Predictors and outcomes of early versus later English language proficiency among English language learners

Halle, Tamara; Hair, Elizabeth C.; Wandner, Laura D.; McNamara, Michelle; Chien, Nina

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.07.004

Cited by 173 publications

(170 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Because early acquisition of English proficiency (a key aspect of acculturation) is critical for behavioral and academic adjustment (Halle, Hair, Wandner, McNamara, & Chien, 2012;Hoff, 2013), acculturation in language proficiency during early elementary school may be particularly critical for children from language minority homes. By contrast, the benefit of acculturation might decrease or even reverse in adolescence due to a host of risk processes associated with immigrant youths' higher acculturation to the host culture, such as association with deviant peers and substance use (Gonzales et al, 2009).…”

Section: Limitations Of Existing Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the critical role of English proficiency in early school adjustment among children of language minority immigrant families (Halle et al, 2012;Hoff, 2013), we hypothesized that Chinese American children's orientation to American culture would be associated with better adjustment. Based on prior research on parent-youth acculturation gaps on youth adjustment in immigrant families (e.g., Birman, 2006a;Costigan & Dokis, 2006), we hypothesized that greater gaps in parent-child cultural orientations would generally be associated with poorer child adjustment.…”

Section: Limitations Of Existing Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parent–child cultural orientations and child adjustment in Chinese American immigrant families.

Chen¹,

Hua²,

Zhou³

et al. 2014

Developmental Psychology

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Direct and indirect/mediated relations of (a) children's and parents' cultural orientations and (b) parent-child gaps in cultural orientations to children's psychological adjustment were examined in a socioeconomically diverse sample of 258 Chinese American children (age ϭ 6 -9 years) from immigrant families. Parents reported on children's and their own Chinese and American orientations in language proficiency, media use, and social relationships. Parents and teachers rated children's externalizing and internalizing problems and social competence. Using structural equation modeling, we found evidence for both the effects of children's and parents' cultural orientations and the effects of parent-child gaps. Specifically, children's American orientations across domains were associated with their better adjustment (especially social competence). These associations were partly mediated by authoritative parenting. Parents' English and Chinese media use were both associated with higher authoritative parenting, which in turn was associated with children's better adjustment. Furthermore, greater gaps in parent-child Chinese proficiency were associated with children's poorer adjustment, and these relations were partly mediated by authoritative parenting. Together, the findings underscore the complex relations between immigrant families' dual orientations to the host and heritage cultures and children's psychological adjustment.

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Section: Limitations Of Existing Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Limitations Of Existing Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent–child cultural orientations and child adjustment in Chinese American immigrant families.

Chen¹,

Hua²,

Zhou³

et al. 2014

Developmental Psychology

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“…The current article examines child-level predictors of progress toward proficiency in English during pre-K and kindergarten among Spanish-speaking children in poverty. ELL children who become fully proficient in English, and who do so earlier in their educational career, do better later in school than those who continue to struggle with English proficiency (Halle, Hair, Wandner, McNamara, & Chien, 2012). Of course, English proficiency is only one of the many protective factors associated with success among Hispanic children.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty.

Winsler¹,

Kim²,

Richard³

2014

Developmental Psychology

124

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This article analyzes the role that individual differences in children's cognitive, Spanish competence, and socio-emotional and behavioral skills play in predicting the concurrent and longitudinal acquisition of English among a large sample of ethnically diverse, low-income, Hispanic preschool children. Participants assessed at age 4 for language, cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral skills were followed through kindergarten. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that Spanish-speaking preschoolers with greater initiative, self-control, and attachment and fewer behavior problems at age 4 were more successful in obtaining English proficiency by the end of kindergarten compared to those initially weaker in these skills, even after controlling for cognitive/language skills and demographic variables. Also, greater facility in Spanish at age 4 predicted the attainment of English proficiency. Social and behavioral skills and proficiency in Spanish are valuable resources for low-income English language learners during their transition to school.Keywords: English language learner (ELL), dual language learner, Latino/Hispanic, social skills, English acquisitionThe number of English language learners (ELLs) in the United States has been increasing progressively in recent years. ELL enrollment in schools more than doubled between 1997 and 2008 (National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition, 2010). Hispanic children, who speak Spanish as their first language (L1), make up the largest proportion of ELL students in today's schools (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). Given that (a) Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States; (b) disproportionately high numbers of Hispanic children live in poverty (Chau, Thampi, & Wight, 2010); and (c) Hispanic children, as a group, struggle with relatively poor educational achievement, Garcia and Jensen (2009) argued that young Hispanic children constitute an urgent demographic imperative requiring considerable research and policy attention.One of the key questions has to do with the conditions under which, and the speed with which, young Hispanic children acquire English. Depending on the pattern and timing of exposure to and support for both English and Spanish in the early years, there are many possible language outcomes for such children-some become fully bilingual fairly early on in childhood, learning English and maintaining Spanish in the process; some remain predominantly Spanish speakers with only limited English proficiency; and some become fully competent in English at the expense of Spanish. The current article examines child-level predictors of progress toward proficiency in English during pre-K and kindergarten among Spanish-speaking children in poverty. ELL children who become fully proficient in English, and who do so earlier in their educational career, do better later in school than those who continue to struggle with English proficiency (Halle, Hair, Wandner, McNamara, & Chien, 2012). Of course, English proficiency is only one of th...

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“…Dual language learning in the early years has many benefits (1). A society with access to multilingual resources has advantages and abilities to play an important social and economic role on the global stage (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Students’ Academic Engagement Based on How Much They Use Social Networks in Learning English

Zamani

Talebi

2018

Interdiscip J Virtual Learn Med Sci

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Background: The current study aimed at comparing students' academic engagement (AE) based on their educational use of social networks (EUSN) in learning English at the Iran language Institute (ILI), Tabriz branch. Methods: The current study evaluated the status of EUSN and AE on 204 English language learners (ELLs). The population of the study consisted of all ELLs (n = 1874) studying at the Tabriz branch of ILI in the spring of 2017. The instruments used in the current study to measure variables were the Reeve and Tseng AE questionnaire (α = 0.968) and a researcher-made questionnaire (α = 0.966) for EUSN. Results:The results of ANOVA and least significant difference (LSD) showed that students' AE varied according to their EUSN. AE of

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Predictors and outcomes of early versus later English language proficiency among English language learners

Cited by 173 publications

References 37 publications

Parent–child cultural orientations and child adjustment in Chinese American immigrant families.

Parent–child cultural orientations and child adjustment in Chinese American immigrant families.

Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty.

Comparing Students’ Academic Engagement Based on How Much They Use Social Networks in Learning English

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