by Sharon Sheehan
Diverse learners face many challenges in
today’s classrooms. English Language
Learners (ELLs), Hispanics in particular, are facing an achievement gap in both
reading and math when compared to their white peers (Reardon and Galindo,
2009). With Hispanics being the largest
growing segment of our population in the United States, it is crucial that
educators be aware of the current trends and issues regarding the literacy
development of these students (Mendez, Crais, Castro and Kainz, 2015).
Evans (2005) states that low-income
kindergarteners start school at a minimum of an entire year behind their peers
and they have a vocabulary of only 5,000 words as opposed to their peers’
20,000 word vocabularies. “A meaningful effort to address the achievement gap
would start not in school but where the gap starts- in early childhood” (Evans,
2005, p. 587). Teachers must consider the individual students in their classes
and assess what barriers are interfering with their learning. Early childhood and kindergarten teachers
must be prepared to provide oral language and literacy instruction that is
differentiated for these students in order to help them to develop the skills and
knowledge that they need to catch up to their peers and to be successful in
school.
What benefits would early childhood education
provide for ELLs? As an early childhood
educator I have always believed that my primary goal was to help my students to
develop a love of learning while they build their oral language skills and the background
knowledge that they will need to be successful in the primary grades. Our
program is based on the philosophy that children learn best when they are
engaged in developmentally appropriate, language based experiences aimed at
developing the “whole child.” Students
are engaged in hands-on manipulation of materials in their environment as they
participate in authentic conversations with their peers and their
teachers. Our play-based program provides
opportunities for students to learn and grow in all domains of
development. We have a growth mindset
that values all progress and development over time.
How can early childhood educators develop
curriculum and instruction designed to help ELLs to bridge the achievement
gap? According to Neu (2013), “many
studies support oral language as a key indicator in later literacy success” (p.
211). There are many research-based
instructional strategies and practices that early childhood teachers can
implement to assist young ELLs with building their oral language, vocabulary
and background knowledge. Among them
are:
*Immersing students in interdisciplinary
thematic units
*Exposure to high-quality children’s literature
*Participating in authentic conversations
*Utilizing songs and rhymes
*Engaging in interactive writing experiences
*Integrating technology, such as iPad apps and eBooks
Interdisciplinary thematic units
allow teachers to address both content knowledge and language goals as students
move seamlessly through a variety of learning experiences. As students are
immersed in these units, usually focused on science and social studies topics,
they are building their vocabulary and content knowledge. Furthermore, as students engage in play
experiences they are applying and transferring their understandings to novel
situations.
Exposing students to children’s
literature provides children with a common base for building discussions. Students are hearing “book language” and vocabulary
in a meaningful context. According to
King (2011), young ELLs benefit from language environments that promote quality
conversations with adults and in which teachers, “continue to read to the child
from interesting story books which tune his ear to literary language but at the
same time simplify the material that he is expected to read,” (Clay, 1991, pp.
88-89 as cited in King, 2011, p.24).
These authentic conversations foster ELL students’ desire and ability to
communicate.
They also provide a foundation for
interactive writing experiences where students and the teacher can work
together to compose a message about the text.
Students can “share the pen” with the teacher as they transcribe the
message. This activity promotes
discussion, as well as practice with concepts about print, stretching out
words, rereading to check for meaning, and using conventions when writing.
Another way that preschool teachers
can build vocabulary is through the use of songs, rhymes and action songs. Using songs helps children to build their
pronunciation skills and the melody and repetition can help students to
remember vocabulary and language patterns (Coyle and Gracia, 2014).
In addition, early childhood teachers can
integrate technology into their literacy instruction. Students can be exposed to eBooks and online
stories and instruction can be differentiated through the use of a variety of
iPad apps.
Conclusion
We can begin to bridge the achievement gap
between Hispanic ELLs and their peers through participation in high-quality
early childhood programs. These
developmentally appropriate programs focus on developing the “whole child”
through active, hands-on engagement with materials and individuals in students’
environments. Students have opportunities to build oral language and vocabulary
through meaningful, research-based instructional strategies. Closing the achievement gap before students
begin formal schooling ensures that all students have the opportunity to benefit
from rigorous standards based instruction in the elementary grades.
References
Coyle, Y. & Gracia, R.G.
(2014). Using songs to enhance L2
vocabulary acquisition in
preschool children.
ELT Journal: English Language Teaching Journal, 68(3),
276-285.
Evans,
R. (2005). Reframing the achievement
gap. Phi
Delta Kappan, 86(8), 582-589.
King, K. (2011).
Kindergarten talk- an early intervention for English language
learners. The Ohio Reading Teacher, 41(1),
24-30.
Mendez, L.I., Crais, E.R.,
Castro, D.C., & Kainz, K. (2015). A culturally and
linguistically responsive vocabulary approach for young
Latino dual
language learners.
Journal of Speech, Language, and
Hearing Research, 58,
93-106.
Neu, R.A. (2013). An exploration of oral language development
in Spanish-speaking
preschool students.
Early Childhood Education Journal,
41(3), 211-218.
Reardon,
S.F. & Galindo, C. (2009). The Hispanic-White achievement gap in math
and
reading in the elementary
grades. American Education Research Journal, 46(3),
853-891.
