Karen Van Poperin

LCRT 5810: Workshop in Language Development and Acquisition

Learner Background and Beliefs’ Summary

The first and most primary reason for choosing Student A was initially because he is

one of the most talkative students in the group of first graders I teach. He is eager to greet and

mingle with those known and unknown, expressive with his emotions, and vocal about his

thoughts with other children and additionally, adults. I find this conversational ease of particular

interest largely because it is unusual! Not to say all my students are shy, but A stood out with his

command of the English language’s composition, meanings, and functions.

To describe A as socially, I would say he has a fantastic sense of humor. I look at him

and find him laughing or smiling nearly every time, it seems. In his peer relationships, he has

become close with most boys and girls in my class, being closer with 3 or 4 classmates in

particular. He has had very few altercations of any kind in our class, at recess, or in specials

classes. The altercations that have happened are very minor and usually because of accidents or

misunderstandings. At home, A lives with his mother, his one younger sister, and his maternal

grandparents. With his sister, A speaks mostly English. His mother seems to mix a little Spanish

in with the English she addresses A with. His grandparents only speak to him in Spanish. He

notes that when his grandparents read to him in Spanish that “We read in the same way, even

though it’s a different language.” This observation is of particular interest for an English

language learner and shows how his two linguistic experiences are connected. As Lynee T. Diaz-

Rico writes in The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook: A Complete
K-12 Reference Guide (2013), “Many English learners already have basic understandings of the

reading/writing process that they can transfer to a second language. One of the most important

of these is the concept that print carries meaning. Others involve directionality, sequencing, and

visual discrimination- concepts about print that kindergarten and first grade teachers work with

in teaching student to read,” (Diaz-Rico, p. 84). A is also a student struggling with his father

recently moving out and no longer speaking to A’s mother (obviously causing him distress,

which he is coping with very well). In terms of his future, A has told me on numerous occasions

that he would like to be a Dodger’s baseball player.

Academically, A is a solid PP-P student in both literacy and math. His WIDA scores

show that his kindergarten scores in listening, speaking, and oral language are ranked between

6.0 and 5.6, which suggests his expressive and receptive language is proficient. Student A’s

reading, writing, literacy (50% reading and 50% writing), comprehension (70% reading and 30%

listening), and overall composite score tell more information about this student’s language

development. Ranging from 1.9- 3.9, these scores show that certain language domains remain

challenges for Student A and that he has English language next steps before he has total mastery

of the language and all its parts.

When interviewed, Student A had many insights about the English language and his

developing areas of communication. When asked what language is, A replied, “Language is

English, we talk, we talk to our friends and sometimes Spanish. Como estas?” When asked what

people do when they use language, A said, “Well, you talk with your mouth.” When asked about

what he likes about using language, he showed the functions language has by replying “Telling

my friends to play with me or talking about writing and books.” The differing functions of
language show how A is understanding the uses of language. As Lynne T. Diaz-Rico writes in

The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook: A Complete References

Guide (2013), “Halliday (1978) distinguished seven different functions for language:

instrumental, regulatory, informative, interactional, personal, heuristic, and imaginative” (p. 39).

In A’s example of using language to play with friends would be an example of interactional and

talking about writing or books could be several different usages.

Specifically in reading, A told me that in reading when he comes to something he’s not

sure about, he stretches out his sounds and figures it out that way. He told me that they way he

learned to read is because of his letters and sounds, indicating his understanding of the

relationship between symbols and sounds. As Anita K. Barry writes in Linguistics Perspectives

on Language and Education (2008), “There is one symbol for each sound, and each sound has

only one symbol” (Barry, p. 25). A also noted that to be a better reader he know he needs to read

a lot.

A had less to say about writing than he did of language in general and reading. He told

me that he doesn’t care to write and that he doesn’t do it at home often. A shared that he learned

how to write “…By using a pencil” and that he would be a better writer if he used more words.

In a case study, one has the benefit of taking an in-depth approach and analysis towards

one student. This incredibly valuable examination will likely yield new perspectives on this

particular student’s development and thus help me gain a better understanding about where he is

and how further his next steps and, but I also am greatly looking forward to how this case study’s

findings will apply to my class as an aggregate.

