Quantity and quality of literacy instruction for English language learners in Indiana elementary schools
-
Haiyan Li
,
Wayne E. Wright
und
Trish Morita-Mullaney
Abstract
This research adopts a collective case study to explore the quantity (time allocations for key literacy components and group configurations) and the quality of English language arts (ELA) instruction for Grade 1 English language learners (ELLs) across six classrooms in three Indiana elementary school districts during the 2019–2020 school year. Three teachers (treatment group) were participants in a year-long professional development (PD) program consisting of ELL teacher licensure coursework (plus instructional coaching for two of the treatment teachers). The other three teachers (control group) did not participate in the PD program. Analysis of video-recordings of teachers’ ELA instruction, coded video instances, and time allocations reveal that overall treatment teachers allocated more time for the ELA block, more time for vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency instruction, and in general provided higher quality instruction. The findings provide evidence of the effectiveness of the PD program for improving ELA instruction for ELLs. However, both control and treatment teachers have some discrepancies in the quality and quantity of their literacy instruction compared to evidence-based research. This study holds important implications for literacy educators as they identify and employ strategies best suited for ELLs.
Funding source: The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for English Language
Award Identifier / Grant number: T365Z170072
-
Research funding: This study was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for English Language [Grant number: T365Z170072], awarded to Dr. Trish Morita-Mullaney and Dr. Wayne E. Wright. The funding organizations played no role in the study design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, the writing of the report or the decision to submit the report for publication.
-
Ethical approval: The research related to human use has complied with all the relevant national regulations, institutional policies, and in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Purdue University (IRB 1709019750), “Leveraging the Lectura y Lenguaje Part III: A Collaborative Scale up of Literacy and Language for ELs in Central Indiana.”
-
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all research participants.
-
Author contributions: All authors made substantial contributions to the study design, data collection, data analysis. The first author Haiyan Li drafted the paper, and Dr. Wayne E Wright and Dr. Trish Morita-Mullaney revised and approved the final version. All agree to be accountable for all aspects of this work.
-
Competing interests: We declare there were no competing interests in the conduct of this study.
Code Book for V-note and Nvivo Analysis
| Literacy components and practices | Categories | Definitions an examples |
|---|---|---|
| Vocabulary | Direct instruction | The teacher provides students with word instruction with no reference to the context |
| In context | The teacher infers the meaning of an unfamiliar word by scrutinizing the text surrounding it | |
| Word study | Teaching about how to look closely at words to discover the conventions of English orthography and increasing cognate awareness. | |
| Sight words | High-frequency words instruction | |
| Phonics | Phonics is the connection between graphemes (letter symbols) and sounds. Sounding out words, phonics exercises (learning consonants and/or vowels), rhyming, etc. | |
| Phonemic awareness | The ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words. Phonemic awareness involves hearing language at the phoneme level. Blending, segmenting, clapping sounds, initial sounds, sound recognition | |
| Comprehension | Comprehension strategies, graphic organizers, KWL, reciprocal teaching, prediction questions | |
| Fluency | The ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. Teacher-directed guided reading, reading aloud (student reads to teacher), leveled reading, small group reading; independent reading, SSR (Sustained Silent Reading), DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), partner reading | |
| Writing | Modeled/shared writing | Teach writing to students by writing with them. |
| Guided writing | Involving the teacher meeting with a group of students with similar writing needs | |
| Independent writing | Children write by themselves | |
| Worksheet | Indicate content area (e.g., phonics, math, main idea, etc.) | |
| Journals | The process of recording personal reflections and questions on assigned or personal topics | |
| Writer’s workshop | A student-centered framework for teaching writing that is based on the idea that students learn to write best when they write frequently, for extended periods, on topics of their own choosing | |
| Spelling | ||
| Grouping | Whole group | Whole class instruction, provided through teacher-led direct instruction |
| Small group | A minimum of three students work on a task together | |
