Second Language Reading and the AIS Library

1. Second Language Reading and the AIS Library By Sharon Hermann, PS Librarian October 13, 2010

2. Preface • All PS students are in the process of acquiring a second language • Primarily addresses PS Library and how library can be a partner in second language reading in particular. • Applies to En, Fr, Sp and Ge, but particularly Fr, Sp and Ge as those are not the local language. • Using L2 to refer to a second language learned, without regard to language of surrounding environment (i.e. not L2 versus FL ) • Not a linguist or reading expert. • Workshop will be some research, mostly practice

3. Agenda for Workshop • Bilingualism Numbers Activity • Second Language Reading Research • Text Comparison and Culture Activity • Library Support for Second Language Reading • What Parents Can Do • Bookshelf • Closing • Library Exploration and Book Display

4. Bilingualism Numbers Activity (Christopher 80).

5. Biliterate Bilingualism • Goal of international school should be to create biliterate bilinguals (Carder 115) • A biliterate reader has flexibility to accommodate each language with knowledge, skills and strategies applicable to the language (Singhal 6) • Cognitive academic language proficiency can take 5 to 7 years (Cummins 3), i.e. through PYP and even beyond • Biliterate bilingualism for mother tongue English speakers – possible if teaching through both languages. “Such a model is practised at the Atlanta International School” (Carder 17)

6. L1 and L2 Diagram (Carder 121, from Baker 73)

7. Common Underlying Proficiency (Carder 120, from Baker 74)

8. Reading and Language Universals • General mapping principles • Reading requires metalinguistic awareness (Grabe, Table 6.2) • Orthographic awareness – letters and spelling • Phonological processing – letter to sound • Syntactic information for text meaning and comprehension – grammatical structure • Languages have universal features • Nouns and verbs • Vowels • First and second person pronouns • Grammatical word order (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Reading in Different Languages”, par. 2)

9. Languages Influence Each Other • “Transfer” refers to influences from the similarities and differences between the target language and other previously acquired languages. (Papp, Preface, pt. “Transfer”, par. 1). • Transfer can facilitate or interfere with second language reading (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Conclusion”, par. 1) • Depends on the first language (L1)- second language (L2) reading combination and the mapping details specific to each language (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Universals of Reading Development”, par. 3) • Research suggests that where L1 is well developed and L2 is at least at a threshold level, transfer can facilitate L2 reading (Walter 4)

10. Relationship of First Language Reading to Second Language Reading • L2 reading is a function of L1 reading skills and L2 language proficiency (Walter 4) • L1 processes will always affect L2, even after L2 proficiency is attained (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Conclusion”, par. 2) • Transfer will facilitate L2 reading when mapping details are more similar (Grabe, Table 6.2) • Differences affect patterns of L1-L2 transfer (Grabe, Chap. 6, “Reading in Different Languages”, par. 3) • Orthography of second language • Social/cultural features of second language • Motivation of student to read in second language

11. Orthography of Second Language • Orthographic differences – the way the language is written (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Differences in Orthography, Phonology, and Morphology”, par. 1) • Phonological (letter to sound) or syllabic (letter to syllable) • Consonantal or identifies vowels orthographically • Typical word length ( 3054) • Lexical densities (i.e. information per word or symbol) • Orthography impacts reading strategies used (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Consequences of the Orthographic Depth Hypothesis for Reading”, par. 1,3) • Spanish has a regular phonology - strategy to sound out letters in words. • English is a deeper orthography because letter to sound is more irregular – more “sight word” learning • Hebrew has incomplete graphic representations with vowels omitted • Non-alphabetic languages such as Chinese are deeper yet and require more visual processing strategies. • Different reading rates even for native speakers (Ex. Chinese or German vs. English) and different perceptual spans (Grabe, Chap. 6, pt. “Other Factors in Word-Recognition Development”, par. 1)

12. Text Comparison • The grammar, structure and vocabulary of this language and Spanish are very similar. • In this language, nouns end in o or a. • In this language, adjectives follow nouns. • In this language, o, os, a and as are articles. • “Devolvo-as assim que puder” = I’ll put it back as soon as I can. • “Vou tentar ganhar algum dinheiro” = I’ll try and earn some money. • This language is ? Barkow, Henriette. O Diário Secreto da Ellie = Ellie’s Secret Diary. London:Mantra Lingua, 2004.

