This paper is about implementing a translanguaging approach to teach reading skills in English with simultaneous bilinguals who speak substantial amounts of Malay and Chinese at home. This new pedagogical approach was tried out with 2nd graders in 3 schools in Singapore: instead of the typical immersion approach to teaching reading skills in…

There have been sweeping changes in foreign language education in the United States. As the world is experiencing unprecedented globalization, knowledge of a foreign language and familiarity with other cultures have become increasingly important. Public schools are now implementing dual immersion programs to better prepare students for the…

Pinyin is a sound-annotating system for Chinese characters using Roman letters. Teaching and learning Pinyin has been an important educational practice in Mainland China for native Chinese children, and it is also typically taught to beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign/second language in tertiary-level classrooms. However, whether it should…

Schools in Ireland vary in how they introduce reading in the two official languages, Irish and English. There is particular variability within immersion (Irish medium) schools. Some introduce Irish reading first (IRF) and others English reading first (ERF). This study compared the development of Irish and English skills in children attending…

Learners are increasingly accessing free online and open resources, tools, and spaces where they can develop their language skills beyond the classroom, alone, or in collaboration with others, and often whilst engaging in purposeful and enjoyable activities. Teachers need to find ways to explore and connect these activities productively with the…

The current intervention study investigated the sustained effectiveness of phonological awareness training on the reading development of 16 children in French immersion who were identified as at-risk readers based on grade 1 English measures. The intervention program provided children from three cohorts with supplemental reading in small groups on…

Beth attends a New York City K-8, dual-language (Spanish/English) public school where 96% of the students qualify as low-income, based on participation in the federally funded lunch program. Early in Beth's 1st-grade year, she was classified as a struggling reader, based on district-wide assessments that identified academic deficits in such skill…

Students whose first language is not English are the fastest-growing group in public schools in all regions of the United States. Almost 10 million children between the ages of five and 17 live in the homes and communities in which a language other than English in spoken and presently most schools in the U.S. are under-educating many English…

The purpose of this study was to assess students' attitudes toward several aspects of biliteracy within the context of a dual immersion program. Attitudes toward perceived competencies in reading in two languages, along with the social and personal values of literacy in each language (English and Spanish), and the personal and social value of…

Learning to read in English still developing literacy in one's mother tongue is a challenge facing many young English language learners (ELLs) around the world. Reading progress of six young language learners was followed in a second grade classroom in an urban English-immersion school in Lebanon. Two of the six children were identified as…

This paper reports the fifth-year results of a study comparing the English and Spanish language and reading performance of Spanish-dominant children randomly assigned beginning in kindergarten to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) or Structured English Immersion (SEI). This is the first randomized study to compare TBE and SEI reading…

This pilot study describes elementary teachers' use of collaborative inquiry as a strategy for assessing Response to Instruction and Intervention (RtI [superscript 2]) in reading for an English Learner student. The design of the study was based on the sociocultural theory that assessment practices shape teachers' understanding of students and of…

Discusses results of comparison of immersion and minority language programs. By promoting use of the mother tongue inside and outside of school, providing literacy experiences for children who may not have had them, and using culturally relevant teaching approaches and materials, schools can make education a worthwhile experience for members of…

A study of the French immersion program in Quebec, in which English reading is introduced in some schools at Grade 2 and in some at Grade 3. The stage at which English reading was first taught was found not to affect reading grade level. (Author/RM)

A brief discussion of delayed instruction in native language reading in immersion programs where second language reading instruction is introduced in grade one. It is noted that long-term effects on a child's interest in reading and the extent of parental involvement in the reading process have not been investigated. (AMH)