Kimberly Lenters, 2004
No half measures:
Reading instruction for young
second-language learners
The Reading Teacher, 58(4), 328-336.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Potential Benefits of Bilingualism
Children experience important
cognitive and affective gains through
bilingualism when both languages
are developed to the point where
transfer can occur between them.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Controversy 1
Some assertions regarding reading instruction made within
the field of bilingual education even appear to be
contradictory.
Second-language reading instruction must be delayed
until first-language reading is firmly established (Weber,
1991; Wong-Filmore & Valdez,
as cited in Anderson & Roit, 1996);
Some question the validity of waiting that long (Fitzgerald
& Noblit, 1999).
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
How to untangle the conflicting
views
In the absence of detailed longitudinal studies,
a return to first principles regarding bilingualism
and the young child seems the wisest approach
to untangling the conflicting interpretations
drawn from limited research.
In an era when political rhetoric and budget
constraints seek to determine educational policy,
it is crucial that teachers have a solid
understanding of the educational needs of
young bilingual children.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Cummins’ Interdepedence Theory
Interdependence theory states that
development of competence in a
second language is partially a
function of the type of competence
already developed in the first
language at the time when intensive
exposure to the second language
begins (Cummins).
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Cummins’ Threshold Hypothesis
Threshold hypothesis suggests that
there are threshold levels of
linguistic competence that bilingual
children must achieve in both of
their languages for two reasons: to
avoid cognitive disadvantages and
to allow the benefits of bilingualism
to influence cognitive functioning
(Cummins & Swain, 1986).
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Cognitive Benefits to Bilingualism
There are enormous cognitive benefits
to bilingualism
cognitive flexibility,
superior language
skills, and a higher IQ.
These benefits are found only in additive
forms of bilingualism, where careful
support, development, and maintenance
of the first language are provided
(Cummins & Swain).
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Immersion vs. Submersion
When young second-language children in submersion
programs are immersed in the target language and
receive no instruction in their first language, the results
are typically a loss over time of the first language—in
addition to cognitive and affective difficulties in the
immersion program (Cummins & Swain, 1986).
Minority-language high school students are characterized
by high dropout rates and poor academic achievement
when their teachers fail to take an interest in these
students' first languages.
Significant measures should be taken to prevent firstlanguage loss.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Problems of Bilingual Education
Critical shortage of trained bilingual
teachers in the United States, resulting
in teachers not trained in ESL pedagogy
being employed in bilingual classrooms
and delivering programs where English
dominates the instruction.
Half measures abound.
Budget cuts
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Age and Bilingualism
Cummins stated that "the better developed the
conceptual foundation of children's first language, the
more likely children are to develop similarly high levels of
conceptual abilities in their second language“ (p. 51).
Longitudinal studies have found that immigrant children,
from advantaged families, who arrived in the United
States at ages 8 and 9 with first-language literacy skills
already developed, performed better in U.S. schools than
younger children, ages 5 and 6, who came without
developed first-language literacy skills.
It took more than 7 to 10 years for these children to
perform at grade level in English, as opposed to 5 to 7
years for the older children. The children in this study
entered submersion programs, and the younger children
did not receive formal first language instruction, which
accounted for their difficulties (Collier & Thomas, as cited
in Snow et al., 1998).
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Bilingual Interdependence
Verhoeven's (1994) study, examining linguistic interdependence
among Turkish children learning Dutch as a second language, found
that transfer between two languages can proceed in two directions
at the level of literacy skills.
Chang and Watson (as cited in Garcia, 2000) did an investigation of
predictable texts used in the reading instruction of Chinese bilingual
kindergarten students who attended weekend Chinese school. It
showed that these children transferred what they knew about
reading in English to their Chinese reading.
This phenomenon is also demonstrated in Canadian French
immersion programs. Children first receive formal instruction in
second-language reading and then move on to begin formal first
language reading instruction in the third or fourth grade. The
documented success of French immersion programs that actively
promote proficiency in both languages does support the finding that
language of initial literacy need not be the child's native language.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
The Right Kind of L2 Literacy Instruction
In an ideal world, children would receive
instruction in their first language to the point
where they were proficient in all aspects of it. At
that time transition to second-language learning
would begin.
This typically would occur somewhere around
the age of 7. Reading instruction in the second
language would seek to build on what the child
knew about reading in the first language and
would encourage transfer of skills.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Similarities and Differences in L1 and L2
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Oral language proficiency
• Reading in the first or second language is founded upon
oral knowledge of the language.
