access to Foreign Language Study among Young Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Carolyn; Lafayette, Robert

    2010-01-01

    The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established foreign languages as a core curricular content area; however, instructional emphasis continues to be placed on curricular areas that factor into state educational accountability programs. The present study explored whether foreign language study of first-year Grade 3 foreign language students who…

  1. Teacher Development in Slovenia for Teaching Foreign Languages at the Primary Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brumen, Mihaela; Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin

    2012-01-01

    The introduction of foreign languages into the first three-year cycle of primary school has spurred the need for qualified teachers, and is one of the main discussion points among experts in foreign language teaching. Most of the contemporary studies report that there is a global gap between the supply of qualified teachers of foreign languages to…

  2. Changing Patterns in Foreign Language Programs: Report of the Illinois Conference on Foreign Languages in Junior and Community Colleges, 1972.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivers, Wilga M., Ed.; And Others

    This collection of articles on foreign language instruction in junior and community colleges focuses on four principal areas: the junior community college, the "Proceedings of the Illinois Conference on Foreign Languages in Junior and Community Colleges," factual information, and action reports. The articles discuss pluralism and the community…

  3. The Potential Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety in a Jordanian EFL Context: A Theoretical Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmad, Ismail Sheikh; Al-Shboul, Murad M.; Nordin, Mohamad Sahari; Rahman, Zainurin Abdul; Burhan, Mohd; Madarsha, Kamal Basha

    2013-01-01

    The last decade has witnessed an increasing research trend on foreign language reading anxiety as a skill related to but distinct from foreign language anxiety. However, sources of foreign language reading anxiety have rarely been investigated. Thus, the current study responds to the study by (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999) and extends the…

  4. Beating the Odds: A Longitudinal Investigation of Low-Income Dual-Language and Monolingual Children's English Language and Literacy Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Han, Myae; Vukelich, Carol; Buell, Martha; Meacham, Sohyun

    2014-01-01

    Research Findings: The current study reports on the results of a longitudinal investigation of the language and early literacy development of a sample of dual-language learners (DLLs) and monolingual English speakers from low-income families who received an Early Reading First intervention during their Head Start preschool year. A total of 62…

  5. Living in Neighborhoods with High or Low Co-Ethnic Concentration: Turkish-Norwegian-Speaking Students' Vocabulary Skills and Reading Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rydland, Veslemøy; Aukrust, Vibeke Grøver; Fulland, Helene

    2013-01-01

    Immigrant students may use and develop language and literacy skills differently depending on the dominance of the first and second language (L1 and L2) in the neighborhoods where they live. In this study, neighborhood effects on students' reported language use at home and with peers, and on measured language and literacy proficiency, were…

  6. The Roles of Literacy and Collaboration in Documenting Native American Languages: A Report from the Jicarilla Apache Dictionary Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Axelrod, Melissa; de Garcia, Jule Gomez; Lachler, Jordan

    2003-01-01

    Reports on the progress of a project to produce a dictionary of the Jicarilla Apache language. Jicarilla, an Eastern Apachean language is spoken on the Jicarilla Apache reservation in Northern New Mexico. The project has revealed much about the role of literacy in language standardization and in speaker empowerment. Suggests that many parallels…

  7. Do Early Literacy Skills in Children's First Language Promote Development of Skills in Their Second Language? An Experimental Evaluation of Transfer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodrich, J. Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Farver, JoAnn M.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cross-language transfer of the emergent literacy skills of preschoolers who were Spanish-speaking language-minority children in the context of an experimental intervention study. Ninety-four children were randomly assigned either to a control condition (HighScope Preschool Curriculum) or to receive…

  8. Do Fathers' Home Reading Practices at Age 2 Predict Child Language and Literacy at Age 4?

    PubMed

    Quach, Jon; Sarkadi, Anna; Napiza, Natasha; Wake, Melissa; Loughman, Amy; Goldfeld, Sharon

    2018-03-01

    Maternal shared reading practices predict emergent literacy, but fathers' contributions are less certain. We examined whether fathers' shared home reading activities at 2 years predict language and emergent literacy at age 4 years, when controlling for maternal contributions; and whether this differentially benefits these outcomes in disadvantaged children. Two-parent families were recruited from 5 relatively disadvantaged communities for the universal Let's Read literacy promotion population-based trial (ISRCTN 04602902) in Melbourne, Australia. For exposure at 2 years, home reading practices were recorded via self-reported maternal and paternal StimQ-Toddler questionnaires and dichotomized at study median (high vs low). At 4 years, outcomes assessed included receptive and expressive language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals 4) and emergent literacy (Sunderland Phonological Awareness Test-Revised). Linear regression, adjusted for mothers' home reading, was performed to assess 2-year-old vocabulary and communication skills and family disadvantage. Interaction of disadvantage (yes vs no) with high home reading by fathers and at least one parent was assessed. Data were available for 405 families (64.3%). High father reading at 2 years (reference: low) predicted better expressive (mean difference, 4.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 8.0) and receptive (mean difference, 5.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 8.2) language at 4 years (both P < .001), but not emergent literacy skills. Similar patterns were observed in families with at least one parent with high home reading. Fathers' reading did not differentially benefit outcomes in disadvantaged children. Fathers' involvement in reading at 2 years predicted better language but not emergent literacy at 4 years, and it did not protect against adverse effects of socioeconomic disadvantage. Copyright © 2018 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Solar Eclipse: Concept of “Science” and “Language” Literacy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haristiani, N.; Zaen, R.; Nandiyanto, A. B. D.; Rusmana, A. N.; Azis, F.; Danuwijaya, A. A.; Abdullah, A. G.

