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Fun Language Apps Boost Senior Brain Function

Bilingualism has been linked to improved executive function and delayed onset of dementia, but it is unknown whether similar benefits can be obtained later in life through deliberate intervention. Given the logistical hurdles of second language acquisition in a randomized trial for older adults, few interventional studies have been done thus far. However, recently developed smartphone apps offer a convenient means to acquire skills in a second language and can be compared with brain training apps specifically designed to improve executive function. In a randomized clinical trial, 76 adults aged 65–75 were assigned to either 16 weeks of Spanish learning using the app Duolingo 30 minutes a day, an equivalent amount of brain training using the app BrainHQ, or a waitlist control condition. Executive function was assessed before and after the intervention with preregistered (NCT03638882) tests previously linked to better performance in bilinguals. For two of the primary measures: incongruent Stroop color naming and 2-back accuracy, Duolingo provided equivalent benefits as BrainHQ compared to a control group. On reaction time for N-back and Simon tests, the BrainHQ group alone experienced strong gains over the other two groups. Duolingo was rated as more enjoyable. These results suggest that app-based language learning may provide some similar benefits as brain training in improving executive function in seniors but has less impact on processing speed. However, future advancements in app design may optimize not only the acquisition of the target language but also the side benefits of the language learning experience.

See the full report:

Jed A. Meltzer, Mira Kates Rose, Anna Y. Le, Kiah A. Spencer, Leora Goldstein, Alina Gubanova, Abbie C. Lai, Maryam Yossofzai, Sabrina E.M. Armstrong & Ellen Bialystok (2021) Improvement in executive function for older adults through smartphone apps: a randomized clinical trial comparing language learning and brain training, Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2021.1991262

Portuguese Museum Arises Like a Phoenix

Six years after it went up in flames, Brazil’s Museum of the Portuguese Language has reopened at the Estação da Luz station in the heart of São Paulo. The museum originally opened in 2006 but was destroyed in December 2015, in a fire that claimed the life of a firefighter.

It is now opening its doors to the public once again six years later in the heart of São Paulo, offering a historically rich and socially inclusive tour of the world’s fifth-most widely spoken language.

Three levels of São Paulo’s Estação da Luz, an iconic train station built in 1901 and used by hundreds of thousands of people every day, have once again become an interactive space for celebrating the language spoken by 260 million people across nine countries. Isa Grinspum, one of the curators of the museum’s permanent exhibition, told EFE, “It was a tremendous shock, an enormous loss, but it gave us the chance to rethink the museum, which is a unique opportunity.” Back-up copies enabled the museum’s almost entirely digital collection to be recovered, but the structure designed by famed Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha (1928–2021)— winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2006—and his son Pedro was lost.

About 86 million reals ($16.5 million) were spent on an “intense reconstruction process” that took years and enlisted the contributions of artists, intellectuals, and musicians, the museum’s technical director, Marília Bonas, said.

The museum’s goal remains the same— celebration of the diverse forms of the Portuguese language spoken around the world. Those different dialects are the result of Indigenous and African cultural influences, as well as the incorporation of linguistic elements from a variety of other languages, including Japanese, Spanish, and Italian.

The museum traces the history of the Portuguese language from its Latin origins to its multiple present-day varieties, ranging from the types of Portuguese spoken in rural areas to those found in the favelas (shanty-towns) of Brazil’s largest cities.

“The idea is to propose a space for dialogue, reflection, and discovery of all that potential of the Portuguese language. Ultimately, it’s about answering the question, ‘what does this language want and what can it do?’, paraphrasing Caetano Veloso,” Grinspum said in reference to the famed Brazilian composer and singer’s song “Lingua.”

The museum also sheds light on the darker history of Portuguese through its examination of the violent colonization process and the brutal toll it exacted on Indigenous peoples and the thousands of slaves brought from Africa.

French Fallout from Canadian Elections

Canada’s snap election this past month was a stark reminder for many of the nation’s residents that the country still has a tricky and contentious relationship with its two official languages, English and French.

Although English is spoken by more than 85% of Canada’s population, the elections featured two French-language debates and just one English-language debate between the candidates running for prime minister. The New York Times noted in its coverage of the debates that the two conducted in French were primarily concerned with issues relating to Québec, while the English-language debate focused on a broader scope of issues.

A focal point of the last debate (conducted in English) was Québec’s recent bills regarding language (Bill 96) and religion (Bill 21). Bill 96 was first proposed earlier this year to much outcry over its de facto requirement that new immigrants to Québec learn to read and write French within two months of arriving in the country. While the government of Québec would provide language accommodations and translations of official communications in the first two months, after that, the government would only communicate with new immigrants in French.

Bill 96 would also affect language requirements for businesses, schools, and government agencies, the latter of which would be required to use French as the sole language of written and spoken communication.

The bills came up in a question to Yves-François Blanchet at the English-language debate on Sept. 9. Blanchet was running as the leader of the Bloc Québécois party. Moderator Shachi Kurl pressed him about his thoughts on the bills, controversially noting that they “marginalize religious minorities, Anglophones, and allophones.” Blanchet pushed back on the question, noting that the bills were not about oppressing these groups but rather supporting “the values of Québec.”