| Pairs | A pair of students work on a task together, e.g., think-pair-share, turn and talk | |
| Independent | Working on something by themselves (reading, writing, etc.) | |
| Centers/rotations | A physical area (or station) designated for specific learning purposes. | |
| Literacy components and practices | Categories | Definitions an examples |
| Multimodal support | Video | |
| Music-singing | ||
| Other | Other multimodal support not captured, such as the use of manipulatives. | |
| Translanguaging | Home language support | Teachers help students draw on all their linguistic resources as they read, write, and discuss academic subjects in a new language. |
References
Arteagoitia, Igone & R. Elizabeth Howard. 2015. The role of the native language in the literacy development of Latino students in the U.S. Multilingual education: Between language learning and translanguaging, 61–83. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781009024655.005Suche in Google Scholar
August, Diane, Deborah S. Fenner & Sydney Snyder. 2014a. Scaffolding instruction for English language learners: A resource guide for English language arts and mathematics. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.Suche in Google Scholar
August, Diane, Peggy McCardle & Timothy Shanahan. 2014b. Developing literacy in English language learners: Findings from a review of the experimental research. School Psychology Review 43(4). 490–498. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2014.12087417.Suche in Google Scholar
August, Diane & Timothy Shanahan. 2008. Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on language minority children and youth. New York: Routledge.10.1080/10862960903340165Suche in Google Scholar
Baker, Sharon, Nonie Lesaux, Madhavi Jayanthi, Joseph Dimino, C. Patrick Proctor, Jennifer Morris, Russell Gersten, Kelly Haymond, Michael J. Kieffer, Sylvia Linan-Thompson & Robin Newman-Gonchar. 2014. Teaching academic content and literacy to English learners in elementary and middle school (NCEE 2014-4012). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Available at: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/19.Suche in Google Scholar
Blikstad-Balas, Marte. 2017. Key challenges of using video when investigating social practices in education: Contextualization, magnification, and representation. International Journal of Research and Method in Education 40(5). 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727x.2016.1181162.Suche in Google Scholar
Brevik, Lisbeth M. 2019. Explicit reading strategy instruction or daily use of strategies? Studying the teaching of reading comprehension through naturalistic classroom observation in English L2. Reading and Writing 32. 2281–2310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09951-w.Suche in Google Scholar
Carlo, Maria S., Diane August, Barry McLaughlin, Catherine E. Snow, Cheryl Dressler, David N. Lippman, Teresa J. Lively & Catherine E. White. 2004. Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly 39(2). 188–215. https://doi.org/10.1598/rrq.39.2.3.Suche in Google Scholar
Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. 2001. Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read. The Partnership for Reading. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and U.S. Department of Education.Suche in Google Scholar
Cirino, Paul, Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, Barbara R. Foorman, Coleen D. Carlson & David J. Francis. 2007. Teacher characteristics, classroom instruction, and student literacy and language outcomes in bilingual kindergarteners. Elementary School Journal 107(4). 341–364. https://doi.org/10.1086/516668.Suche in Google Scholar
De La Torre, Marisa, Alissa Blanchard, Elaine M. Allensworth & Silvana Freire. 2019. English learners in Chicago public schools: A new perspective, 1–43: UChicago Consortium on School Research. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603924.pdf.Suche in Google Scholar
Duke, Nell K., P. David Pearson, Stephanie L. Strachan & Anika K. Billman. 2011. Essential elements of fostering and teaching reading comprehension. In S. Jay Samuels & Alan E. Farstrup (eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction, 51–93. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.10.1598/0829.03Suche in Google Scholar
Goldenberg, Claude. 2020. Reading wars, reading science, and English learners. Reading Research Quarterly 55(51). S131–S144. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.340.Suche in Google Scholar
Gunderson, Lee, Reginald A. D’Silva & Dennis M. Odo. 2019. ESL (ELL) literacy instruction: A guidebook to theory and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.10.4324/9780429458583Suche in Google Scholar
Hammill, Donald D. & H. Lee Swanson. 2006. The National Reading Panel’s meta-analysis of phonics instruction: Another point of view. The Elementary School Journal 107(1). 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1086/509524.Suche in Google Scholar
Hudson, Roxanne, Holly Lane & Paige Pullen. 2005. Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how. The Reading Teacher 58(8). 702–714.10.1598/RT.58.8.1Suche in Google Scholar