    2018-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concept of science and language literacy of solar eclipse. The study was conducted through a survey to 250 students with different ages (from 17 to 23 years old), grades, and majors in Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. The survey was completed with a questionnaire consisting of 41 questions. In the case of the language literacy, experimental results showed that various expressions in facing the solar eclipse phenomenon are found. Relating to the science literacy, most students have good science understanding to the solar eclipse phenomenon. In conclusion, the understanding about the solar eclipse is affected by formal science education and religion understanding that they have been accepted since their childhood. These factors have also influenced the belief of Indonesian people to the solar eclipse myth and the way of expressions a language literacy.

  10. Foreign Language "Think Tank" Symposium.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Kathleen H.

    At the Foreign Language"Think Tank" Symposium of April 1975, the following major problems of community college foreign language teachers were identified: (1) low enrollment; (2) attrition; (3) low achievers; (4) articulation with universities; and (5) lack of interest. Suggested solutions included: (Problem 1) advertisement, a foreign language…

  11. Relations Among the Home Language and Literacy Environment and Children's Language Abilities: A Study of Head Start Dual Language Learners and Their Mothers

    PubMed Central

    Lewis, Kandia; Sandilos, Lia E.; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Sawyer, Brook E.; Méndez, Lucía I.

    2015-01-01

    Research Findings This study explored the relations between Spanish–English dual language learner (DLL) children's home language and literacy experiences and their expressive vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities in Spanish and in English. Data from Spanish–English mothers of 93 preschool-age Head Start children who resided in central Pennsylvania were analyzed. Children completed the Picture Vocabulary and Oral Comprehension subtests of the Batería III Woodcock–Muñoz and the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Results revealed that the language spoken by mothers and children and the frequency of mother–child reading at home influenced children's Spanish language abilities. In addition, the frequency with which children told a story was positively related to children's performance on English oral language measures. Practice or Policy The findings suggest that language and literacy experiences at home have a differential impact on DLLs' language abilities in their 2 languages. Specific components of the home environment that benefit and support DLL children's language abilities are discussed. PMID:27429533

  12. Exploring Peer Interaction among Multilingual Youth: New Possibilities and Challenges for Language and Literacy Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin-Beltrán, Melinda

    2017-01-01

    Peer interactions are central to student experiences and present tremendous opportunities for language learning and consequences for educational equity, yet these opportunities have often been unrecognized and under-examined. This special issue offers new perspectives examining the potential of peer interaction to foster language, literacy and…

  13. Cooperative Bi-Literacy: Parents, Students, and Teachers Read to Transform

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rodriguez-Valls, Fernando

    2009-01-01

    Thousands of students in California learn English as a second language in schools that utilize exclusively monolingual--English Only--literacy programs. With such programs students do not have the opportunity to use the knowledge of their first language in order to acquire and master their second language. The project of cooperative bi-literacy…

  14. Language Issues in Literacy and Bilingual/Multicultural Education. Harvard Educational Review Reprint. Series No. 22.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Minami, Masahiko, Ed.; Kennedy, Bruce P., Ed.

    This collection of articles related to language issues and literacy and bilingual and multicultural education include the following: "Three Processes in the Child's Acquisition of Syntax" (Roger Brown and Ursula Bellugi); "Pre-School Children's Knowledge of English Phonology" (Charles Read); "Stages in Language Development and Reading Exposure"…

  15. Concentrated Language Encounter Approach in Practice for Global Teaching of Literacy: Lighthouse Strategy Implementation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rattanavich, Saowalak

    2015-01-01

    This article presents the lighthouse literacy strategies model using the concentrated language encounter (CLE) approach that has been successfully replicated in many countries in different languages and cultures. A review of CLE research studies and the project implementation in Thailand showed highly significant results in students' literacy…

  16. Early Childhood Language Arts: Meeting Diverse Literacy Needs through Collaboration with Families and Professionals. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jalongo, Mary Renck

    Synthesizing information on language arts gleaned from research on emergent literacy, early childhood education, and special education, this book underscores what is being emphasized in early childhood teacher accreditation programs--responding to the increasingly diverse needs of young language learners in inclusive settings, working with parents…

  17. Examining Strategies for Embedding Literacy Skills within a Whole Language Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Botenhagen, Jennifer L.

    A study examined strategies for embedding literacy skills within a whole language program. A questionnaire was given to full-time whole language elementary school teachers who taught in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. All the participants teach in suburban school districts in the Bay Area including San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and…

  18. Social Justice Literacies in the English Classroom: Teaching Practice in Action. Language and Literacy Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyd, Ashley S.

