A13.5: Week 13 Participation Memo

Aims and Objectives:

 My personal goals for the past two weeks were to finish my I-Search Paper, complete my week 13 assignments, and begin work on my Movie Maker project.  I set out to do so much during Thanksgiving Break – finish my homework early in the week, spend hours on my Movie Maker presentation, and catch up on my readings.  I wanted to use Thanksgiving Break to catch up, get ahead, and all that jazz.  Here I sit on Thanksgiving typing up my CD 315 assignments after my family has gone to bed.  While I haven’t met the high standards I had set for myself this week, I am finishing everything on time!  I look forward to starting my Movie Maker presentation this weekend!

Declarative Knowledge:

This week I learned about my revision and editing style.  I reviewed my I-Search paper and found several problem areas.  One section in particular warranted hours of my attention.  I had included the information I found necessary, but I despised my wording choices.  I realized that I just needed to rewrite an entire paragraph in order to have an acceptable paper!  I learned that I have difficulties editing my own work, and need to improve in this area of literacy. 

Procedural Knowledge:

I started to play around with the Movie Maker software to see what I can do with it.  I learned how to upload pictures and manipulate things to achieve various effects.  My senses are telling me that I want to work with my project more tonight, so I hope to learn alot more about it. 

Conditional Knowledge:

The work I have completed this week will be very useful in the completion of my Movie Maker presentation.  I have read through my I-Search paper to find the most relevant pieces of information.  I will include this information in my presentation.  The completion of this project has taught me alot about the subject matter, but I have also learned about the research process.  I have successfully gathered information, interpreted it, and made my own interpretations based on the knowledge I gained.  The final version of my I-Search paper provides me with information about bilingual students that could one day benefit me as a professional. 

About the Author

Deidra Darst is a senior at Marshall University majoring in Communication Disorders.  She will graduate in May 2008 and will attend graduate school in order to receive a Masters of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology.  Through course work and clinical observations during her senior year, she has developed an interest in working with pediatric clients as well as geriatric clients.  She finds all aspects of communication fascinating and enjoys learning about commmunication disorders.  Deidra is an active member of Marshall University’s National Student Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (NSSLHA) and plans to be active within the field of speech-language pathology for years to come. 

Acknowledgements

Deidra Darst

11/22/07

I would like to thank those individuals who have contributed to the creation of my CD 315 project.  First and foremost, I must thank my instructor, Mrs. McComas.  She provided me with the assignment and required the inclusion of an aspect of literacy.  She also guided me in the formulation of my research question, which ultimately led me in the right direction.  She has been most helpful throughout all of my undergraduate experiences – thank you, Mrs. McComas!

 I must also thank another professor, Dr. Corrigan, who first required me to study an aspect of educational curricula.  One of his course assignments introduced me to the necessity for bilingual professionals within the public school systems of our country.  I never thought I would thank a professor for requiring me to do so much work, but I realize that I actually learned something. 

Finally, I must thank my family and friends for always supporting me in my academic endeavors.  When I have alot of work to do I am often difficult to live with, be with, speak to, and tolerate!  I take my school work very seriously, often too seriously, but I thank you all for putting up with me.  You are all amazing – thank you!

Preface

Deidra Darst

11/22/07

I began this semester not knowing what to expect from this course.   When I learned that I was expected to choose a research topic regarding literacy, I thought, “What comes to mind when I hear the word ‘literacy’?”  I automatically think of reading literacy skills, so I knew that I wanted to incorporate reading literacy into my research question.  I then asked myself, “can I complete research in this course that will benefit my other course work?”  My diagnostics class had just discussed culturally and lingustically diverse children, so I wanted to learn more about this particular population.  Last semester I wrote a literature review for an education course, and I focused on bilingual education in the United States.  I learned a great deal about the cirricula associated with bilingual education, but I realized that I could benefit from learning even more.  I worked with several different versions of a research question, but narrowed it down after speaking with Mrs. McComas.  She helped me tweak my question in order to create a specific question for my project.  The final version of the question is as follows: 

How can speech-language pathologists help facilitate the development of literacy skills necessary for reading in the second language of bilingual first grade children? 

A13.4: References

References

Armbruster, B.B., & Osborn, F.L.J. (2001).  Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read: Kindergarten through grade 3.  Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read.  Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1.html.   

