Newsletter Issue 1
December 2018
Dual Language
Learning
 It is important for teachers
to create a classroom
environment that preserves
and fosters the culture and
home language of a student
 Teachers can support dual
language learners through
interactive teaching methods
Why Interactive
Learning?
 Researchers have found that
interactive learning creates a
classroom environment that
supports dual language
learners.
 The issue of creating a
classroom that caters to the
needs of dual language
learners is one that involves:
o Student engagement
through interactive
writing activities,
small and focused
group work,
computer programs
with reading
comprehension
games, and art
programs that
contribute to
student interest and
reading levels with
focused objectives to
improve reading and
language skills.
Interactive Learning
Methods
 Interactive Writing
o Methods of “shared activities”
like storybook reading, teachers
modeling the writing process,
“sharing the pen” with dual
language learners, and
independent writing (Pilonieta &
Williams, 2012, p.145).
 Small Group Interventions
o Researchers found that skills-
focused small group instruction
seemed to decrease the use of
labels that potentially harm a
student’s motivation by being
put in a “low or high” reading
group
o Students are placed in a reading
group that focused on a
particular skill (Jones &
Henriksen, 2013).
 Art Programs
o Student engagement is higher
when lessons are made fun
through theater arts, visual arts
lessons, a technique called
“talking-drawing”, art-based
activities, etc. (Brouillette, 2012,
p.71).
 Technology
o Research conducted showed
that the group that participated
in the study with the literacy-
based computer program with
Spanish oral language
instructions had much higher
scores in reading comprehension
(Rodríguez et al., 2012, p.253).
 Student Engagement
o Celebrating a student’s cultural
background through lesson
plans, providing a vocabulary list
in Spanish or their home
language, provide visual learning
devices, “focusing on content
and meaning instead of grammar
an spelling within the written
work”, and providing
encouraging feedback (Lalas &
Therese, 2012, p. 156).
 References

Brouillette, L. (2012). Supporting the language development of limited English proficient students

through arts integration in the primary grades. Arts Education Policy Review, 113(2), 68-74.

doi:10.1080/10632913.2012.656494

Jones, C. D. ., & Henriksen, B. M. . (2013). Skills-focused small group literacy instruction in the first

grade: an inquiry and insights. Journal of Reading Education, 38(2), 25–30.

http://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.csudh.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=88926099&

site=ehost-live

Lalas, J. W., & Bustos, T. M. (2012). Adaptation Pedagogy for English Learners in Multicultural Contexts,

34(2), 5-11. Retrieved from National Association for Bilingual Education.

Macias, A., Fortner, K. M., Flores, N. G., Blackmon-Balogun, A., & Vance, M. (2016). Adaptation

pedagogy for English learners in multicultural context. In Who we are and how we learn (pp. 147-

158). United States of America: Cognella, Inc.

Rodríguez, C. D., Filler, J., & Higgins, K. (2012). Using primary language support via computer to

improve reading comprehension skills of first-grade English language learners. Computers in the

Schools, 29(3), 253-267. doi:10.1080/07380569.2012.702718

Williams, C., & Pilonieta, P. (2012). Using interactive writing instruction with kindergarten and first-

grade English language learners. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(3), 145-150.

Doi:10.1007/s10643-012-0508-y