    2017-01-01

    This timely book focuses on different social justice pedagogies and how they can work within standards and district mandates in a variety of English language arts classrooms. With detailed analysis and authentic classroom vignettes, the author explores how teachers cultivate relationships for equity, utilize transformative language practices,…

  19. Examining Online Forum Discussions as Practices of Digital Literacy in College-Level ESL Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bauler, Clara Vaz

    2012-01-01

    This research study examines the role of digital media, more specifically online forums, in the development of academic literacy and language learning in English as a Second Language (ESL) college writing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition suggest that participation in online forum discussions can potentially foster collaboration,…

  20. Bridging Authentic Experiences and Literacy Skills through the Language Experience Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huang, Jiuhan

    2013-01-01

    Although the research base is small on adult English language learners (ELLs) who are learning English while also acquiring basic literacy, this research can still guide instructional practices. The essential components of reading skills suggests that the Language Experience Approach has the potential to integrate relevant meaning-focused reading…

  1. Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reese, Leslie; Thompson, Sylvia Linan; Goldenberg, Claude

    2008-01-01

    Drawing on data from 14 communities in California and Texas, this paper examines the variability in language and literacy resources across communities with large numbers of Latino families. Spanish-speaking children live in communities that vary considerably with respect to language use, ethnic composition and education levels. Children's…

  2. Technology Teaching or Mediated Learning, Part II, 1990s: Literacy Linkages and Intervention Contexts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coufal, Kathy L.

    2002-01-01

    Themes during the 1990s included the bootstrapping effects between oral and literate language, importance of supporting emergent literacy, parallels between oral language impairment and academic failure, and challenges in facilitating language learning. This article addresses questions posed in Part I related to use of computer technology for…

  3. Emergent Literacy Performance across Two Languages: Assessing Four-Year-Old Bilingual Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westerveld, Marleen F.

    2014-01-01

    There are few emergent literacy assessments available for bilingual children. This study investigated the usefulness of a screening battery of oral language and print-related measures as an assessment tool for bilingual Samoan-English speaking children. A total of 18 children were recruited from three Samoan language immersion kindergartens (Aoga…

  4. Defining the Language Assessment Literacy Gap: Evidence from a Parliamentary Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pill, John; Harding, Luke

    2013-01-01

    This study identifies a unique context for exploring lay understandings of language testing and, by extension, for characterizing the nature of language assessment literacy among non-practitioners, stemming from data in an inquiry into the registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors by the Australian House of Representatives…

  5. The Emergent Literacy Development of Spanish-Speaking Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pratt, Amy Susan

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation portfolio is comprised of three first-authored pieces of writing that investigate the oral language and emergent literacy development of Spanish-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI). Each piece features a unique but complementary aim. The first study investigates group differences on a battery of emergent…

  6. Handbook for Teachers of English as a Second Language; Americanization-Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steeves, Roy W.; And Others

    This publication contains guidelines and suggestions to assist teachers of English as a second language in conducting programs that are oriented toward Americanization and literacy. (It is particularly directed toward those newly assigned teachers who do not have a background in teaching English as a second language.) The authors present points to…

  7. Diversity among Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners: Profiles of Early Literacy Skills in Kindergarten

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ford, Karen L.; Cabell, Sonia Q.; Konold, Timothy R.; Invernizzi, Marcia; Gartland, Lauren B.

    2013-01-01

    This study explored heterogeneity in literacy development among 2,300 Hispanic children receiving English as a Second Language (ESL) services at the start of kindergarten. Two research questions guided this work: (1) Do Spanish-speaking English language learners receiving ESL services in the fall of kindergarten demonstrate homogeneous early…

  8. Aesthetic Experience and Early Language and Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Helen L.

    2007-01-01

    The present paper explores the connections between theory and research in language development and aesthetic education and their implications for early childhood classroom practice. The present paper posits that arts experiences make a unique and vital contribution to the child's development of language and literacy, as well as to the sense of…

  9. High/Scope Preschool Key Experiences: Language and Literacy. [with]Curriculum Videotape.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brinkman, Nancy A.

    During the preschool years, children experience great strides in their ability to use language. This booklet and companion videotape help teachers and parents recognize and support six High/Scope key experiences in language and literacy: (1) talking with others about personally meaningful experiences; (2) describing objects, events, and relations;…

  10. The Hidden Dimensions of Mathematical Language and Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Street, Brian

    2005-01-01

    I draw attention to the distinction between reductionist views of "language" and the rich and complex ways in which we might approach language as social practice and suggest the latter view is evident in the set of papers collected here. Socially oriented linguists, including those in New Literacy Studies (NLS), look beyond reductionism, to…

  11. Integrating health literacy and ESL: an interdisciplinary curriculum for Hispanic immigrants.

    PubMed

    Soto Mas, Francisco; Mein, Erika; Fuentes, Brenda; Thatcher, Barry; Balcázar, Héctor

