Bridging English Language Learner Achievement Gaps through Effective Vocabulary Development Strategies

Gibson, Charles

doi:10.5539/elt.v9n9p134

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The rise in immigration has contributed towards the growing presence of students who speak a language other than English in classrooms throughout the United States (Gibson, 2016). The high-stakes testing requirements of NCLB mandating grade level proficiency of all students on content knowledge depicts an achievement gap of ELLs whose language proficiency impacts their performance (Menken, 2010).…”

Section: Dual Language Programs and English Language Learnersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual Language Program Models and English Language Learners: An Analysis of the Literacy Results from a 50/50 and a 90/10 Model in Two California Schools

Acosta

Williams

Hunt

2019

JEI

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This paper examines the literacy results of English language learners (ELLs) in two California schools following either the 50/50 or the 90/10 dual language (DL) program model. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of dual language programs with an analysis of two schools’ websites and literacy assessment data in order to determine the effectiveness of each program model in establishing strong foundational literacy skills and fostering the prolonged academic success of ELLs. California provides various options for the bilingual education of its increasing immigrant population. Under the umbrella of bilingual education, dual language programs aim to provide students with instruction in two languages which will allow them to become fully bilingual and develop biliteracy skills. The intended purpose of biliteracy is for students to demonstrate reading and writing proficiency in both instructional languages. Although California implements a variety of dual language program models, this paper provides an overview and comparison of the 50/50 and 90/10 models as they are implemented in two California schools with similar demographics. This paper provides an analysis of the English Language Arts/literacy results of ELLs under both program models as depicted on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress to determine which model is most effective in its literacy instruction of language minority students. The findings indicate that ELLs demonstrate higher levels of literacy proficiency under the 90/10 program model. These findings have implications for native language proficiency and the preservation of the mother tongue.

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Section: Dual Language Programs and English Language Learnersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dual Language Program Models and English Language Learners: An Analysis of the Literacy Results from a 50/50 and a 90/10 Model in Two California Schools

Acosta

Williams

Hunt

2019

JEI

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For ESL students, deficiencies in academic vocabulary present a significant obstacle, and educators suggests that vocabulary development should be one of the main objectives of any ESL curriculum (Gibson, 2016).…”

Section: Vocabulary Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Gibson (2016), vocabulary disparities between ESL students and their native-speaking peers exist from pre-kindergarten to college. Estimates for college reading requirements suggest that that most ESL students are likely to begin their studies with an enormous vocabulary gap.…”

Section: Vocabulary Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Educators recommend that instructors work to identify the best practices to accomplish the goal of academic vocabulary acquisition (Gibson, 2016;Nation, 2001). Vocabulary acquisition requires exposure in context, and to learn a word, it must be encountered several times in multiple situations (Bisson, Heuven, Conklin, & Tunney, 2014).…”

Section: Vocabulary Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimenting With Academic ESL: An ESL/Sociology Link

August¹

2018

ELT

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To improve academic ESL, a community college has been experimenting with linking an ESL class to a Sociology class. The primary goal was to use the methodology of Content Based Instruction to develop a curriculum that would promote academic vocabulary acquisition, critical thinking, and authentic communication in a sheltered environment. The paradigm of Action Research was used as a framework to reflect on the strengths of the program and to identify activities that engaged the students and contributed to improved language skills. Supplementary assignments of a Young Adult novel and provocative movies, used across both the ESL and Sociology class, helped students to apply abstract concepts to familiar situations. The structure of the link produced an effective learning community and a support system for the students. We suggest that linking ESL to a content course might be preferable to other options for developmental ESL students entering college.

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“…Emergent bilinguals benefit from learning in an environment that is both language and image rich. Anchor charts, interactive vocabulary walls with pictures, and sentence frames are three strategies that support all students and can be enhanced to further support emergent bilinguals (Gibson, 2016). These are three commonly used techniques that can be leveraged to provide access to content concepts and facilitate academic language development.…”

Section: Making Language and Concepts Visual And Visiblementioning

confidence: 99%

Building on What We Know: Best Practices for Engaging Emergent Bilinguals in Learning

2022

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The purpose of this article is to describe best practices for engaging emergent bilingual students in learning. As more educators across the state of Georgia are working with emergent bilingual students, we have identified several strategies and structures that are recognized as being effective for all students and highlight ways to modify those classroom practices to benefit students who are learning English as an additional language. We describe ways to make language visible (anchor charts, word walls, sentence frames, and sentence stems), as well as effective practices for readers’ workshop. We also recognize that family engagement is critical to student success and provide strategies to enhance school-family connections among culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families. Keywordsteaching strategies, emergent bilinguals, readers’ workshop, family engagement

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Bridging English Language Learner Achievement Gaps through Effective Vocabulary Development Strategies

Cited by 13 publications

References 9 publications

Dual Language Program Models and English Language Learners: An Analysis of the Literacy Results from a 50/50 and a 90/10 Model in Two California Schools

Dual Language Program Models and English Language Learners: An Analysis of the Literacy Results from a 50/50 and a 90/10 Model in Two California Schools

Experimenting With Academic ESL: An ESL/Sociology Link

Building on What We Know: Best Practices for Engaging Emergent Bilinguals in Learning

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