speech-language pathologists’ importance in early childhood special education: creating supportive...

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Importance in Early Childhood

Special Education: Creating Supportive Learning Environments for Young Children with Disabilities

– Part 2

Jane E. Minnema, Ph.D.St Cloud State University

Office Telephone: 308-3969jeminnema@stcloudstate.edu

Introductions for Part 2

Who I am … and where I’ve been

Who you are … and where you’ve been

Cross-cultural teaching + research for the past 12 years

Jane’s approach to adult learning

Why Am I Here Today?Care passionately about the developmental and learning outcomes for all young children!

Carry professional concern for young dual or multiple language learners

And now, personal concern for bi-racial children

Ok … I’ll stop!!!

Session Outcomes – Part 2 What I hope for:

I. Understanding EBP per ASHA and DEC

II. Pondering current research findings for dual or multiple language learners

What I wish I knew when teaching!

III. The importance of SLPs for setting the ECSE learning environments!

Evidence-Based Practices: Mandates!

“The law says teachers must use

evidence-based teaching practices (EBPs)

to ensure their students receive the

highest quality instruction.” (NCLB, 2002)

EBP and high quality teaching go hand-in hand!Proven teaching techniques help students

make more progress in shorter amounts of time.

A winning combination when these practices

are added to teachers’ professional skills and knowledge of their students.   

ASHA and EBP

The goal of EBP is the integration of:

(a) clinical expertise,

(b) best current evidence, and

(c) client or patient perspectives to provide high-quality services reflecting the interests, values, needs, and choices of the

individuals we serve.

ASHA’s EBP Conceptualization

Conceptually, the trilateral principles forming the bases for EBP can be represented through a simple figure:

EBP

Client/Patient ValuesClinical Expertise

Current Best Evidence

ECSE and EBP

What is evidenced-based practice?

… A decision-making process that integrates the best available research evidence with family and professional wisdom and values.”

(Buysse & Wesley, 2006; Snyder, 2006; Winton, 2006)

Chronological Development of EBP in ECSE

Odom (2002) – Defining by blending research with practical and family

wisdom

Odom & Strain (2002) – Validated

research that supports DEC

Recommended Practices

2002 forward – Professional debate

ensued to the present

Adding to the SLP-EBP Perspective

EBP is more than journal articles!

IEP more than a document!!

If considered as a process:Professional now partnered w/ family

Removes our “expertness”

Child- and family-focused decisions

What Does ECSE-EBP Suggest?Specific word “current” implications:

Avoids the “old” isolated table top therapy approach

But, tried and true intervention principles still apply – especially for dual language learners

Specific word “best” implications:Does imply our “expertness”

Educational team needs “ground leveling”

Evidence-Based Practice: Wanted, Needed, and Hard to Get

“While the law requires teachers to use evidence-based practices in their classrooms, the field has not yet determined criteria for evidence based practice nor whether special education has a solid foundation of evidence-based practices. Also, those teaching strategies that have been researched are difficult for teachers to access.”

CEC, June 8, 2008

Our Task Today: Making EBP a Reality!

“While this seems pretty straightforward,

the difficulty lies in making the concept

a reality.”

(CEC, 6-8-08)

EBP for Dual Language Learners

Splintered Discussion Remains in the Literature

How much evidence for practice credibility?

Which research methods garner scientific evidence best?

How do teachers access EBPs?

Does research trust teachers to use the

methods correctly?

Do teachers trust researchers to understand classroom demands?

How can teachers meld EBPs and the craft

of teaching?

Why are SLPs really important to the ECSE learning environment?

I. Blending ASHA + DEC definitions of Evidence-based Practice

I. Pair Share … or Multiple Share!

How is this “blended” definition of EBP differ what you are currently doing in practice?

How can you change your current practice to better accommodate this new understanding of EBP?

Why are SLPs really important to the ECSE learning environment?

II. Embedding normal dual language development into dialogic reading

I will actually be presenting …

… a case for bilingualism!

Reasons to support a child’s native language

 Given the global  economy and 

increasing diversity in our  country there

is actually a great demand  for fully 

proficient bilinguals. Why should  we 

not support this capacity in native 

speakers? (Portes & Hao, 1998; Valdes, 1997)

Why is it desirable  for native English speakers 

(primarily upper  and middle SES) to learn a second

language, but native speakers of a minority 

language (primarily low SES) are pressured  into 

learning and maintain English only? 