Calhoon, M.B., Al Otaiba, S., Cihak, D., King, A., & Avalos, A. (2007, Summer).  Effects of a peer-mediated program on reading skill acquisition for two-way bilingual first-grade classrooms.  Learning Disability Quaterly, 30, 169-184). 

Cummins, J. (2003).  Bilingual children’s mother tongue: Why is it important for education?  Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://iteachilearn.com.

Edelson, J. (n.d.).  Time 4 learning.  Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.time4learning.com/learning-to-read.shtml. 

Garcia, G.N., McCardle, P., & Nixon, S.M. (2007, July).  Development of English Literacy in Spanish-speaking children:  Transforming research into practice.  Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38, 213-215. 

Hammer, C.S., & Miccio, A.W. (2006)  Early language and reading development of bilingual preschoolers from low-income families.  Topics in Language Disorders, 26, 322-337. 

Lenters, K. (2004, December).  No half measures:  Reading instruction for young second-language learners.  The Reading Teacher, 54, 328-336. 

Paez, M., & Rinaldi, C. (2006).  Predicting English word readhing skills for Spanish-speaking students in first grade.  Topics in Language Disorders, 26, 338-350. 

Reyes, I. (2006).  Exploring connections between emergent biliteracy and bilingualism.  Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6, 267-292. 

Swanson, H.L., Saez, L., & Gerber, M. (2006).  Growth in literacy and cognition in bilingual children at risk or not at risk fore reading disabilities.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 247-264. 

I-Search Paper: Reading Literacy in Bilingual First Graders

Deidra Darst

11/15/07

Introducing/Questioning

Prior to researching this topic for my CD315 project I knew a little about bilingualism in United States educational curricula.  I knew about the various methods of instruction, how each is employed, and the postive and negative effects of each method.  While I had previously researched the effectiveness and importance of bilingual education and educators, I did not know much about bilingual students.  Furthermore, I knew very little about the development of reading literacy skills.  In regard to my specific research question, “how can speech-language pathologists help facilitate reading skills in the bilingual first grade children,” I knew very little.  I did not know much about the development of second languages in children, and did not understand the components of reading literacy. 

The genesis of my research question was a trial-and-error process as well as a process of refining several different versions of my initial essential question.  I began with a broader group of interest, culturally and linguistically different children.  I wanted to learn how techonology could aid speech-language pathologists in improving this population’s literacy skills.  I soon found that my focus was too broad and too narrow, all at the same time.  I needed focus on a more specific group of persons (bilingual children), expand upon the means through which aid could be provided to these students (and include all possible strategies), and choose a particular aspect of literacy (reading literacy) in order to have a more researchable topic.  My final essential question proved to be researchable, interesting, and relevant.  My searching endeavors have returned a substantial amount of information regarding this population and their reading literacy skills.  I find this topic interesting because I could possibly work with this population at some point in my future career.  It is relevant to the practicing speech-language pathologists of today.  With over five million non-native English speakers enrolled in our schools today, professionals need to be aware of this population’s academic needs.   

My essential question is the basis of my research.  I set out to find an answer to the following question:  How can speech-language pathologists help facilitate the development of literacy skills necessary for reading in the second language of bilingual first grade children?  The essential question can be broken down into three specific foundation questions.  These three questions have guided the research process:  What is bilingualism?  What literacy skills are necessary for reading?  How can speech-language pathologists help facilitate the development of such literacy skills?

Searching  

The United States is a country comprised of individuals from a multitude of backgrounds.  It has been estimated that 5.5 million students attending public schools in the United States are not native English speakers (Garcia, McCardle, & Nixon, 2007).  Because the changing demographics of this country are expanding to include more and more linguistically different peoples, research must be conducted in order to understand how to best educate this population. 

According to Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, bilingualism is the ability to use two languages with equal proficiency.  The first language is labeled Language 1 (L1).  L1 is the first and dominate language of the individual.  The second language is labeled Language 2 (L2).  School systems in the United States are concerned about those students whose second language is English; these students have been defined as English Language Learners (ELLs) (Reyes, 2006).  ELL students have mastered their first language and are in the process of developing English.  The literature about this population circulates around a predominate question:  when should academic instruction begin in the second language?  Should second language instruction take precedence in order to facilitate L2 development?  Should academic instruction be equally shared between the two languages? 

