Enhancing Young Hispanic Dual Language Learners' Achievement: Exploring Strategies and Addressing Challenges

Abstract

pic@ets.orgCopies can be downloaded from:www.ets.org/research/picThe views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and trustees of Educational Testing Service. About ETSAt ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually -including the TOEFL ® and TOEIC ® tests, the GRE ® tests and The Praxis Series ® assessments -in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. Policy Information Report and ETS Research Report Series ISSN 2330-8516 R E S E A R C H R E P O R T Enhancing Young Hispanic Dual Language Learners' Achievement: Exploring Strategies and Addressing ChallengesDebra J. Ackerman 1 & Zoila Tazi 2 1 Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 2 Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY Dual language learners, or DLLs, may have greater school readiness needs due to the key role English oral language skills play in the development of emerging literacy skills in English and their overall academic achievement. This especially can be the case if children's capacity to benefit from classroom instruction and interact with teachers and fellow students is dependent on their English language proficiency. This policy report examines key factors contributing to young Hispanic DLLs academically at-risk status, as well as the emerging research base on strategies for supporting the learning and development of DLLs in preschool and the early primary grades. Also addressed are the practical, on-the-ground implementation challenges to be addressed if early education programs are to incorporate these strategies.Keywords Dual language learners; preschool; early education doi:10.1002/ets2.12045 This report arises out of three independent, yet consequentially relevant U.S. policy contexts: a strong federal focus on enhancing the quality of early education programs, a rapidly growing population of Hispanic preschoolers, and the need for concrete, on-the-ground instructional strategies for improving the learning outcomes of preschool to Grade 3 students who are not yet proficient in English. Furthermore, the relevance of these contexts emerges when considering the goals of the federal Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) and the demographics of the 20 states that have been awarded close to $1 billion in funding since the initiative began in 2011. For example, RTT-ELC aims to improve highneed infant, toddler, and preschoolers' access to high-quality early learning and development programs as a means for enhancing their school readiness. To accomplish this goal, the initiative targets the coordinatio...

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