Academic English & Prop. 227

Academic Instrumental Knowledge: Deconstructing Cultural Capital Theory for Strategic Intervention Approaches by Robert Rueda Lilia D. Monzó and Angela Arzubiaga

In this paper we have drawn on a sociocultural perspective in order to situate the nature of cultural capital and argue that all groups have cultural capital in specific sociocultural contexts. Attempts to offer families' knowledge about the educational system (AIK) cannot be effective when they are embedded in deficiency perspectives or treated as a set of neutral facts to be learned. Our interest is in providing families with the opportunities afforded to those who have the knowledge to make informed choices that have positive impact on their children's educational success. We have attempted to distinguish between broader notions of cultural capital, which are difficult to operationalize to a set of more concrete practices and knowledge about the educational system, which will enhance immigrant children's opportunities to academic success. With a perspective on learning as the process of developing identities which may transform people's ways of seeing and doing, we view critical dialogue as an imperative part of this process. We argue against the uncritical enculturation of families into dominant cultural systems and argue in favor of encouraging politically informed decisions, negotiating academic instrumental knowledge within existing values and practices, creating hybrids, transforming knowledge, and permitting informed choice in the acceptance or rejection of cultural practices in the process of appropriating this knowledge.

Academic English: A Conceptual Framework Robin Scarcella April 2003

Learning academic English is probably one of the surest, most reliable ways of attaining socio-economic success in the United States today. Learners cannot function in school settings effectively without it. This variety of English entails the utile, complex features of English required for success in public schooling and career advancement. It involves mastery of a writing system and its particular academic conventions as well as proficiency in reading, speaking, and listening. Unfortunately, academic English has often been ignored or under-emphasized in public school instruction. Many have not understood its importance in helping students function in school settings or have misunderstood its complex nature. This paper discusses approaches to the study of academic English and presents a multi-dimensional framework for analyzing it. The dimensions include linguistic, cognitive, and socio-cultural/psychological ones. Te paper also describes the relationship between the English used in everyday situations and in academic ones. It concludes with a brief discussion of research implications pertaining to instruction, assessment, and professional development.

Implications for Further Study

The research on the development of academic literacy is in its infancy. The proposed framework is designed to promote informed dialogue to practitioners and researchers that will stimulate further investigation. Additional research should explore the limitations of the framework and consider the ways it facilitates the development of testable hypothesis. It should also focus on elaborating the description of academic literacy in developmentally age-appropriate ways for English learners. For instance, while the framework provides a global understanding of the general language components and features young children must develop to acquiring academic English, it does not specify the precise language features children should learn at different grade-levels. If the framework is to be helpful, it would be useful to understand the specific language features (e.g., phonological, lexical, grammatical, and discourse features) English learners should be taught in different grades and at different English proficiency levels. This will entail investigating the teachability (e.g., practice, impute, corrective feedback). It will also be important to explore the extent to which English language learners of diverse proficiency levels are able to acquire the features of academic English. For instance, just because native English speakers are able to narrarate at the third grade, we cannot necessarily expect English learners of specific proficiency levels to be able to narrate. In brief, there is a need to collect data on what English learners in different sets of circumstances and contexts are able to do. Longitudinal research particularly is essential. In terms of instruction, teaching academic English should probably include a consideration of the three dimensions of academic English. However, the extent to which the various dimensions are emphasized in different grades and to learners of different proficiency levels should be explored.

In terms of assessment, the framework suggests the need for reliable, valid measurements of academic English that systematically test the key features of academic English that learners have difficulty acquiring (Bachman, 1990; Duran, 1989; Stevens, Butler & Castellom-Wellington 2000) It will also be important to explore assessments tat provide learners with rich, constructive information that will advance the learners’ language rather than providing students with limited or unhelpful information about their English language development. Finally, if the framework is shown to be useful, teacher professional development programs will be required to provide teachers with the knowledge base required o teach the various dimensions and features of academic English. Larger issues should also be considered in the instruction of academic English. For instance, the huge gap in working conditions and wages paid to teachers in poor affluent communities lead to enormous gaps in the teachers’ knowledge of academic English and probably the ability to teach it.

Because academic English is complex and dynamic, entailing linguistic, cognitive and socio-cultural/psychological dimensions, it may be very difficult to research. Despite these difficulties, academic English merits investigation. The major features of academic English can and should be made clear. This paper has attempted to add this clarity.

Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners, K-12
Executive Summary Submitted to the California Department of Education by American Institutes for Research and WestEd Findings from a Five-Year Evaluation

In 2000, the California Department of Education contracted with the American Institutes for Research and WestEd to conduct a five-year evaluation of the effects of Proposition 227 on the education of English learners (ELs). Student achievement analyses, phone interviews, case study site visits, and written surveys were used to examine such questions as how the proposition was implemented, which EL services are most and least effective, and what unintended consequences resulted from Proposition 227 implementation.

Important findings from the achievement analysis include the following:

Since the passage of Proposition 227, students across all language classifications in all grades have experienced performance gains on the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program. However, since Proposition 227 was implemented alongside other reform efforts in a climate of increased accountability, it is difficult to attribute gains solely to these provisions.

While there has been a slight decrease in the performance gap between EL and “English Only” students, it has remained virtually constant in most subject areas for most grades. When former ELs, Reclassified to Fluent English Proficient students, are included in the cohort of ELs, this pattern in the performance gap is very similar. This is especially noteworthy given the substantial increase in the percentage of English learners participating in statewide assessments since the passage of Proposition 227.

Regarding differences in performance by model of instruction, across all analyses little to no evidence of differences was found. Although the most advanced analyses performed, given current state data limitations, show a slight student achievement advantage to immersion over a bilingual approach, more refined analyses enabled through the use of student-linked data from Los Angeles Unified School District indicate that the contribution to EL performance of an additional year in a bilingual program is not statistically different from an additional year in an immersion program.