While many outside of Québec found Kurl’s question to be appropriate, about 65% of Quebecers found the question inappropriate, according to a Léger poll conducted after the debate. A report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation noted that the controversial question may have led to a surge of support for Blanchet among Québec’s residents. In the end, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected once again. This will mark Trudeau’s third term as the country’s prime minister and his second with a minority government. Andrew Warner

Could Whistling Be the Forerunner of Language?

The origins of human language have long been a source of debate for linguists, anthropologists, and biologists alike. When compared with other forms of communication throughout the animal kingdom, like birdsong or the vocalizations of mole rats (Language Magazine, Feb. 2021), human language is somewhat peculiar in its level of complexity. Past theories have pinned the origins of human language on different behaviors and phenomena—some theorists propose that both language and musical abilities evolved out of a primitive “musilanguage” mechanism. Others believe speech evolved from complex gestural systems resembling sign language. A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology (www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689501/full) presents a third potential origin: whistling. Whistled languages are a relatively rare form of human communication—there are only about 80 documented across the world, mostly in rural areas. The study, conducted by researchers in France and the U.S., uses recent advances in our understanding of human whistled language to better understand the whistling sounds that dolphins use to communicate among themselves.

“The principle of whistled speech is straightforward: people articulate words while whistling and thereby transform spoken utterances by simplifying them, syllable by syllable, into whistled melodies,” the researchers write. “It constitutes a natural traditional means of telecommunication that permits spoken communication at long distances in a large diversity of languages of the world.” The team of researchers believe whistled languages could be useful in tracing the evolution of human language.

Inspiring Language Learners through Competition

For over 60 years, AATSP’s National Spanish Examinations (NSE) have offered students enrolled in Spanish an opportunity to participate in the U.S.’s largest academic contest. The NSE promotes language proficiency, assesses performance according to the World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages, stimulates further interest in language study, and motivates Spanish language students in secondary and middle schools. The NSE contest is a program of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) and is an approved contest by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The contest is administered annually in the spring term. In 2021, the contest expanded to include younger learners with an elementary-level version called the National Spanish Challenge (NSC). The contests are available to learners whose sole Spanish-language experience is in school as well as those who have had experience with Spanish at home, in their communities, or abroad.

During a typical year, the contest includes 150,000 students. Not surprisingly, during the last two pandemic years, the contest did not reach the prepandemic number of students. However, the students who were able to participate during the pandemic displayed the same sense of achievement as students in other years. For example, Spanish teacher Stella Muñoz shares that recently graduated Spanish student Olivia Marrero from Jackson High School, Massillon, Ohio, took the NSE for the last three years and had silver medal placement in 2021. She is attending the Ohio State University as an Eminence Fellow and Stamps Scholar this fall. Olivia shares that she is excited to continue as she minors in Spanish and Latin American studies at university. According to Olivia, “Spanish has not only been an amazing challenge for me, but it has opened many doors and allowed for the creation of lifelong relationships. I can’t wait to dive deeper into Latin American language and culture, as each country has something special to offer and explore. No matter where I end up, Spanish will be an important addition to my career and life as a future environmental chemist.” Spanish teacher Alondra Pacheco of the University School in Cleveland, Ohio, talks about Spanish student Varun Tamaskar, who is now a senior and has been studying Spanish for five years. He earned a gold medal and second place in the state of Ohio for the Level 4 NSE. This school year, Varun will be his chapter’s Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH) president. He looks forward to developing community engagement projects that will help promote Hispanic/Latino culture.

How Are NSE and NSC Students Recognized?
Students can earn medals in Oro (Gold), Plata (Silver), and Bronce (Bronze) and ribbons that display outstanding personal achievement and add to their school’s profile. Students also receive certificates, no matter their placement, for participation. NSE Spanish teachers receive accolades for outstanding students as well as detailed data about student performance to help improve student learning. Students beginning in the eighth grade can also compete for scholarships and educational language-immersion opportunities through the NSE. Immersion may include travel abroad to destinations in Latin America and Spain or scholarships to Concordia Language Villages. During the pandemic, virtual immersion options have been available. NSE teachers can also compete for travel and stipend opportunities.

The AATSP’s new NSE director and long-time supporter of the NSE contest Lisa Greenman states that for over a decade the NSE exams have inspired and encouraged her own students to further their language learning. For example, every single eighth-grade student who took the NSE challenge last year is currently continuing their language learning in high school. Students, when asked why they took the NSE, gave reasons such as reconfirming language skills, the opportunity of awards, and the thrill of competition.

To learn more, go to aatsp.org or contact NSE director Lisa Greenman at [email protected].

Sheri Spaine Long is executive director of the AATSP.

Recommendations for Long-Term English Learners

Smiling girl examining book in library

Ten years after their groundbreaking publication, Reparable Harm called attention to California’s long-term English learners (LTELs), Californians Together has released Renewing Our Promise, a research and policy report by Manuel Buenrostro & Julie Maxwell-Jolly, that focuses on supporting LTELs.