    2013-03-01

    Adult Hispanic immigrants are at a greater risk of experiencing the negative outcomes related to low health literacy, as they confront cultural and language barriers to the complex and predominately monolingual English-based U.S. health system. One approach that has the potential for simultaneously addressing the health, literacy, and language needs of Hispanics is the combination of health literacy and English as a second language (ESL) instruction. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the feasibility of using ESL instruction as a medium for improving health literacy among Hispanic immigrants. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary health literacy/ESL curriculum that integrates theories of health literacy and health behavior research and practice, sociocultural theories of literacy and communication, and adult learning principles. This article describes the curriculum development process and provides preliminary qualitative data on learners' experiences with the curriculum. Results indicate that the curriculum was attractive to participants and that they were highly satisfied with both the format and content. The curriculum described here represents one example of an audience-centered approach designed to meet the specific health and literacy needs of the Hispanic population on the U.S.-Mexico border. The combination of ESL and health literacy contributed to a perceived positive learning experience among participants. Interdisciplinary approaches to health literacy are recommended.

  12. Integrating Health Literacy and ESL: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Hispanic Immigrants

    PubMed Central

    Mas, Francisco Soto; Mein, Erika; Fuentes, Brenda; Thatcher, Barry; Balcázar, Héctor

    2013-01-01

    Adult Hispanic immigrants are at a greater risk of experiencing the negative outcomes related to low health literacy, as they confront cultural and language barriers to the complex and predominately monolingual English-based U.S. health system. One approach that has the potential for simultaneously addressing the health, literacy, and language needs of Hispanics is the combination of health literacy and English as a second language (ESL) instruction. The purpose of the project was to evaluate the feasibility of using ESL instruction as a medium for improving health literacy among Hispanic immigrants. Objectives included the development, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary health literacy/ESL curriculum that integrates theories of health literacy and health behavior research and practice, sociocultural theories of literacy and communication, and adult learning principles. This article describes the curriculum development process and provides preliminary qualitative data on learners’ experiences with the curriculum. Results indicate that the curriculum was attractive to participants and that they were highly satisfied with both the format and content. The curriculum described here represents one example of an audience-centered approach designed to meet the specific health and literacy needs of the Hispanic population on the U.S.–Mexico border. The combination of ESL and health literacy contributed to a perceived positive learning experience among participants. Interdisciplinary approaches to health literacy are recommended. PMID:22982707

  13. Beyond Externalising and Finalising Definitions: Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia (STELLA)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doecke, Brenton

    2007-01-01

    This article explores issues relating to the development of the Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia (STELLA). STELLA is the product of work by members of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) and the Australian Literacy Educators' Association (ALEA), the two key professional bodies in…

  14. Evaluating the Relationship among Parents' Oral and Written Language Skills, the Home Literacy Environment, and Their Preschool Children's Emergent Literacy Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Nicole A.

    2011-01-01

    Studies have examined the impact of parents' educational level on their child's emergent literacy skills and have found positive associations (Korat, 2009). However, a review of the literature indicates that previous studies have not investigated whether parents' oral and written language skills relate to their child's emergent oral and written…

  15. The Changing Faces of Adult Literacy, Language and Numeracy: Literacy Policy and Implementation in the UK

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hillier, Yvonne

    2009-01-01

    This article draws upon a research project funded by the ESRC (R000239387) that tracked the development of adult literacy, numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from the 1970s to 2000 in England using life-history interviews and documentary policy analysis to compare policy, practitioner and learner perspectives. The article…

  16. Professional Learning across Contexts for LESLLA Teachers: The Unlikely Meeting of Adult Educators in Kindergarten to Explore Early Literacy Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vinogradov, Patricia Egan

    2013-01-01

    In this case study of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) educators, the researcher facilitated a six-week professional development activity around the topic of early literacy instruction. The four participants in the study circle were all LESLLA (low-educated second language and literacy acquisition) teachers whose students are adult…

  17. Enabling Bi-Literacy Patterns in Ethiopian Immigrant Families in Israel: A Socio-Educational Challenge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stavans, Anat

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores the role that languages and literacy practices play in Ethiopian immigrant families transposed to Israel as part of Israel's family language policy, by examining parental perspectives on their respective L1 and L2 usages, in both parents' and children's lives, as well as by examining the home literacy provisions supporting…

  18. Relations among Home Literacy Environment, Child Characteristics and Print Knowledge for Preschool Children with Language Impairment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sawyer, Brook E.; Justice, Laura M.; Guo, Ying; Logan, Jessica A. R.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Glenn-Applegate, Katherine; Kaderavek, Joan N.; Pentimonti, Jill M.

    2014-01-01

    To contribute to the modest body of work examining the home literacy environment (HLE) and emergent literacy outcomes for children with disabilities, this study addressed two aims: (a) to determine the unique contributions of the HLE on print knowledge of preschool children with language impairment and (b) to identify whether specific child…

  19. From Reminiscing to Reading: Home Contributions to Children's Developing Language and Literacy in Low-Income Families

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Alison; Reese, Elaine

    2013-01-01

    In this study, the relations among a range of literacy-related home practices and children's acquisition of language and literacy at the outset of preschool are examined in a sample of linguistically diverse children from low-income families in the United States. Specifically, the study focuses on sources of variation found in mother-child…

  20. School readiness of children with language impairment: predicting literacy skills from pre-literacy and social-behavioural dimensions.