 ORAL LANGUAGE ANALYSIS SUMMARY

Collection Procedures

For my collection process, I wanted to have samples from informal conversations with

student A’s friends as well as samples from the academic conversations he participated in. I used

my iPad to record all of the oral language samples. For the initial interview and learner profile

questions, I had our grade level para supervise my classroom during independent writing work

time and pulled A out to the hallway. For the informal conversations, I invited A to lunch with

me and had him pick 3 friends to come and recorded their conversation. I tried to sneak in

questions from the learner interview offhandedly. For example:

I: Okay, so I’m gonna ask you some questions, ok? And I just want you to try your best.

So what do you think language is? A: Language? I: Yeah, language. What is language? A:

Spanish? I: Yeah, Spanish.

I tried my best to use my wait time and stay out of the conversation, eager to catch and

document his language patterns and behaviors. For the academic conversation samples, I had

him explain his math strategies for a math story problem to me, while recording it.

Language Domain Scale Score Proficiency Level

(Possible 100-600) (Possible 1.0-6.0)
Listening 348 6..0

Speaking 375 5.6

Reading 230 1.9

Writing 271 3.3

Oral Language 362 6.0
 Literacy 251 2.9
Comprehension 265 3.9

Overall Score 284 3.9

(Composite)

As this student’s teacher his report shows me that in listening, his receptive English

language level is proficient. His speaking skills are nearly as adept, with a score of 5.6, which

gives evidence that his expressive and verbal communication skills are grade level. His lowest

score of all is his reading score. As an educator, this is not surprising, given that most

kindergarteners are in the earliest stage of developing literacy skills. This portion of the test

assesses how well a student can match or identify words with pictures, concepts of print, and his

ability to distinguish letters and their sounds. The writing tasks asked to perform include

developing letters and symbols about a picture and his proficiency level is right in the middle of

the scale, telling me he is foundational in his first year of developing literacy.

Oral Language Findings- WIDA Speaking Rubric

Based on my observations, I believe my student A is a solid student working at the task

level of 3- Developing on the speaking rubric of the WIDA Consortium. His ACCESS scores

show that when he was tested in the middle of his kindergarten year (the previous academic

year), he scored a scale score of 284, placing him in the achievement level of developing. This

kindergarten testing shows him as a student quickly approaching the achievement level of

expanding, which in the final quarter of his first grade year I still see him approaching, not

necessarily having reached it just yet. He uses simple and expanded sentences where he is
beginning to add detail, still uses fairly simple vocabulary, and the errors he is making don’t

impede a listener’s understanding.

Linguistic complexity, vocabulary usage, language control, and language forms/conventions

 Linguistic Vocabulary Language Control Language forms/
complexity conventions
A’s vocabulary as Any English
In the following limited because he speaker would be
example taken from can certainly able to clearly
transcription, we can
express himself and understand A as he
see A using simple and
expanded sentences and his ideas clearly. expresses himself.
adding details to show However, his However, there are
emerging linguistic lexicon is quite examples in his
complexity, however he general and lacks speaking that hint
is lacking in technical language. to Spanish as his
cohesiveness.
first language and
A: Apples are that may cause
A: My sister little is
like right here cuz she’s healthy. some interference
4 years old. A long for him. Instead of
time saying “My little
ago I was five. The sister’s stuffed
stuffed animal of my animal,” which is
sister is like the one I
how we show
had. He
possession in
was like Buzz
Lightyear. Ms. Van English, A says,
Poperin, did you know “The stuffed animal
that there’s a of my sister.”
ghost in Mexico? I got
a white, a white house. The stuffed animal
But I always remember
of my sister is like
the
the one I had.
number. 1788 I think.
And like it’s also made
out of brick. I haveta
gotta
go to the bathroom.

75-80

Language Functions

A is a student who is comprehensible and approaching fluency for a first grader in his

second language. He has a command of all seven functions of language. He understands that

language can express his needs, as he has demonstrated in the classroom by insisting what he
would like, want, or prefer. For example, A always lets me know when we are starting math

stations that his preference is that he would like to play hiding number. A is also in full control

of his regulatory function of language, as he tells his classmates what to take for breakfast in the

classroom, or his tablemates how to behave for a table point. The interactional function I have

heard him display frequently as he decides what games he and his friends would like to play. A

is the type of student who displays his pride regularly, whether it is the type of dog or food he

likes, or what he likes to do and wants to be when he grows up and so, as his teacher I regularly

hear him using his personal function of language. A is also a very outspoken and curious student

and so his command of the informative function and the heuristic function of language is

demonstrated daily in our classroom, as he tells us any information that applies or connects and

asks, “Why?” to nearly everything! A is a student who has a great sense of humor and can be

seen making jokes while I’m teaching so his divertive function is seen in our classroom

environment often. I rarely see my students playing in the rigor of our classroom, a function I

don’t see much but also don’t doubt because of his personality, is that of imaginative.