Social  Reasons To Support a Child’s Native Language

The child will  be surrounded with 

English speakers and  will quickly 

recognize English as the  language with

higher status and power in this society.

The greatest likelihood is actually 

that immigrant children will discontinue

using their native language

(Portes & Hao, 1998).

Social Reasons to support a child’s native language 

The child must  be able to 

communicate with his/her family  and 

community so that he/she does not 

become socially isolated. Maintaining 

strong  native language skills will allow 

parents  to communicate affection, 

discipline and teach  cultural values (Wong-Fillmore, 1991). 

Research evidence to answer the question“English-only  or native language

support?”

Based on a convergence of evidence it is recognized that supporting a child’s native language early on and specifically developing early literacy skills in a child’s native language better supports later academic outcomes in English.

(August & Shanahan, 2006; Christian, 1996; Cummins, 1979; Oller & Eilers, 2002; Rolstad, Mahoney, & Glass, 2005; Thomas & Collier, 2002; + many more)

So, having said this …

The question is not whether all U.S. children should learn English.

The question is how can this best be achieved?

Let’s return to the SLP in the ECSE learning environment.

How do dual language learners learn English?

First, understand terms:

Simultaneous: Two languages acquired from birth

Sequential: No consensus in the field, ideas range from the introduction of the second language at the age of one month to 3 years.

(deHouwer, 1990; Genesee, Paradis, Crago, 2004; MacLaughlin, 1984)

More Terms:Additive bilingualism: “Situations where both languages are supported and languages develop in parallel.”

Subtractive bilingualism: “Situations

characterized by a gradual loss of the first language as a result of increasing mastery and use of the second language.”

(Diaz & Klingler, 1999; Genesee, Paradis, & Crago, 2004)

More terms:

Code-mixing that follows grammatical rules is not evidence of language confusion, but has been found to be directly proportional to the rate of language mixing in the child’s

environment.

e.g. “Spanglish” (Lanza, 1992; Petitto et al., 2001)

Research evidence provided by samples of young simultaneous bilinguals:

Young (middle class) bilingual children who acquire two languages from birth reach linguistic milestones at the same age as their monolingual peers. We need to look at BOTH

of their languages when assessing.

(Bedore, Peña, Garcia, Cortez, 2005; Genesee, 2001; Holowka et al., 2002; Petitto, 2001)

More research findings …

Young bilinguals demonstrate interlocutor sensitivity indicating that they are aware of which language to use with different people.

(Maneva & Genesee, 2002; Petitto et al., 2001)

More research results:

An abundance of translation equivalents have been documented in young bilingual children demonstrating that young children

recognize that they need different words for the same concept in different contexts.

(Genesee, 2001; Holowka et al., 2002; Pearson, Fernández, & Oller, 1995; Petitto, 2001)

Challenging Common Myths: Dual Language Learners

http://www.fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/MythsOfTeachingELLsEspinosa.pdf

Linda M. EspinosaFOUNDATION for CHILD DEVELOPMENTFCD Policy BriefAdvancing PK-3No. EightJanuary 2008

Interactive Responses … T/F?

MYTH 1: Learning two languages during the early childhood years will overwhelm, confuse, and/or delay a child’s acquisition of English.

Challenging Common Myths About Young English Language Learners, Linda M. Espinosa, FOUNDATION for CHILD DEVELOPMENT, FCD Policy Brief, Advancing PK-3,

No. Eight, January 2008.

Research-based ResponseYoung children learning two languages also have more neural

activity in the parts of the brain associated with language processing. This increased brain activity and neural density may have long-term positive effects on specific types of cognitive abilities, such as those that require focusing on the details of a task and knowing how language is structured and used. These studies have also demonstrated that knowing more than one language does not delay the acquisition of English or impede academic achievement in English when

both languages are supported.

Research on children who learn English after their home language has been established — usually around age three — has also shown that most young children are capable of adding a second language during the PK-3 years and that this dual language ability confers long-term cognitive, cultural, and economic advantages.

Interactive Responses … T/F?

MYTH 2: Total English immersion from Prekindergarten through Third Grade is the best way for a young English Language Learner to acquire English.

Research-based ResponseResearch on the effects of early English immersion programs for ELL students contradicts this belief. The evidence suggests that children in these preschool programs

tend to lose their ability to communicate in their first language, start to prefer the English language, frequently develop communication problems with their extended families, and experience depressed academic achievement in English.