    PubMed

    Pentimonti, Jill M; Murphy, Kimberly A; Justice, Laura M; Logan, Jessica A R; Kaderavek, Joan N

    2016-03-01

    School readiness generally captures the notion that children do best when they arrive at formal schooling with a certain threshold of skill that will help them thrive in the classroom's academic and social milieu. To examine the dimensionality of the construct of school readiness among children with language impairment (LI), as well as the extent to which these dimensions relate to children's end-of-kindergarten literacy skills. Participants were 136 preschool-aged children with LI. Children were assessed on measures of pre-literacy, social, and behavioural skills in preschool and reading and spelling in kindergarten. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that school readiness for this sample of children with LI is best characterized as two dimensions: pre-literacy and socio-emotional. Of the two dimensions, pre-literacy readiness was predictive of children's future performance in reading and spelling. The results further our theoretical understanding of the dimensions of school readiness, as well as our knowledge of how these skills are related among children with LI. Identifying domain-specific readiness skills that are predictive of kindergarten success can help to identify means of early assessment and targets for speech-language intervention. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

  1. Foreign Language Teaching in Rudolf Steiner Schools. Guidelines for Class-Teachers and Language Teachers. First Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stott, Michael

    This book is intended for foreign language teachers interested in the approaches used in Rudolf Steiner schools, and also classroom teachers who teach foreign languages. Chapters address these issues: what the language lesson is to achieve; how the language lesson differs from other lessons; lesson design; examples of actual lessons; avoiding the…

  2. Constructing a Voice in English as a Foreign Language: Identity and Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nasrollahi Shahri, Mohammad Naseh

    2018-01-01

    Situated in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, this study navigates the intersection of language learner identity and foreign language engagement. Specifically, drawing on the concept of voice (Canagarajah, 2013; Johnstone, 1996; Kramsch, 2003), Bakhtin's (1981) theory of language, and the notion of investment (Darvin & Norton,…

  3. A Read-Aloud for Foreign Languages: Becoming a Language Master (Read It Aloud).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richardson, Judy S.

    1998-01-01

    Describes the use of some read-alouds from Alexandre Dumas'"The Count of Monte Cristo" which helped to demonstrate some principles of learning foreign languages. Describes briefly the read aloud selection, discusses some specific activities that relate to foreign language learning, and discusses specific language arts activities. (SR)

  4. FLEX: A Foreign Language Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raven, Patrick T.

    An exploratory course was designed to give secondary school students exposure to all languages in the foreign language curriculum, in sequence, so they may decide which, if any, to enroll in. This course was begun in 1979 to counter an elitist image of foreign language courses. Course topics encouraged students to explore the languages fully by:…

  5. Exploring Korean Heritage Language Learners' Anxiety: "We Are Not Afraid of Korean!"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jee, Min Jung

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated Korean heritage language (KHL) learners' foreign language classroom anxiety, reading anxiety and writing anxiety using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) by Saito, Garza and Horwitz and the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) by…

  6. 75 FR 47797 - Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-09

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Board of Visitors, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center AGENCY: Department of the Army, DOD. ACTION: Notice; cancellation. SUMMARY: The Board of... be held on September 13 & 14, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Defense Language Institute Foreign...

  7. The Relationship between EFL Learners' Language Learning Strategy Use and Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balci, Özgül; Ügüten, Selma Durak

    2018-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between language learning strategy use and foreign language achievement, focusing on differences in gender. A total of 263 English as a foreign language students enrolled in English preparatory class program at Necmettin Erbakan University, School of Foreign Languages participated…

  8. Integrating Intercultural and Communicative Objectives in the Foreign Language Class: A Proposal for the Integration of Two Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borghetti, Claudia

    2013-01-01

    The "intercultural turn" of the 1990s brought about the introduction of the terms "Foreign Language Education" and "Intercultural Foreign Language Education" (IFLE) in place of "language teaching". These terms broaden the aims of language education to include students' intercultural competence (IC),…

  9. Foreign Language Learners' Beliefs about CALL: The Case of a U.S. Midwestern University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sydorenko, Tetyana; Hsieh, Ching-Ni; Ahn, Seongmee; Arnold, Nike

    2017-01-01

    A significant body of research has examined language learners' attitudes toward particular technologies used in foreign language classrooms. However, literature is scarce on foreign language learners' beliefs toward computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in general. To narrow this gap, we investigated the constructs that compose a system of…

  10. Personal Literacy Experience.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knotts, Lester William

    Literacy is inextricably linked to the social context in which literacy is taught, and in which the language is used. Cultural expectations require the use of specific literacies. Who a person is, in terms of a literacy user and a literacy worker are dictated by the culture in which a person chooses to operate. Literacy is not neutral, but an…

  11. Educational Success Prediction Instrument 2nd Version: A Foreign Language Perspective on Readiness to Take a Beginner High School Foreign Language Online Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sparks, Lynne Marie

    2017-01-01

    Online foreign language course offerings have grown exponentially in secondary and post-secondary schools during the last two decades. Although numerous instruments and surveys exist to assess readiness for a student to take online courses, insufficient research has dealt with the particularities of learning a foreign language online. This study…

  12. Foreign Language Learning: Research and Development: An Assessment. Reports of the Working Committees of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 1968.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bird, Thomas E., Ed.

