Latino Children Learning English : Steps in the Journey

by Valdes, Guadalupe; Capitelli, Sarah; Alvarez, Laura

• ISBN13: 9780807751442
• ISBN10: 0807751448
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-21
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

This timely and incisive book examines the ways in which English language proficiencies develop in newly arrived immigrant students. Beginning by describing the challenges faced by children who currently attend segregated schools in many parts of the country, the authors offer a detailed account of the developing English language proficiencies of K3 children from one after-school intervention program. Using the experiences of these children as a lens, the authors debunk commonly held views of young children as rapid and effortless learners of new languages.

Author Biography

Guadalupe Valds is the Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor of Education at Stanford University. Her books include Learning and Not Learning English: Latino Students in American Schools and Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools. Sarah Capitelli is an assistant professor of education at the University of San Francisco. Laura Alvarez taught elementary school in a Spanish bilingual program in Oakland, California and is a doctoral candidate in educational linguistics at Stanford University.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
The Challenge of Acquiring English	p. 2
The Challenge of Linguistic Isolation	p. 6
How One-on-One English Started	p. 8
The Development of One-on-One English	p. 10
Overview of the Book	p. 12
Realistic Expectations: English Language Learners and the Acquisition of "Academic" English	p. 15
The Field of Second Language Acquisition	p. 16
Key Limitations of Existing Research on SLA	p. 31
Second Language Acquisition, Assessment, and Immigrant Children in Schools	p. 36
The Concept of Academic Language	p. 39
Schools, Immigrant Children, and Second Language Acquisition	p. 41
One-on-One English: A Design Experiment	p. 43
The Setting	p. 43
Golden Hills Elementary and One-on-One English	p. 45
Design Research	p. 47
Preimplementation Activities	p. 54
Implementation Activities	p. 58
Retrospective Analysis	p. 63
Reflections on One-on-One English	p. 68
Interactions and Affordances	p. 69
Talking and Interacting	p. 70
Types of Interactions	p. 72
Communicative Challenges	p. 91
Volunteer-Child Interactions: A Summary	p. 94
The Development of L2 Interactional Competence	p. 97
Getting Started	p. 97
Receptive Proficiencies: Change Over Time	p. 101
Productive Proficiencies: Change Over Time	p. 107
Individual Differences, Varying Opportunities, and Change Over Time	p. 126
Children's Developing L2 Proficiencies	p. 133
Growth Seen From a Combined Perspective: The Challenge of Measuring Children's Language Production	p. 135
The Challenges of Measuring Language Growth	p. 135
The Narrative Elicitation Procedure	p. 137
Analysis of Children's Narratives	p. 138
Summary: What Change Looks Like	p. 162
Implications for Assessment	p. 164
Reflections on One-on-One English	p. 170
Change Over Time in Children's Language: A Retrospective View	p. 171
How Affordances Mattered	p. 174
Implications of the Project for the Education of English Language Learners	p. 179
The Kinds of English That Must be Acquired for Immigrant Children to Succeed in School	p. 181
Toward an Integrated Practice for Educating English Language Learners: Key Principles	p. 191
Final Thoughts: Design Experiments and English Language Learners	p. 200
Transcription Conventions	p. 203
Complete Summary of Children's Turn Types	p. 205
Comparison of English Language Proficiency Standards in CELDT, WIDA, and ELDA (Levels 3-5)	p. 207
Bibliography of Children's Books	p. 211
Notes	p. 213
References	p. 219
Index	p. 235
About the Authors	p. 246
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