The following paper will discuss bilingual children’s literacy skills.  All children must develop prereading skills at a young age.  This includes listening to stories read by parents, drawing letters and numbers, and sharing language experiences with peers and adults.  Learning how to hold a book and pretending to read also constitute preliteracy skills (Reyes, 2006).  Direct instruction in regard to reading skills takes place in kindergarten and first grade.  How are these skills taught to monolingual students?  How are bilingual students taught to read in their second language?  When should reading skills in the second language be comparable to first language reading skills?  How is this accomplished?  Furthermore, how can speech-language pathologists help facilitate reading literacy skills in the second language? 

Learning to read is a process that requires time and practice.  The website Time 4 Learning states that six component parts make up reading literacy: print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Edelson, 2007).  These component parts must be developed sequentially and completely in order for young readers to become successful readers (Calhoon, Al Otaiba, Cihak, King, & Avalos, 2007).  Each component will be discussed as it relates to the development of reading literacy skills. 

Learning to read is a journey that begins with the knowledge of print concepts.  Students must understand that graphic representations of letters exist, and that alphabetic letters can be combined to form words (Edelson, 2007).  Lenters (2004) writes that alphabetic understanding is key for both monolingual and bilingual students; the knowledge of print concepts is the cornerstone of developing reading skills. 

Developing phonemic awareness is a vital milestone for the young reader.  “Wagner and Torgesen (1987) defined phonological awareness as a set of linguistic and metalinguistic skills involving sensitivity to the sound structure of spoken words” (Paez & Rinaldi, 2006).  Simply put, phonological awareness entails connecting speech sounds to the graphic alphabetic representation.  Students who are capable of distinguishing minimal pairs and naming words beginning with specified letters are likely to succeed in beginning reading tasks (Hammer & Miccio, 2006).  Phonics, which relates to phonemic awareness, teaches students how to connect alphabetic letters to sounds received auditorily.  The phonics approach is often employed within today’s school systems; children are taught the sounds of each letter and learn to combine the sounds to form words. 

Fluency, as defined by the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), is “the ability to read a text accurately and quickly” (Ambruster, 2001).  Increasing children’s vocabularies aids in the development of reading literacy skills such as fluency.  The more words he or she knows, the easier reading becomes.  Research studies have indicated that 95% word recognition and higher is necessary for children to read independently, hence encouraging the theory that vocabulary building is essential for young readers (2004). 

Comprehension is key for the young reader.  Young readers must learn how to find meaning in the written word.  It is not enough to merely read the words on a page; young readers must learn to extract meaning and form interpretations.  Successful readers who comprehend the written word can use context clues to postulate where the story is likely to go from a given point (Edelson, 2007). 

Learning to read is an arduous task, requiring direct instruction, practice, personal development, and the development of the aforementioned abilities.  This task is duplicated for children trying to develop reading skills in not one, but two different languages.  ELL students who are learning to read in their second language must overcome obstacles specifically related to second language development.  Lenters (2004) compiled information from various sources, summarizing “unique challenges” (2004) faced by this population: sound/symbol dissimilarity or interference, oral vocabulary constraints, limitations due to background knowledge, and difficulties with text structure (Figure 1, 2004).  It has also been postulated that bilingual students’ development of reading skills suffers due to a lack of academic language (Calhoon, Al Otaiba, Cihak, King, & Avalos, 2007).  Researchers are currently studying the connection between the first and second languages; can development within the first language facilitate improvement within the second language?

ELL students who first learn to read in their native language experience sound/symbol dissimilarity when they begin to read in their second language.  Consider phonemic awareness and phonics instruction taking place in the first language.  The Spanish-speaking child associates the letter “a” with the sound /a/.  However, when this same child attempts to learn the English sound for the letter “a,” his or her previous knowledge of this letter interferes.  The English “a” can take on various oral production sounds: /a/, /æ/, or /e/. 

The young ELL student often lacks a substantial oral English vocabulary.  Because they are in the process of developing their second language, they are still learning basic vocabulary words.  Bilingual students’ English vocabulary scores in kindergarten have been shown to directly correlate to their English word reading abilities during first grade (Paez & Rinaldi, 2006).  If the child’s oral proficiency skills are undeveloped, educators cannot expect his or her reading skills to develop beyond their oral capacity. 