This report is a call to action to use the information and policy gains of the last decade to accelerate improvement for these students. In particular, the English Learner Roadmap offers key guidance to school districts for improving outcomes for EL students—including LTELs and those at risk of becoming LTELs.

The 80-page report makes recommendations to improve outcomes for EL and LTEL students in significant and long-term ways, including the following:


A. Educator Preparation and Professional Learning. Stronger educator preparation and ongoing professional learning for all educators to understand and work effectively with EL and LTEL students across the curriculum, including time for collaboration. This is aligned with principle three of the EL Roadmap focused on “system conditions that support effectiveness,” including capacity building for leaders and teachers.
B. Resources and Planning. Focused resource allocation, goal setting, and planning that address the specific needs of ELs and LTELs.
C. Curriculum and Instruction. Education programs that provide all ELs and LTELs the supports they need without segregating them into tracks, are based on curriculum and instruction that is accessible, engaging, culturally relevant, and rigorous, and attend to the socioemotional well-being of students along with their language and academic needs.
D. Data, Assessment, and Accountability. Data on LTELs and students at risk of becoming LTELs that are accessible, included in the accountability system, and useful for a variety of purposes. The data are used for planning effective instruction, designing professional learning, monitoring student progress, and communicating with students and their families about successes and needs. Another effect of using data and assessments is to hold the system accountable for meeting the needs of ELs and LTELs, including schools, districts, and the state.
E. Engagement, Relationships, and Student Focus. Frequent communication and meaningful engagement (centered on listening and learning) with students, their families, and communities to create relationships of trust.
The report concludes, “It is time to be bold and recommit to improving outcomes for ELs and LTELs. The pandemic has shed a glaring light on the gaps in student opportunity that have existed for years—and the influx of state and federal funds creates an opening for us to address these gaps. Now is not the time for complacency but for using these policy gains and new resources to redouble our efforts and accelerate progress so that the seeds of progress sown over the past decade bear fruit in the next.

Success from the Student Perspective

The many components of a successful English as a second language (ESL) program became apparent to me watching students thrive in a neighborhood public school with an ESL program teeming with diverse students—an English learner (EL) population of close to 60%, students from 16 different countries, speaking 13 different languages. In other schools, ELs may be marginalized, but in this school, they take center stage, literally and figuratively. The ESL teachers provide professional development for content teachers, EL needs are a focus of administrative meetings, and ELs lead activities that are showcased to the community. Students who exit the ESL program, and some in the program, are enrolled in advanced courses. Newer students find comfort in their language groups, but after a year or two they can be found speaking their first language or English to new friends. The students in this ESL program go to college and find employment at high rates.

Teacher–student collaboration is the unique characteristic of this neighborhood public school. Welcoming environments are commonplace, so students take risks and build trust with teachers. ESL teachers are advocates for the ELs and have heightened awareness of student needs. Teachers know something about each of their students’ families, languages, living conditions, problems, and accomplishments. They also have knowledge of language theories and cultural pedagogy practices and when to apply them. Successful education programs such as this involve complex systems with multiple moving parts. Which components of these programs did students themselves think were most effective? What was moving the students of this ESL program to succeed? Recent graduates share their perceptions of effective ESL program components in this qualitative study.

Student-Centered Pedagogy
Using student-centered and culturally responsive lessons has been found to advance ELs toward their goals. Instruction is influenced by social, cultural, and historical factors (Lavendez, 2011). Teaching students cannot be separated from context. The element of control that teachers possess cannot be denied when observing teaching through this sociopolitical context. Teachers are assisting students in making meaning in their own social and political environments, not the teachers’ (Lavendez, 2011). For this to be successful, teachers need to be aware not only of their own biases but of the history, cultures, and capabilities of their students. English language skills are improved upon when students speak about matters on which they are knowledgeable (Waxman and Tellez, 2002). Teachers must be aware of their students’ knowledge and needs in order to build curriculum and plans.

Gay (2010) advises that instruction should be focused on teaching “to and through students’ personal and cultural strengths, their intellectual abilities, and their prior accomplishments” (p. 220). Garcia et al. (2012) build on the concept by placing the emerging bilingual identities of the students at the center of the educating process.

A Web of Collaborations
ESL teachers developed relationships in school with the administration, content teachers, bilingual counselors, tutors, and support staff. Nieto (2002) explains that positive changes come about when individual teachers and administrators work toward sharing power to provide educational success for students.

Trust plays a prominent role in the relationships among students and their teachers. This trust allows for social capital to be accrued. Social capital is “the economic value of a person’s behavior, attitudes, knowledge, and cultural experiences” (Spring, 2012, p. 94). Roessingh (2006) states, “bonding and bridging social capital are critical in nurturing high levels of trust within and across the school and immigrant communities” (p. 566).