Irby, Beverly J., Fuhui Tong, Rafael Lara-Alecio, Patricia Greer Mathes, Stephanie Acosta & Claudia Guerrero. 2010. Quality of instruction, language of instruction, and Spanish-speaking English learners’ performance on a state high-stakes reading assessment. TABE Journal 12(1). 1–42.Suche in Google Scholar
Lara-Alecio, Rafael, Fuhui Tong, Beverly J. Irby & Patricia Greer Mathes. 2009. Teachers’ pedagogical differences among bilingual and structured English immersion kindergarten classrooms in a randomized trial study. Bilingual Research Journal 32(1). 77–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235880902965938.Suche in Google Scholar
Leach, M. Jennifer, S. Scarborough Hollis & Rescorla Leslie. 2003. Late-emerging reading disabilities. Journal of educational psychology 95(2). 211.10.1037/0022-0663.95.2.211Suche in Google Scholar
Lesaux, Nonie K., Michael J. Kieffer, Jonathan G. Kelley & Julie Rosenbaum Harris. 2014. Effects of academic vocabulary instruction for linguistically diverse adolescents: Evidence from a randomized field trial. American Educational Research Journal 51(6). 1159–1194. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831214532165.Suche in Google Scholar
Lesaux, Nonie K., Lipka Orly & S. Siegel Linda. 2006. Investigating cognitive and linguistic abilities that influence the reading comprehension skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Reading and Writing 19. 99–131.10.1007/s11145-005-4713-6Suche in Google Scholar
Madda, C., Vinky Griffo, P. Pearson & Taffy Raphael. 2018. Organizing effective literacy instruction: Differentiating instruction to meet student needs. In Lesley Morrow & Linda Gambrell (eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction, 6th edn., 27–51. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos & Elden Wiebe. 2010. Encyclopedia of case study research, vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.10.4135/9781412957397Suche in Google Scholar
Morita-Mullaney, Trish, Fang Gao & Rong Zhang. 2023. When literacy ate language: An analysis of a research based literacy intervention for English learners. TESOL Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/TESJ.718.Suche in Google Scholar
Morita-Mullaney, Trish, Jeniffer Renn, Annie M. Garcia & Wayne E. Wright. 2020. Preparing K-12 teachers for effective instruction of English learners: The transformation of a Purdue University online language teacher education program. In Hyun-Sook Kang, Dong-Shin Shin & Tony Cimasko (eds.), Online education for teachers of English as a global language, 19–38. New York, NY: Routledge.10.4324/9780429264900-3Suche in Google Scholar
National Clearing house for English Language Acquisition (NCELA). 2022. English learners: Demographic trends. Available at: https://ncela.ed.gov/resources/fact-sheet-english-learners-demographic-trends-august-2022-1.Suche in Google Scholar
National Early Literacy Panel. 2008. Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.Suche in Google Scholar
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. 2000. Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. (NIH Publication No. 004769). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.Suche in Google Scholar
Nelson, J. Ron, Patricia F. Vadasy & Elizabeth A. Sanders. 2011. Efficacy of a tier 2 supplemental root word vocabulary and decoding intervention with Kindergarten Spanish-speaking English learners. Journal of Literacy Research 43(2). 184–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296x11403088.Suche in Google Scholar
Nind, Melanie & Birgid Pepin. 2009. Transformation and regulation in educational research, International. Journal of Research and Method in Education 32(2). 135–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437270902954656.Suche in Google Scholar
Pang, Yanhui. 2013. Graphic organizers and other visual strategies to improve young ELLs’ reading comprehension. New England Reading Association Journal 48(2). 52.Suche in Google Scholar
Pearson, P. David & Gina N. Cervetti. 2017. The roots of reading comprehension instruction. In Susan E. Israeli (ed.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension, 12–56. New York, NY: Guilford Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Ravitch, Sharon M. & Nicole M. Carl. 2020. Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Suche in Google Scholar
Renn, Jennifer & Trish Morita-Mullaney. 2018a. English language learner (ELL) immersive writing classroom rubric. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University.Suche in Google Scholar
Renn, Jennifer & Trish Morita-Mullaney. 2018b. English language learner (ELL) oral language classroom rubric. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University.Suche in Google Scholar
Renn, Jennifer & Trish Morita-Mullaney. 2018c. English language learner (ELL) vocabulary in use classroom rubric. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University.Suche in Google Scholar
Rich, Peter J. & Michael Hannafin. 2009. Video annotation tools: Technologies to scaffold, structure, and transform teacher reflection. Journal of Teacher Education 60(1). 52–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487108328486.Suche in Google Scholar