This populations also suffers from limitations due to background knowledge.  The speech and language skills they possess are related to their native language, and their background knowledge in the English language is often insufficient to support their developing L2 reading skills. 

Difficulties with text structure is a common issue when bilingual children begin to read in their second language.  Reyes (2006) completed several case studies in which she found text structure differences between the two languages to have a great impact on the child’s reading abilities.  Reyes’ studies determined that “specific orthographic information” (2006) must be a focus of bilingual children.  For instance, these children must understand when and how to interpret different graphical markings within texts.  While English and Spanish use a similar alphabet they are not identical; Spanish words often include accent marks (`) and tildes (~).  While English text reads from left-to-right, some languages such as Chinese and Hebrew read top-to-bottom and right-to-left, respectively.

Due to a lack of academic language, learning to read is a great challenge.  This particular hindrance relates to this populations’ limited English vocabulary.  How can these children be expected to read and understand words that they have never been exposed to?  Even long-time readers need some background knowledge about a topic in order to extract meaning from texts.  Calhoon and colleagues (2007) stated that this population of students often engages in less structured academic conversation and engages in less personal practice.  English Language Learners generally only partake in academic discussions within the classroom and not with peers or family members. 

A correlation has been found between the native language and the second language of young children.  Cummins’ (2003) research in this area has provided useful information for educators.  He found that the more highly developed the native language, the more promising is the development of the second language. Numerous studies have found that cross-language transfer occurs for phonological processes and word identification (Swanson, Saez, & Gerber, 2006).  In the study conducted by Paez and Rinaldi (2006) that highlighted the connection between English vocabulary skills in kindergarten and English reading skills in first grade, a connection was also found between Spanish reading abilities and English reading abilities.  They found that the higher the child’s Spanish reading skills in kindergarten, the higher his or her English reading skills are likely to be in first grade (Paez & Rinaldi, 2006). 

Concluding/Answering 

My research returned much information regarding reading literacy development in the second language of bilingual first grade students.  ELL students face numerous hardships throughout the course of their academic careers.  Learning to read is but one facet of their academic endeavors.  With the ever-growing field of speech-language pathology, literacy skills (particularly reading skills) have become part of the pathologists’ scope of practice.  Speech-language pathologists can help facilitate reading literacy skills in bilingual first graders in numerous ways.   

Speech-language pathologists should play a vital role in early intervention and prevention.  Because this population is at risk for academic difficulties due to their linguistic differences, speech-language pathologists should pay special attention to these children.  Early intervention projects such as Birth to Three Programs can provide assistance to bilingual children.  The sooner fundamental skills for reading have been addressed, the better chance these children have to succeed in reading. 

Basic reading skills should be a central focus when working with this population.  Print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension form the foundation for successful reading abilities.  Phonemic awareness and phonics are essential to the development of print concepts, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  Bilingual children must first distinguish speech sounds from one another before they can begin to manipulate the sounds to form meaning from visual stimuli required for reading.  English language learners must be introduced to the English alphabet during the pre-literacy stage.  Their vocabulary skills should be targeted and worked on diligently.  With the development of these skills, fluency and comprehension tasks can be implemented.  Practice, both personal and guided, is a vital means through which this population can improve their readings skills in their second language.  Speech-language pathologists can provide chances for learning oppotunities.

English Language Learners must overcome certain obstacles that are directly linked to their bilingualism.  Speech-language pathologists should target these areas in order to facilitate development in L2 reading skills.  It would be beneficial to the student if the clinician was also bilingual, or at least had some knowledge of the native language.  Speech-language pathologists can help make a connection between the child’s native language and his or her second language.  Forming connections bridges the gaps between the familiar and the unknown, which can improve abilities in the second language. 

The correlation found between native language development and second language development is too significant to ignore.  When contemplating how to facilitate L2 reading skills in bilingual first graders, speech-language pathologists should encourage L1 development.  Crossover learning has been noted; hence gaining knowledge in the native language will likely cause progression in the second language. 

Nearly every resource that I utilized to complete this project stated the need for more research into young bilingual readers’ abilities and hardships.  Research and studies in this area will likely return information that will aid professionals in all fields; the knowledge gained from such studies will provide insight into the world of the bilingual first grader.  The future is bright for English Language Learners as long as professionals continue to learn about their situations and strive to provide assistance.   

