This paper examines reading and literacy development for English Language Learners (ELLs) in secondary school, with a focus on both theoretical frameworks and practical instructional strategies. Using an 11-year-old ESL student named Ahmad as a case study, the paper applies Fry readability assessment to identify a significant gap between his decoding ability and comprehension level. It surveys multicultural education principles, proposes targeted instructional interventions — including vocabulary cards, post-it-note annotation, concept mapping, sentence structure analysis, and miscue self-analysis — and situates these within a broader scholarly discussion of dual language program types, additive bilingualism, content-based language instruction, and the role of age and length of exposure in second-language acquisition.
The way humans communicate and share ideas and concepts in society is quite complex. How are ideas conceptualized? How are they explained? How does discourse function, and how do humans understand messages? What is true about language, and what is not? These are just some of the issues surrounding theories of language acquisition and development. By the time students arrive in school — unless intervention has occurred at a lower primary age — they have not only been subjected to numerous types of language acquisition, but because of the preponderance of global media and social networking, several non-traditional stimuli sets as well (Tomasello, 2008). Thus, one of the initial issues when dealing with the question of success in language learning is a robust pre-assessment of the individual skills and levels of the students involved (Lewis-Moreno, 2007).
Additionally, we must differentiate two distinct populations regarding English language acquisition in the public school: 1) the native population who, for whatever reason, is not reading, writing, or performing at grade level; and 2) the ESL or ELL student who is years behind in English and therefore at an automatic disadvantage in higher grades (Ochoa and Cadiero-Kaplan, 2004). This is further complicated when we realize that by secondary school it is not simply a matter of teaching more vocabulary and grammar. By this point in the educational process, core and ancillary subjects themselves have become more complex. There is a specific language for math, for the sciences, for literary analysis, for historical research and sourcing, and even for the arts. Thus, one is not simply learning to speak better English — one is expected to advance to speaking "academia" (Demski, 2009).
If we honestly examine the barriers students face when learning English in the secondary school system, we find that there are outside social and cultural pressures, a lack of sophistication in the language that results in being so lost that behavioral problems abound, a lack of support at home because English is rarely spoken, and a tremendous desire to belong to their own socio-cultural group. Research shows that many bilingual students move from school to school based on the economic necessity of the parents, and are thus unable to build a foundation in English. However, regardless of external circumstances, there is a clear expectation of dual language learning and comprehension.
Because of this continued frustration — and the fact that students never seem to be able to gain mastery over the language — many simply drop out. In contrast, several factors have been identified that contribute to a more robust level of success in English language acquisition: 1) e-learning; 2) culture-based instruction; 3) increased communication and parental involvement; 4) motivational theory; and 5) increased use of technology-based classroom learning (Christy, 2005; Walker, 2005; Ferlazzo, 2009).
The role of globalization has had a remarkable effect on both the technological developments and the cultural attributes of business, society, and most especially education in the United States. Instant global communication is now possible, and individuals know they can instantly communicate with almost anywhere in the world at an affordable cost. The more technology improves, the more this global economy, culture, and society develops. Globalization continues to break down societal barriers, and one of the key elements in this process is education. As this trend continues and geometrically advances, it is essential for educational institutions to understand and meet the needs of numerous ethnic and multicultural students and faculty. In a society that is becoming more and more pluralistic, the diversity of individuals continues to be complex for anyone involved in the management and administration of educational goals (Gibson and Rojas, 2006).
As Gibson and Rojas observe: "For Western industrialized societies seemingly burdened with absorbing large flows of newcomers, immigration often inspires prickly, if not virulent, debates around citizenship, belonging, displacement, and exile. Whether framed in terms of incorporation or exclusion, the construction of the 'immigrant' as a subject requiring intervention wields substantial symbolic power in 'advanced' societies dealing with the 'problems' of immigration today" (Gibson and Rojas, 2006, p. 69).
The importance of curriculum development and structure cannot be overestimated when dealing with multicultural education. Rarely does one find a classroom in today's schools that is not multicultural, and it is important to address the English language needs of reading and literacy within the context of these new Americans. European schools are far more advanced than U.S. schools in dealing with the development of coherent linguistic skills, and have recognized since the 1950s the importance of language acquisition as one of the primary determinants of acculturation and socialization within the school system. This view also transcends the school since, in many cases, parents remain far behind in learning and communicating in English (Mitchell and Salsbury, 2000).
One of the essential challenges of multicultural education is to first recognize that it can be construed as one of the first phases of discrimination. Immigrant children and youth, in order to become comfortable within their new surroundings, must be welcomed into the school system with the intent that they will be immersed in a program designed for the improvement of their English language skills. Education, however, does not equate with schooling, but without linguistic skills the student is adrift in a new world and unable to prepare themselves for the actual task of learning. There is no debate that increased globalization has become a fact of life; therefore, it is time for schools to prepare children for a concept advocated 60 years ago by the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead — that of teaching "world mobility" and the shrinking of cultural barriers (Portes and Rumbaut, 1996).
The key for educators and school systems is to find a way to make the acquisition of English part of the core curriculum, and to hire and teach accordingly. Just as American schools are often deficient in science and math, the socio-cultural realities require that there be a trained English as a Second Language (ESL) specialist on staff or available, or that there be a requirement for ESL certification in certain high-impact areas and districts. Research shows that new immigrants can acquire bits of "survival English" rather quickly, but the ability to use English for academic purposes takes far longer and requires a more specialized set of coursework and training (La Celle-Peterson and Rivera, 1994, p. 2).