13. Social/Cultural Aspects of Second Language • Different genres, style of expression – ex. conventions for correspondence) may make organization of text difficult to follow (Grabe, Chap. 7, pt. “Key sociocultural and institutional factors in L1-L2 reading”, par. 5) • Knowledge base in form of L2 vocabulary when beginning to read is significant factor (Singhal 6) • Amount of exposure to L2 print of different types – advertisements, directions, news media – may vary • Degree of background knowledge of culture represented by text correlates with comprehension level (Singhal 3)

14. Cultural Game • Suppose you read that an American bride wore her grandmother’s wedding dress. Which inference would you draw? • The dress was old, probably out-of-fashion, and this act suggests the family is impoverished; or • The bride is following a wedding tradition of wearing something old and something borrowed (Carder 84-85).

15. Motivation for Reading in Second Language • Students sometimes express negative attitude to L2 reading (Grabe, Chap. 9, pt. “Implications for instruction: teaching motivation”, par. 3) • Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation to read in L2 • Type of motivation may vary over time – begin with extrinsic and move toward intrinsic (Grabe, Chap. 9, pt. “Self-Determination Theory”, par. 1) • Context in which the language is used is meaningful • Learner motivation in L2 reading includes • Reading interest • Desire to read extended text • Reading for enjoyment • Persistence in reading (Grabe, Chap. 9, pt. “Motivation in L2 Contexts”, par. 6) • Factors that support motivation • Student self-direction • Opportunities for extensive reading at school and home • Social collaboration for academic tasks (Grabe, Tables 9.2 and 9.3) • Idea of “flow” as type of intrinsic motivation – the love of reading that creates life-long readers (Grabe, Chap. 9, pt. “Related Concepts”, par. 4)

16. Extensive Reading • A “surefire” way to improve literacy (Krashen 1) • Extensive reading means “flood” of print exposure at or just below reading level • Student choice of materials for reading enjoyment, including comics and magazines • Reading for general comprehension, not grade • Time set aside for reading • Time for students to share and recommend material (Grabe, Table 15.1) • Reading without resort to dictionary (Walter 2)

17. Extensive Reading • Benefits of extensive reading include: • Increased vocabulary growth • Gains in world knowledge and conceptual knowledge • Greater motivation for reading • Strong predictor of comprehension (Grabe, Chap. 15, pt. “Further Benefits Associated with Extensive Reading”, par. 1, 2, 7) • Skilled reading uses both “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches, but balance depends on type of reading • Top-down: • use background knowledge • Bottom-up: • letters, words, sentences (Walter 2)

18. A Spanish-speaking student, in a period of adjustment to a new English-based school, later recalls: • “During this period, a very helpful aid was the local library. . . . In the beginning, most books were too difficult for me, so I started out by borrowing books from the Asterix series. The illustrations made it possible for me to follow the plot, even if most language, particularly the puns, were lost on me. From Asterix, I moved on to more “sophisticated” literature, e.g. adventure books for teenagers. The Library had a good incentives programme. If you read X number of books, you received . . . And after that, every 10 books you read, you were given a book of your choice. The library staff checked through some questions for each book to make sure that you had actually read it. I was hooked! . . . I believe it imprinted in me positive associations with reading English in general.” (Banfi 2) • What factors do you see that suggest an extensive reading approach?

