Languages

This article gives some really valuable general information about the use of portfolios as assessment, particularly for the ESL class. The benefits of using portfolios are explained, and a process is outlined for implementation. The authors come to the conclusion that portfolios are not a fad but a part of the future for assessment in second language classrooms.

The authors of this study interviewed forty ESL and bilingual teachers in Arizona, which has some of the strictest rules in the country about the education of ELLs. The article explains why this is the case, evaluating Arizona legislature. This study is particularly beneficial for getting teacher perspectives on high-stakes testing, legislation, and the results on instruction.

This article explains research about the performance difference between English Language Learners and English speakers on standardized tests. The data comes from case studies at four different sites from across the US. The study looks at several different factors that may be at fault for this performance gap, focusing specifically on the influence of language.

A Review of the Literature on English as a Second Language (ESL) Issues The Language Research Centre—University of Calgary Prepared by: John Archibald. Posted December 11, 2013.

The purpose of this study is to explore a framework for identifying students with learning disabilities. The article begins by framing the complex issue of definitions and inadequate practices in regards to ELLs. This article provides helpful insight into the definitional issues and the importance of correct diagnosis in referring students for special education services.

This article provides an overview on the issue of language learning and learning disabilities. The authors quickly explore several shared symptoms between language struggles and actual learning disabilities. The article ends by examining classroom environmental factors that are conducive to second language acquisition.

This article provides an overview of assessment issues, concerns, and implications for ELLs with learning disabilities. Huang examines the major issues concerning ELLs with learning disabilities, the disadvantage that students face, and the referral process. Huang provides a host of issues and concerns to be further explored, and carefully lays out what ought to be addressed for the rectification of this complex issue.

This article examines the difficulties of providing meaningful and significant definitions of learning disabilities. The authors carefully follow the progression of definitions, all the while providing analysis’ and critiques. After determining the significant issue of defining the definition of learning disabilities, Kavale and Forness seek to resolve the problem. The articles serve as an excellent critical analysis of definitions and what definitions actually mean.

This study reviews ELLs with learning disabilities through the examination of literacy related means. The authors sought to differentiate between ELLs who struggle to acquire literacy because of limited English proficiency and ELLs who struggle because of a learning disability. Throughout the study, the authors provide a well-rounded context of knowledge concerning the issue of literacy struggle for ELLs.

Paradis explores grammatical morphology in children learning ESL and the implications of similarities with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). This source is rich with citations of other linguistic theorists, providing a highly complicated study. The study provides insight about ELLs with language disorders and language struggles. Furthermore, the study evaluates the use of standardized assessment for nonnative English speakers as a negative practice.

The authors provide recommendations for teams seeking to provide ELLs with potential learning disabilities with appropriate services. Their proposal of multidisciplinary approaches to the issue also includes recommendations for various language acquisition factors and aspects, as well as a host of questions that ought to be considered in the identification and referral process for special education.

Bleakley and Chin conducted a statistical analysis on the effects that age of arrival has on the correlation between language skills and earnings. English language skills increase to higher levels through longer years of schooling, and the authors suggest that adult English classes may be inadequate in assisting immigrant wages to converge with those of natives. They also suggest that programs aimed at middle and high school students would be more effective.

This article compares cognitive skills and immigrant employment in four different countries. Immigrants had lower cognitive test scores than natives in each of the four countries. Male immigrants in the U.S. were as likely to work as natives, and in other countries, the male immigrants were less likely to be working. As for female immigrants, they were less likely to be employed in each country than the natives, with a particularly large gap in the U.S.

Menard-Warwick contrasts the lives of two Central American immigrant women in a family literacy program. From what she gathered of life-history interviews and classroom observations, the author argues that these learners’ second language and literacy development can only be understood within the larger sociopolitical context over time. She draws on the participants’ life-history narratives to position their experiences of studying the English language within the greater sociohistorical landscape of immigration in California and the intergenerational educational backgrounds in their families.

Perry conducted an ethnographic study to examine “literacy brokering” among a group of Sudanese refugee families in Michigan. Literacy brokering occurs when individuals seek out informal assistance with “unfamiliar texts and literacy practices.” Data collection in this study included participant observation, semi-formal interviews, and the collection of artifacts over a period of 18 months. Three different Southern Sudanese refugee families participated in this study. Current notions of the brokering were challenged, showing that brokering was not merely a matter of translation and that the issues of different genres were also significant.

Scales et al. conducted a study that analyzed the perceptions of different accents among a group of 37 English language learners and 10 American undergraduate students. Each participant listened to a one-minute passage read by four different speakers with different accents of English: 1) General American, 2) British English, 3) Chinese English, and 4) Mexican English. Participants attempted to identify each accent and stated their preferences and opinions about each of the accents.

The author uses the U.S. census data to analyze the relationship between the age at onset of second language learning and the levels of English skill and proficiency among adults born outside of the U.S. The conclusion is that proficiency in an L2 among adults is strongly correlated to the age at immigration. Part of the correlation could be attributed to social and demographic aspects tied to age at entry into the new country, as well as constraints of maturation.