    Included in this volume are the reports on foreign language research and development produced by the three working committees of the fifteenth annual Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Discussions of (1) the Indiana and Washington State programs, (2) "Artes Latinae," a complete project of programed learning…

  13. Tact training versus bidirectional intraverbal training in teaching a foreign language.

    PubMed

    Dounavi, Katerina

    2014-01-01

    The current study involved an evaluation of the emergence of untrained verbal relations as a function of 3 different foreign-language teaching strategies. Two Spanish-speaking adults received foreign-language (English) tact training and native-to-foreign and foreign-to-native intraverbal training. Tact training and native-to-foreign intraverbal training resulted in the emergence of a greater number of untrained responses, and may thus be more efficient than foreign-to-native intraverbal training. © Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  14. Connecting Schools and Families: Understanding the Influence of Home Literacy Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curry, Daphney L.; Reeves, Emily; Mcintyre, Christina J.

    2016-01-01

    Home literacy practices are extremely important in developing early language and literacy skills. Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds may be at risk, not because their family literacy practices are inferior, but because their culturally defined literacy practices may not be consistent with school literacy expectations. To…

  15. Innovation and Development of Foreign Language Teaching in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Zheng-dong

    2006-01-01

    Foreign language teaching has been playing a dominant role in China's curriculum reform, especially in the present globalization of Chinese society and economy. However, the insufficient research into foreign language teaching and blindly adopting western theory demand China learn from its own experience and also develop western foreign language…

  16. The Humanities and Foreign Languages: Analogous or Anomalous?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dease, Barbara C.

    1982-01-01

    Optional interdisciplinary courses taught by foreign language teachers to college sophomores are described. The courses are English Word Power, Classical Mythology, Afro-French Literature in Translation, and two courses in law in literature. The emphasis was on integrating a humanities concept with a foreign language-foreign culture orientation.…

  17. Issues and Innovations in Foreign Language Education. Fastback 222.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benevento, Jacqueline

    Studies indicate that American students have an inadequate understanding of world affairs, with implications for United States national security, business interests in foreign markets, and education in general, and specific recommendations have been made for the improvement of foreign language instruction. Foreign language education in the 1980s…

  18. First Language First: Community-Based Literacy Programmes for Minority Language Contexts in Asia (Kunming, China, May 17-22, 2004)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Online Submission, 2005

    2005-01-01

    There are at least 6,000--7,000 languages spoken in the world today, with over half of them endangered. And 61 percent of the endangered languages are within the Asia and Pacific Region. The publication is a report derived from the Regional (Asia and Pacific Region) Workshop on Mother Tongue/Bilingual Literacy Programs for Ethnic Minorities, held…

  19. Kalayagan, Tawid-Buhay and Other Uses of Language in a Marginal Philippine Community: The Place of Language in Literacy and Social Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruanni, T.; Tupas, F.

    2008-01-01

    This paper discusses particular uses of language in a specific social location in the Philippines drawn from the 15-volume ethnographic study of functional literacy in 14 marginal communities in the Philippines by Doronila (e.g. 1996). These are uses of language by people whose internal capacity to generate change is strong yet many of whom are…

  20. Predictors of word-level literacy amongst Grade 3 children in five diverse languages.

    PubMed

    Smythe, Ian; Everatt, John; Al-Menaye, Nasser; He, Xianyou; Capellini, Simone; Gyarmathy, Eva; Siegel, Linda S

    2008-08-01

    Groups of Grade 3 children were tested on measures of word-level literacy and undertook tasks that required the ability to associate sounds with letter sequences and that involved visual, auditory and phonological-processing skills. These groups came from different language backgrounds in which the language of instruction was Arabic, Chinese, English, Hungarian or Portuguese. Similar measures were used across the groups, with tests being adapted to be appropriate for the language of the children. Findings indicated that measures of decoding and phonological-processing skills were good predictors of word reading and spelling among Arabic- and English-speaking children, but were less able to predict variability in these same early literacy skills among Chinese- and Hungarian-speaking children, and were better at predicting variability in Portuguese word reading than spelling. Results were discussed with reference to the relative transparency of the script and issues of dyslexia assessment across languages. Overall, the findings argue for the need to take account of features of the orthography used to represent a language when developing assessment procedures for a particular language and that assessment of word-level literacy skills and a phonological perspective of dyslexia may not be universally applicable across all language contexts. Copyright 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Learning to Learn a Foreign Language. Principles of Second Language Acquisition: An Orientation for Foreign Language Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pfannkuche, Anthony; And Others

    The manual designed to accompany an orientation seminar for students concerning language learning processes and strategies and the design of their program includes materials for five sessions, in three sections. The first section covers language learning and acquisition in general and contains a survey of the participants' foreign language…

  2. Perceptions about the Dominance of English as a Global Language: Impact on Foreign-Language Teachers' Professional Identity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gayton, Angela Mary