Functions of Language:
Analyzing Oral Language Table

Function Example Cited in Transcript Example Cited

by Line Number
Instrumental (Ins) A: Uh huh. I want more nachos! 51
I want; language as a means
of getting things, of
satisfying needs
Regulatory (Reg)
Do as I say; controlling the
behavior, feelings or
attitudes of others
Interactional (Int)
Me and you; social
interaction, getting along
with others
Personal (Per)
Here I come; pride and
awareness of self,
expressions of individuality
Heuristic (Heu)
Tell me why; seeking and
testing knowledge
A: Hey you guys read this! Cop 17-20
cow and mine is break dancing.
There’s a mystery cow, look. Hey
B, look, mine has a mysteries.
A: No, they’re not so scary! But 31-37
they’re just bones now. They
turned to bones. Is that avocado?
It’s agucate in Spanish. I don’t
like agucate. Know what? Know
that I have oranges just like that.
You can eat the agucate with
chips! That’s what I saw Ms. Van
Poperin do. Right now. And you
can put it on like vegetables, or
something? But I don’t eat it, I
don’t like it. I don’t. It’s so nasty.
Do you like cats or uhh…d-d-
dogs? The
dogs win.
I saw anoder double, becuz I 117-120
know all my doubles now! I
practice them and learned
them...and eight and eight, noo,
waid. I know four and four makes
eight and then I countdid one and
one mo and I saw that it makes
10!
A: Is our class going to go 43
outside?
 Imaginative (Ima)
Let’s pretend; making up
stories and poems, creating
new worlds
A: I wanna be baseball player! 22-24
But not a cop. So I’m just a
baseball
player. Let’s pretend we be playin
baseball! Guys! Let’s play pretend
Dodgers. Sometimes we…do dat
outside, Ms. V.

Informative (Inf) A: I like a T-Rex! I like a lion! 28-31

I’ve got something to tell
you; communicating
information, descriptions,
ideas
The King Lion. El Rey! I like the
regular
lions, with like no fur like around.
They’re in...they live in Africa,
and
they eat animals just like the
dinosaurs. Dinosaurs?? They’re
already dead, they turned to
bones. Maybe?

Divertive (Div) N/A N/A

Enjoy this; jokes, riddles,
puns, language play

Language Systems

Student A’s phonology or the organization systems of sounds in a language (in this case,

English) has many points of interest in a case study. As seen in the transcript, he often confuses

and substitutes the voiceless stop of /p/ for the voiced stop of /b/. For example, in his switching

these sounds in the word because, which he speaks as “pecause” in both the transcription and in
my classroom monitoring. This is an area where next steps can be delineated for his linguistic

growth.

Student A’s morphology is a strength in the transcription but also in my observations from

the classroom. Something I notice often is his usage of full endings when he adds “-ing” to his

nouns. From the transcription, there are examples, which include his full pronunciation of the

words, “dancing,” “going,” and “playing.”

This student’s vocabulary or lexicon is a part of his linguistic development and profile

that I would consider another area where he has an opportunity for growth. There are points in

the transcription that show Student A’s developing and expanding choice of words. For example,

when he is telling his audience about where he lives and how to get to his house from school, and

he explains that it’s made out of brick, which definitely shows a command for description. He

also explains that his road is after a right turn, displaying a more domain-specific way of talking.

Syntax is another area of language structures my case study student could benefit from

additional instruction and practice. He often uses double negatives like, “My teeth are going to

fall down and grow in. This one in the front I just lost, lost it. These two are going to drop down

from the top, so I have to eat on this side and this side. But

not right there no more” and “I didn’t hear no wahdur.”

Semantics concerns how the case study participant uses language to make sense. In my

academic samples of his speech he explains his math thinking about how he saw seven dots in a

number talk. “Okay. I seeee seven! Because I saw dree and dree makes six and then countdid one

more and that makes seven!”

 In terms of how Student A changes his discourse for his audience, or the linguistic

component of pragmatics, I found one example in my transcript. This is when he addressed his

fellow classmates and said “Dinosaur puzzle! Hey guys, let’s do that dinosaur puzzle!” Using

the everyday, informal way of addressing his peers as “Guys,” and differentiating his address to

me by calling me, “Ms. V.”

