Response to Intervention and Literacy: A Bright Spot for Hmong Speaking English Language Learners?
Author(s):
Pieretti, Robert Anthony
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ph.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : University of California, Davis, 2011.
Pages:
157
Language:
English
Abstract:
While long-term research clearly indicates that two-way bilingual instruction produces the best academic results across the curriculum for linguistic minority students, mainstream educational placements for bilingual students with little, if any, specific direct language learning instruction are becoming the norm. Many feel that such inclusion leads to marginalization of these students because school curriculum assumes an oral language foundation in English. English Language Learners (ELLs) must perform in a curriculum that assumes formal learning of English since Kindergarten. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (2004) acknowledged that children of minority status, many of whom are ELLs, have been shown to be over-represented in special education programs due to decreased performance in the language arts curriculum and general education remedial programs. Further, it has been shown that ELLs are frequently designated as struggling readers who are placed in undifferentiated remediation programs with native English speakers who have scored poorly on standardized reading tests. Under IDEA, federal funds can be allocated for early intervening services to provide academic assistance by special educators, including resource teachers, school psychologists, and speech-language pathologists as part of Response to Intervention (RTI) models. Most of these programs include instructional methods that have been shown to be among the specific language development needs of ELLs. The study reported in this dissertation examined three levels of literacy intervention for Hmong speaking first grade students in California who are exhibiting difficulties reading in English and considers the benefits that RTI programs may provide to these students’ literacy acquisition in English. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of group characteristics indicated some important trends suggesting that intense, short-term RTI curriculum modifications designed by special educators for students with language based reading difficulties may enhance pre-requisite English literacy skills for typically developing ELL students whose first language is Hmong. Further, there was some evidence that suggested that contextualized, language-rich oral narratives may have been an essential element in the increased phonological awareness, increased reading abilities, and increased classroom curriculum participation and engagement indicated by the data.