Systematic, deliberate exposure to English during early childhood combined with ongoing opportunities to learn important concepts in the home language results in the highest achievement in both the home language and English by the end of Third Grade and beyond.

Interactive Responses … T/F?

MYTH 3: Because schools don’t have the capacity to provide instruction in all of the languages represented by the children, they should provide English-only instruction.

Research-based Response

It is clear that in order to thrive academically, socially, and

cognitively, young ELL children need systematic support for

their home language while they are acquiring English. Even when teachers do not speak the child’ s first language, there are many specific teaching practices that will support native language development.

Teachers and ancillary staff can support children’ s home language throughout the day in all kinds of learning situations; they also can train parents, community members, and volunteers to work with ELL children in their home language. Ideally, educators will provide home language support through the elementary grades.

Interactive Responses … T/F?

MYTH 4: Native English speakers will experience academic and language delays if they are enrolled in dual language programs.

Research-based ResponseRecent evaluations show that the dual language approach is effective for both ELL students and for native English speakers. Dual language programs educate all children in two languages. The goal is to promote bilingualism and biculturalism for all students. In these classrooms, all students experience the benefits and challenges associated with learning a second language during the early childhood years as well as the richness of being introduced to many cultures and social customs.

The dual language approach is one of the few instructional methods that can fully close the achievement gap for ELL students while not adversely affecting non-ELL students. All students seem to benefit, as measured by standardized achievement testing and positive reports from parents, teachers, and administrators.

Interactive Responses … T/F?

MYTH 5: Spanish-speaking Latinos show social as well as academic delays when entering Kindergarten.

Research-based ResponseThe academic achievement gap for young Latino ELLs is significant at Kindergarten entry and persists throughout the school years. In a large national study, low-income Hispanic children scored more than half a standard deviation below the national average in math and reading achievement at Kindergarten entry.

These achievement disparities persist as children who are not native English speakers continue to have substantially lower levels of educational achievement, including high

school completion and college enrollment rates, than their peers from English-only backgrounds.

Although these academic discrepancies are well documented and well known among the educational community, almost no attention has been paid to the social

competencies of young ELL children.

Interactive Responses … T/F?

Lastly, MYTH 6: Latino English language learners are less likely to be enrolled in Prekindergarten programs, because of their families’ cultural values.

Research-based ResponseResearch documents that Latino families enroll their children in early educational programs at much lower rates than their African- American, White, and Asian counterparts. Close to half of children in California ages three to five across all racial/ethnic groups are enrolled in preschool/child care (47 percent), while only 37 percent of Latino children ages three to five are similarly enrolled. When Latino preschoolers live in a household where no one over the age of 14 speaks English fluently (linguistically isolated), the enrollment rate drops to 32 percent. In contrast, about 50 percent of Asian children in California attend preschool/child care irrespective of the ability of people over the age of 14 to speak English fluently. The conventional wisdom holds that this low attendance for Latino children, despite the well-known benefits of high-quality early education, is based on their families’ cultural values and beliefs. Because the Latino culture has a strong emphasis on “la familia” and tends to turn to the family for economic and instrumental support, many have inferred that Spanish-speaking mothers choose to keep their young children in the home rather than enrolling them in early education programs. Recent studies cast doubt on this assumption. They suggest that Latino children attend out-of-home center-based programs at lower rates because of financial constraints and lack of access, not because of any cultural reluctance.

In fact, Latina mothers have consistently placed a high value on quality early childhood programs, but often cannot find affordable programs in their neighborhoods

What can SLPs do??!1. All young children are capable of learning two languages. Becoming bilingual has long-term cognitive, academic, social, cultural, and economic benefits. Bilingualism

is an asset.

2. Young ELL students require systematic support for the continued development of

their home language.

3. Loss of the home language has potential negative long-term consequences for the ELL child’ s academic, social, and emotional development, as well as for the

family dynamics.

4. Teachers and programs can adopt effective strategies to support home language development even when the teachers are monolingual English speakers.

5. Dual language programs are an effective approach to improving academic achievement for ELL children while also providing benefits to native English speakers.

What can SLPs do??!

6. Hispanic Spanish-speaking children enter Kindergarten with many social strengths that are the result of positive parenting practices that need to be acknowledged

and enhanced.