A12.4: Participation Memo

Deidra Darst

11/11/07

Aims and Objectives:

 My personal goals with regard to this course were to help my classmates Megan and Kelli by proofreading and commenting on their I-Search drafts, completing a bit more research on my own topic, and to tweak my I-Search paper.  I needed to spend alot of time on my own paper because my draft was far from where I want my final version to be on the due date!  I went out of town this weekend, and knew that I could not spend any time working on my paper on Friday or Saturday.  I have an Aural Rehabilitation exam this coming Thursday, and I need to devote much of my time in the coming week to studying for it. 

Declarative Knowledge:

I learned about socio-emotional literacy this week.  I found a few articles discussing this type of digital literacy, and considered its implications in today’s educational curricula.  My study into this topic also showed me that sociology and psychology have found their way into literally every facet of my life!  I also learned more about bilingualism and reading skills during the completion of my I-Search Paper.  I found that learning to read is a daunting task for young children, and bilingual children have an even greater challenge ahead of them.  The more research I do on this topic, the more I realize that I don’t know much it!

Procedural Knowledge:

On Monday night we had a class meeting in a computer lab on campus.  We watched two Movie Maker presentations.  Afterwards, we looked at the program and talked about how it works.  I fiddled with the program for a few minutes, and while this did not really teach me how to use it, I did learn the basics of it.  I learned that by clicking and dragging pictures I can add visual components to my presentation.  I also learned how to add transitions from one “slide” to another.  Movie Maker is a fairly straightforward program that our class has affectionately dubbed “a jacked-up PowerPoint.” 

Conditional Knowledge:

The knowledge and skills that I gained this week will undoubtedly be helpful in the coming weeks of this course.  I will be using my knowledge about bilingualism and reading skills will aid me in writing my I-Search paper.  My prodedural knowledge about Movie Maker will come into play when I begin to summarize my I-Search paper in a 150-300 word, 3-5 minute-long presentation as a requirement for this course.  In completing this project, I have gained knowledge that could one day aid me in clinical situations.  I have learned a great deal about the bilingual population and of their particular hardships when it comes to reading.  As I have stated in numerous participation memos this semester, this information has added to my “well-roundedness.”  I am learning about the world around me, issues concerning other populations, and becoming a well-informed citizen. 

 

A12.1: Socio-Emotional Literacy

Deidra Darst

11/7/07

What [do you know/can you find out] about socio-emotional literacy skills?

 Socio-emotional literacy skills are concerned with the sociological and psychological aspects of digital communication (Alkali & Hamburger, 2004).  Individuals who possess socio-emotional literacy skills are able to share information with other users, and obtain information from other users.  Aphek (2007) states that this type of literacy entails users’ abilities to discern “good from bad and right from wrong.”  Digitally literate individuals must understand how to conduct themselves in the public places of the World Wide Web.  While digital interactions may not be face-to-face encounters users still must conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.  The socio-emotional literate individual can also judge others’ conduct and behaviors as right or wrong.   With Internet scams as prevalent as they are today, one must be able to identify them.  Socio-emotional literacy ultimately deals with two issues:  proper (and mature) conduct, and safety.  Users should conduct themselves in a professional manner and be able to protect themselves from the possible dangers of the digital world. 

What are your reactions to the idea that there are such skills?

Of Alkali and Hamburgers five types of digital literacy, I am probably the most familiar with socio-emotional literacy skills.  As with all aspects of life’s interactions, sociology and psychology play a role.  How do people interact with one another?  How does each individual handle the situation at hand?  The digital world is no different – the inner workings of individuals are important, as well as the interactions amongst groups of people.  Socio-emotional literacy skills are often the topic of newspaper articles, the news, and debates.  Children, who are yet to develop high levels of socio-emotional skills, often fall prey to the “bad” and “wrong” aspects of the Internet.  Online predators and scam artists often take advantage of the more immature Internet users; this has even led to shows such as Dateline’s To Catch a Predator. 

How do you think this “new” literacy will change education/schooling?

This “new” type of literacy will likely play a bigger role in today’s education curricula.  Students need to be educated about the good and bad, rights and wrongs, and does and don’ts of the digital world.  The youth of the 21st century seem to ”grow up” much faster than even my generation (and I’m a 90s kid!)  Everything is literally at their fingertips or just a mouse-click away.  They need to be educated about proper online conduct and should be aware of the possible dangers that the Internet holds.  The tools of the Internet can provide great opportunities for education, but students of today must know how to conduct themselves and how to judge the conduct of others. 
  

