scholarly journals Empowering English Language Learners through Digital Literacies: Research, Complexities, and Implications

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-136
Author(s):  
Chang Yuan ◽  
Lili Wang ◽  
Jessica Eagle
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Digital Literacies

In the context of an increasingly global society and rapidly changing technology, English Language Learners (ELLs) need support to develop digital literacies to prepare for a future in which learning new technology is an intuitive process. In the past few decades, technological advances have been shifting how information is produced, communicated, and interpreted. The Internet and digital environments have afforded a broader range of opportunities for literacy practices to take place. Technology has transformed the social practices and definitions of literacy, which leads to transformative implications for the teaching and learning environments facing ELLs. Despite immigrants’ attraction to the US, the tension between the public school system and emergent bilingual students has garnered broad attention. There is a need for a more appropriate teaching pedagogy that embraces the cultural identities of ELLs, and empowers ELLs as critical consumers and producers of information. Though complex, the authors advocate for examining this issue using an asset perspective rather than a deficit lens. Using the sociocultural perspective of learning and critical theory, this paper aims to define and conceptualize ELL learning, establish a shared vision of digital literacies, and review the literature on how practices of digital literacies empower ELLs to become active learners. In the final section, implications and future research directions are articulated in order to move the digital literacy field forward.

Asian adolescents’ out-of-school encounters with English and Korean literacy

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youngjoo Yi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Out Of School

The acquisition of second language (L2) academic literacy has attracted increasing interest among L2 literacy researchers as the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) studying in schools in Anglophone countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States continues to grow. However, this emphasis on academic literacy has led L2 researchers to overlook the importance of exploring other types of literacy, especially out-of-school literacy. In particular, few studies have examined the impact of out-of-school literacy activities on overall literacy acquisition, as well as on the development of academic literacy skills. This article describes a study that examined the nature of three Asian adolescent ELLs’ out-of-school literacy practices and their implications for school-based literacy growth. These Asian adolescent ELLs engaged in various types of reading and forms of writing in both their native language (L1), Korean, and their L2, English, within both print and computer-based contexts. The findings suggest some often overlooked connections, direct or indirect, between in and out-of-school literacy. The article discusses the implications of these findings for pedagogy and future research.

Academic Effects of Peer-Mediated Interventions With English Language Learners

2016 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Pyle ◽  
Nicole Pyle ◽  
Benjamin Lignugaris/Kraft ◽  
Lillian Duran ◽  
Jessica Akers
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Phonemic Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Heterogeneous Grouping ◽  
Study Quality ◽  
Core Content ◽  
Study Characteristics ◽  
Outcomes Study

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the extant research on peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) with English language learners (ELLs) in kindergarten through Grade 12. Fourteen studies that were published in peer-reviewed journals from 1983 to 2013 were examined in terms of study characteristics, the effects on academic outcomes, study quality, and overall effectiveness. Structured, heterogeneous grouping was used in the 10 peer pairing and 4 collaborative/cooperative grouping PMIs with ELLs. Eight of the 14 studies included high methodological quality. Overall, PMIs with ELLs are associated with medium to large effects on measures of phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and comprehension when compared to teacher-mediated comparison conditions. More research on PMIs with ELLs in high school and across core content areas, particularly mathematics, is warranted. Implications and future research for PMIs with ELLs are discussed.

scholarly journals FROM INLAND TO OUTLAND: EXPERIENCES OF NON-NATIVE EXPATRIATE TEACHERS TEACHING IN A FOREIGN CONTEXT

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37
Author(s):  
Remart Padua Dumlao ◽  
Trixia Mengorio
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking

The numbers of English language learners and limited domestic English language teachers have grown exponentially in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as to the ASEAN region over the past decades due to the demand of globalization. Given the huge cultural and linguistic diversity among learners, educating these populations of English language learners can be a challenging but also beneficial for foreign language teachers. This study aimed to analyse the experiences of fifteen Non-native English Speaking Foreign Teachers (NNESFT) teaching in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The results of this study suggested that although teachers’ reasons in teaching English language in a foreign classroom were more extrinsic reasons rather that intrinsic and altruistic. NNESFT recognized benefits of teaching in foreign classroom, namely, financial aspects, personal development, and building cultural awareness. Meanwhile, challenges were reported include as a non-native English speaking teachers in a foreign classroom, on the part of textbooks and curriculum, and cultural differences in the classroom. Implications were discussed in light of the findings and recommendations formulated for future research directions.

scholarly journals Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: What English Language Learners Perceive to Be Effective and Ineffective Strategies

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Seyyed Hatam Tamimi Sa’d ◽  
Fereshte Rajabi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
English Language Teachers

