As more states and districts are embracing the 鈥渟cience of reading,鈥� some educators and advocates have raised the question: Will these methods work for English-language learners?
The 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� has become shorthand in some literacy circles for approaches to early reading instruction that emphasize explicit, systematic teaching.
Its proponents favor structured, sequential instruction in foundational reading skills for beginning readers, such as learning letter sounds and sounding out words. Most also oppose the use of leveled reading systems, which aim to match students with a 鈥渏ust-right鈥� text鈥攁n approach that many researchers say can trap struggling readers in simplistic books, preventing them from developing the vocabulary and content knowledge that would support them in tackling grade-level work.
Over the past five years, at least 17 states have passed legislation enshrining the 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� into law, in hopes that policy changes will move instructional practice in the classroom. These laws have and will continue to shape instruction for millions of students鈥攊ncluding English-language learners, who represent one in 10 students in the United States.
Some researchers and ELL experts say that鈥檚 a problem. The National Committee for Effective Literacy, a new advocacy organization formed this year, has argued that states that have taken up these initiatives have narrowed literacy instruction to 鈥渁 few foundational reading skills鈥� that fail to meet the needs of English learners.
The group鈥檚 aim, said Martha Hernandez, an NCEL member and the executive director of Californians Together, is to 鈥渆nsure that the research and policies and practices that address English learner and emergent bilinguals were spotlighted, and are part of the national literacy conversation.鈥�
Other early literacy researchers, though, have said that NCEL is misrepresenting some of the changes that states and districts are making to their reading teaching methods鈥攁nd that a lot of the strategies that work for native English speakers can be effective for English learners, too.
So what are these areas of overlap, and where do English learners need something different?
Education Week spoke with researchers who study early literacy development in ELLs to compile this short overview of the research. For more on this issue, and how it鈥檚 shaping reading teaching for English learners, see this story.
What do school systems mean when they say the 鈥渟cience of reading鈥�?
Written English is a code. For students to be able to understand words on the page, they need to crack that code: They need to know which letters make which sounds. Decades of research has shown that explicitly teaching students to recognize the sounds in words and to match those sounds to letters鈥攖eaching phonemic awareness and phonics鈥攊s the most effective way to ensure that kids are able to read words.
But as Education Week and other outlets have reported, many schools underemphasize these skills in reading lessons, and some teach other, disproven methods for identifying words.
States that have recently passed laws aiming to improve reading instruction have mandated that teachers be trained in delivering this kind of foundational skills instruction, or that schools use materials and assessments that support it.
Some ban other methods for word identification, like cueing, an approach that encourages students to rely on multiple sources of information, like pictures and sentence structure, to predict what words say, rather than just relying on the letters. Some research has shown that this strategy can take students鈥� focus away from the letters on the page, lowering the chances that they apply their phonics knowledge.
Systematic, explicit instruction in letters and sounds is crucial for beginning readers, especially those with dyslexia or phonological processing problems, said Elsa C谩rdenas-Hagan, a bilingual speech-language pathologist and an associate research professor at the University of Houston.
Still, she said, 鈥減honology and phonics are one piece of the puzzle. It鈥檚 not everything that literacy is about.鈥�
Teachers need to help students develop a host of early literacy skills, like their ability to express themselves through spoken language, their ability to understand what others are saying to them, and their vocabulary, C谩rdenas-Hagan said. 69传媒 should have opportunities for practice that integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing, she added.
While these new state laws mandate certain approaches to foundational skills instruction, they direct schools to prioritize other reading skills, too. Many cite the five components of reading studied in the National 69传媒 Panel in 2000鈥攊nstruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension.
Even so, critics of these laws worry that a more comprehensive focus will be lost in their implementation, and that school systems will be incentivized to double down on foundational skills instruction at the expense of all else.
鈥淲hen it hits the classroom, when it hits district administration, that鈥檚 what they look for, that鈥檚 what they assess,鈥� said Laurie Olsen, an NCEL member and the board president of Californians Together.
This is a reasonable concern, said Claude Goldenberg, a professor emeritus at Stanford University who studies early literacy development in English-language learners. Goldenberg and several co-contributors, including C谩rdenas-Hagan, wrote a response to a recent and webinar from NCEL, refuting their claim that 鈥渟cience of reading鈥� advocates are pushing a phonics-only approach to reading instruction.
Still, he said, new state laws often don鈥檛 specify how much time to spend on different reading skills or how to teach them鈥攏or should they, Goldenberg said: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 expect legislation to be curriculum guides.鈥� That means, though, that these laws鈥� success or failure lies in implementation, he said.
