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Stage 1

Referrals for language assessment areoften made through health care oreducational professionals (paediatricians)

In some cases children can confidently be identified aslanguage delayed or impaired. They will receiveappropriate intervention from a speech languagepathologist.

In other cases some dual language children can beconsidered as at risk only for language impairment, justbecause they get insufficient opportunities to practicetheir L2.

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All children who are identified as at riskshould receive language enrichedprogramming in a classroom setting,because:

We can monitor their learning easier,

It can be beneficial for them, because ithelps them in making progress,

They get a lot of L2 exposure...

STAGE 1

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Stage 2

The at risk children are tested a second timeand their response to the stage 1 intervention ievaluated.

These children are normally in a classroom withlanguage enriched programming for an entireschool year before we are retested.

Children who can be confidently identified ashaving language impairment can be referred forfurther intervention with a speech language

pathologist.

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Recommendations for practice and policy

Expect dual language children with languagedelay and impairment to have similar patternsas monolingual children.

Expect dual language children with languagedelay or impairment to exhibit code-mixing.

Expect children with language or cognitive

disabilities to have the capacity to becomebilingual.

Don't counsel parents to raise their children

monolingually instead of bilingually

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Issues we must bear in mind when conducting and assessing

dual language children

Dual language children can have unequal exposure tothe two languages, that's why we have to assess thetwo languages.

The more specific the test's content is, the more likely

dual language children could appear weak. Dual language children might not perform to their full

potential because they may lack familiarity with someof the contents or procedures, due to cultural

differences. We must assess children's abilities in both languages Translated versions of tests are usually problematic

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Strategies to help assessment

Obtain information on children's past andcurrent development in both languages

Obtain information about children's languageexposure patterns in both languages

Obtain information about cultural differences Focus on general language skills instead of only inspecific language skills (for example: cognitiveskills, cognitive skills...)

Compare the child with his peers Use dynamic assessment techniques instead ofstatic ones

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2. Reading impairment in dual

language children

It is a distinct learning disability that manifestsitself in great difficulty learning it read despite

normal intelligence and perceptual abilities(vision, hearing...), adequate learningopportunities and the absence of psychological

problems.

They are developmental reading impairments,not acquired.

h i i f di

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Common characteristics of reading

impairment

Poor knowledge of the sounds and names of the lettersof the alphabet Difficulty mapping sounds onto letters when reading Slow progress in learning to read words

Slow and laboured reading of words, sentences andtexts

Low levels of accuracy when reading words Reliance on context (pictures) to guess meaning of

sentences or texts Lack of reading strategies Poor understanding of what it is said Poor ability to relate what is read to one's experience Related problems in reading and writing

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Reading acquisition

It is characterised ashierarchical and

developmental in nature,with small units linkedtogether to word level to

acquiring large units such asreading comprehension.

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Similarities between L2 and L1 reading

acquisition

Taken together, the results from the reviewsindicate that learning to read in an L2 is

similar to learning to read in an L1:

Word decoding ability (Phonologicalawareness and knowledge of letter soundrelationships)

Reading comprehension Same weaknesses...

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Differences between L2 and L1

reading acquisition

Students leaning to read in an L2

come from different socioculturalbackgrounds They know and use another language

They are still learning their L2

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Identification and intervention.

Identifying whether a student has a readingimpairment cannot be done on the basis of asingle test administered at one point in time. Amore dynamic process is required.

We are going to see some recommendations foridentifying L2 learners with or at risk for

reading impairment to prevent reading failureamong all struggling L2 readers.

Key to the success: early identification andintervention.

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Exclusionary factors when identifying

a reading impairment

Prior reading instruction Access to literacy related activities outsideschool

Vision or hearing problems Neurocognitive disabilities Health and medical conditions

Cognitive or socioemotional problems (ADD,autism...)

Family circumstances

Sociocultural factors

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Struggling L2 readers who demonstrate poor response tosupplemental classroom intervention can be more confidently

identified as being at risk for reading impairment, becausetheir difficulties do not reflect inadequate opportunities to

learn the L2. they are referred for follow up by a readingspecialist.

Recommendation: 2 stage process of identification andintervention:

Stage 1: identification of all struggling readers andprovision of supplemental classroom instruction in theacquisition of foundational reading skills.

Stage 2: identification of struggling L2 readers fromstage 1 who show poor response to intervention in theclassroom and referral to a reading or special needsteacher for follow up assessment and support.

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Stage 1

It should take place ASAP

The goal in this stage is to identify students

who are significantly below grade-levelexpectations for reading and could benefit fromsupplemental reading support.

Assessment should focus on: phonologicalawareness, letter name knowledge, phonics andreading comprehension (for older students)

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Stage 2

Even students who do not qualify for reading impairmentbecause they do not meet formal criteria, should continueto receive individualized reading support in class.

- examine reading skills in the L1 and L2, because their

knowledge and skills are distributed across bothlanguages.

- assess within learners' L2 proficiency limits (receptive

and expressive vocabulary)- assess decoding skills (Letter recognition)

- assess reading comprehension

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Explicit, systematic, Comprehensible and focused on letter soundknowledge, phonological awareness and decoding.

It should include supplemental instruction in vocabulary, listeningcomprehension, and language development in order to support

reading comprehension

It should be provided in small homogeneous groups (3-5 students)

It should be interactive (cooperative learning, group work...)

It should be provided on a daily basis during long periods of time

It should incorporate gestures, visuals, repetitions, routines,

preview-review methods...

EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION

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Effective intervention

In the language of instruction to maximize impact Differentiated (individual needs) Adapted to each student's level of L2 Intensive (3 sessions per week) Continuous until assessment indicates that intervention is no

longer needed Explicit with respect to all children's needs In small groups or 1:1 interaction Organized to provide lots of guided practice

Interactive (cooperative learning, dialogue...) Comprehensive (only focused on the skills needed) Inclusive of regular and individualized assessment to monitor

progress and adapt intervention, if needed

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30%

40%

30%

S N students in a bilingual school program

1. First project (first part of the book: pages 3 - 55)(Digital copy sent before March 16th)

2. Second project (second part of the book: pages 59196)(Digital copy sent before April 27th)

3. Last project (last part of the book: pages 199 261)(Digital copy sent before May 25th)

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