    2016-01-01

    Using a novel theoretical framework that incorporates teacher identity, a school as community of practice, and English as a global language from a linguistic-imperialism perspective, this qualitative interview study with foreign-language teachers in Scotland, France, and Germany (N = 13) explores connections between foreign-language-learning…

  3. The Correlation among EFL Learners' Test Anxiety, Foreign Language Anxiety and Language Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cakici, Dilek

    2016-01-01

    The main aim of this study was to investigate the correlation among test anxiety (TA), foreign language anxiety (FLA) and language achievement of university preparatory students learning English as a foreign language. The sample of the research consisted of 301 (211 females, 90 males) attending a one-year EFL preparatory school at Ondokuz Mayis…

  4. "Foreign Language Activities" in Japanese Elementary Schools: Negotiating Teacher Roles and Identities within a New Language Education Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horii, Sachiko Yokoi

    2012-01-01

    In 2008, a new language education policy called "Gaikokugo Katsudou" [Foreign Language Activities] was issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology (MEXT) in Japan. Effective 2011, foreign language education became mandatory in all Japanese public elementary schools for the first time. With this dramatic…

  5. The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Role of Emotions and Norms

    PubMed Central

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2015-01-01

    We investigated whether and why the use of a foreign language influences moral judgment. We studied the trolley and footbridge dilemmas, which propose an action that involves killing one individual to save five. In line with prior work, the use of a foreign language increased the endorsement of such consequentialist actions for the footbridge dilemma, but not for the trolley dilemma. But contrary to recent theorizing, this effect was not driven by an attenuation of emotions. An attenuation of emotions was found in both dilemmas, and it did not mediate the foreign language effect on moral judgment. An examination of additional scenarios revealed that foreign language influenced moral judgment when the proposed action involved a social or moral norm violation. We propose that foreign language influences moral judgment by reducing access to normative knowledge. PMID:26177508

  6. The Foreign Language Effect on Moral Judgment: The Role of Emotions and Norms.

    PubMed

    Geipel, Janet; Hadjichristidis, Constantinos; Surian, Luca

    2015-01-01

    We investigated whether and why the use of a foreign language influences moral judgment. We studied the trolley and footbridge dilemmas, which propose an action that involves killing one individual to save five. In line with prior work, the use of a foreign language increased the endorsement of such consequentialist actions for the footbridge dilemma, but not for the trolley dilemma. But contrary to recent theorizing, this effect was not driven by an attenuation of emotions. An attenuation of emotions was found in both dilemmas, and it did not mediate the foreign language effect on moral judgment. An examination of additional scenarios revealed that foreign language influenced moral judgment when the proposed action involved a social or moral norm violation. We propose that foreign language influences moral judgment by reducing access to normative knowledge.

  7. "Piensa" twice: on the foreign language effect in decision making.

    PubMed

    Costa, Albert; Foucart, Alice; Arnon, Inbal; Aparici, Melina; Apesteguia, Jose

    2014-02-01

    In this article, we assess to what extent decision making is affected by the language in which a given problem is presented (native vs. foreign). In particular, we aim to ask whether the impact of various heuristic biases in decision making is diminished when the problems are presented in a foreign language. To this end, we report four main studies in which more than 700 participants were tested on different types of individual decision making problems. In the first study, we replicated Keysar et al.'s (2012) recent observation regarding the foreign language effect on framing effects related to loss aversion. In the second section, we assessed whether the foreign language effect is present in other types of framing problems that involve psychological accounting biases rather than gain/loss dichotomies. In the third section, we studied the foreign language effect in several key aspects of the theory of decision making under risk and uncertainty. In the fourth study, we assessed the presence of a foreign language effect in the cognitive reflection test, a test that includes logical problems that do not carry emotional connotations. The absence of such an effect in this test suggests that foreign language leads to a reduction of heuristic biases in decision making across a range of decision making situations and provide also some evidence about the boundaries of the phenomenon. We explore several potential factors that may underlie the foreign language effect in decision making. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Foreign Language Education Policy on the Horizon

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hult, Francis M.

    2018-01-01

    Language policy has developed into a major area of research that continues to expand and develop. This article examines potential directions for cross-pollination between the fields of language policy and foreign language education. First, publication trends are examined. Database searches were conducted for the journals "Foreign Language…

  9. Doctoral Degrees Granted in Foreign Languages in the United States: 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benseler, David P.; Lannoch, Martha Calvert

    1994-01-01

    Findings are reported from the annual survey of doctoral degrees granted in foreign languages, literatures, cultures, linguistics, and foreign language education in the following categories: African, Asian, French, Germanic, Italian, Near and Middle Eastern, Slavic, and Spanish languages/literatures; classics; comparative literature; theoretical…

  10. Colorado Model Content Standards: Foreign Language.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colorado State Dept. of Education, Denver.