Theoretical Framework
Freire’s (1998) model acknowledges students learn most effectively when they are making their own meaning and have knowledge about their own needs. Student empowerment increases when teachers assist them in obtaining knowledge that can transform their circumstances (Nieto, 2002). Ladson-Billings (1995) provides structure to apply these theories. She defines culturally relevant teaching as using the student’s culture as a basis for helping the student to understand themselves and their social interactions and to conceptualize knowledge.

Research Methods
Student perceptions of effective ESL program components were examined through open-ended interviews. To analyze the data, the researcher synthesized, coded, and identified emerging themes. Themes were compared to theories and previous research.

A sample was selected of 14 graduates from an ESL program in 2019. Interviewees included students from eight countries, speaking six different languages. They had resided in the U.S. from one to seven years.

During the interviews, students were guided to think about their experience in their ESL program. The questions were derived from categories of academic instruction with a concentration in culturally responsive pedagogy, use of first language, collaborations among stakeholders, and relationships with teachers. These categories reflect the framework mentioned above (Cummins, 1990; Freire, 1998; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Krashen, 1984; Nieto, 2002).

This qualitative analysis took a grounded theory approach (Creswell and Poth, 2018). Each student response was analyzed to identify if students were proposing that the ESL program component was effective, ineffective, or in need of improvement. Their responses were coded.

Results of the Study
All 14 students were able to describe how their relationship with their EL teacher influenced their success. Student participants stated that teachers provided resources for academic and personal needs. They were given opportunities to share their cultures and use them as a bridge for learning new material. They avoided discipline problems and found help for family members. The EL teacher helped them move through this new education system. Often this help came in the form of connections with other stakeholders. This collaboration with other stakeholders was an influential component to success. The collaborations involved many stakeholders in the program, including ESL and content teachers, staff members, administrators, community partners, counselors, and parents. The students’ responses about collaborations strengthen the idea that interrelationships support ELs.

Findings:
1. EL teachers provide support for navigating school norms.
Many students discussed how they avoided discipline problems with the help of EL teachers. A male from El Salvador recalled, “One day a guy pushed me. She helped me a lot. She said what I need to do. She go to the office with me.” In this case, the teacher was helping the student to understand how the school handles discipline issues. He smiled as he continued, saying she was a “good teacher” and he liked her because she helped him to “not do something wrong.” Students such as this one look for a trusted adult, preferably one who speaks their language, to guide them to make the right decision. There were many examples like this, where the student may not have understood the protocol to handle awkward or delicate situations. These situations have the potential to cause embarrassment, or worse, punitive actions. In cases such as these, the student seeks a credible adult to guide them through. In many cases, their EL teacher is this person.

A female participant originally from Honduras enthusiastically recalled numerous times her EL teachers helped with problems. “Two of the ESL teachers helped me. I didn’t want them to do something. I told them to only let them know what kind of problem I was having. I can trust them more than my other teachers. So, they are like my other moms. I know I can tell them my problems. It is good to have a person to tell your problems.”

These moments represent common situations that arise in high school but are new to ELs. Having a trusted person in their corner allows them to feel confident to continue with their learning while adjusting to social norms. This participant continued to describe occasions—academic, disciplinary, and personal—where she felt space was available for her to discuss issues without fear. The idea that she could trust her teachers was important for her to succeed.

2. EL teachers connect academics to student culture and community.
EL teachers were said to be skilled in using lessons as a bridge to understanding students’ cultures and communities. One student participant discussed using Vietnamese culture as a vehicle to guide instruction: “When I think about the past that I live in Vietnam, it helps me to learn and grow more than what I am doing today.” She shared discussion topics which focused on Vietnamese culture. Two other Vietnamese students mentioned “sharing” and “community” in response to inquiries about culturally responsive instruction. Another Vietnamese participant stated, “I share how I love it (culture). When I share, she shared back. I learn from her culture. I learn, too.”

A student from El Salvador exemplified this concept: “I feel more good when she (ESL teacher) talked about my country.” Another student participant, from China, echoed this sentiment. She related, “I know my country very much. I can talk about my country and other people are interested. I am very proud of my country. I learned many things in my country. I learned before I came here.” It takes a generous amount of time for these relationships to be cultivated because teachers must get to know students and their backgrounds well. Teachers are able to provide these connections because of time allowed through scheduling by the administration.

3. Administrators invest in teacher– student collaborations.
Interview data demonstrated EL teachers partnering with their students to give them support. The teachers grew to know their students’ histories and their goals for the future. In order for these understandings to develop, administrators must provide time for teacher and students to get to know each other. This often occurs when rostering students with the same teacher for extended semesters. This time allows teachers to gain understanding of students so that when they need encouragement, it is genuinely provided.

Students often stated that the EL teacher instilling confidence was instrumental in creating a successful experience. A student participant said, “I remember my ESL teacher told me one word, ‘confidence.’ I need to have more confidence to myself and speak English. That was important to me. I was shy all the time.” Similarly, a participant from the Congo gave more specific information about how his ESL teacher instilled confidence. He said, “First of all, in many ways, ESL (classes) changed me. They improved me how to read, how to speak English, improved me how to feel confident. When I came, I can’t take a book and read in front of many people. I thought with my pronunciation, they will laugh about me. Right now, I can read the book with confidence.” Administrators have an important role in this collaboration. They can schedule time for these relationships to be forged.