Does this research apply to English-language learners, too?
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education convened the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth, tasking it with reviewing the research on best practices for literacy development among ELLs.
The panel鈥檚 report, published in 2006, found that a lot of what works for kids whose first language is English is also effective for kids who speak a different language at home. Instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension鈥攖he five components of reading studied in the National 69传媒 Panel a few years earlier鈥攁ll had 鈥渃lear benefits鈥� for ELLs.
But the literature also showed that instruction was most effective when it was tailored to ELLs鈥� specific needs and unique founts of knowledge. And crucially, kids learning English needed more instruction in oral English proficiency than their peers: things like vocabulary knowledge, listening comprehension, and syntax.
The panel found that schools weren鈥檛 supporting students enough in these areas, and more recent research finds that schools still aren鈥檛 doing enough to help ELLs develop academic language in English.
With these students, teachers need to discuss the meaning of words constantly鈥攅ven shorter, simpler words that teachers might not treat as vocabulary words with native English speakers, said C谩rdenas-Hagan. In working with students who are learning how to speak a new language, teachers need to be purposeful about developing vocabulary and oral language skills in every lesson.
In part, this is so that students can understand that the words they鈥檙e sounding out have meaning, said Kathy Escamilla, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and an NCEL member. She gave the example of a 1st grade class, where a teacher might ask students to clap out how many sounds are in the word 鈥渟ofa.鈥�
Native English speakers would know that word, but other students might not. If the teacher doesn鈥檛 help English learners understand the meaning, then it鈥檚 harder for students to make the connection that these sounds represent word parts, Escamilla said.
And there are other reasons why English learners might need teachers to pay more attention to vocabulary instruction. A word like 鈥渞un,鈥� for example, has multiple meanings in English: You can run a race, but you can also run your finger down a list, or run a computer program. Discussing those multiple meanings as students encounter these words in phonics lessons is a key part of vocabulary instruction for English learners, C谩rdenas-Hagan said.
Teachers need to build students鈥� oral vocabulary beyond these words, too, so that they鈥檙e prepared for the more challenging texts they鈥檒l encounter after the earliest grades, said Goldenberg. This is important for all students, but especially so for English learners.
鈥淚f the only English-language development that kids are getting in K, 1, 2 are the words they鈥檙e learning to read, that is an impoverished ELD curriculum,鈥� he said.
Research on interventions for Spanish-speaking students who are at risk of reading difficulties has found that combine both instruction in the five components of reading identified in the National 69传媒 Panel report, and additional support in developing spoken language skills in English from trained bilingual intervention teachers.
What if students are in bilingual programs and learning to read in two languages?
English learners aren鈥檛 blank slates. They come into schools with language鈥攁nd often literacy鈥攕kills from the language they speak at home. These skills can support them in developing proficiency in English.
Many research reviews have found that teaching students to read in their first language helped kids become better readers in English, too. It can also be beneficial for students鈥� social and cultural development.
Bilingual education is evidence-based. But it鈥檚 also politically controversial in many places. Until recently, 40 percent of the nation鈥檚 ELLs lived in states under English-only laws, which prohibited English learners from being taught in their home language as well as English; only one state, Arizona, still has this type of law on the books.
The number of dual-language programs in the United States , but there鈥檚 still a shortage of certified bilingual teachers鈥攁nd, as Education Week has reported, English learners often face competition for spots in these programs from affluent, native English-speaking parents who are increasingly seeking out bilingual education for their children.
In its position paper, NCEL outlined best practices for English learners in dual-language programs. Good teaching in a bilingual setting isn鈥檛 just 鈥渞epeating the same thing in two languages,鈥� they write.
It requires 鈥渃oordinated and aligned鈥� literacy teaching, with a scope and sequence that makes sense in each language. 69传媒 should have access to high-quality materials and assessments in both languages, as well as opportunities to write, have conversations, and deliver presentations in both.
And importantly, they write, dual language programs should celebrate diversity, 鈥渋ncluding learning about the benefits of bilingualism and explicit efforts to equalize the status of 鈥榤inoritized鈥� languages.鈥�
Despite this evidence base, the majority of English learners are not served in bilingual settings, said C谩rdenas-Hagan. She said it鈥檚 important for educators to get training in instructional strategies that can support ELLs in English as a second language programs. (For more on this subject, see this story).
But Escamilla says the two goals aren鈥檛 mutually exclusive. 鈥淲hile it is true that most of the kids who are labeled as English learners are in English programs, that does not mean that we shouldn鈥檛 advocate or push for the development of bilingual programs.鈥�
