Posted on September 1, 2020 by childrenslearninginstitute
Timeline: 2020 – 2025
Principal Investigators:
Susan Landry, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Tricia Zucker, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Co-Investigator:
Yoonkyung Oh, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Kelly Vaughn, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)
Maria Carlo, PhD
Funding Agency:
Institute for Education Sciences
Description of Project:
Young English learners (ELs) living in poverty are at risk for later reading difficulties and are less likely than their peers to encounter the level of responsive, extended conversations in their homes and preschools needed for school readiness. Furthermore, many types of dual language programs in U.S. schools operate in ways that delay regular exposure to English until later grades, rather than systematically teaching in ways that build on students’ knowledge of their home language to accelerate English proficiency. The proposed project will evaluate a dual-language approach that: a) maintains and improves the home language of DLLs who speak mostly Spanish in their homes via parent coaching, and b) simultaneously coaches teachers to use an explicit cross-language transfer approach in which sophisticated concepts are introduced in Spanish before English. The expected outcome of this project is increased understanding of effective classroom instruction and family engagement approaches for DLLs’ at risk of later reading difficulties. To read more please reference the abstract document here.
ARE YOU A BILINGUAL TEACHER INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING? If you teacher pre-kindergarten in a transitional bilingual education model, you may be eligible for this study. Email Carrie Wolfenden for more information.
Research Site:
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