Vocabulary constitutes an essential part of every language-learning endeavour and deserves scholarly attention. The objective of the present study was three-fold: 1) exploring Iranian English language learners’Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs), 2) examining language learners’ perceptions of vocabulary learning, and 3) exploring Iranian English language teachers’ Vocabulary Teaching Strategies (VTSs). In total, 145  intermediate learners of English as a foreign language, consisting of 114 males and 31 females aged 15 to 27, participated in the study. The triangulated data were collected using three tools: questionnaires, interviews, and class observations. Sixty-seven learners (31 females and 36 males) filled out a 56-statement questionnaire, adopted and adapted from Takač (2008) and translated into Persian. The questionnaire comprised two parts, enquiring as to the learners’ VLSs and the teachers’ VTSs. The findings indicated that females and males differed significantly in their reported VLSs and their teachers’ use of various VTSs. Additionally, 78 learners were interviewed as to their perceptions of effective and ineffective VLSs as well as VTSs. The findings revealed that the most effective VLSs were reported to be: a) reciting, repeating and listening to words, b) using words, and c) memorising words while the most effective VTSs revolved around: a) explanation, b) repetition, and c) dictation. The observations also confirmed the findings obtained via the questionnaire and interviews. In general, the findings are indicative of the limited repertoire of vocabulary acquisition techniques employed by Iranian EFL learners, hence the need for strategy training in how to acquire vocabulary. 

Toward a Participatory View of Early Literacies in Second Language Contexts

2019 ◽  
pp. 378-402
Author(s):  
Claudia Cañas ◽  
Ángela Patricia Ocampo ◽  
Ana Karina Rodríguez ◽  
Mónica López-Ladino ◽  
Raúl Alberto Mora
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Language Context ◽  
Pedagogical Framework

This chapter will introduce a pedagogical framework to engage with literacy practices in early childhood contexts and English language learners (ELLs), based on the commonalities across three research studies carried out in three schools in Medellín, Colombia. In this chapter, we argue that developing strong pedagogical proposals for PreK-5 spaces entails breaking the traditional compartmentalization of children's practices between in or out of school and carefully integrating multimodality and critical literacy in our curricula. Besides the explanation of our pedagogical framework and its link to our current research, the chapter also provides some insights for early childhood teachers working with ELLs around the world to draw from these frameworks and transform their curricula. Although language context may differ, there are developmental commonalities across the board that practitioners and teacher educators can draw from, regardless of whether the children are in English-speaking contexts or not.

Ensuring Social Justice for English Language Learners

2021 ◽  
pp. 489-506
Author(s):  
Juan A. Rios Vega ◽  
Cecile M. Arquette ◽  
Hwa Lee ◽  
Heljä Antola Crowe ◽  
Jana Lynn Hunzicker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
English Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Credit Hours ◽  
Ell Students ◽  
Course Work

Bradley University's embedded English as a Second Language (ESL) endorsement program was first implemented during the 2015-2016 academic year. This program consists of eighteen credit hours of course work specified by the Illinois State Board of Education in order to prepare teachers to work with students who do not speak English as their first language. Now in its second year, early outcomes of the program are quite positive. This chapter describes the program and its development in detail, and analyzes the program's strengths and weaknesses, focusing especially on teacher candidates' knowledge of pedagogy and cultural awareness as it relates to social justice in education for English language learner (ELL) students. The chapter concludes with recommendations for programming and future research.

scholarly journals Engagement From the Periphery: Reconceptualizing Adult English Language Learners’ Resistance in Developmental Literacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-173
Author(s):  
Emily K. Suh
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Adult Literacy ◽  
English Language ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Language Class ◽  
Speakers Of Other Languages ◽  
Literacy Class ◽  
Classroom Literacy

English language learners’ nonparticipation and reticence in adult literacy classes are often presented problematically from a deficit lens of student resistance and disengagement. This article draws from an ethnographic case study of Generation 1 learners, who are defined as adult-arrival immigrant learners, transitioning from an adult English as a Second Language class to a developmental literacy class. By examining learners’ resistance through a framework of agency enactment, the study bridges the fields of adult literacy and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, both of which support adult-arrival immigrants entering the U.S. education system. The resulting analysis illustrates how Generation 1 learners’ acts of resistance can be complex presentations of their literacy identities and their engagement in classroom literacy practices.

scholarly journals Students’ Self-reflections of Own Participation in English Language Oral Class

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Han ◽  
Masdinah Alauyah Md Yusof
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
Skills Learning ◽  
Higher Institutions

The English language learners’ needs changes from time to time. In Malaysia, the focus of English teaching and learning has shifted from accuracy to fluency; the effective usage of the language. Learners are expected to use the English language in daily communication and to learn the workplace English language communication skill. Due to this demand, language lecturers at higher institutions are expected to assist English language learners to use the language fluently rather than to concentrate heavily on form. Nevertheless, instigating speaking activities in Malaysian classrooms has never been easy and successful. This research was conducted with an aim to identify the underlying factors that motivate or demotivate students’ participation in an English oral classroom. The data were qualitatively collected via students’ self-reflection reports on their own participation in the English language oral class. It was found that teacher’s personality traits, students’ communication skills, learning environment, students’ motivation, self-confidence and topical knowledge, and fascinating discussion topics play significant roles in students’ participation in the English oral class. Thus, these findings could guide language teachers to consider relevant and creative oral activities to encourage students’ active classroom participation.  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document