The primary goal is to move the new immigrant into his or her grade level of literacy at the earliest possible time, so that standards of educational testing and expectations may be met in line with peers. Most scholars posit that the way to accomplish this is to develop a separate but aggressive curriculum that immerses the student in English and follows up with positive reinforcement and training at every conceivable opportunity. Instruction in reading is necessary but not sufficient for this type of student — a significant amount of oral training and proficiency-level work is also crucial, including decoding, word recognition, verbal spelling, and the written skills of comprehension and composition. At the same time, "that educators implement multicultural education, they must be concerned with helping to change the conditions in society that lead to the vast differences among schools" (August and Shanahan, 2006, p. 4; Gollnick and Chinn, 2008, intro).
Additional findings show that the best way to represent multicultural diversity in classrooms is not to segregate new students completely, but — in the interests of globalization — to enrich the entire classroom experience by understanding the role of multiculturalism as part of the whole course curriculum, whether that means a different way of approaching social studies and music, or utilizing cultural and linguistic training in literature, English, and even mathematics (Moore-Hart, 2004, pp. 87–88).
It is also worth noting that there is a rather hierarchical taxonomy within multicultural education theory: conservative multiculturalism, which assumes that unsuccessful minorities come from culturally deprived backgrounds and require ethnicity "stripping" for economic success; liberal multiculturalism, which emphasizes the sameness of all groups while remaining culturally aware; pluralistic multiculturalism, which focuses more on learning about differences and integrating race as simply part of individual identity; left-essentialist multiculturalism, which holds that the conservative element uses language and educational means as a form of minority control; and critical multiculturalism, which transcends race, class, gender, and even sexuality into a larger, more complex social struggle (Kincheloe and Steinberg, 1997; Campbell, 2008).
Ahmad is an 11-year-old boy in the 6th grade. He has been in ESL programs for the past two years, ever since he and his family arrived from the United Arab Emirates. He is friendly, enthusiastic, and seems to enjoy school, but has two problems that are holding him back regarding literacy: 1) Ahmad reads well for his grade level, but miscues and substitutes words and vowels; and 2) his vocabulary development has not matched his ability to read and pronounce words. Ahmad's parents are quite supportive of his schoolwork, his teachers, and of Ahmad mastering English. While they have only limited English themselves, they insist that their children do everything possible to "fit in" with their new country by learning to read and write in English.
Ahmad's day is fairly structured and follows a daily routine designed to ensure that each student meets daily requirements, but it leaves little room for outside intervention:
The day begins with a short assembly in the gymnasium. This assembly, led by the principal, is communicative in nature, giving students general as well as specific information and motivational ideas. Students then move to advisory to discuss what they learned from the principal, followed by first-period science class. Science is tutorial-based but often broken up into groups of four for lab and experimentation work. Math lab includes a number of different activities that rotate regularly. Following math, students meet for art class, which varies daily in activities and social and spatial development. Lunch and a brief recess follow. The first class after lunch focuses on learning tools combined with independent reading; the teacher uses only worksheets as a student activity after reading, with question worksheets designed to uncover comprehension and vocabulary development. The next class is social studies, with work in pairs; the teacher uses a number of different strategies and course outlines for variety. The final period of the day focuses on English, or ESL for international students.
Reviewing a typical day for Ahmad reveals some serious disconnects in terms of his continued improvement in literacy:
There is a lack of consistent strategies to allow Ahmad the chance to catch up with vocabulary development. Instead, there are so many new strategies and tasks that he falls further behind because he is unable to achieve the requisite Level 6 vocabulary. Each class is working in isolation; in the absence of an official IEP, the school should at least find a way to establish some logical support between core subjects that culminates in the literacy course at the end of the day. For ESL learners, it is important to provide a rubric of regular growth; Ahmad is being challenged with too many disparate messages to adequately comprehend them within a given day.
Ahmad's Student Reading Interest Survey shows that he is engaged, has multiple interests, and is able to search for and process information at grade level. His preference for Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid shows that he is able to understand wry humor, the concepts of personification, point of view, place, and magical realism. While there are several moral lessons in the book, it requires that the reader interpret humor and cynicism in a way that demands some understanding of idiom, dialogue, and more advanced sentence structure. There are also numerous subplots and narrative manipulations that contribute to the overall story. Ahmad collects additional volumes of the series, showing that he enjoys storyline development, adolescent trials and tribulations, and has enough empathy to understand social intricacies more characteristic of middle school than elementary school (Kinney, 2004).
The following is a summary of Ahmad's reading interest survey responses:
In-School Interests: Favorite book read independently: Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Favorite book read aloud to him: Lawn Boy. Types of books he likes to read on his own: story books with cartoons and pictures, and informational books. Favorite materials at home: Unbelievable Facts. Newspaper reading: none. Favorite school subject (other than lunch): Language Arts. Special research project completed: a project about Salt Lake City, Utah.
Out-of-School Interests: Weekend or after-school activities: playing football. Hobby: swimming. Favorite TV show: Discovery Channel. Favorite video or computer games: iPod Touch. Internet surfing focus: how to make airplanes. Collection: all Diary of a Wimpy Kid books.
"Ahmad's writing gaps and Fry readability gap analysis"
"Eight targeted lesson plans for Ahmad's literacy development"
"Types, variations, and research on dual language programs"
"Integrated intervention plan and tutoring recommendations"
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.