4. EL teachers collaborate with content teachers to advance student learning.
Participants were asked about a time when their EL teachers worked with other teachers to help them with a problem. Students explained that this happened when they encountered issues in their content classes. A participant provided details about how students perceive this action: “They (EL and content teachers) work with each other for helping the students to understand. To do the math if they don’t understand. They gonna connect them with a math and ESL teacher. Because ESL teacher understands ELL students more than other teacher. They can help us because they understand us.” Another participant summed up the need for collaboration: “You need motivation from everyone. Not only the (ESL) teacher. Everyone, to push me up. This is important.”

EL teachers do this by giving information to other teachers about how to scaffold instruction, provide accommodations, or conduct community outreach. This adaptability of the EL teacher is necessary when considering the rigidity of the school systems many inhabit.

5. EL teachers collaborate with other stakeholders.
Students were asked about how their EL teachers worked with parents, representatives of parents, or community partner members. Community leaders and bilingual assistants are often representatives of parents. Student responses referenced their parents’ connections with these stakeholders. One said, “When report cards are coming, they (bilingual counselors) talk with my parents.” Another mentioned grades as a topic for bilingual counselor and EL teacher collaborations. She said, “My ESL teacher talked with my counselor if I got a lower grade. They will talk with the counselor to move you up, make you motivation.” Bilingual counselors are often the liaison between teachers and parents who do not speak English.

Other students mentioned examples of community partners helping with classroom assignments to further student success. One referred to receiving help with her graduation project: “I always went to after-school program, Migrant Education. Lots of students go after school to get help. Migrant Education helped me to do my Nepali project. He heard of my history. The history of Mao. I researched and did a presentation.” Community partners provide an opportunity for ELs to get help from people who know their languages and cultures.

6. Students network for their future with EL teachers.
A participant from Vietnam described a time when his EL teacher helped him to make higher education plans with his parents: “My ESL teacher tell me about my future. We talked for an hour. She told me to tell my parents. They don’t want me to go to college. They want me working. I want to go to college. The problem was solved because she gave me advice. I talked to my parents. You can make money with your brain. You can think. You are smart.” Talking with parents about continuing education can be overwhelming for any student, especially one new to the country. The teacher supplied him with information about how college can help to attain wealth. These new ideas hold more weight when they originate from the teacher, especially since teachers are held in high regard in some cultures. Many parents of ELs require them to work because they may not understand or trust that college may lead to higher-paying jobs.

Student–teacher relationships are essential in allowing students to feel successful. EL teachers in particular help students to navigate cultural norms and systemic expectations. This leads to increased trust in the system and confidence to continue learning. Students cited feelings of confidence, pride, connection, and comfort directly related to relationships with EL teachers.

Practical Implications and Strategies
Participants’ perceptions of positive experiences included their EL teacher in an array of situations: academic, social, and goal setting. Students gained understanding of how to figure out new educational and social systems while building confidence in their abilities to use their language skills to plan for the future. Often collaborators were people who spoke the same languages or shared the same ethnic backgrounds as the students. EL teachers set up collaborations and made space for exchanges. These webs of collaboration between EL teachers, their students, and other stakeholders are the heart of successful ESL programs. The themes that emerged support critical pedagogy, which expresses the idea of student empowerment increasing when students obtain knowledge that can transform circumstances (Nieto, 2002). This idea confirms that a teacher’s position is not neutral, and student-centered and culturally appropriate activities empower students. Students learn more easily when there is an element of comfort, which allows them to receive learning messages more clearly (Krashen, 1984).

Students learn more effectively as teachers become aware of students’ strengths and accomplishments (Gay, 2010). Building relationships where teachers know students’ backgrounds and needs takes time. When teachers have the time to build rapport and create caring atmospheres that accommodate the cultures and languages of their students, then success is accelerated because confidence improves.

Culturally responsive teaching is a strong element when building positive relationships between teacher and student. Using culturally responsive learning throughout academic instruction results in students reporting positive feelings when sharing cultural identities. This sharing of culture is one of the bridges that helps to lower the affective filter and exemplifies how learning cannot be separated from the sociopolitical context (Lavendez, 2011; Nieto, 2002). EL programs should utilize community partners, bilingual counselors, and bilingual members of the school community as a wealth of resources for students. Community involvement results in power transfer in relationships (Lavendez, 2011). The ability to succeed in school is a power that is transferred to students with the help of community partners who may have navigated the educational systems themselves and share the students’ cultures. Students overcome academic barriers when they have access to multiple sources. EL programs need to involve community partners in decision making and in academic discussions. Programs need to create space and time for these partners to work with students and feel welcome as indispensable members of the school community.

Implications of this research include the need for EL teacher training courses that accentuate the importance of being advocates for students. ESL teachers need to be aware of organizations and connect students to them in the school and community. Training programs should make new teachers aware of the skills needed for advocacy so that they are prepared to involve themselves in the profession as more than teachers of academic skills.