Aphek, E. (2007). Digital, highly connected children: Implications for education. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://www.creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/aphek/digital-literacy.html

Eshet-Alkai, Y. (2004).  Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era.  Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106. 

Eshet-Alkali, Y., & Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2004, August).  Experiments in digital literacy.  Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 7(4), 421-429.   

Mean Girls

Deidra Darst

11/5/07

 

We watched a video during our class meeting tonight.  It was a woman telling a story about the animal-like behaviors of young girls.  How girls act like beasts, attacking their victims.  Singling out a few chosen “unworthy” individuals, and following the pack whenever deemed necessary.   She told her story about following the crowd, singling out a particular girl to victimize.  At the end of the video she asked for forgiveness from one of her victims.  She stated that she needed forgiveness from her because she could not forgive herself.  Her presentation was effective in conveying her story.   She used slow, meloncholy music as the backdrop to the flowing pictures of pop culture’s representations of the phenomenon known as “the mean girl.”  The music set the tone for the drama that unfolded; the pictures provided visual stimuli that provokedmental images of the “mean girl” image in today’s society. 

 I started watching the video and thought, “Um…what?  How does this relate to literacy?!”  I soon realized that the creator had used this medium to tell a digital story.  My second thought was, “I bet the images used are copyrighted.  Peanuts characters, Mean Girls – did the creator seek permission?”  Now I am wondering what my classmates are still writing about…I hear the keyboards clicking all around me, but I’m finished!! 

Draft 1: I-Search Paper

Deidra Darst

11/4/07

Introducing/Questioning

Prior to researching this topic for my CD315 project I knew a little about bilingualism in United States educational curricula.  I knew about the various methods of instruction, how each is employed, and the postive and negative effects of each method.  While I had previously researched the effectiveness and importance of bilingual education and educators, I did not know much about bilingual students.  Furthermore, I knew very little about the development of reading literacy skills.  In regard to my specific research question, “how can speech-language pathologists help facilitate reading skills in the bilingual first grade children,” I knew very little.  I did not know much about the development of second languages in children, and did not understand the components of reading literacy. 

The genesis of my research question was a trial-and-error process as well as a process of refining several different versions of my initial essential question.  I began with a broader group of interest, culturally and linguistically different children.  I wanted to learn how techonology could aid speech-language pathologists in improving this population’s literacy skills.  I soon found that my focus was too broad and too narrow, all at the same time.  I needed to focus on a more specific group of persons (bilingual children), expand upon the means through which aid could be provided to these students (and include all possible strategies), and choose a particular aspect of literacy (reading literacy) in order to have a more researchable topic.  My final essential question proved to be researchable, interesting, and relevant.  My searching endeavors have returned a substantial amount of information regarding this population and their reading literacy skills.  I find this topic interesting because I could possibly work with this population at some point in my future career.  It is relevant to the practicing speech-language pathologists of today.  With over five million non-native English speakers enrolled in our schools today, professionals need to be aware of this population’s academic needs.   

 My essential question is the basis of my research.  I set out to find an answer to the following question:  How can speech-language pathologists help facilitate the development of literacy skills necessary for reading in the second language of bilingual first grade children?  The essential question can be broken down into three specific foundation questions.  These three questions have guided the research process:  What is bilingualism?  What literacy skills are necessary for reading?  How can speech-language pathologists help facilitate the development of such literacy skills?

 Searching  

 The United States is a country comprised of individuals from a multitude of backgrounds.  It has been estimated that 5.5 million students attending public schools in the United States are not native English speakers (Garcia, McCardle, & Nixon, 2007).  Because the changing demographics of this country are expanding to include more and more linguistically different peoples, research must be conducted in order to understand how to best educate this population. 

According to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, bilingualism is the ability to use two languages with equal proficiency.  The first language is labeled Language 1, or L1.  L1 is the first and dominate language of the individual.  The second language is labeled Language 2, or L2.  School systems in the United States are concerened about those students whose second language is English; these students have been defined as English Language Learners (ELLs).  ELL students have mastered their first language and are in the process of developing English.  The literature about this population circulates around a predominate question:  when should instruction in the second language begin?  Should second language instruction take precedence in order to facilitate L2 development?  Should academic instruction be equally shared between the two languages?  Specifically, when should reading skills in the second language be comparable to first language reading skills?   