20. Library Support for Second Language Reading • Flexible access to library • Student reading choice • Time for reading • Abundant choice of print and online reading materials • Reading motivation programs in L2 • Opportunities to speak, write and listen about books • Book talks • Book club blog with different language groups

21. Library Resources for Second Language Reading • Print Resources • Leveled readers in French, Spanish, English and German • Library has books for wide variety of reading levels • Magazines – parent checkout • Online Resources (some with audio) • Bookflix – English, Spanish • Tumblebooks – English, French, Spanish, Chinese and others • StoryPlace – English, Spanish • International Children’s Digital Library – many languages • Newspapers and magazine articles in databases

22. Reading Motivation Programs • Accelerated Reader • English, Spanish and French (self-written) comprehension quizzes • Take quizzes at school in the library, classroom or computer lab • Reading teams for grades 2 through 5 with incentives • Antolin • German comprehension quizzes • Managed through the classroom, but coordinated with AR reading teams

23. Book Talks and Book Clubs • Library tries to present interesting books from each language collection to that language track several times each year • Library promotes book club-type activities from time to time, including blogging about favorite books, writing and recording book reviews and drawing cartoon book reviews • Provides opportunity for student sharing and talking about books with benefits to motivation to read • This year, plan language groups in our book club blog for grade 5 • Area of programming opportunity that needs parent support

24. Teaching Strategies to Create Context for L2 Reading • Promote the Big6 in multiple languages • Present library instruction in multiple languages • Develop a common vocabulary in multiple languages for library instruction

25. True or False? • Your child should read at the same level in both languages. • Your child should read at the same speed in both languages. • If your child has learned to read, he or she no longer needs your help to develop reading skills. • Academic reading is more important than reading for pleasure.

26. What Parents Can Do • Read with child in the languages you know • Rhyme, check comprehension, explain culture in languages you know • Flood home with library resources such as books, magazines, newspapers in the first and second languages • Provide opportunity for student choice and time to read • Use online library resources like Bookflix, Tumblebooks, Story Place with audio components • If you know both languages, point out differences and similarities in first and second languages • If you don’t know the second language, talk about the second language books in the first language

27. Bookshelf – Works Cited • Baker, Colin. The Care and Education of Young Bilinguals. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2000. Print. • Banfi, Cristina. “My Language and I.” The Bilingual Family Newsletter 21.1 (2004): 1+. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <http://www.bilingualfamilynewsletter.com/>. • Barkow, Henriette. O Diário Secreto da Ellie = Ellie’s Secret Diary. London: Mantra Lingua, 2004. N. pag. Print. • Carder, Maurice. Bilingualism in International Schools: A Model for Enriching Language Education. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters, Ltd., 2007. Print. • Christopher, Dean. “20 Things You Didn’t Know About Language.” Discover Nov. 2010: 80. Print. • Cummins, Jim. “’Putting Language Proficiency in its Place: Responding to the Critiques of the Conversational/‌Academic Language Distinction.” Jim Cummins Second Language Learning and Literacy Development Web. N.p., 11 Aug. 2009. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <http://www.iteachilearn.com/‌cummins/‌converacademlangdisti.html>. • Grabe, William. Reading in a Second Language:Moving from Theory to Practice. Cambridge University Press, 2008. N. pag. Kindle file. • Krashen, Stephen. “Free Reading.” School Library Journal 1 Sept. 2006: n. pag. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/‌article/‌CA6367048.html>. • Papp, Tunde. Foreign Language and Mother Tongue. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2000. N. pag. Kindle file. • Singhal, Meena. “A Comparison of L1 and L2 Reading: Cultural Differences and Schema.” Internet TESL Journal IV.10 (1998): n. pag. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <http://iteslj.org/‌Articles/‌Singhal-ReadingL1L2.html>. • Walter, H. Catherine. “Reading in a Second Language.” Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies Guide to Good Practice. Southampton, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2010. <http://www.llas.ac.uk/‌resources/‌gpg/‌1420>. * Parenthetical references from Kindle files updated after presentation.

28. In Closing • Please assist us by doing the following: • Complete the survey sheet found in your chair. • Stop by the library desk to create a parent library account. • Look at materials on display on the library tables. • Feel free to explore the library while you are here. • Look to Moodle -> Library -> Primary Library for more information related to this presentation. • Thank you for attending!