References available at www.languagemagazine.com/references-success-from-the-student-perspective.

Aimee Davis is an ESL and English teacher at Furness High School in South Philadelphia. She also teaches graduate courses in social foundations, ESL, education research, and communication. She received her EdD in school leadership from Widener University. Her research interests include ESL programs, student perceptions, effects of culturally responsive instruction, promoting student leadership, and first language use in the classroom.

Brenda Gilio, associate professor and director of the Center for Education at Widener University, served as the chairperson of the dissertation committee on which this article is based. Dr. Gilio is a faculty member in the K–12 Educational Leadership Programs. Her research agenda focuses on leadership for school improvement.

Leadership for ESL Teacher Recruitment and Retention


As the numbers of English learners continue to rise in U.S. schools, the need also rises for schools and districts to increase the number of qualified (content and pedagogically proficient), culturally competent, and credentialed teachers prepared to teach them. Schools often face difficulty in recruiting, hiring, and retaining quality teachers for English learners (ELs). However, with an intentional approach, schools and districts can have the best teachers in place to give them an equitable education. Nationwide, English learners account for roughly one out of every ten students, ranging from 22% of the student population in California to 1% in West Virginia (McFarland et al., 2017). Yet large achievement and opportunity gaps between ELs and non-ELs continue to exist (Quintero and Hansen, 2017).

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) integrates English language proficiency and academic achievement fully into school and district accountability systems for the first time, with the potential of ensuring that these needs are fully considered by educational systems. Nevertheless, there are concerns about how this can happen with the current shortage of teachers who are experienced, knowledgeable, and/or certified in teaching and implementing effective programs for English learners.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 guarantees that all students, regardless of national origin, have an equal and equitable opportunity to learn in U.S. schools. And the Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court decision further defines this as the right of students to be given the support necessary to learn and achieve even if their home language is not English.

Schools cannot simply force ELs to sink or swim in a mainstream classroom. They must implement appropriately designed language programs that consider the variation of educational needs due to different backgrounds, such as age, refugee status, country and language of origin, and/or previous amount of formal schooling. In addition, schools must provide English learners with teachers prepared to meet their needs in a personalized environment (Lhamon and Gupta, 2015).

Research consistently indicates that ELs perform better when they have teachers who are trained and certified to teach in specialized language programs integrated throughout grade levels and content-area classrooms (López et al., 2013; Robledo Montecel and Cortez, 2002). Yet at least six Southern states still do not require such certification, and other states lack strong, relevant certification standards, with a wide variation in requirements (ECS, 2014). With the projection of a teacher shortage for all students increasing in the coming years across the country, the shortage of qualified teachers for ELs remains an even bigger concern. States need to pursue and implement specific policies with the necessary resources to sustain an effective, quality EL teacher workforce. Importantly, states must resist efforts to water down teacher certification requirements that undermine the availability of well-prepared teachers for ELs.

Darling-Hammond et al. (2016) suggest three specific ways to improve the pool of qualified teachers for English learners:

Develop career ladder programs in partnership with local universities to empower paraprofessionals to become certified teachers with specializations or certifications in bilingual education or ESL;

Renew or continue the normalista programs that, through university partnership, certify teachers from other counties in bilingual or ESL instruction (see also Cortez and Robledo Montecel, 2002); and

Continue partnerships with local universities to enhance their teacher education programs with pedagogy for EL education.

Harris and Sandoval-Gonzalez (2017) also promote the enrichment of university education programs to prepare educators to fill the increasing demand for teachers of dual language programs as more families— English-speaking and non-English-speaking—acknowledge the benefits of bilingualism and biliteracy for their children.

Current teachers should be allotted sufficient professional development time to learn how to better serve their EL students, while explicitly recruiting, training, and retaining bilingual/bicultural teachers (Lavadenz and Colón-Muñiz, 2017). Another approach is exemplified in IDRA’s Transitions to Teaching alternative certification programs, which prepared science and math content-area experts to be teachers with specializations in ESL or bilingual education (IDRA, 2017).

Once qualified teachers are in schools and districts, it is important to retain them. It is critical that schools have an asset-based atmosphere of cultural competency that celebrates diversity of students and staff and acknowledges the benefits of a diverse teaching force (Darling-Hammond et al., 2016). Teachers require authentic support from their districts, and they need the best resources to use with their students. They also need opportunities to continually enhance their professional capacity by learning best practices from the latest research within a network of support. Financial incentives for education, recruitment, and retention are other ways that districts can recruit and retain qualified teachers.

While there are no easy or quick fixes to the shortage of qualified teachers for English learner education, it is imperative for states, districts, schools, and teachers to promote equitable education for ELs and demand that it be seen not as only a wish but a moral obligation to protect the rights of students.

The IDRA EAC-South provides technical assistance and training to build capacity of local educators in the U.S. South to serve their diverse student populations, including ELs. Please see our website for additional information and ways to request assistance from an equity center in our or your area. Working together, we can build and maintain the number of qualified and certified teachers that English learners deserve.