Language Structures:
Analyzing Oral Language Table

Language Strengths Errors Strategy Used/

Structures Examples cited in Examples cited in Implications for
the Transcript the Transcript Instruction
(Line #s & types) (Line #s & types)
Phonology A: I like playing A: But I live like As student A’s
(pronunciati outside. I used to closer to the school. teacher, I will
on) play hide and seek. I’m a little close praise him for
pecause I live right using a comple -
47 there. I’m more ing ending in
closer to school. “playing” as well
as distinguish
86-87 where in the mouth
we make /p/ and /
b/ sounds.
Syntax A: But I live like I will praise him
(grammar) A: Oh, that means closer to the school. for properly
we have enough I’m a little close ordering his
time to eat. pecause I live right sentences and
there. I’m more clarify that “more
45 closer to school. closer” isn’t
correct.
86-87

Lexicon A: Apples are A: We’re going to Healthy is a word

(vocabulary) healthy. put them in the that first graders
bucket. And now with limited
49 when the cup is full, English may not
we get our know, so A’s
compament party. vocabulary is
And it has to be up definitely showing
to here. This is our growth. I will
new clarify the word
“compliment” with
compament jar.
A, perhaps by
clapping out the
63-65
syllables as we say
them together.

Morpholog A: Ms. V, when A: I didn’t hear no

y are we going to wahdur. Hez lyin. I will praise A for his
(words, dump all the use of the morpheme
morphemes) marbles in the 90 -s in marbles to make
cup? the word plural.

58 I will clarify the

importance of ending
with a clear -ing
sound instead of -in.
 Semantics N/A I will praise his
(making Okay. I seeee use of math talk to
meaning) seven! Because I clearly explain his
saw dree and dree math thinking.
makes six and
then countdid one
more and that
makes seven!

123
Pragmatics N/A A clearly changes
(adjusting his speaking
for context, A: Dinosaur depending on who
speaker, puzzle! Hey guys, he is speaking to
etc.) let’s do that when he calls his
dinosaur puzzle! fellow classmates
“guys.”
104

WIDA Continuum- Listening & Speaking

There are many factors to consider when determining where a learner fits along the

WIDA continuum for their language proficiency. As Student A’s first grade teacher, I have

concluded the best I was reasonably able to, given the body of evidence I analyzed. First and

arguably one of the most important elements is Student A’s previous kindergarten scores from

just one year ago. These scores assess, by language domain, Student A’s scaled scores by various

tasks. These scores put his overall or composite score last year at a 3.9, on the cusp of two

achievement levels: Developing and Expanding. Notably, his score also places him in the area
WIDA considers the “typical range,” and his reading score is considerably lower than his other

language domain scores.

Also in this portfolio of information I analyzed are my own anecdotal observations from

the classroom as well as my examination of Student A’s recorded oral language samples and

resulting transcriptions. I see these data sources point to my case study student shifting between

WIDA scores, from Developing to Expanding in terms of his listening language level. A’s

simple but elaborating sentences are increasingly showing more detail and using vocabulary that

shows he is growing as an English language learner, using a familiarity with words. His

receptive language is only anecdotal data from my personal perspective, but he comprehends

English and has an intuition for language.

His reading DRA-2 score of 8 shows that he is below grade level by two levels, but that

he is still well within a normative range of development. For this reason, combined with all else

mentioned above, I believe Student A is also to be placed between Developing and Expanding

for speaking.

Reflection

In conclusion, this case study on Student A from my first grade class has shed so much

light on not just the amount of information we as educators are privy to, but also how different it

is to carefully examine it in a meaningful way. After considering all aspects of Student A’s

language and literacy I have a much fuller picture of where he is as a language learner. Once we

know where a learner falls in a spectrum of growth, we know what he or she is capable of and

once we have that information, we can more effectively teach them and get them to their next
steps. Ironically, the zoomed in approach of looking at one of my thirty students has given me

perspective on all of them.

READING ANALYSIS SUMMARY

Reading Analysis Collection Procedures

For my reading samples, I used the reading assessment mandated by the state of

Colorado, the DRA 2. My student A at the end of each quarter, reads with me one-on-one, which

provides many important and often critical pieces of information on their reading growth. First, I

can gain information on his next reading level to determine his independent level (they level that

they can read at completely on their own, usually knowing all except 2-3 words on a page) and

then also his instructional level (the level that he can read at with support from an adult or more

advanced reader). This allows me to place him in an appropriate reading groups with me and my

literacy coach interventionist, so that they receive the best and most targeted reading education.