Short, Deborah J., Helene Becker, Nancy Cloud & Andrea B. Hellman. 2018. The 6 principles for exemplary teaching of English Learners. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Skilling, Karen & Gabriel J. Stylianides. 2020. Using vignettes in educational research: A framework for vignette construction. International Journal of Research and Method in Education 43(5). 541–556. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727x.2019.1704243.Suche in Google Scholar
Smith, Monica Gonzalez. 2019. A video-mediated critical friendship reflection framework for ESL teacher education. TESL-EJ 23(1). 1–18.Suche in Google Scholar
Snow, Catherine E. & Timothy J. Matthews. 2016. Reading and language in the early grades. The Future of Children 26. 57–74. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2016.0012.Suche in Google Scholar
Snyder, Elizabeth, Sara E. Witmer & Heather Schmitt. 2017. English language learners and reading instruction: A review of the literature. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth 61(2). 136–145. https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988x.2016.1219301.Suche in Google Scholar
Solari, Emily J. & Michael Gerber. 2008. Early comprehension instruction for Spanish-speaking English language learners: Teaching text-level reading skills while maintaining effects on word-level skills. Learning Disabilities Research 23(4). 155–168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2008.00273.x.Suche in Google Scholar
Sparapani, Nicole, C. McDonald Connor, Leigh McLean, Taffeta Wood, Jessica Toste & Stephanie Day. 2018. Direct and reciprocal effects among social skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in first grade. Contemporary Educational Psychology 53. 159–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.03.003.Suche in Google Scholar
Spear-Swerling, Louise & Jamie Zibulsky. 2014. Making time for literacy: Teacher knowledge and time allocation in instructional planning. Reading and Writing 27(8). 1353–1378. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-013-9491-y.Suche in Google Scholar
Tompkins, Gail E. 2017. Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach, 6th edn. Boston: Pearson.Suche in Google Scholar
Tong, Fuhui, Wen Luo, Beverly J. Irby, Rafael Lara-Alecio & Hector Rivera. 2017. Investigating the impact of professional development on teachers’ instructional time and English learners’ language development: A multilevel cross-classified approach. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 20(3). 292–313. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1051509.Suche in Google Scholar
Underwood, Steve. 2018. What is the evidence for an uninterrupted, 90-minute literacy instruction block? Education Northwest. Available at: http://educationnorthwest. org/resources/what-evidence-uninterrupted-90-minute-literacyinstruction-block.Suche in Google Scholar
Vaughn, Sharon, Patricia Mathes, Sylvia Linan-Thompson, Paul Cirino, Coleen Carlson, Sharolyn Pollard-Durodola, Elsa Cardenas-Hagan & David Francis. 2006. Effectiveness of an English intervention for first-grade English language learners at risk for reading problems. The Elementary School Journal 107(2). 153–180. https://doi.org/10.1086/510653.Suche in Google Scholar
Vincent-Lancrin, Stéphan, Joaquin Urgel, Soumyajit Kar & Gwénaël Jacotin. 2019. Measuring innovation in education 2019: What has changed in the classroom? Paris: Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing.10.1787/9789264311671-enSuche in Google Scholar
Wright, E. Wayne. 2016. Let them talk!: Strategies and programs that build oral language proficiency. Educational Leadership 73(5). 24–31.Suche in Google Scholar
Wright, E. Wayne. 2019. Foundations for teaching English language learners, 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.Suche in Google Scholar
© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Novice language teacher identity construction: similarities, differences, and beyond
- The expectations-reality dissonance in student teaching: a discourse analysis of one pre-service teacher’s perspective
- The knowledge-rich project, coloniality, and the preservation of whiteness in schools: a raciolinguistic perspective
- Quantity and quality of literacy instruction for English language learners in Indiana elementary schools
- Plurilingual Chinese learners of French Lx: agentic assembling of semiotic resources for learning
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Research Articles
- Novice language teacher identity construction: similarities, differences, and beyond
- The expectations-reality dissonance in student teaching: a discourse analysis of one pre-service teacher’s perspective
- The knowledge-rich project, coloniality, and the preservation of whiteness in schools: a raciolinguistic perspective
- Quantity and quality of literacy instruction for English language learners in Indiana elementary schools
- Plurilingual Chinese learners of French Lx: agentic assembling of semiotic resources for learning
