maribel's+thoughts

 I was very happy to read that this panel led by Diane August, a principal investigator, decided not to use the term limited English proficient (LEP) when referring to language-minority students because they felt like using this term would reduce the students to an abbreviation. Although it seems fast and convenient to use three little letters to discuss students, it is more personal and/or you picture a person when you state the whole word, language-minority student, when referring to these students. It seems like the panel had a clear vision of what they wanted to embark upon in order to “produce a comprehensive report evaluating and synthesizing the literature” on the many factors influencing second-language literacy development among language-minority children and youth. The panel suggest many factors one must be cognizant when teaching these students. Some factors include, the age at which skills are acquired, individual differences in second-language oral proficiency and cognitive abilities, first-language oral proficiency and literacy, some socio-cultural variables, and classroom and school factors. One of the five domains the panel investigated was sociocultural contexts and literacy development. The question of, “What is the influence of immigration (generation status and immigration circumstances) on literacy development, defined broadly?” is a question that really hit home. After coming back from being off track in the month of April, my partner teacher and I found out that one of her students would not be returning to school because she and her family were being deported. We were shocked and sadden to hear the news. Not shocked at the fact that she was being deported because we are well aware that many of our students are in the same predicament, but shocked that we would find out the reason. This language-minority child had very little English acquisition and was performing below grade level. She was an at-risk for retention candidate and would most likely have been retained in kindergarten if she had returned to school. She would make a prime candidate for a study dealing with this issue. Since there is “little evidence for the impact of sociocultural variables on literacy achievement or development,” it will definitely be complicated to try and find answers on why this particular student, or any other like her, would be failing in school. Although, it seems like in general, studies suggest that literacy outcomes are more likely to be the result of home (and school) language and literacy learning opportunities, irrespective of sociocultual factors such as immigration circumstances or students’ cultural characteristics. Keeping in mind that one general shortcoming in this area is that relatively few studies have examined the impact of sociocultural factors on actual student outcomes, is an area of research one can hope to ponder. It does seem like a daunting task but with the right guidance anything is possible.