Reading Behaviors

This process, repeated every 9 weeks, also shows me what to focus on in terms of

A’s reading behaviors, skills, and strategies I need to focus on with my student. Given that he

goes back when he reads in my DRA 2 sample, when something doesn’t make sense. For

example, A read a sentence ending with “school” and didn’t know it at first, paused and he had

the behavior to restart the sentence and filled it, contextually, with a word that would make
sense. I also noticed that when he did this, he glanced at the picture and used it as clue to fill in a

word that would make meaning. When I analyze my reading samples from my student learner, I

am first drawn to student A’s reading behaviors. In terms of his attitude and the way he holds

himself, he sits upright and is obvious in his excited attentiveness. He talks about and uses his

“reading finger” to locate words as he moves across pages. Even more interesting (and exciting

for an educator) is his smile and motivation. He wants to read and is highly interested in his own

growth as a reader.

Concepts About Print

This is a student who has an excellent concept of print. He knows how to behave

with books and literacy and it is easy to see that he also has a respect for literature and his

identity as a reader. He is careful and respectful with books. He knows many of his sight words,

which makes reading fun and quick for him as he eyes can quickly scan and make meaning, and

he has a firm understanding that letters compose words and that words can be decomposed back

into their individual letter sounds. This is evident when he comes to words and he tries to stretch

out his letters.

Fluency

His confidence as a reader is high, even though he is only at a level 4 on the DRA

2. My scoring of his fluency on the DRA 2 assessment is a 2, because he is starting to read in

longer phrases, usually about 3 or 4 word groups. Student A also has expressive voice

throughout his reading, only losing his inflections and tone when he pauses to look at a picture or

check that he has said a word correctly. He pays attention to punctuation marks and knows what

it means for him as a reader. He occasionally slows down and has a strange stress that makes the

reading sound slightly unnatural at times. I’d like to see him grow into a reader so that he can

read in longer word groups and have more expressive pausing, counseled by the dialogue and the

author’s meaning behind the text.

Errors

The only errors I have in Student A’s body of evidence are usually uncommon words, like

names. In the sample DRA 2 I have from third quarter, the only error he had was asking and

needing to be told the name “Carl,” in the first few sentences of the book. This a specific name

that he has probably had no exposure to and that doesn’t follow letter sound intuition and so does

not worry me about his decoding abilities.

Strategy Usage

When Student A comes to a word he doesn’t know he will ask for help, saying “I

don’t know what that is,” or “Can you tell me what that word is?” This is definitely a strategy

that shows his limited independence level as a 6-year old new reader. He is still developing

strategies so that he can use his own agency to figure out whatever he is finding confusing or
challenging in the book. When he does make a mistake and he can tell something doesn’t make

sense, he usually notices these semantic types of errors and goes back, rereads, and self corrects

in order to make sense.

Retell

Student A has a very well-sequenced summary of the story he read for his third

quarter DRA 2 assessment, scoring about a 5/6, a satisfactory understanding. He can explain and

relate most of the important events in the story, although he may leave one or two details out.

What A’s next step in his retelling ability and comprehension component is likely that he

lacks a reflective understanding of the author’s message or that he may not make a personal

connection. His retell is always in order, starting at the beginning of the book and ending with

the last events. Student A shows great understanding of who the characters are and what they are

thinking or doing in the story as well as a deeper meaning he derives about how they might be

feeling and why. As another point of interest, Student A also refers to characters almost

exclusively by their names. This has proven to be a difficult task for me to teach my six- and

seven-year old students, and the fact that he has taken this task on shows his abilities to really

think about not just the what and where of the stories we’re reading, but also include the who.

Reflection

Based on all of Student A’s reading data, I have concluded that he is in between level 3

Developing and level 4 Expanding. I have decided this because he is making some text-to-self

and text-to-text or text-to-world connections as a developing reader would, but he is lacking the

personal meaning he may gain with a deeper delving, which I anticipate is his next step. He also
can match phrases and sentences to pictures as a level 3 WIDA reader would do, but he is lacking

expression and contextual inflection while reader at a level 4 reader might do. Namely, the

reason I placed him on the cusp of developing to expanding is his independence level. Student A

is ready to gain independence and problem solve when he comes to words that he may not know

the meaning of or how to read it, given the context of the word in sentence. I believe when he

gains this agency and independence, he’ll be able to move on in his CAN-DO descriptors.

