Capitalizing on the Multilingual Advantage:

Focus on SIFE

Elaine C Klein and Gita Martohardjono

RISLUS Forum May 22, 2009

SIFE in the context of the global economy and the educational achievement gap in the US

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McKinsey Report (2009)

State of education in the US:• 25th of 30 in math and 24th of 30 in

science• Used to lead the world in HS and

college graduation rates, but now:- 18th out of 24 in HS- 14th out of 24 in college

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Impact on the Economy

• Achievement gap results in lower GDP • Losses equal the economic equivalent

of a recession:Closing the achievement gap would result in an increase to the economy of: between $2.4 trillion and 4.2 trillion

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Impact on IndividualIncome: 8th grade students scoring in top

(v. bottom) quartile in math 12 years later have 40% higher median income

Incarceration: 5-8 times more likely for HS drop-out than for college graduate

Health: Lower education unhealthy lifestyles, no medical insurance

Civic Involvement: Lower education Less likely to vote 5

Multilingualism in a Global Economy

• Having English as your only language is no longer enough

• Increasing importance of global languages, e.g. Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, Portuguese, Russian

• “English no longer the dominant language on the internet”- English websites: 75% (1998) 45% (2005) - Internet users: 30% have English as L1

(Graddol 2006)

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US Needs a Multilingual Population

• Globalization requires: - knowledge of other countries & cultures- competence in languages other than English.

• Not enough multilingual US college graduates to meet demands of global economy

• US students lack cross-cultural skills and are “linguistically deprived.” (Education for Global Leadership 2006)

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English Language Learners (ELL): An untapped source

• The largest group of potential multilinguals in the US are ELLs

• And yet, many ELLs: - don’t finish HS- don’t enter the global workforce

• For ELLs, the educational achievement gap is even wider

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The SIFE Research Project

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Who are SIFE?

• Subgroup of ELLs• Recent arrivals to the US• Low literacy• Gaps in prior schooling (2 yrs +)

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Some Facts about SIFE in NYC Schools*

• Approximately 15,000 “new” and existing SIFE comprise 11% of ELL population

• Highest % of new SIFE enter 8th, 9th and 10th grades: Approximately 4700 in 2006-7.

• SIFE evenly distributed in 4 boroughs• 59% of SIFE: Spanish native language

*Bilingual Education Student Information Survey (BESIS) 2006-2007: NYC DOE Office of English Language Learners. 2007.

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Research Questions

• What are the characteristics of SIFE?• How do SIFE differ from other ELLs?• What academic competencies do SIFE bring

to school in the US?• What are the academic needs of SIFE?

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Overview of MethodPhase I (2005 – 2006)Case studies• 12 students identified as SIFE • 9th grade• 2 NYC high schools• Native language: Spanish

Phase II: (2006-2008)18 month Longitudinal Study• 103 students identified as SIFE• 9th and 10th grade• 5 NYC high schools• Native language: Spanish

Instruments• Quantitative:

Intake and exit questionnaire (Spanish) Literacy and content diagnostics (Spanish and

English) Oral language (Spanish and English) Syntactic comprehension (Spanish and English

typical language development) • Qualitative:

Classroom observations Teacher and student interviews

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Results: Intake Questionnaire

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• Most are from the Dominican Republic, Mexico or Honduras.

• Most live in the U.S. with only one parent and have family members in their country of origin.

• Most report high school as highest level of education among family members in U.S.

• Strong motivation for school success

• Positive attitudes towards education in Spanish & English.

• High levels of self-efficacy & strong expectations that their education will contribute to future success in a job or at college

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Goals and Aspirations

6%

33%

61%

Social Non-Professional Professional

Type of goal

Perc

enta

ge o

f

Results: Quantitative Measures of Language and Literacy

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Oral Language and Syntactic Comprehension

• Oral Language:Fluent, smooth, intelligible speech; controls appropriate language structure for speaking about complex material.

• Syntactic comprehension:Within the range of typically-developing native speakers

• Working memory: Within normal range

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Typical L1 Development

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Basic Literacy in Spanish

First Grade• Phonological & Orthographic Awareness•Word Reading• Simple Sentence Comprehension

Mean % Correct = 96, SD = 4.5

High basic literacy in Spanish

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Spanish Reading Vocabulary

Grades ≤ 3; Per-centage Scoring at Each Grade Level;

26%

Grades 4 - 5; Per-centage Scoring at Each Grade Level;

20%

Grades 6 -7; Per-centage Scoring at Each Grade Level;

54%

Spanish Reading Comprehension

Grades ≤ 3; Percent Scor-

ing at Each Grade Level;

68%

Grades 4 - 5; Percent Scoring at Each Grade

Level; 32%

Academic Content Areas

•Math: Majority at/below grade 3

•Science: Majority at/below grade 4

•Social Science: Majority at/below grade 4

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Summary of Results

Academic abilities of 9th grade students identified as SIFE in NYC range from 2nd to 5th grade

--at least 4 grades below grade level in native language reading and content knowledge!

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Comparison Groups

Native English Speaker Groups: • 9th and 10th Graders

Regular ELLs Group: • 9th-12th Graders

Comparison of Native Language Reading: English Speakers vs. SIFE

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Comparison of L2 English Literacy:ELLs vs. SIFE

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Transfer of Skills

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Transfer of Skills from Spanish to English: Reading Vocabulary

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Transfer of Skills from Spanish to English: Reading Comprehension

Predictors of SIFE English Reading Scores

English Reading Vocabulary:

r = .723; p = .000

Spanish Reading Comprehension:

r = .519; p = .001

Gains in Spanish Academic Skills

Academic Gains in One Year

• 1.5 grade levels in Spanish reading vocabulary

• 1.7 grade levels in Spanish reading comprehension

• 1 grade level in Spanish math

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ConclusionsSIFE• Show typical L1 development:

Oral language, syntactic comprehension, and working memory

• Have basic reading skills• Show delays in

- Higher level reading skills: (4+ grade levels below expected grade, 9)

- Content Area Knowledge: (5+ grade levels below expected grade, 9)

But made gains in both 35

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Tapping the Potential in SIFE Strong bilingual programs: • Accelerated instruction to build foundational

literacy skills in the native language• Native language instruction in content knowledge• Develop parallel English programs based on

academic literacy skills • Develop pathway programs to college

- Exit HS with 10th grade (min) literacy skills and content knowledge

A Critical First Step

The New Commission on Skills of the American Workforce concludes that critical interventions are needed for students at risk of falling behind, including ELLs. As a necessary first step, they recommend“[d]etailed screening assessments for all students that need them.”

(Tough Choices Tough Times 2008)

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Online Scoring and Evaluation System (w-SERS)

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• Pre- and Basic Literacy

• Higher-Level Literacy - Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension- Language Use

• Content Areas- Math(Science)(Social Science)• K-12

Academic Language and Literacy Diagnostic (ALLD)

Capitalizing on the Multilingual Advantage

•The quality of a country’s education has a direct impact on its economy

•There is a serious education gap in the US

•One way to close the gap is to educate our students to be multilingual in order to compete in the global economy

•ELLs, including SIFE, are our greatest resource in a multilingual/multicultural world!

Acknowledgements• NYC Department of Education,

OELL• Participating schools• All participants and teachers• RISLUS Research Team

THANK YOU!