literacy & dyslexia

Bilingualism/Multilingualism and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

English Learners (ELs)

Roughly 20% of American students enter schools speaking a language other than English (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018).

While some children from these households are fluent bilingual learners, other students, not already proficient in English at school entry, are often designated as English Learners (ELs) following language assessment.

Nationally, approximately 10% of American public school students are identified ELs. However, in California, the percentage of students who are ELs is around 18%, or more than 1 million students (California Department of Education, 2021)

Identification and Intervention

There are some concerns that students who are ELs are not appropriately identified for early interventions or special education services. There are multiple concerns about early identification of EL students that include issues of both under- and over-identification.

For example, there are concerns that students who are ELs may be incorrectly identified with a learning disability or reading problem, simply because they are still learning English.

Other concerns involve how teachers might fail to intervene when there are no clear policies in their schools for identifying ELs with reading challenges in English. In this case, students who are ELs may miss out on the most effective reading interventions.

An approach to assessment and instruction that honors students’ home cultures and languages, funds of knowledge, and experience can help address possible biases in identification and remediation of reading challenges.

Our Research

Our research seeks to understand:

• What assessment tools are appropriate for screening students who are ELs?
• What kind of reading interventions are most helpful for ELs by capitalizing on the assets of their home culture?
• How can we promote students’ bilingual and multilingual skills so that students who enter schools as ELs, as well as their fellow students, may reap the cognitive and social benefits associated with bilingualism?
• How can we ensure that interventions based on the Science of Reading and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy are synergistic with one another for ELs’ instruction?

Research and Resources

California Department of Education. (2021). English Learner Population in California. Retrieved from https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sg/englishlearner.asp

Durán, L. K., Hartzheim, D., Lund, E. M., Simonsmeier, V., & Kohlmeier, T. L. (2016). Bilingual and home language interventions with young dual-language learners: A research synthesis. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 47(4), 347-371.

Goldenberg, C. (2020). Reading wars, reading science, and English learners. Reading Research Quarterly, 55, S131-S144.

Rhinehart, L.V., Bailey, A.L., & Haager, D. (2022). Long-term English learners: Untangling language acquisition and learning disabilities. Contemporary School Psychologist, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-022-00420-w

Snow, C. E., & Kim, Y.S. (2007). Large problem spaces: The challenge of vocabulary for English language learners. In R. K. Wagner, A. E. Muse, & K. R. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Vocabulary Acquisition: Implications for Reading Comprehension (pp. 123–139). The Guilford Press.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). Quick facts: Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2013–2017. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US#