WRITING ANALYSIS SUMMARY

Data Collection

In my school, we have about 40-50 minutes in our classroom routine built in for our

writing literacy block. Of this part of our literacy block, my students independently practice

their own writing for about 20-25 minutes. For my writing analysis on Student A, I looked

through his writing folder with him during an individual conference. We were at the end of our

realistic fiction narrative unit (the fourth unit of study in Lucy Caulkin’s new Common Core

State Standards aligned writing curriculum). I had Student A go through his series books about

his characters Josh and Bob and find one he wanted to make his very best and publish. After

that, I asked him to give me two or three books that he also thought were some of his favorites

for me to use in my analysis.

Condition of Student’s Writing

Student A has fairly neat handwriting for a first grader. He has a good concept of which

letters are tall and short on the handwriting paper we use during writing. His conventions are
impressive for his age, seeing as he remembers to include end punctuation for almost all of his

sentences and even more impressively, quotation marks for most dialogue between his

characters. In terms of volume, he is writing more than most of my students across his pages.

He struggles with capitalization in the middle of his sentences.

Assignment Consideration

The learner was asked to draw a picture plan sketch and to write matching words in a

realistic fiction narrative, across 5-6 pages. If the students need to, they may also add more

pages to their booklets. These narrative pieces are part of our daily literacy block. We use Lucy

Caulkins and children have 20-25 minutes daily to independently complete their work.

Intended Message

His writing is an excellent example of thinking words, saying them to himself, and then

writing them. A is one of my students who has a grasp of language in that his writing sounds and

reads like it would as if he were speaking it.

Supports

In my classroom, my students have a working with high frequency words word wall up,

which we practice daily so Student A is very familiar with it. First graders also have a writing

folder tool, which they are very accustomed to because it is the same format as the one they used

in kindergarten). This tool includes more high frequency words, commonly used non-high

frequency vocabulary words (brother, sister, school), letter sounds, diagraphs, and blends with

picture supports.
 Notes About Vocabulary, Description, Transitions

Student A used several content words specific to his story including treehouse, climbing,

twisted, doctor, shot, cartoon network, food words, lightning, taxi, desert, city, people, and

window. Student A lacks descriptive language in his writing. In the three writing samples I

have, the only two describing words I found were bad and better. One of Student A’s strengths

as a writer include his usage of transition words or phrases, like one day, then, now, because, and

but. It is evident in Student A’s writing that when he comes to a word he may not know, he uses

letter sounds effectively to write it down with an phonetically appropriate attempt.

Structure

Many of my first graders have real difficulties with the sequencing of events in their

narrative forms. Student A does this easily, showing that his productive language is proficient

enough to hang onto long enough mentally, so that he may then transfer it down to paper and

record it. Student A has structured sentences of normative length, which definitely express and

convey complete ideas. Student A has the proper verbage to express his ideas clearly but he

lacks description and detail.

Reflection

When considering the WIDA writing Can Do indicators, I think Student A is again in

between levels three and four. He is using prewriting strategies, like picture sketches and

forming simple sentences without much detail as a level three writer would do. He also produces

his own unique story lines and using increasingly more content-specific language and composing

stories as a level 4 writer would do.

 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS/CONCLUSION

Across all his linguistic domains, I see a common thread for my Student A. He is a

normatively developing learner on the cusp of having a true grasp on his oral, reading, and

writing abilities of English. I think his oral language ability shows his skill with descriptive

words that he may lack in writing. His reading shows that he is a vigilant reader, developing the

necessary skills to be a self-reflective learner. As this learner’s educator, I believe this case study

has opened my eyes for his next steps in instruction. I think his oral language skills are more

informal than his writing or reading, which I’m sure is not an uncommon pattern, especially for

language learners.

I think more oral language instruction could heighten his grasp of the English language

and its structures, so that his reading and writing can grow and become more detailed. I also

think that when speaking about personal things orally, he shows this incredible detail and great

vocabulary, but when asked to talk about a book specifically he loses that description. We as

educators must start at the basic, most foundational part of learning for our literacy students. We

must first think it, to say it, to write it, and then to read it, but we must also be aware that these

processes are not static or mutually exclusive. Studying Student A over this past semester has

given me insight not just into his personal learning path, but how I can aid all my students in

their future linguistic and literacy learning.

 Works Cited

Barry, A. (2008). Linguistic perspectives on language and education. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Rico, L. (2013). The crosscultural a complete K-12 reference guide (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn

& Bacon/Pearson.