Effects of transitional bilingual education on Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ literacy and language development: Year 2 results

Abstract

Year 2 findings are reported from a longitudinal, experimental-control study involving 31 Spanishspeaking preschoolers (aged 38-48 months) randomly assigned to two Head Start classrooms. In Year 1, classrooms differed only in the language of instruction, with teachers using only Spanish in one classroom and only English in the other. In Year 2, an experimental transitional bilingual education (TBE) model was implemented, with English being gradually introduced in the TBE classroom until a ratio of 30:70 English-to-Spanish was achieved and Spanish being gradually introduced in the predominantly English (PE) classroom until a ratio of 70:30 English-to-Spanish was achieved. Year 2 results were consistent with Year 1, with the TBE classroom exceeding the PE classroom on all Spanish measures of language and literacy development and no significant differences favoring the PE classroom. Results also indicated that Year 2 trajectories were conditional on first-year effects, suggesting that sustained growth in dual language learner's early literacy may depend on early intervention among 3-year-old preschoolers.

Systematic Review of English Early Literacy Interventions for Children Who Are Dual Language Learners

“…Differences in exposure to primary and secondary language and literacy environments in children’s homes and communities might contribute, beyond intervention effects, to study-reported differences in performance on English outcomes (cf. Durán et al, 2015).…”

“…Because simultaneous or sequential DLL status might have an impact on children’s learning of a second language (Hammer et al, 2008), specifying this information would be helpful for interpreting study findings and should be included in future studies. More precise reporting of home language(s) exposure both before and during intervention has been recommended (Durán et al, 2015). Reporting these data would allow for more nuanced examinations of effects, including the examination of potential moderators and mediators of intervention effects.…”

Connecting the Present to the Past

“…All findings from the preschool studies indicated no significant differences in English outcomes between students in the bilingual program (i.e., in either the DLP or the TBP) and students in the EO program. In the longitudinal study by Durán et al (2015), ELs in the TBP had growth trajectories similar to those of ELs in the mainly EO program in English. In Spanish, however, ELs in the TBP maintained their Spanish advantage compared to ELs in the EO program, corroborating previous findings with ELs in the primary grades, suggesting that bilingual programs present an opportunity for ELs to maintain their L1 without a detriment to their English reading and language development.…”

“…We found five studies published since 2003 that met our inclusion criteria and that compared the effectiveness of different bilingual programs (or interventions) using an RCT design, as indicated in Table 5. Of these, all but one (Slavin, Madden, Calderón, Chamberlain, & Hennessy, 2011) were conducted with students in the preschool/early elementary grades; two (Durán, Roseth, & Hoffman, 2015; Slavin et al, 2011) were longitudinal. The most common comparisons were between a mainly EO program and a DLP or a TBP.…”

Relationship Between Performance on Oral Narrative Retells and Vocabulary Assessments for Spanish-English Speaking Children

“…Although the normative group did not match our sample, the TVIP was selected to allow for comparison of Spanish vocabulary performance with that reported in other recent research studies focusing on Spanish-English speaking children in the United States (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas, Jung, & Blanco, 2007; L. E. Cohen, Kramer-Vida, & Frye, 2012; Durán, Roseth, & Hoffman, 2010, 2015; Durán, Roseth, Hoffman, & Robertshaw, 2013; Leacox & Wood Jackson, 2014; Roberts, 2008).…”