Dual Language Learning in the Early Years: Theory and Practice Diane August Center for Applied Linguistics

Overview of Presentation  Preschool dual language programs −Three studies that shed light on the effect of school and home language use on children’s first and second language development −Research base that supports dual language programs  Future directions −Research and development

2 Preschool Programs: Dual Language Approach  Experimental study comparing the effect of monolingual immersion compared with dual language preschool programs (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas, Jung & Blanco, 2007) −Three- and four year old children from homes where Spanish and English were spoken were randomly assigned to program type −Dual language program alternated between English and Spanish on a weekly basis by rotating children between classrooms and teachers −Classrooms in both conditions used the High/Scope curriculum, met high standards for teacher qualifications, ratio, and class size

3 Preschool Programs: Dual Language Approach  Findings −Children in both types of programs experienced substantial gains in English language, literacy and math, with no significant differences between groups −Among the Spanish-speakers, the dual language program produced large gains in Spanish vocabulary compared with the English program

4 Preschool Programs: Dual Language Approach  Experimental study comparing the effects English High Scope Curriculum, English Literacy Express Curriculum and Bilingual Literacy Express Curriculum (Farver, Lonigan, & Eppe, 2009) −Sample was 94 Spanish-dominant ELL pre-school children enrolled in a Head Start program in an inner-city school −Children were randomly assigned to three program types-High Scope (control), High Scope plus Literacy Express in English, High Scope plus Literacy Express with students beginning in Spanish and transitioning into English −Literacy Express curriculum − focuses on oral language, emergent literacy, basic math and science, and socio-cultural development −groups of 4-5 −three types of teacher-directed activities—shared reading, phonological awareness training, print knowledge activities −Children in the bilingual program transitioned into English after 9 weeks.

5 Preschool Programs: Dual Language Approach  Findings −Literacy Express children made significant gains compared to High Scope only children −English-only and transitional bilingual programs were equally effective for English language outcomes −Only the transitional model was effective for Spanish outcomes

6 Preschool Programs: Dual Language Approach  Experimental study comparing the effect of home story book reading in children’s L1 and English (Roberts, 2008) −Participants were 33 preschool children from low SES families −Home language was Hmong or Spanish −Two 6-week sessions of home combined with story book reading −12 classic children’s storybooks with translations; no other modifications noted −Children assigned to one of two groups: − Primary language home reading/English school reading first six weeks; English home reading/English school reading second six weeks −English home reading/English school reading first six weeks followed by primary language chool reading/English school reading second six weeks

7 Preschool Programs: Dual Language Approach  Findings −Children learned a substantial number of words from the combined home and classroom reading experiences −Primary language home reading/English school reading as effective as English home reading/English school reading condition. −Family caregiver participation in the parent-support part of the program rose from 50% to 80% in the second session −Family caregiver English oral language skills and the number of English books in the home related to English vocabulary learning.

8 Dual Language Approach: Research Base −Transfer of skills from L1 to L2: if you know something in one language you either already know it in another language or can more easily learn it in another language (Cummins, 1979; Dressler, 2006) −Bilingualism itself does not interfere with academic achievement in either language (Yeung, Marsh, & Suliman, 2000) −Bilingualism has other probable benefits including cognitive flexibility (Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006; Galambos & Hakuta, 1988; Bialysotck, 2001) and improved family cohesion and self-esteem (Portes and Hao, 2002; Von Dorp, 2001). −, 2006).

9 Dual Language Approach: Future Directions −Important to buildi on effective L1 research −All programs did this −Major modification was L1 home and school use −Regardless of program type it is helpful to: −Provide first language support to very limited English proficient students −Additionally it is important to: −Scaffold instruction for ELLs (August & Shanahan, 2010) −Attend to teacher-student interactions (Dickinson, Darrow & Tinubu, 2008)

10 Dual Language Approaches: Future Directions −VIOLETS: a pre-school English language development program implemented in several counties in Maryland −Uses three-pronged approach to vocabulary development −Teach individual words −Immerse children in rich oral language environments −Develop word consciousness −Provides scaffolded instruction for ELLs −Findings indicate substantial gains in vocabulary for both ELLs and English proficient students in high poverty schools

VIOLETS

VIOLETS: Teaches Individual Words

VIOLETS: Rich Language Immersion

Thanks So Much