Because model of instruction does not appear to be a clear determinant of EL success, we explored the premise that the best source for understanding what does lead to high-level academic performance for ELs would be schools and districts that appear to be achieving this result. We developed a model for identifying such sites and interviewed administrators from 66 schools and 5 districts that are among the highest performers statewide. Our findings suggested no single path to academic success among ELs. However, commonly cited key factors included: (1) staff capacity to address EL needs, (2) a school-wide focus on English Language Development and standards-based instruction, (3) shared priorities and expectations in regard to educating ELs, and (4) systematic assessments providing ongoing data to guide EL policy and instruction.

In light of these findings, recommendations from this study include 11 recommendations directed primarily to state and local educational leaders and policymakers.

Listening to Teachers of English Language Learners
Their Challenges, Experiences, and Needs

California’s classrooms are changing. Will teachers be up to the task of ensuring all students, including English language learners, meet the state’s high academic standards?

A new survey of more than 5,000 teachers finds few professional development opportunities targeted on working effectively with second language learners. A lack of time and instructional resources also hamper teachers’ ability to reach the nearly 1.6 million students designated as English learners in California’s public schools. The teachers surveyed also said their efforts to teach English learners are complicated by their struggle to effectively communicate with the parents and families of English learning students.

California’s English Learner Population
Students in California’s public schools come from a wide variety of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. Almost 1.6 million, approximately 25%, are classified as English learners or “EL” and require special assistance from their teachers and schools to meet the state’s rigorous academic content standards while also learning English. The vast majority of teachers, over 80%, have one or more EL students in their classroom. California, with 32% of all EL students in the country, has a higher concentration of English learners than anywhere else in the U.S. California’s growth in EL student enrollment is also greater than the rest of the nation. The most recent language census data lists 57 different primary languages spoken by students in the state’s schools. Most of the state’s English learners, 85%, are Spanish speakers, with only five other language groups (Vietnamese, Filipino, Cantonese, Hmong, and Korean) even reaching the level of 1%-2% of the EL student population. An additional one million students come from homes where a language other than English is spoken, making students who speak a language other than English at home account for 40% of California’s K-12 school population.

With regards to student learning, only 10% of those identified as English learners passed the California English Language Arts Standards Test in 2004. Moreover, only 39% were able to pass the English Language Arts portion of the California High School Exit Exam in 2004, compared with 81% of English speakers. Only 49% of EL students passed the math portion of the exam compared with 78% of their English-only peers.

Surveying Teachers of English Learners
Because of the escalating numbers of English learning students in California’s classrooms, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning partnered with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) and the University of California Linguistic Minority Research Institute (UC LMRI) to conduct a large-scale survey of teachers from across the state. We set out to learn what challenges these teachers face with regard to educating English learners, and to analyze how these challenges vary according to factors such as teacher experience, training, and student need. The report, Listening to Teachers of English Language Learners, documents the responses of over 5,000 California teachers regarding their challenges, experiences and professional development needs.

Survey Findings
• Over the last five years, many EL teachers had little or no professional development designed to help them teach these students, and the quality of training was uneven.
• Greater preparation for teaching English learners equaled greater self-rated ability to teach these students successfully.
• The majority of teachers expressed the desire and need to gain greater expertise for teaching English language learners.
• Communication with students and their families was of utmost importance to teachers.
• Finding the time to teach EL students all of the required subject matter, including English language development, presented the second greatest teaching challenge for elementary teachers.
• Teachers expressed frustration with the wide range of English language and academic levels often found in their classrooms.
• Teachers were challenged by the lack of tools to teach, including appropriate assessment materials and instruments.
• The more teachers knew about working effectively with English learning students, the more likely they were to cite shortcomings in instructional programs for their students.

The Center View

Until the release of the important information taken from Listening to Teachers of English Language Learners, teachers of English language learning students who are on the front lines of California’s education system were seldom, if ever, asked about the challenges they faced in their classrooms or what they needed to ensure that every child meets the state’s rigorous academic standards. Using the best advice from the classroom, education policy-makers at the local, regional and state levels can strengthen teaching that affects the learning outcomes of a major portion of the state’s student population. As first steps we recommend that:

• The governor and the leadership of the Legislature convene a summit of policy-makers, educational experts, and most of all, classroom EL teachers on “Teaching for California’s English Learners.” The purpose of this summit would be to carefully review and analyze the results of this survey and to chart a course of action that ensures high quality preparation and professional development for all teachers of English learners.
• The California Department of Education should develop and make available to local school districts a package of evaluation tools and instruments to assess the quality of local programs for English learners and identify areas in need of improvement. We further recommend that as part of this process CDE identify state, federal, and other resources that local school districts can use to assist them in making program improvements.
• Local school districts give high priority to the professional development needs of teachers of English learners as they implement the Teacher Credentialing or Professional Development Block Grant, recognizing the differing needs of teachers at the elementary and secondary levels identified in this research.

Increased attention to the needs of teachers of English language learners is warranted given the findings from this study: professional development is not targeted to meet the needs of English language learners; teachers are facing barriers to communication with their students and their students’ parents; and they are constantly accommodating for a lack of appropriate materials and resources to reach their students. Policy-makers and professional development providers across the state would be well advised to consider this fresh voice from the classroom when planning improvements for California’s teacher development system.

Excerpted from:
Gándara, P, Maxwell-Jolly, J, & Driscoll, A. (2005). Listening to teachers of English language learners: A survey of California teachers’ challenges, experiences, and professional development needs. Santa Cruz, CA: The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning.
The full text of this report is available for download from www.cftl.org