Identifying the Language Demands in Textbooks Aligned With College- and Career-Ready Standards for English Learners

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Meeting the Needs of Long-Term Emergent Bilinguals

Abstract

To ensure that English learners (ELs) have access to rigorous academic content learning and meet College-and Career-Ready (CCR) standards, it is critical to understand the types of language demands they cope with. One way of understanding these language demands is to examine CCR-aligned textbooks. In this study, we analyzed the language demands and cognitive demands embedded in a set of CCR-aligned textbooks for English language arts, mathematics, and science. Detailed coding and descriptive analyses were conducted. Preliminary results indicate that students are expected to perform a variety of language functions across content areas, with high linguistic complexity particularly in ELA informational texts. In this presentation, we will discuss the results in detail accompanied by practical implications for instruction and research.

Authors

• Mikyung Kim Wolf, ETS

• Heidi Liu Banerjee, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Christopher Hamill, ETS

• Yuan Wang, ETS