Identifying and Accommodating the Language Demands of Science for English Learners

• In Event: The Role of Educative Curriculum Materials in Supporting Science Teaching Practices With English Language Learners

Abstract

Objective
This paper reviews pertinent literature regarding instructional approaches to best scaffold the language demands of science for English learners in late elementary grades. The review targeted empirical investigations in content area writing, reading, vocabulary and discourse for the critical purpose of supporting the curriculum development and research efforts of the project.

Method and Data Sources
The search for the empirical investigations was conducted on the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) site with particular search criteria (e.g., research, practice, English learner, reading, writing, discourse, content area). Four researchers reviewed a total of 273 empirical articles and identified themes within and across the four domains.

Results
Key themes emerged from the literature within each of four domains: reading, writing, vocabulary, and discourse. Four instructional scaffolds were found to be especially fruitful for English learners when reading content area texts (e.g., text structure awareness), five for content area writing (e.g., peer review of writing products), five for content area vocabulary (e.g., word analysis), and four for discourse (e.g., metalinguistic explanations of expected science talk). Some were very similar instructional scaffolds as would be expected for native English speakers (e.g., involvement in word analysis for vocabulary development) and others were more particular to English learners (e.g., leveraging the students’ native language). From these themes 27 language scaffolds (e.g., cognate strategy, strategy for reducing language fatigue) were developed and infused into the science curriculum.

A secondary analysis was also conducted looking across the four domains to identify common principles that guide the type of linguistic scaffolds suggested for English learners across domains. Four principles were identified: 1) Provide Additional Scaffolds for Language, 2) Make Connections to Students’ Linguistic Resources, 3) Provide Additional Multimodal Experiences Opportunities for Practice, and 4) Support the Development of Strategic Behavior.

These linguistics scaffolds along with the principles supporting them were integrated into the curriculum intervention to support teacher learning about meeting the needs of English learners in the context of science as well as teacher understanding of the principles that guide the suggested language scaffold.

Scholarly Significance
Results from this literature review provide a critical resource of research-based linguistic scaffolds for researchers, teachers, and curriculum developers who are interested in making content material more accessible for English learners.

Author

• Marco A. Bravo, Santa Clara University