An Effective Literacy Intervention Program for Linguistic- and Cultural-Minority Students

• In Event: 72.049 - Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: 72.049-6 - Developing Literacy in English Language Learners

Abstract

The children of the Indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, are among the most illiterate in the country and at the highest risk of dropping out from schools. A research study has been initiated using storybooks based on rich folk tales embedded with vocabulary words. This paper examines whether language minority students learn targeted L2 academic words that are explicitly taught in classrooms through discussion and debate. The sample (n=1496) include 4th-8th grade students. Findings from this study suggest that students participate more with units that are age-appropriate and present culturally relevant dilemmas they can relate to their own lives. Results also suggest that students who participate more in discussion and debate, on average, learn more academic words.

Author

• Maung Nyeu, Harvard University