    The model course content standards for foreign language instruction in Colorado's public schools, K-12, provide guidelines, not curriculum, for school districts to design language programs. An introductory section presents some basic considerations in program design. The two general standards for foreign language performance are that: (1) students…

  11. A Global Approach to Foreign Language Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Conner, Maurice W., Ed.

    The papers collected here are largely devoted to foreign language education as a means of increasing international and cross-cultural understanding. Titles include: (1) "Language Is the Medium, Culture Is the Message: Globalizing Foreign Languages" (Lorraine A. Strasheim); (2) "Cultural Understanding for Global Citizenship: An Inservice Model"…

  12. Language switching-but not foreign language use per se-reduces the framing effect.

    PubMed

    Oganian, Y; Korn, C W; Heekeren, H R

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies reported reductions of well-established biases in decision making under risk, such as the framing effect, during foreign language (FL) use. These modulations were attributed to the use of FL itself, which putatively entails an increase in emotional distance. A reduced framing effect in this setting, however, might also result from enhanced cognitive control associated with language-switching in mixed-language contexts, an account that has not been tested yet. Here we assess predictions of the 2 accounts in 2 experiments with over 1,500 participants. In Experiment 1, we tested a central prediction of the emotional distance account, namely that the framing effect would be reduced at low, but not high, FL proficiency levels. We found a strong framing effect in the native language, and surprisingly also in the foreign language, independent of proficiency. In Experiment 2, we orthogonally manipulated foreign language use and language switching to concurrently test the validity of both accounts. As in Experiment 1, foreign language use per se had no effect on framing. Crucially, the framing effect was reduced following a language switch, both when switching into the foreign and the native language. Thus, our results suggest that reduced framing effects are not mediated by increased emotional distance in a foreign language, but by transient enhancement of cognitive control, putting the interplay of bilingualism and decision making in a new light. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Writing Their Way into Talk: Emergent Bilinguals' Emergent Literacy Practices as Pathways to Peer Interaction and Oral Language Growth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bernstein, Katie A.

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the idea that young children's emergent literacy practices can be tools for mediating peer interaction, and that, therefore, literacy, even in its earliest stages, can support oral language development, particularly for emergent bilinguals. The paper draws on data collected during a year-long ethnographic study of 11 Nepali-…

  14. Their Words and Worlds: English as a Second Language Students in Adult Basic Education Literacy Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Csepelyi, Tünde

    2010-01-01

    The focus of this article is on adult literacy in adult basic education (ABE) programs with special emphasis on English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The article intends to highlight several relevant points in ABE ESL literacy instruction. It focuses on (a) the nature of adult learning, (b) the structure of ABE programs, (c) who the…

  15. Increasing Literacy Skills for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Effects of Integrating Comprehensive Reading Instruction with Sign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beecher, Larissa; Childre, Amy

    2012-01-01

    This study evaluated the impact of a comprehensive reading program enhanced with sign language on the literacy and language skills of three elementary school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Students received individual and small group comprehensive reading instruction for approximately 55 minutes per session. Reading…

  16. Development of the Language Proficiency of Five- to Seven-Year-Olds in Rural Areas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poolman, B. G.; Leseman, P. P. M.; Doornenbal, J. M.; Minnaert, A. E. M. G.

    2017-01-01

    Rural children are a largely understudied population in language and literacy research, despite the fact that these children often enter school with delays in their language development. Since most rural areas suffered from so-called selective rural outmigration, many parents in rural areas are lower or middle educated. The home literacy climate,…

  17. An Experimental Study Comparing English-Only and Transitional Bilingual Education on Spanish-Speaking Preschoolers' Early Literacy Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duran, Lillian K.; Roseth, Cary J.; Hoffman, Patricia

    2010-01-01

    A longitudinal, experimental-control design was used to test the hypothesis that native language instruction enhances English language learner's (ELL's) native language and literacy development without significant cost to English development. In this study, 31 Spanish-speaking preschoolers (aged 38-48 months) were randomly assigned to two Head…

  18. Language and Literacy Acquisition through Parental Mediation in American Sign Language

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bailes, Cynthia Neese; Erting, Lynne C.; Thumann-Prezioso, Carlene; Erting, Carol J.

    2009-01-01

    This longitudinal case study examined the language and literacy acquisition of a Deaf child as mediated by her signing Deaf parents during her first three years of life. Results indicate that the parents' interactions with their child were guided by linguistic and cultural knowledge that produced an intuitive use of child-directed signing (CDSi)…

  19. Language and Literacy in Bilingual Children. Child Language and Child Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oller, D. Kimbrough, Ed.; Eilers, Rebecca E., Ed.

    This collection of papers reports research on the effects of bilingual learning on the ability to speak two languages and the ability to acquire full literacy in both. There are 12 chapters in 4 parts. Part 1, "Background," includes (1) "Assessing the Effects of Bilingualism: A Background" (D. Kimbrough Oller and Barbara Zurer…

  20. Enhancing Literacy Practices in Science Classrooms through a Professional Development Program for Canadian Minority-Language Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rivard, Léonard P.; Gueye, Ndeye R.

    2016-01-01

    'Literacy in the Science Classroom Project" was a three-year professional development (PD) program supporting minority-language secondary teachers' use of effective language-based instructional strategies for teaching science. Our primary objective was to determine how teacher beliefs and practices changed over time and how these were enacted…

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