Characterizing the Complexities of Bilingualism: Issues of homogeneity and heterogeneity in language and literacy

among Spanish-speaking Latino/a school-age children

Patrick Proctor, Boston CollegeRebecca Silverman, University of Maryland

IES Annual MeetingJune 30, 2010

CLAVES(Klah-vase)

• Comprehension,• Linguistic Acquisition, and• Vocabulary in• English and• Spanish

Definition of Terms

Bilingual Learner-nounA student who speaks English plus another language and

shows profiles ranging from emergent to full bilingualismSyn: language minority learner, dual language learner

English Language Learner-nounA bilingual learner who is classified by his or her school and

district as being limited in English proficiency such that alternative instruction is required

Analytic Perspective

AfricanAmerican

AfricanAmerican AngloAnglo

English and Spanish Language Constructs Under Study

• Vocabulary breadth (Woodcock-Muñoz Picture Vocabulary)• Semantic awareness (CELF Word Classes and Word

Associations)• Syntactic awareness (CELF Formulated Sentences)• Morphological awareness (Extract the Base; )• Reading Comprehension (WMLS, TOSREC, Gates-

MacGinite)

This is the first year of a 2-year cohort-sequential design following

3 groups (2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders) into their 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade

years. Data presented here reflect the first wave of English (Fall

2009) and first wave of Spanish (Winter 2010) data collection

Panel Research Questions

1. What are the similarities and differences in English vocabulary and comprehension between a sample of Spanish-English bilingual and English monolingual 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders?

2. How do bilingual children in U.S. schools vary in language profiles in Spanish and English?

Who are Our Students? Combined sample between one district in Maryland and

one district in Massachusetts (n = 294) 3 schools in MD, 3 in MA 31% from MA (n = 89); 69% from MD (n = 205) 44% Latino (n = 128), 35% African American (n = 102),

17% Anglo (n = 50), <1% Asian (n = 2), 3% Other (n = 9) 128 Spanish-English bilinguals, 166 English

monolinguals (purposively sampled) 19 students (6.4%) are immigrants (parent report) 68 students (23%) are English language learners 105 students in 2nd grade (40% bilingual), 94 students in

3rd grade (49% bilingual), 94 students in 4th grade (43% bilingual)

Approximately 12% on IEPs

Panel Question 1

What are the similarities and differences in English vocabulary and

comprehension between a sample of Spanish-English bilingual and English monolingual 2nd,

3rd, and 4th graders?

What are we finding?Bilinguals versus Monolinguals, all differences are significant (ps < .01)

What are we finding?Further disaggregating changes things

Bilinguals versus monolinguals, significant differences for vocabulary breadth and syntax. Both groups significantly outperform ELLs on all

measures (all ps < .001)

What are we finding?The bilingual-monolingual distinction is crude. Anglo monolinguals significantly outperform

African American monolinguals on all measures, who perform comparably to non-ELL bilinguals. Stable patterns by grade level

Patterns in the English data• Identical patterns across grade levels• Anglo students outperformed all groups on

breadth, word classes, syntax, and comprehension

• African American and bilingual students performed comparably on breadth, word classes, syntax, and comprehension

• All groups significantly outperformed ELLs• Bilinguals performed comparably to their Anglo

counterparts on morphological awareness and word associations (a verbal reasoning task)– Arguably the most metalinguistic measures

deployed in the current research

Preliminary Conclusions• Not all monolinguals are the same!!• Perhaps bilingualism is an equalizer

for metalinguistic tasks once English proficiency reaches threshold– Degrees of bilingualism (Hakuta)–What is the threshold (Cummins)

Panel Question 2

How do bilingual children in U.S. schools vary in language

profiles in Spanish and English?

Spanish literacy among bilingual learners

• Ecology of testing– Starting with language (breadth,

semantics, syntax)–Moving into literacy (decoding, reading

comprehension, morphological awareness)• Many bilingual students spoke Spanish

but did not read or write it• Decoding skill in Spanish was used as

a gatekeeper for assessing Spanish reading and morphological awareness

Law of Diminishing Literacy ReturnsN of students taking Spanish

assessments (n = 129)

Degrees of DominanceWMLS-R Scaled Scores

Degrees of DominanceRaw Scores

Spanish-English Associations Among Language and Literacy

Variables• Spanish decoding correlated with English

– Decoding (r = .575, p < .001)– All 3 reading measures (rs = .361, .352, .296, all ps < .01)

– Syntax (r = .277, p < .01)– Semantics (r = .216, p < .05)– Vocabulary breadth (r = .215, p < .05)

• Spanish syntax was associated with English:– Syntax (r = .290, p < .01)– Reading (r = .304, p < .01)– Morphology (r = .282, p < .01)

• Spanish semantics were associated with English:– Semantics (r = .239, p < .05)

Preliminary Conclusions• ELLs and non-ELLs show comparability on all Spanish

measures except vocabulary breadth, which is low for both groups– Site (MD or MA) is non-predictive of Spanish language

outcomes• Cross-lingual associations

– Much research shows the links between Spanish and English decoding skill

– Less research shows these links between Spanish and English syntactic awareness

• Policy and practice– 60% of bilinguals in 3 MD schools are classified ELL– 26% of bilinguals in 3 MA schools are classified ELL

• Yet the bilingual groups (including ELLs) are comparable across sites

– 7% of bilinguals in 3 MD schools have IEPs– 21% of bilinguals in 3 MA schools have IEPs

Future Directions• Are developmental trajectories similar

across monolinguals and bilinguals?– Do these trajectories depend on

• Degrees of bilingualism among the bilingual students?

• Levels of language among monolingual students?

• What is the relationship between classroom instruction and developmental trajectories of vocabulary and comprehension?