7. Hispanic parents value high-quality early education and will enroll their young children if programs are affordable and accessible. Finally, recognizing the period from ages three to eight as critical for language development is necessary for providing the continuity and extended time for children to fully benefit from these programs. The PK-3 years are critical years for developing mastery of the sounds, structure, and functions of language, and thus are an ideal time to expose children to the benefits of two languages .

By  focusing on language and literacy …

There are  a broad range of indicators

that define  “school readiness,” but 

some of the most predictive indicator

of later school  success include 

measures of early language  and 

literacy.  (Dickinson & Tabors, 2001; 

Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). 

Why specifically Oral Vocabulary for Spanish-speaking  children?

 Oral vocabulary  can serve as a proxy measure for 

the child’s “store of knowledge” (Proctor et al., 2006).

The more a child knows about the world the better positioned they are to be successful at comprehending more advanced texts.

Spanish oral vocabulary emerges as a key area to target in early intervention programs for Spanish-speaking children to support improved long term academic and reading outcomes (Lindsey, et al. 2003; Manis, et al., 2004; Oller & Eilers, 2002; Ordoñez, et al., 2002; Proctor, et al., 2006).

Eight studies reviewed by the WWC investigated the effects of Dialogic Reading in center-based settings. Four studies (Lonigan, Anthony, Bloomfield, Dyer, & Samwel, 1999; Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998; Wasik & Bond, 2001; Whitehurst, Arnold, Epstein, Angell, Smith, & Fischel, 1994) were randomized controlled trials that met WWC evidence standards. One study (Crain-Thoreson & Dale, 1999) was a randomized controlled trial that met WWC evidence standards with reservations because of differential attrition. One additional study met the WWC evidence standards (Whitehurst, Epstein, Angell, Payne, Crone, & Fischel, 1994) and is included in this report; however, the intervention included a combination of Dialogic Reading and Sound Foundations, which does not allow the effects of Dialogic Reading alone to be determined. Therefore, this study is discussed separately and the findings are not included in the intervention ratings. The remaining two studies did not meet WWC evidence screens.

IES, What Works Clearinghouse, US Dept of Ed

2007

The Value of Dialogic ReadingJoint children’s book reading:

Repeated readings, prompt child to tell story

Tell me what is going on.

Tell me what this is.

What do you think will happen next?

As build vocabulary, approach more advanced language interaction techniques

Open ended questions

Predictive questions

How Dual Language Learners acquire other language … Styles + Strategies

Case Study 2: When intuitive Bill studies English, he constantly tries to build a mental model or big picture of the language. He avoids step-by-step language learning. Noriko, attuned more to the senses (movement, sound, sight, and touch) than to intuition, looks for English texts that proceed one step at a time. She uses flashcards, and with her classmates, she initiates "total physical response" exercises that involve all the senses.

How Dual Language Learners acquire other language … Styles + Strategies

Case Study 3: Serious Sarah outlines every English lesson, plans her study sessions, does all the exercises in her workbook religiously, and is not happy unless she is on time or ahead of schedule. Playful Michael tells jokes in English and has fun with the language, but has trouble organizing his work, coming to closure, and submitting his assignments on time.

Possible Strategies Useful for English Language Learners – FOLLOW THE

CHILD’S LEAD!Metacognitive techniques for organizing, focusing, and evaluating one's own learning

Affective strategies for handling emotions or attitudes

Social strategies for cooperating with others in the learning process

Cognitive strategies for linking new information with existing schemata and for analyzing and classifying it

Possible Strategies Useful for English Language Learners – FOLLOW THE

CHILD’S LEAD!

Memory strategies for entering new information into memory storage and for retrieving it when needed

Compensation strategies (such as guessing or using gestures) to overcome deficiencies and gaps in one's current language knowledge

How SLP USE 2nd Language Acquisition Research-based

Information?Share with ECSE when evaluating child for two language delays

Apply to intervention for child with delay in native and new language

Share with parents in “parent-friendly” language

Share with interpreters as background information for sharing interpreted messages

Use in Activity-based Intervention!!

What IS Known About Other Language Learning

Dual language learning has positive effects on children’s linguistic and educational development.

The level of development of children’s home language is a strong predictor of their next language learning.

 Spending instructional time through a “minority” language in the school does not hurt children’s academic development in the “majority” school language.

