Assessing Language And Literacy With Bilingual Students

From expert authors, this book guides educators to conduct assessments that inform daily instruction and identify the assets that emergent bilinguals bring to the classroom. Effective practices are reviewed for screening, assessment, and progress monitoring in the areas of oral language, beginning reading skills, vocabulary and comprehension in the content areas, and writing. The book also addresses how to establish schoolwide systems of support that incorporate family and community engagement. Packed with practical ideas and vignettes, the book focuses on grades K–6, but also will be useful to middle and high school teachers. Appendices include reproducible forms that can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

This textbook is a comprehensive introduction to the assessment of students in K-12 schools who use two or more languages in their daily life: English Language Learners (ELLs), or Emergent Bilinguals. The book includes a thorough examination of the policy, history and assessment/measurement issues that educators should understand in order to best advocate for their students. The author presents a decision-making framework called PUMI (Purpose, Use, Method, Instrument) that practitioners can use to better inform assessment decisions for bilingual children. The book will be an invaluable resource in teacher preparation programs, but will also help policy-makers and educators make better decisions to support their students.

This book sets a high standard for rigor and scientific approach to the study of bilingualism and provides new insights regarding the critical issues of theory and practice, including the interdependence of linguistic knowledge in bilinguals, the role of socioeconomic status, the effect of different language usage patterns in the home, and the role of schooling by single-language immersion as opposed to systematic training in both home and target languages. The rich landscape of outcomes reported in the volume will provide a frame for interpretation and understanding of effects of bilingualism for years to come.

Ever since its publication in 1995, this book has offered a means for teachers to consider why some bilingual pupils in their classrooms are not making learning progress or are academically underachieving. This new second edition has been revised and updated in the light of the new government legislation and guidance, most significantly the revised Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs. It continues to look at ways of asking questions about the pupil, of collecting evidence of both learning and language development and of offering support within the classroom. It contains a model and photocopiable proformas for use within schools, which should help to establish clear systems of identification of those bilingual pupils who may have special learning needs and to distinguish these from the need for language support.

Grounded in state-of-the-art research, this book explores how English language learners develop both the oral language and literacy skills necessary for school success. Chapters examine the cognitive bases of English acquisition, and how the process is different for children from alphabetic (such as Spanish) and nonalphabetic (such as Chinese) language backgrounds. The book addresses a key challenge facing educators and clinicians: identifying students whose poor English skills may indicate an underlying impairment, as opposed to still-developing language proficiency. Implications for diagnosis, intervention, and instruction are highlighted throughout.

"Whose Judgment Counts?" empowers teachers with the skills they need to make informed assessments of bilingual children--examining social, cultural, and language issues first, then focusing on learning.

This book addresses how to assess and instruct students while also honoring their cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Many individuals want to support their multilingual learners but do not have the language skills to work in a bilingual or dual-language setting. The chapters in this book examine assessment in classrooms where English is the language of instruction; yet, students are also encouraged to communicate in multiple languages. The thesis of this book revolves around the idea that linguistically diverse learners may engage in critical thinking in ways that we may not anticipate. Students who are learning in an additional language do not need to “catch up.” Assessment should instead measure the new ways that students are interacting with the world. This book helps you discover the many ways to help students develop as critically thinking readers, writers and speakers. There is a scarcity of research addressing literacy among linguistically diverse learners within math and science. The information contained in this book will hopefully advance a dialogue between teachers and linguistically diverse students as they read and write multiple genres together. This book also encourages teachers, family, and community members to come together to form supportive environments where best practices are fostered. Some of the questions addressed by this book: 1. How do I determine a student’s strengths and needs if he or she is not talking in class in any language? 2. Do I teach monolingual and multilingual learners to read in similar ways? 3. How can I support my students as they read math word problems? 4. What do students need to know about the structures of science texts? 5. How should we develop math and science literacy assessments? 6. Should I have specific language goals for students as speakers?

Theoretical and practical information about assessment in the bilingual and English-language-learner classrooms.