Beyond the Beginnings: Literacy Interventions for Upper Elementary English Language Learners (review)

Author(s):  
Elizabeth Coelho
Author(s):  
Khanh Nguyen Bui ◽  
Isabel L. Balsamo

During the last decade, the United States has witnessed an influx of multicultural and multilingual students, especially the dramatically increasing number of students at elementary level, which accounts for 85% of native born (). However, most of teachers still lack professional developments in teaching those increasing population. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to synthesize different studies to address the most common misconceptions on how elementary English language learners learn English as a second language and teachers' pedagogical practices. This chapter ends with some recommendations, solutions, and future directions for researchers to advance teachers' pedagogical practices, so they can best serve this increasing population in the U.S. school system.


Author(s):  
Joshua Schulze

Educators of English language learners (ELLs) frequently use test preparation materials to help ELLs prepare for high stakes language exams. This study uses tools of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) to examine how academic language is used to construct meaning within these test preparation materials. While the test preparation materials and available test excerpts contain a range of genres, this study focuses particularly on informational texts with scientific topics, designed for upper elementary students. The results highlight  pedagogical advantages of using SFL to develop genre awareness in ELLs by attending to the linguistic features evident in the genre.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 297-311
Author(s):  
David Blazar ◽  
Casey Archer

Policy and practice communities increasingly are emphasizing conceptual, cognitively demanding, and “ambitious” instruction. Within this context, we examine whether such practices serve the needs of students with specialized academic needs. Across upper-elementary classrooms in four districts, we find that exposure to “ambitious” mathematics practices is more strongly associated with test score gains of English language learners (ELs) compared to those of their peers in general education classrooms; furthermore, this teaching practice is associated with the math self-efficacy of students with individualized education programs (IEP), and the self-reported behavior of general education students. We also find links between teachers’ emotional support and students’ self-efficacy and engagement, with the strongest relationships for students identified both as an EL and with an IEP.


2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Holland W. Banse ◽  
Natalia A. Palacios ◽  
Anna Martin

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


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