Bilingualism and Developmental Delay in Preschool

Literature Review and Analysis

Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Literature regarding:

• Preschool students • Developmental Delay • Bilingualism • Teacher perspectives

Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #1

• Barone, D., and Morrell, E. (2007). Multiple perspectives on preparing teachers to teach reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 42, 167-180.

• This article reviews the book

Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading

by Snow, Burns et. al. After an outline of the book is presented and a review of literature relating to the literacy of young children is reviewed, two critical areas are considered as needing more information and substance by the authors. The first is the critical need for the professional development of teachers targeting English language learners. Many teachers in a study by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, 2005, reported that they had had only one training session in the last five years that targeted the teaching of English language learners. The second area of need postulated by this review is that new technologies are not completely addressed as avenues of multiple development of literacy. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

• •

Research #2

Carlo, M., August, D., McLauglin, B., Snow, C., Dressler, C., Lippman, D., Lively, T., White, C. (2004). Closing the gap: addressing the vocabulary needs of English-language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms, Reading Research Quarterly, 39, pp. 188-215.

The large and persistent gap in the performance of Anglo and Latino children in the United States, on national assessments propelled this study on an instructional intervention of explicit vocabulary instruction, with an experimental group, and control group, including English Language Learners and English Only students as participants. N=254, for this quasi-experimental design with three sites at which two classrooms (treatment and comparison) operated either with or without a vocabulary teaching intervention which included very structured and explicit language learning lessons to reinforce reading comprehension, word mastery, word associations, and explicit instruction in morphology of target words. It was found that a challenging curriculum that “focused on teaching academic words, awareness of plysemy, strategies for interring word meaning from context, and tools for analyzing morphological and cross-linguistic aspects of word meaning did improve the performance of both ELL and EO fifth graders, to equal degrees.” (Snow et. al., p. 203). Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #3

• Harry, B., and Klingner, J. (2007). Discarding the Deficit Model. Educational Leadership, 64, pp. 16-21.

• The disproportionate placement of African American, Native American and Hispanic students in the disability categories of Educable Mentally Retarded, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and Learning Disability categories is an issue with roots deep in the U.S. history, and which is exacerbated by current subjective practices which are intertwined with the historical devaluing of minorities in the United States, combining to form twin deficit lenses that “deeply influence the special education placement process.” The three-tiered Response to Intervention model is currently receiving great attention in the field as holding promise for preventing academic failure. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #4

• Minami, M., & Ovando, C. J. (2004). Language issues in multicultural contexts. In J. A. Banks & C. A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed.) (pp. 699-715). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • The major shift in theory from the generative to the socioculturally mediated processes among individuals and groups in school and community settings profoundly influence the actions in the arena of language, literacy and multicultural/bilingual education. Influential studies in language studies are grouped by the classical theoretical approaches to language, the shift in focus to language as a socioculturally mediated product, toward multicultural and bilingual issues in relation to language. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #5

• Moll, L. C., & Gonzalez, N. (2004). Engaging life: A funds-of-knowledge approach to multicultural education. In J. A. Banks & C. A. McGee Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (2nd ed.) (pp. 699-715). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Professional development to address equity issues is a major topic of the funds of knowledge approach to education. Transforming diversity into pedagogical advantage is the job of the teacher who searches for multiculturalism, pluralism, in her journeys to the homes of the students, where evidence of multiple skills and knowledge bases are found and brought back into the classroom as part of the ongoing, living curriculum exchange between teacher and student. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #6

• Obeng, C. (2007) Immigrants Families and Childcare Preferences: Do Immigrants’ Cultures Influence Their Childcare Decisions? Early Childhood Education Journal, 34, pp. 259-264.

• This study examines 18 African immigrant families’ preferences for childcare and what motivates those preferences. Using a narrative inquiry format, the author determines that the families would prefer family members to care for their young children in order to transmit cultural values, but many of the children were placed in childcare situations such as preschools and were somewhat comfortable doing so because of the collective nature of child upbringing. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #7

• Roper, N., & Dunst, C. J. (2003). Communication intervention in natural learning environments: Guidelines to practice. Infants and Young Children, 16, 215-226. • This general article does not give too much new information. It may be useful as an overall framework for considering how to implement communication interventions in the natural environments.

Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #8

• Rogers, T., Marshall, E., Tyson, C. A. (2006). Dialogic narratives of literacy, teaching, and schooling: Preparing literacy teachers for diverse settings. Reading Research Quarterly, 41, 202-224. • Pre-service teachers dialogued within an innovative teacher education program, about their understandings of language and literacy, particularly in relation to the issues of cultural diversity and social justice, and through the progression of these dialogues, the complexity of preparing teachers to be flexible cultural practitioners in diverse settings was further examined. Community-based internships provided the basis for the internships, and teachers then participated in seminar dialogues, willing to share their stories including an analysis of the dialogic narratives themselves, and the “dialogic narrative chains.” Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #9

• Schaller, A., Rocha, L., Barshinger, D. (2006). Maternal Attitudes and Parental Education: How Immigrant Mothers Support Their Child’s Education Despite Their Own Low Levels of Education. Early Childhood Education Journal. 34, 351-356.

• Mexican immigrant mothers of young children in an early childhood intervention program were surveyed to discover their attitudes toward helping their children succeed and about children adopting values of obtaining success through education. Behaviors evidencing commitment by the parent, such as providing a place in the house to finish homework, asking about progress in school, and talking with a child about the importance of education, and knowing a child’s teachers, all are factors that influence a child’s success in school. When a teacher is considering the motivations and hopes and fears of the parents in the school, this article might lend some insight to those teachers.

Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #10

• Sohn, S., and Wang, X. C. (2006). Immigrant Parents’ Involvement in American Schools: Perspectives from Korean Mothers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34, 125-132.

• This qualitative study investigates Korean mothers’ perspectives on their involvement in American schools. Cultural and linguistic barriers were sometimes encountered by these parents when trying to contact school personnel. They also reported feelings of discrimination, and limited school support. Ideas for building stronger partnerships between school personnel and Korean parents are discussed. This article, being specific to Korean parents, lends a more pessimistic view of teacher and school partnerships, and does not contain too many specific suggestions; only general guidelines are given within the conclusion. It is useful only if considered in the context of many other articles about the influence of Korean culture on the home-school connection. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #11

• Souto-Manning, M. (2007) Immigrant Families and Children (Re)Develop Identities in a New Context. Early Childhood Education Journal.

• This case study documents the struggles of an immigrant mother from Mexico, who has renamed her youngest son on his first day of first grade in order to avoid the academic stagnation and widespread stereotypes that plagued her two older sons. The author details the events of a few busy days in the classroom, with vignettes of the child presenting himself, not with the name his mother had “given” him, but with his real name, Idelbrando. Latino assimilation into American schools is discussed, with implications for teacher’s role in countering the deficit perspectives that are pervasive throughout the classrooms, and promoted by the mass media. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #12

• St. Amour, M. J. (2003). Connecting children’s stories to children’s literature: Meeting diversity needs. Early Childhood Education Journal, 31(1), 47-51. • This article espouses the benefits of intertwining children’s natural abilities as storytellers with a quality selection of multicultural literature so that children’s language skills and their appreciation of cultural differences are enhanced. Four specific ways that teachers can promote multicultural concepts within the classroom setting, including practicing democracy, analyzing the circumstances of the life, development social action skills, and forming coalitions, are discussed, with ideas for implementation. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

• •

Research #13

Szente, J., Hoot, J., and Taylor, D. (2006) Responding to the Special Needs of Refugee Children: Practical Ideas for Teachers. Early Childhood Research Journal, 34, 15-20.

Refugee children bring with them backgrounds that might include horrors of war, rape, murder of family or community members, along with a fear of relocation and quest for survival in a new place. This author defines these children as having “special needs” which teachers must take into account when working with these children. Interviews and meetings were held with the help of Catholic Charities, which put the researchers in touch with teachers, principals, social workers and counselors who had been working with refugee children for several years. Some issues include helping children deal with trauma, understanding hoarding behavior, teaching children about basic emotions, provide activities that allow children to communicate feelings through art, and utilizing children’s literature to help non-refugee children learn about the possible experiences of refugee children. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #14

• Tsybina, I., Girolametto, L., Weitzman, E., and Greenberg, J. (2006) Recasts used with preschoolers learning English as their second language. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34, 177-185.

• Linguistic recasts are provided to preschool age children, some who are learning English as a second language (L2), and some who speak English as their first language (L1). Sixteen early childhood educators were examined to determine whether recasts were provided more to the L1 or L2 groups and whether there were more “uptakes” or processing of the information in one group or another. It was found that children in both groups did not respond to recasts, without incorporating elements of the educator’s recasts. Nadine Bolkhovitinov

Research #15

• Zeece, P. D., Graul, S. K., & Hayes N. (2004). Stories for all children: The use of literature in inclusive early childhood classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 31, 255 260.

• Embedding, or the insertion of specialized instruction into activities in which a child engages during the normal course of daily activities, including those which are literature-based, provides the structure for this study, designed to investigate the use of literature in inclusive early childhood classrooms. After observation, sample objectives relating to a child’s receptive or expressive language goal might be developed. Nadine Bolkhovitinov