Standard English Learners Dr. Sylvia G. Rousseau

April 21, 2014

Presentation to Committee of the Whole

Speech (Language) and Cognitive Development

�  Speech or language: Speech is one of the most powerful psychological tools a person possesses, Vygotsky (1979).

�  It enables the mind to mediate situations and make

meaning of life’s experiences

Speech (Language) and Cognitive Development

“People evolve a language in order to describe

and thus control their circumstances or in order not be submerged by a reality that they

cannot articulate” (James Baldwin)

Speech (Language) and Cognitive Development

� The language developed in the context of home and family and community gives actions meaning, but schooling holds the home language for some children as inadmissible in the classroom.

Speech and Cognitive Development

� In the early stages, children use speech to label objects.

� In later stages, speech acquires a synthesizing function, achieving more complex forms of cognitive perception.

Speech and Cognitive Development �  Experiments have shown that children not only act in

attempting to achieve goals, but they also speak. The speech arises spontaneously and continues throughout the activity. It increases and is more persistent every time the situation becomes more complicated and the goal more difficulty to attain.

�  Speech not only accompanies practical activity, but also plays a specific role in carrying it out. (Example: father fixing bicycle with son.)

Speech (Language) and Cognitive Development

�  Written language consists of a system of signs that designate the sounds and words of spoken language, which, in turn, are signs for real entities and relations.

�  Gradually the intermediate link, spoken language, disappears and written language is converted into a system of signs that directly symbolize the entities and relationships between them.

�  Lesson: importance of oral language to develop written language

Speech (Language) and the Classroom �  Every teacher needs an awareness that the speech

children bring to the classroom has been the means of giving birth to human forms of practical and abstract intelligence.

�  Even before a child masters his own behavior, the child begins to master his surroundings with the help of speech or language.

�  In the process, speech produces new relationships with the environment and intellect grows.

Speech (Language) and the Classroom �  Initially, in the early stages of a child’s development, speech

follows actions. It is provoked and dominated by an activity.

�  In later stages of development, a new relationship between word and action emerges. At this point, speech guides, determines and dominates the course of action.

�  Words can shape an activity into a structure.

Speech (Language) and the Classroom �  The greatest change in children’s capacity to use language as a

problem-solving tool takes place somewhat later in their development when socialized speech is turned inward.

�  Instead of appealing to the adult, children appeal to themselves; language thus takes on an intrapersonal function in addition to its interpersonal use.

Speech (Language) and the Classroom �  Those students whose first language is Standardized English,

learned in the daily activity of their home and in their communities, have built their cognitive structures around Standardized English.

�  They have immediate and seamless access to the curriculum which is encoded in the language they speak.

�  On the other hand, those students whose first language is not Standard English are left to struggle if they do not receive appropriate support.

The African American Student and Language �  Recent data show African American youth represent 16% of

the society’s youth, but 45% of juvenile arrests (Wald & Losen, 2003; Tulozzo and Hewitt, 2006).

�  Students with special needs are represented in the prison pipeline at four times the rate of other youth. It is unconscionable for us to subject categorically any group of students to such a future. We are better than that as a people than to let this persist.

Language and the African American Child �  Although, the Linguistic Society of America classifies Ebonics

as a full language, a child who enters a classroom with that language is a child who is disadvantaged in the context of schooling.

�  The cognitive structures expressed in the language of home are no longer acceptable and the support to acquire a Standardized language is absent.

�  Instead, the child is assigned to a series of remediation and intervention experiences without regard for the dynamic role of language.

Language and the African American Child �  The distinction in academic performance between African

American students, who are categorically classified as English Only without any assessment, and their White counterparts is as wide as that between Spanish speaking English language learners and their White counterparts as well as RFEPs.

�  With structured support many English learners become RFEPs and significantly close the gap between themselves and White middle class English Only students.

�  Meanwhile African American students do not receive comparable support.

�  Some Latino students whose home language is Spanish are classified as English Only and miss the support they need.

Language and the African American Child �  Phonological differences that cause African American

students to pronounce English words differently can interfere with students’ reading comprehension, writing, and speaking.

Language and the African American Child �  They may erroneously be diagnosed as having a speech

impairment. �  The same is true for speakers of other first languages, i.e.,

Spanish speaking students.

Language and the African American Child �  Classifying African American children as “English Only”

ignores major differences in the structure of Ebonics and Standard English.

�  It denies them access to structured support. �  African American speech is described as having retained the

canonical form, or shape, of the syllable structure of the Niger-Congo African languages:

Language and the African American Child �  Smith (1997) makes a direct link between the large numbers

of African Americans who are underachieving and their limited or non-Standard English facility with language.

�  Recognition of the importance of language differences has led Delpit (1997), to conclude that the teacher's job is two-fold.

�  It is to ensure students’ access to Standard English and to understand the language the children speak sufficiently to build on it as students learn a second language. She advocates for teachers to draw upon students’ first language to facilitate school learning.

3rd Grade African American and Latino Drop-out �  Third grade is a predictor of their futures. By third grade,

schooling has contributed to their loss of identity as learners, who bring assets to the teaching and learning experience expecting that it will be received favorably by school. Over the first four years of school, however, Blacks lose substantial ground relative to other races: 0.10 standard deviations per school year.

�  By the end of third grade, there is a large Black-White test score gap that cannot be explained by observable characteristics (Fryer and Levitt, 2004).

Faulty Identification of English Only Students �  Without any screening process at all, African American

students are classified as English Only without acknowledgement or respect for the language differences that can limit their access to learning and the curriculum.

�  Instead they receive remediation demonstrating a deficit view about their ability to learn.

Shifting Definitions to Be Inclusive �  Since the language of classroom discourse and the language of

content texts is Standardized (Academic) English, students who are not fluent in Standardized English have limited access to the core curriculum and thus limited opportunities to learn and achieve academically.

Shifting Definitions �  Insertion of the word standardized in existing criteria for

students’ language classification creates a more accurate and inclusive view of the students who need support in acquiring the academic language of schooling. Note the implications for changing definitions from English to Standardized English.

�  a) English only (EO): Students who speak English as a native language and do not speak any other language.

�  b) Standardized English only (EO): Students who speak Standard English as a native language and do not speak any other language.

�   

Shifting Definitions �  a) Language-minority (LM): Students from homes where the

primary language spoken is not English. LM students may be limited or fluent English proficient (see below).

�  b) Language-minority (LM): Students from homes where the primary language spoken is not Standardized English. (see below).

�  a) Limited English proficient (LEP) or English language learner (ELL): Language minority students whose difficulty comprehending, speaking, reading or writing English affects their school performance in English.

�  b) Limited Standardized English proficient (LEP), or Standardized English language learner (SELL): Language minority students whose difficulty comprehending, speaking, reading or writing (Standardized) English affects their school performance in (Standardized) English.1

Shifting Definitions �  The Linguistic Society of America makes important

commentary on the kinds of support needed by students whose languages are variations on Standard English.

�  “There is evidence from Sweden, the US, and other countries that speakers of other varieties can be aided in their learning of the standard variety by pedagogical approaches which recognize the legitimacy of the other varieties of a language” (LSA, 1997) The board of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL, 1997) affirmed the position of LSA by saying:

Shifting Definitions �  “Definitions of Standard English, versus the more general

definition of English, are informative for shaping equitable learning experiences for all students in the diverse context of American schools.

�  Note these definitions of Standard English in consideration of the essential role language plays as an instructional and learning tool.”

Attributes of Ebonics �  No homogeneous consonant clusters �  Words like west, best, test, etc. become wes, bes, tes �  Words like left, drift, swift become lef, lif, drif, swif �  Sentences like , You the teacher and That teacher she mean (a

copula verbal or the verb to be did not exist in the African languages

Attributes of Ebonics �  Habitual aspect: Every Sunday morning, Clarence Johnson

always be sitting here.” (habitual use of “be.”) �  The Stress been refers to a state or action that has been in

place a long time ago. “Did you pay off that bill for that stereo?” Response: “Oh, I been paid for that.

�  These are rule based ways of making meaning of life and ordering it and surviving in it, but it is not the way discourses go forth in classrooms and the way instructional materials are written.

Consequences of Language Neglect for African American and Unidentified English Learners Students

�  Schools have instituted practices of neglecting African

American students’ language as the norm of schooling. �  African American students whose first language is Ebonics

are often identified as communicatively impaired, as are many Spanish speaking students.

�  Their language is seen as a pathology.

Consequences of Language Neglect for African American and Unidentified English Learners Students �  A study conducted by the Center for Research in Education,

Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California found that students whose parents refused bilingual/ESL services experienced large decreases in reading and mathematics achievement by Grade 3. These students also constituted the largest number of school dropouts in contrast to students who received 2 -3 years of ESL instruction followed by immersion in mainstream language classes. Even more impressive are former ELL students who received 50 % English and 50 % first language instruction in bilingual programs. After 4 years they were scoring at the 72 percentile in English proficiency, outscoring their comparison group schooled in all English by 15 Normal Curve Equivalents (NCEs).

Consequences of Language Neglect of Students without Language Support �  A study conducted by the Center for Research in Education,

Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) at the University of California found that students whose parents refused bilingual/ESL services experienced large decreases in reading and mathematics achievement by Grade 3.

�  These students also constituted the largest number of school dropouts in contrast to students who received 2 -3 years of ESL instruction followed by immersion in mainstream language classes.

ELD Standards and the New Common Core Standards �  In response to Assembly Bill 124, the California Department

of Education (CDE), with the assistance of the California Comprehensive Assistance Center at WestEd in partnership with WestEd’s Assessment and Standards Development Services Program, conducted an extensive and robust process to develop and validate new CA ELD Standards that align to California’s Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and address English language and literacy skills ELs need in key content areas. This process was grounded in two core principles: 1) transparency toward and input from the field, and 2) development based on sound theory and empirical research.

Department of Education – New ELD Standards and Assessment �  ELs entering California schools in kindergarten, for example,

will benefit from participating in the same instructional activities in literacy as their non-EL peers, along with additional differentiated support based on student need. EL student who enter in secondary grades, depending upon the level and extent of previous schooling they have received, may need additional support mastering certain linguistic and cognitive skills in order to fully engage in intellectually challenging academic tasks.

ELD Standards Proficiency Level Descriptors �  The Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) also emphasize

that ELs at all proficiency levels are capable of high-level thinking and can engage in complex, cognitively demanding social and academic activities requiring language as long as they are provided appropriate linguistic support. The extent of support needed varies depending on the familiarity and complexity of the task and topic, as well as on the student’s English language proficiency.

ELD Standards Proficiency Level Descriptors �  The Proficiency Level Descriptors (PLDs) provide an

overview of stages of English language development that English learners are expected to progress through as they gain increasing proficiency in English as a new language. The PLDs describe student knowledge, skill, and abilities across as a continuum, identifying what ELs know and can do at early stages and at exit from each of three proficiency levels: Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging. These descriptors are intended to be used as a guide for teacher and curriculum developers to provide ELs with targeted instruction in English language development as well as differentiated instruction in academic content areas.