Capitalizing on the
Multilingual Advantage:
Focus on SIFE
Elaine C Klein and
Gita Martohardjono
RISLUS Forum May 22, 2009
SIFE in the context of the global
economy and the educational
achievement gap in the US
2
McKinsey Report (2009)
State of education in the US:
• 25th of 30 in math and 24th of 30 in
science
• Used to lead the world in HS and
college graduation rates, but now:
- 18th out of 24 in HS
- 14th out of 24 in college
3
Impact on the Economy
• Achievement gap results in lower GDP
• Losses equal the economic equivalent
of a recession:
Closing the achievement gap would
result in an increase to the economy of:
between $2.4 trillion and 4.2 trillion
4
Impact on Individual
Income: 8th grade students scoring in top
(v. bottom) quartile in math  12 years
later have 40% higher median income
Incarceration: 5-8 times more likely for
HS drop-out than for college graduate
Health: Lower education  unhealthy
lifestyles, no medical insurance
Civic Involvement: Lower education 
Less likely to vote
5
Multilingualism in a Global
Economy
• Having English as your only language is no
longer enough
• Increasing importance of global languages, e.g.
Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, Portuguese, Russian
• “English no longer the dominant language on the
internet”
- English websites: 75% (1998)  45% (2005)
- Internet users: 30% have English as L1
(Graddol 2006) 6
US Needs a Multilingual
Population
• Globalization requires:
- knowledge of other countries & cultures
- competence in languages other than English.
• Not enough multilingual US college
graduates to meet demands of global
economy
• US students lack cross-cultural skills and
are “linguistically deprived.”
(Education for Global Leadership 2006)
7
English Language Learners
(ELL): An untapped source
• The largest group of potential
multilinguals in the US are ELLs
• And yet, many ELLs:
- don’t finish HS
- don’t enter the global workforce
• For ELLs, the educational achievement
gap is even wider
8
The SIFE Research Project
Who are SIFE?
•
•
•
•
Subgroup of ELLs
Recent arrivals to the US
Low literacy
Gaps in prior schooling (2 yrs +)
10
Some Facts about SIFE
in NYC Schools*
• Approximately 15,000 “new” and existing SIFE
comprise 11% of ELL population
• Highest % of new SIFE enter 8th, 9th and 10th
grades: Approximately 4700 in 2006-7.
• SIFE evenly distributed in 4 boroughs
• 59% of SIFE: Spanish native language
*Bilingual Education Student Information Survey (BESIS) 2006-2007:
NYC DOE Office of English Language Learners. 2007.
11
Research Questions
• What are the characteristics of SIFE?
• How do SIFE differ from other ELLs?
• What academic competencies do SIFE bring
to school in the US?
• What are the academic needs of SIFE?
12
Overview of Method
Phase I (2005 – 2006)
Case studies
• 12 students identified as SIFE
• 9th grade
• 2 NYC high schools
• Native language: Spanish
Phase II: (2006-2008)
18 month Longitudinal Study
• 103 students identified as SIFE
• 9th and 10th grade
• 5 NYC high schools
• Native language: Spanish
13
Instruments
• Quantitative:
 Intake and exit questionnaire (Spanish)
 Literacy and content diagnostics (Spanish and
English)
 Oral language (Spanish and English)
 Syntactic comprehension (Spanish and English
typical language development)
• Qualitative:
 Classroom observations
 Teacher and student interviews
14
Results: Intake Questionnaire
15
• Most are from the Dominican Republic,
Mexico or Honduras.
• Most live in the U.S. with only one parent
and have family members in their country
of origin.
• Most report high school as highest level of
education among family members in U.S.
16
• Strong motivation for school success
• Positive attitudes towards education in
Spanish & English.
• High levels of self-efficacy & strong
expectations that their education will
contribute to future success in a job or
at college
17
Goals and Aspirations
Percentage of
61%
33%
6%
Social
Non-Professional
Professional
Type of goal
18
Results: Quantitative Measures
of Language and Literacy
19
Oral Language and Syntactic
Comprehension
• Oral Language:
Fluent, smooth, intelligible speech; controls appropriate
language structure for speaking about complex material.
• Syntactic comprehension:
Within the range of typically-developing native speakers
• Working memory:
Within normal range
Typical L1 Development
20
Basic Literacy in Spanish
First Grade
• Phonological & Orthographic Awareness
• Word Reading
• Simple Sentence Comprehension
Mean % Correct = 96, SD = 4.5
High basic literacy in Spanish
21
Spanish Reading Vocabulary
Percentage
Scoring at Each
Grade Level,
Grades 6 -7, 54%
Percentage
Scoring at Each
Grade Level,
Grades 4 - 5, 20%
Percentage
Scoring at Each
Grade Level,
Grades ≤ 3, 26%
22
Spanish Reading
Comprehension
Percent Scoring
at Each Grade
Level, Grades 4 5, 32%
Percent Scoring
at Each Grade
Level, Grades ≤ 3,
68%
Academic Content Areas
• Math:
Majority at/below grade 3
• Science:
Majority at/below grade 4
• Social Science:
Majority at/below grade 4
24
Summary of Results
Academic abilities of 9th grade students
identified as SIFE in NYC range from
2nd to 5th grade
--at least 4 grades below grade level in
native language reading and content
knowledge!
25
Comparison Groups
Native English Speaker Groups:
• 9th and 10th Graders
Regular ELLs Group:
• 9th-12th Graders
26
Comparison of Native Language Reading:
English Speakers vs. SIFE
27
Comparison of L2 English Literacy:
ELLs vs. SIFE
9
Mean Grade Level Scores on Vocabulary and Reading
Comprehension
ELL
SIFE
8
Grade Level
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Vocabulary
Reading
Comprehension
28
Transfer of Skills
29
Transfer of Skills from Spanish to
English: Reading Vocabulary
30
Transfer of Skills from Spanish to
English: Reading Comprehension
31
Predictors of SIFE English
Reading Scores
English Reading Vocabulary:
r = .723; p = .000
Spanish Reading Comprehension:
r = .519; p = .001
Gains in Spanish
Academic Skills
Academic Gains in One Year
• 1.5 grade levels in Spanish reading
vocabulary
• 1.7 grade levels in Spanish reading
comprehension
• 1 grade level in Spanish math
34
Conclusions
SIFE
• Show typical L1 development:
Oral language, syntactic comprehension,
and working memory
• Have basic reading skills
• Show delays in
- Higher level reading skills:
(4+ grade levels below expected grade, 9)
- Content Area Knowledge:
(5+ grade levels below expected grade, 9)
But made gains in both
35
Tapping the Potential in SIFE
Strong bilingual programs:
• Accelerated instruction to build foundational
literacy skills in the native language
• Native language instruction in content knowledge
• Develop parallel English programs based on
academic literacy skills
• Develop pathway programs to college
- Exit HS with 10th grade (min) literacy skills and
content knowledge
36
A Critical First Step
The New Commission on Skills of the
American Workforce concludes that critical
interventions are needed for students at risk
of falling behind, including ELLs. As a
necessary first step, they recommend
“[d]etailed screening assessments for all
students that need them.”
(Tough Choices Tough Times 2008)
37
Online Scoring and Evaluation
System (w-SERS)
39
Academic Language and
Literacy Diagnostic (ALLD)
• Pre- and Basic Literacy
• Higher-Level Literacy
- Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension
- Language Use
• Content Areas
- Math
(Science)
(Social Science)
• K-12
Capitalizing on the Multilingual
Advantage
• The quality of a country’s education has a
direct impact on its economy
• There is a serious education gap in the US
• One way to close the gap is to educate our
students to be multilingual in order to
compete in the global economy
• ELLs, including SIFE, are our greatest
resource in a multilingual/multicultural
world!
Acknowledgements
• NYC Department of Education,
OELL
• Participating schools
• All participants and teachers
• RISLUS Research Team
THANK YOU!