• One cannot read with comprehension a language one
cannot speak and comprehend; reading instructors of
young second-language learners need to be mindful of this.
While a definitive level of the oral proficiency essential for
reading instruction to begin is difficult to pinpoint, it
appears that readers must be familiar with a minimum of
95% of the vocabulary in the text for comprehension to
occur (Laufer, as cited in Carrell & Grabe, 2002).
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Oral language proficiency doesn’t
equal to literacy proficiency.
Cummins and Swain (1986) reminded us that
if second-language learners have reached
an acceptable level of conversational ability,
we must not assume proficiency has been
reached. Because it takes young secondlanguage learners between 7 and 10 years
to reach the academic proficiency of their
first language peers, explicit attention must
be given to building vocabulary throughout
the primary and intermediate years of
education.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL READING
INSTRUCTION
Oral language
• Develop the child's oral vocabulary to the point of basic
communicative competence before attempting reading
instruction.
• Continue to work on vocabulary training with the child well
beyond the point of basic communicative competence to
ensure adequate vocabulary for increasingly more difficult
text.
• Provide opportunity for second-language children to
converse in the classroom, being careful not to place
undue emphasis on accurate speech.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL
READING INSTRUCTION
Reading materials
• Remember that the child must know 90% to 95% of the
vocabulary in the text before that text is used for reading
instructional purposes.
• Use graded readers with second-language readers to
ensure that text difficulty keeps pace with vocabulary
development. But be sure to supplement with authentic
literature first in read-alouds, then shared reading, and
finally independent reading to ensure second-language
readers are exposed to text that reflects natural speech.
• Encourage and provide opportunity for rereading of text.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL
READING INSTRUCTION
Phonemic awareness
Extend phonemic awareness training to include phonics
instruction, using materials that teach sound-symbol
correspondences in a multi-sensory and systematic
manner.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL
READING INSTRUCTION
Comprehension
• Use a language experience approach to provide meaningful
materials the child is able to read.
• Pay attention to cultural biases in text and illustrations
presented to young second-language learners.
• Fill in the missing cultural information when materials
must be used that are culturally unfamiliar to the learner.
• When possible, use translations alongside English texts to
enhance comprehension and support first-language reading
skills. Parents and older siblings may be enlisted for this
process.
• Allow students to respond to text in their first language.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL
READING INSTRUCTION
First-language reading support
• Form strong home-school connections with the families
of second-language learners.
• Value the child's first language.
• Find any means possible to ensure that the child receives
reading instruction in his or her first language.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Ideas to promote oral language for
ESL reading development
• Scaffold vocabulary development through prereading activity
where children take turns with proficient English speakers
discussing the illustrations of a story to predict its content prior to
reading it.
• Engage in repeated reading of simple, predictable texts such as
Red Is Best (Stinson, 1982). New vocabulary and important text
structures may be internalized through this method.
• Tape recordings of simple stories and graded readers will allow
ESL readers to independently engage in shared and repeated
reading.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Ideas to promote oral language for
ESL reading development
• Highlight the vocabulary and story structure of favorite simple
stories the children are learning to read, and have them
reconstruct the stories in bookmaking activities. The activity will
provide ESL learners with a growing library of personal texts they
may read and reread for oral vocabulary and sight word
development.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Ideas to promote ESL reading
comprehension
• Use language experience book-making methods to help
ESL children make the connection between oral and
written language, especially in the very early stages of
their reading development.
• Use of the cut-up sentence (Clay, 1993) provides a
meaningful and engaging vehicle for the ESL child's
voice in reading acquisition. Type or print the child's
simple dictated stories. Then, with the help of a proficient
English speaker, have the child cut the sentences into
individual words and glue them into a pre-made blank
booklet, which is later illustrated by the child.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Ideas to promote ESL reading
comprehension
• Involve parents or older siblings in the making
of translations of favorite simple stories. These
translations may be illustrated by the student
for placement alongside the English version in
the classroom library.
• Encourage ESL speakers of the same
language background to discuss stories they
are reading in English in their native language.
Together they will naturally support one
another to address gaps in comprehension.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners
Supporting first-language reading
acquisition
• Encourage parents to engage in meaningful conversation
and read in the first language with their children.
• Allow the children to demonstrate what they can do in firstlanguage reading.
• Purchase first-language texts to match the second language
texts being used.
• Find a bilingual volunteer to translate the text and make firstlanguage translation audiotapes.
• Help families find first-language resources within the
community.
•
Advocate for after-hours provision of space within the school
building for first-language instruction.
Lenters 2004, Reading Instruction for Young SecondLanguage Learners