Learning to read is a process that requires time and practice.  The website Time 4 Learning states that six component parts make up reading literacy: print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (Edelson, 2007).  These component parts must be developed sequentially and completely in order for young readers to be successful readers (2007).  I will discuss each component as it relates to the development of reading literacy skills. 

Learning to read is a journey that begins with the knowledge of print concepts.  Students must understand that graphic representations of letter exist, and that alphabetic letter can be combined to form words (2007).  Lenters (2004) writes that young readers need to understand that alphabetic understanding is key for both monolingual and bilingual students.  Phonemic awareness is a vital milestone for the young reader.  “Wagner and Torgesen (1987) defined phonological awareness as a set of linguistic and metalinguistic skills involving sensitivity to the sound structure of spoken words” (Paez & Rinaldi, 2006).  Phonics, which relates to phonemic awareness, teaches students how to connect alphabetic letters to sounds received auditorily.  Fluency, as defined by the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), is “the ability to read a text accurately and quickly” (2007).  Increasing children’s vocabularies aids in the development of reading literacy skills.  The more words he or she knows, the easier reading becomes.  Comprehension is key for the young reader.  Young readers must learn how to find meaning in the written word. 

Learning to read is an arduous task, requiring direct instruction, practice, personal development, and requires the development of several components relating to reading.  This task is duplicated for children trying to develop reading skills in not one, but two different languages.  ELL students who are learning to read in their second language must overcome obstacles specifically related to second language development.  Lenters (2004) combiled information from various sources, summarizing “unique challenges” (2004) face by this population: sound/symbol dissimilarity or interference, oral vocabulary constraints, limitations due to background knowledge, and difficulties with text structure (Figure 1, 2004).  It has also been postulated that bilingual students reading development suffers due to a lack in academic language (Calhoon, Al Otaiba, Cihak, King, & Avalos, 2007). 

 Concluding/Answering 

My research returned much information regarding reading literacy development in the second language of bilingual first grade students.  ELL students face numerous hardships throughout the course of their academic careers.  Learning to read is but one facet of their academic endeavors.  Speech-language pathologists can help facilitate reading literacy skills in bilingual first graders.  Vocabulary building procedures can be implemented in order to enhance the students’ overall second language abilities, which in turn facilitates reading skills.  Speech-language pathologists should also encourage development of the first language.  Because of known crossover between the first and second languages, learning in the first language often aids in the development of the second language.  The SLP can focus on phonological awareness tasks with bilingual children.  As a foundational necessity of reading literacy, this would help facilitate reading skills.   

 References

Armbruster, B.B., & Osborn, F.L.J. (2001).  Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read: Kindergarten through grade 3.  Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read.  Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first1.html. 

Calhoon, M.B., Al Otaiba, S., Cihak, D., King, A., & Avalos, A. (2007, Summer).  Effects of a peer-mediated program on reading skill acquisition for two-way bilingual first-grade classrooms.  Learning Disability Quaterly, 30, 169-184).   

Edelson, J. (n.d.).  Time 4 learning.  Retrieved November 3, 2007, from http://www.time4learning.com/learning-to-read.shtml.   

Garcia, G.N., McCardle, P., & Nixon, S.M. (2007, July).  Development of English Literacy in Spanish-speaking children:  Transforming research into practice.  Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38, 213-215. 

Hammer, C.S., & Miccio, A.W. (2006)  Early language and reading development of bilingual preschoolers from low-income families.  Topics in Language Disorders, 26, 322-337.  

Lenters, K. (2004, December).  No half measures:  Reading instruction for young second-language learners.  The Reading Teacher, 54, 328-336.  

Paez, M., & Rinaldi, C. (2006).  Predicting English word readhing skills for Spanish-speaking students in first grade.  Topics in Language Disorders, 26, 338-350. 

Reyes, I. (2006).  Exploring connections between emergent biliteracy and bilingualism.  Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6, 267-292.  

Swanson, H.L., Saez, L., & Gerber, M. (2006).  Growth in literacy and cognition in bilingual children at risk or not at risk fore reading disabilities.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 247-264.