Second-Language Learning

Foertsch (1998) describes second-language learning as an important factor that influences how children learn to read:

"The ways in which children communicate in their home cultures are critical to the development of written language models of reading and writing. The home language of students provides the foundation for the emergence of reading and writing behaviors. If there is a mismatch between the structures, values, and expectations of the home language and school language, children may be at a disadvantage for success in early reading tasks, and thus spend their entire school careers attempting to catch up (Gay, 1988; Snow, 1992).

As long as the number of families immigrating to the United States continues to grow, many children will be entering school with a language other than English. Snow (1992) suggests that literacy be defined in light of language variety. That is, literacy should be defined in terms of what it takes to function in one's culture on a daily basis rather than solely upon an indefinable standard language. Thus, literacy is much more than simply being able to read and write; rather, it is a set of complex tasks and behaviors that may, for some individuals, encompass the use of several languages and ways of being literate. Given this definition of literacy, learning to read in the language that encompasses those things familiar and meaningful is critical to success in learning to read in a second language.

Research shows that language-minority students face many challenges in school. For example, they are 1.5 times more likely to drop out of school than native speakers (Cardenas, Robledo, & Waggoner, 1988). English-language learners also receive lower grades, are judged by their teachers to have lower academic abilities, and score below their classmates on standardized tests of reading and math (Moss & Puma, 1995).

The best way to assist students as they learn English as their second language continues to be hotly debated. Collier (1995) asserts it is a mistake to believe that the first thing students must learn is English, thus isolating the language from a broad complex of other issues. Much of the debate rests exactly here: Should students know English before they are allowed to join their peers in classrooms?

Both cognitive development and academic development in the first language have been found to have positive effects on second-language learning (Bialystock, 1991; Collier, 1989, 1992; Garcia, [E.] 1994; Genessee, 1987, 1994; Thomas & Collier, 1997). Academic skills, literacy development, concept formation, subject knowledge, and strategy development learned in the first language transfer to the second language. However, because literacy is socially situated, it is equally critical to provide a supportive school envirornment that allows the academic and cognitive development in the first language to flourish.

Research strongly supports the idea that native language use is advantageous in English-language acquisition (August & Hakuta, 1997; Cuevas, 1997). This use is defined within a range from commitment to a bilingual program to programs in which almost all instruction takes place in English and the native language is used to clarify and extend students' understanding. Second-language students make sense of the second language by using many of the same strategies that worked so well in acquiring the first language. What is different, however, is that second-language students already have an understanding of the meanings, uses, and purposes of language; they now must now go on to learn how the second language--oral and in print--expresses those purposes, uses, and meanings (Lindfors, 1987).

It is important to understand the consequences of various program designs for students learning English. In U.S. schools where all instruction is given through the second language (i.e., English), non-native speakers with no schooling in their first language take seven to ten years to reach age- and grade-level norms (Cummins, 1981). Immigrant students who have had two to three years of schooling in their first language (in their home countries) take at least five to seven years to reach age- and grade-level norms (Cummins, 1981). Non-native speakers schooled in a second language for part or all of the day typically do reasonably well in early years; from fourth grade, however, when academic and cognitive demands of the curriculum increase rapidly, students with little or no academic and cognitive development in their first language fail to maintain positive gains (Collier, 1995). Students who have spent four to seven years in a quality bilingual program sustain academic achievement and outperform monolingually schooled students in the upper grades.

Environments filled with print examples in both languages are important to successful acquisition (Hudelson, 1987). For example, children's literature in both languages should be in classroom and school libraries for children to access at both school and home; newspapers and other examples of community literacy should be available in both languages at home and at school; signs in classrooms should be in both languages, as appropriate. It also is important that a variety of opportunities to read and write in both languages be available in the classroom (Janopoulos, 1986; Moll, 1992).

Learning to read and write in the first language supports success with reading and writing in the second language (August & Hakuta, 1997; Cuevas, 1997; Roberts, 1994). Also, literacy skills related to decoding tasks of reading have been found to transfer between languages (Bialystock, 1991; Goodman, Goodman, & Flores, 1979; Hudelson, 1987; Mace-Matluck, 1982). However, these skills must be contextualized within meaningful instructional contexts for full transfer to occur. English vocabulary is a primary determinant of reading comprehension for second-language readers. Those students whose first language has many cognates with English have an advantage in English vocabulary recognition, but they often require explicit instruction to optimize transfer for comprehension (Garcia & Nagy, 1993). Clearly, it is important for educators to find a potential for reciprocity between the two languages.

Many studies support a balanced literacy program as appropriate for students whose first language is not English. A balanced literacy program provides a balance of explicit instruction and student-directed activities that incorporate aspects of both traditional and meaning-based curricula (Goldenberg & Gallimore, 1991; Goldenberg & Sullivan, 1994; Moll, 1988). However, there is no one best way to teach English-language learners. Different approaches are necessary because of the great diversity of conditions faced by schools and the varying experiences of English learners with literacy and schooling in their first language (August & Hakuta, 1997).

Knapp and Shields (1990) caution that instruction for cultural-, ethnic-, and linguistic-minority students that is primarily skill-based may limit children's learning. Skill-based instruction fails to develop children's analytical or conceptual skills and fails to provide purposes for learning. Research suggests that instructional methods for teaching reading to these children should focus on meaning construction (Au, 1993; O'Donnell & Wood, 1992), language development (Heath & Mangiola, 1991; Ovando, 1993; Tharp, 1989), and higher-order thinking skills, including metacognition and prior knowledge (Chamot, 1993; Crawford, 1993; Cummins, 1986; Pogrow, 1992). Both Delpit (1988) and Gay (1988) advocate a 'balanced' curriculum for minority students that provides explicit and flexible instruction in English within a meaningful context." (pp. 13-15)

References