What IS Known About Other Language Learning (cont)

Children’s home languages are fragile and easily lost in the early years of school.

To reject a child’s language in the school is to reject the child.

For dialogic reading activities

Stages of Second Language

Acquisition in Early Childhood

(Tabors, 1997)

Stages of Other Language Learning

1. Silent/Nonverbal: Child is listening and observing while ―cracking the code of the new language.

2a. Early Production-Telegraphic speech: Children used shortened phrases such as “put paper” to convey I want you to put the paper on the table.

2b. Formulaic speech: Children use prefabricated chunks before they have any idea of what they mean.

Stages of Other Language Learning (cont)

3. Productive Language Use: Child begins to demonstrate an understanding of the syntactic system of the language. They go beyond short phrases and formulas to create their own sentences conveying

their own precise meaning.

Cummins’ Language Proficiency Model

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

A) Language proficiency needed to function in everyday personal contexts

B) Not related to academic achievement

Cummins’ Language Proficiency Model

C) BICS usually attained after two years in host country

D) Examples include the child who has English phrases often heard on favorite TV programs such as Blue’s Clues, Dora, etc. or the child who can respond in English in a routine setting such as saying “yes please” at snack or “my turn” to another child during free play.

It is critical that BICS is not confused with…

Cummins’ Language Proficiency Model

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)

A) Language Proficiency needed to function in decontextualized, academic settings.

B) Skills needed to manipulate language outside of the immediate interpersonal context.

C) Dimension of language related to literacy skills.

CALP (cont)D) CALP develops throughout school years

E) Attained between five and seven years in host country

F) Examples include the child who can answer more abstract questions in English such as “What do you do when you are hungry?” or can complete verbal analogies in English such as “A horse is big a mouse is_____?”

Research evidence suggests that there is a significant amount of individual variation!

Instead it is critical to look at all English language

learning students individually.

There are generally no big categories to capture all

students’ language abilities.

Research indicates these are some of the critical

factors in acquiring a second language: SES, maternal ed,

cognitive ability, level of mastery in native language, motivation,

older siblings, age of introduction to second language.

What can SLP add to the ECSE learning environment?

Dual language learning aspects to dialogic reading!

Clearly understand the importance of language skills to future life functioning, social/emotional development, and academic success

Entering the ECSE learning environment!

Activity-based intervention for dual language learners with disabilities

Remember Activity-based Intervention?

Activity-based intervention is defined as a "child-directed, transactional approach that embeds intervention on children's individual goals and objectives in routine, planned, or child-initiated activities, and uses logically occurring antecedents and consequences to develop functional and generative skills"

(Bricker & Cripe, 1992).

SLPs can:

Embed speech/language instructional objectives for dual language learners in:

Preschool activities

Preschool daily routines (e.g., arrival, leave taking, etc.)

Teachers’ instructional and directional language

Recommendations for use at home

Summarizing SLPs Importance to ECSE learning environments

Share strategies about styles and strategies in learning other languages

Share dual language research-based information with teachers, parents, and other staff

Model “recommended practices” for dual language learners through activity-based intervention and targeted instructional language

Follow up to leave skills with classroom staff!

SLPs can encourage …

Support dual language learning opportunities that can occur during designated classroom instructional time throughout the day in each language, in addition to extended activities conducted in the home by family members in the child’ s first language.

Encouraging ELL children’ s families to continue to talk with, read to, and sing to the child and to use the home language in everyday activities will promote continuous development of the child’ s first language while the child also is acquiring English.

Is Bilingualism Attainable?

Over ½ of  the world’s population is 

bilingual (deHouwer, 1995)

Many other countries have instituted and researched bilingual education including: Canada, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, Mexico, and China (Krashen, 1999)

Current Barriers to Implementing EBPs

Profession struggling to

define and standardize EBPs. Next hurdle to overcome is

getting EBPs to teachers. And finally, teachers need to

have the time, tools, and

funding to implement the

practices.

Why are SLPs really important in ECSE?

I. Blending ASHA + DEC definitions of Evidence-based Practice

II. Embedding normal dual language development into dialogic reading

III. Applying Activity-based Intervention to support dual language acquisition within an ECSE learning environment

You are another piece of …

… how WE CAN CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP!!!

Our Very Precious, Important Responsibility!!

Thank you for your kind attention!!

And thank you for mine …