References
50-State Comparison. (2014). “Are ELL-Only Instructors Required to Hold a Specialist Certification or Endorsement?” Education Commission of the States.

Cortez, J. D. and Robledo Montecel, M. (2002). Alianza: Our Legacy and Our Future. IDRA.

Darling-Hammond, L., Furger, R. C., Shields, P. M., and Sutcher, L. (2016). Addressing California’s Emerging Teacher Shortage: An Analysis of Sources and Solutions. Learning Policy Institute.

Harris, V. R. and Sandoval-Gonzalez, A. (2017). Unveiling California’s Growing Bilingual Teacher Shortage. Californians Together. Transitions to Teaching—

IDRA Project (2017). “Empowering Teachers to Serve Today’s Classrooms.” IDRA.

Lavadenz, M. and Colón-Muñiz, A. (2017). “The Latin@ Teacher Shortage: Learning from the Past to Inform the Future.” Center for Equity for English Learners at Digital Commons, Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School.

Lhamon, C. E. and Gupta, V. (2015). “Dear Colleague Letter: English Learner Students and Limited English Proficient Parents English Learners.” U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education.

López, F., Scanlan, M., and Gundrum, B. (2013). “Preparing Teachers of English Language Learners: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications,” Education Policy Analysis Archives, 21(20).

McFarland, J., Hussar, B., de Brey, C., Snyder, T., Wang, X., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Gebrekristos, S., Zhang, J., Rathbun, A., Barmer, A., Bullock Mann, F., and Hinz, S. (2017). The Condition of Education 2017. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Quintero, D. and Hansen, M. (2017). “English Learners and the Growing Need for Quality Teachers,” Brookings, Chalkboard.

Robledo Montecel, M. and Cortez, J. D. (2002). “Successful Bilingual Education Programs: Development and Dissemination of Criteria to Identify Promising and Exemplary Practices in Bilingual Education at the National Level,” Bilingual Research Journal, 26(1).

Kristin Grayson, PhD ([email protected]), is an Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) education associate. At Our Lady of the Lake University she earned her joint PhD–MBA degree in leadership studies. She has written numerous articles on the education of English learners, culture, quality teaching, and student engagement.

She has a master’s degree in bilingual, ESL, and multicultural education from the University of Central Oklahoma.

This article originally appeared in the IDRA Newsletter (www.idra.org/resource-center/leadership-esl-teacher-recruitment-retention).

How Can Drama Improve Language Learning?


Drama is a naturally expressive and creative medium that is centered around the communication of thoughts and ideas. It seems obvious that the practical and communicative nature of drama is a natural companion to language learning, yet it is seldom a key component of any language curriculum. Drama has a much greater role to play in language teaching than it currently occupies in classrooms around the world. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.”

A vital component of learning a language is repeated exposure to words and sentence structures in the target language. The actual number of times a learner must be exposed to a new word or structure before retaining it will differ from learner to learner, as this is impacted by their natural abilities as well as the size of their existing vocabulary within the target language. However, what we can say for sure is that repeated exposure to new language is essential in order for that language to be retained by the learner.

Countless language educators worldwide recognize this need and ensure that their students have the opportunity to learn a wide range of words and sentence structures. Unfortunately, having a large vocabulary and knowledge of sentence structures will not facilitate effective communication in another language. This is one of the key downfalls of traditional English language learning, which tends to focus on increasing vocabulary and sentence structures but does not give students an opportunity to apply what they have learned in practice. By failing to do this, we create an illusion of learning. Students might be able to recall all of the new words and sentences they have learned after class, but without having the opportunity to apply what they have learned over a period of time, students are likely to forget much of what they have been taught.

Taking this into consideration, it can be said that there are two major challenges we face when teaching language.

1. How can we make learning more memorable for students?

2. How can we improve students’ functional communication skills?

Drama education can be the solution to these challenges. Through drama education, we can actually improve the existing aspects of language teaching where we are already doing well.

By introducing students to new language through the context of stories, which is the traditional way we have always passed on knowledge, we can create a connection between the learning content and the students. Through drama, we have the opportunity to give students a real-life context for their learning, and by doing this, we can make learning experiences more impactful. By varying the content of these stories in terms of locations, characters, themes, and so on, we can manufacture a wide and varied diet of language input for students to engage with, all within a natural and immersive context. This makes the learning experience more meaningful for students and ultimately more memorable. As students recall the events of a particular story or the feelings it provoked within them, this acts as an effective memory trigger, and the students are able to build connections between the stories they have engaged with and the language learned within.

While it is true that stories and drama are already being used in language classrooms around the world, to unlock the full potential of drama within English language learning, it is essential to write stories with the purpose of improving language skills. Rather than engaging students in incidental language learning, we can purposefully craft an interesting and varied language curriculum that integrates key target language into our stories and scripts. This makes the learning process much more effective because we can pitch stories and scripts to meet the specific needs of our students.

