Adult ESL Literacy Impact Study: Overview and Observations

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Adult ESL Literacy Impact StudyOverview and
Observations

• Larry Condelli
• American Institutes for
• Research USA
• LESLLA
• Fourth Annual Symposium
• Antwerp, Belgium
• October 23, 2008

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Overview of Presentation

• Summary of Purpose, Research Questions and Design
  
• Review of Instructional Approach
• Observations and Discussion

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Recent Research On Adult ESL Literacy Instruction

• What Works Study
• Review of literature and instructional approaches
  in the USA
• Adult ESL Literacy Impact Study

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What Seems to Work for ESL Literacy Instruction

• Oral Language Skills literacy development may
  be aided when student has oral language skills
• Connection to real-world tasks and materials in
  instruction
• Native Language Support Literacy in L1 promotes
  L2 development

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What Seems to Work for ESL Literacy Instruction
(More)

• Direct, systematic or explicit teaching of
  language structure and vocabulary
• Conscious cognitive processing (e.g.,
  attention, focused practice and use of reading
  comprehension strategies)
• Student Personal Factors- - (motivation,
  emotional engagement, social engagement)

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Evaluation of an ESL Literacy Intervention Sam
and Pat

• Structured language approach
• Adapted from Wilson Reading System
• Never before evaluated for ESL
• Literacy activities organized
• around basal reader/workbook
• Heavily phonics-based

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Research Questions

• How effective is instruction using the
  intervention in improving the English reading,
  speaking and listening skills of low-literate
  adult ESL learners?
• Is the intervention more effective for certain
  groups of students (e.g., language, literacy
  level)?
• Do differences in level of implementation of Sam
  and Pat and other instruction relate to variation
  in impacts?

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Study Design

• 10 adult ESOL centers across USA
• Paired intervention and normal ESL literacy
  classes (38 total)
• Random assignment of students and teachers
• Minimum 5 hours/week 10-12 weeks instruction with
  approach
• Other instruction also
• provided (5-10 hours/week)
• Each class conduced
• twice over a year

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Student Flow in the Study
Intake NL Literacy

• Student applies to center
• Assessed for NLL
• Recruited into study
• Gives informed consent
• Random assignment to class
• Pretests administered
• Instruction
• Posttests administered

Recruited into Study Informed consent
Random Assignment
Pre-test
Post-test
Instruction
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Students Assessments

• Letter naming
• Phonics and decoding
• Word attack
• Word ID
• Reading comprehension
• Vocabulary (ROWPVT)
• Listening, oral expression

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Sam And Pat Teachers in the Study

• All teachers randomly assigned
• 3-day teacher training on curriculum
• Follow-up visits by trainers
• Classroom observations
• to monitor fidelity
• Refresher webinar at
• start of second term

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Classroom Observations

• Literacy development instruction
• Pre-literacy
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Reading strategies comprehension
• Writing

• ESL Instruction
• Oral language development
• Grammar, etc.
• Vocabulary
• Socio-cultural knowledge
• Functional literacy

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Students in the Study True Literacy (LESLLA)

• Little or no literacy in native language
• Limited oral English
• Education 0-6 years
• Languages
• Haitian-Creole
• Spanish
• Burmese
• Others

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Students in the Study Non-Roman Alphabet Literate

• Some Literacy in native language with non-Roman
  script
• Mean education 6 and more years
• Limited oral English
• Languages
• Armenian
• Arabic
• Farsi
• Chinese
• Others

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Instructional Approach
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Sam and Pat Literacy and Language Skills Covered

• Phonics for reading and writing
• Sight words
• Oral reading for
• accuracy and fluency
• Reading comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Speaking and listening
• Grammar

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Sam and Pat Instructional Approach

• Direct instruction, transparent
• Rules explained, modeled, practiced
• Controlled text, vocabulary and grammar
• Words match phonics already learned
• Sequential
• Easy to hard in defined steps
• Multi-sensory, kinesthetic
• ESL instruction to support literacy

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Structured Two Part Lesson

• Part 1
• Rereading familiar text
• Pre-reading (picture story)
• Letters and phonics
• Vocabulary and grammar
• Sight words
• Conversation

• Part 2
• Review of Part 1 content
• Read story
• Written exercises

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Instruction A Closer Look

• Videos illustrating instructional approach
  (technology willing)
• A teachers perspective
• Kirk Olgin

1 SP 13
2 SP 15
3 SP 6
4 SP 16
5 SP 1
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Observations and Discussion

• Implications for Conducting Instructional
  Research on LESLLA Students

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Implications for LESLLA Research

• Finding LESLLA students
• Lack of understanding of literacy vs language
• Poor record keeping
• Assessing LESLLA students
• Few assessments available
• Administering assessments language, lack of test
  taking skills

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Implications for LESLLA Research (cont. 1)

• The chaos that is adult ESL in the USA
• Disorganized intake
• Open entry
• Training teachers
• Lack of training in literacy
• Short training time available

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Implications for LESLLA Research (cont. 2)

• Small impacts
• LELLSA students slow progress
• Short instructional time
• Low impact of instruction
• Working with funders
• Own views on research
• Lack of understanding of LESLLA and adult ESL
• Political considerations

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Discussion

• Questions, comments
• Study, design, students?
• Instructional approach?
• Other?

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Dank U Wel!

• Contacts
• lcondelli_at_air.org
• kolgin_at_glendale.edu
• Enjoy the LESLLA
• Conference