If we consider the benefits of varying not just language input for students but also the learning process and output, we can really start to recognize the key role that drama can play in language learning. Motivation and perceived importance are key factors in successful learning and retention of knowledge. By getting language students involved with the preparation for and production of a live drama performance in front of an audience, we can provide students with an unparalleled “need” to improve their language and communication skills. This will ultimately have a much greater impact in terms of language attainment than anything else we do in the classroom, because if we can motivate students to take ownership of their learning outside of the classroom, we can accelerate their progress much more. By incorporating key target language into drama rehearsals and performances, we are not just equipping students with the raw language input but also giving them the opportunity to practice and apply this language in real-life contexts.

Another benefit of using drama to facilitate language learning is that it can meet the needs of a wide range of preferred learning styles, not just in terms of teaching input but also student output. By giving students an opportunity to showcase what they have learned through a wide range of theatrical games and activities, we give them the opportunity to demonstrate their language skills in a natural and communicative format.

The collaborative nature of these theatrical games and activities also ensures that students have an opportunity to engage in a wide range of group tasks, requiring them to communicate with their peers and take on a variety of different group roles. Through these games and activities, we can also revisit the target language, giving students an opportunity to engage in “spaced learning,” which involves reintroducing learning objectives after set periods of time to help transfer this knowledge into students’ long-term memories.

The end result for students—showcasing all of their hard work on the stage—can be a profound experience for them and can be a truly effective motivation for them to continue their ongoing language-learning journey. Ultimately, it is our responsibility as language educators not just to teach students individual words or sentence structures but rather to create a natural curiosity and desire in them to improve their own language skills. This will have a much longer-lasting and more profound impact on their language progress going forward. Drama can be a vehicle to empower students and educators across the world, shifting the focus away from learning for the sake of learning and toward a model where students are actually being prepared to express themselves naturally and creatively in another language.

Sean Hughes ([email protected]) is director of education at Edunion UK, which specializes in teaching English through drama and has created a comprehensive drama English language curriculum based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The Edunion English Play—Play English curriculum features 28 original stories and drama scripts across six different language levels for schools and educators around the world (www.edunionuk.co.uk).

Is Accent in the Mind of the Listener?

Ashtari (2014) reported that intermediate and advanced students of English as a second language (ESL) at a California university felt that many native speakers of English do not even make an attempt to understand their English, even though the speaker feels that what is said is grammatically accurate. The students felt that when talking to a native speaker of English in the U.S., what they say is grammatically correct, but native speakers claim not to understand and ask them to repeat. This experience is discouraging: 80% stated that they would not try to start a conversation voluntarily with a native speaker for fear of not making themselves understood.

It could be the case that these reactions happen because the ESL students are, in fact, difficult to understand because of their accents. We suspect that this is not the case. In our experience, we have found that intermediate and advanced ESL students at the university level are rarely totally incomprehensible or even difficult to understand.

Why then did the ESL acquirers experience problems with the people they tried to interact with? Rubin (1992) provides an explanation. In his study, he played recordings of unaccented native-speaker English to subjects and showed them one of two pictures of adult males: one obviously Asian and one obviously Caucasian. The group that saw the picture of the Asian felt that the speaker had an accent. In other words, accent was perceived but did not exist: the native-speaker judges didn’t pay attention to the accent but made assumptions about it because of the appearance and race of the adult speakers in the pictures.

There is no doubt that ESL students, even those at a university, have accents in English. It is doubtful, however, that their accents are so heavy that native speakers have serious problems understanding in more than a few rare cases when mispronunciation of certain sounds may affect meaning, for instance ship versus sheep. We suspect that native speakers who behave as if they don’t understand what the speaker is saying are influenced by their presuppositions, not by what they actually hear. Some efforts to improve accents may be attempts to solve a problem that is in the mind of the listener, not the language produced by the speaker.

Research is consistent with our observations: Munro and Derwing (1995) reported that while the adult second language acquirers they studied had accents ranging from moderate to heavy, only 4% of the speakers were judged to be extremely difficult to understand (rating of 9 on a 1–9 scale) and 64% were easy to understand (rating of 1–3). They also concluded that “a strong foreign accent does not necessarily reduce the comprehensibility or intelligibility of L2 speech” (p. 74). Their subjects, however, were more advanced than typical ESL students: all had been graduate students for at least one year at a university in Canada and had scored 550 or above on the TOEFL.

References

Ashtari, N. (2014). “Non-native Speech and Feedback: The relationship between non-native speakers’ production and native speakers’ reaction.” International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 9(2), 9–17. www.researchgate.net/publication/341283942_Non-native_Speech_and_Feedback_The_Relationship_between_Non-native_Speakers%27_Production_and_Native_Speakers%27_Reaction

Munro, M., and Derwing, T. (1995). “Foreign Accent, Comprehensibility, and Intelligibility in the Speech of Second Language Learners.” Language Learning 45(1), 73–97.

Rubin, D. (1992). “Nonlanguage Factors Affecting Undergraduates’ Judgments of Nonnative English-Speaking Teaching Assistants.” Research in Higher Education, 33(4), 511–31. www.jstor.org/stable/40196047

Stephen Krashen taught at University of Southern California. He is now professor emeritus.

Nooshan Ashtari currently teaches at the University of Southern California.

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