The purpose of this review is to characterize research and portray findings on English-as-a-second-language (ESL) reading instruction in the United States. The spectrum of research on ESL reading instruction in the United States might best be characterized as having considerable breadth, but little depth. However, some tentative themes emerged. Among the most important statements that could be made were the following. First, some broad classroom parameters were discerned: Students may work mainly in small groups, stressing word recognition and oral reading; typical instructional discourse patterns may be incompatible with common home-discourse patterns; and teachers may work with lower ESL groups in different ways and stress lower level skills even more as compared to higher ESL groups. Second, research contributed little clarification on issues surrounding the role and timing of native-language reading instruction and ESL reading instruction for ESL reading achievement. Third, instruction targeting specific student knowledge, such as vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge, and text-structure knowledge, was generally effective. Fourth, there was a paucity of information about important issues related to ESL reading in teacher materials.
References
1.
AdaA. F. (1988). The Pajaro Valley experience: Working with Spanish-speaking parents to develop children's reading and writing skills in the home through the use of children's literature. In Skutnabb-KangasT.CumminsJ. (Eds.), Minority education: From shame to struggle (pp. 223–238). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
2.
AllenE. D.BernhardtE. B.BerryM. T.DemelM. (1988). Comprehension and text genre: Analysis of secondary school foreign language readers. Modern Language Journal, 72, 163–172.
3.
ApplebeeA.LangerJ.MullisI. (1987). Learning to be literate in America.Princeton, NJ: National Assessment of Educational Progress.
4.
AuK. H. (1979). Using the experience-text-relationship method with minority children. Reading Teacher, 32, 677–679.
5.
AuK. H. (1980). Participation structures in a reading lesson with Hawaiian children: Analysis of a culturally appropriate instructional event. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 11, 91–115.
6.
AuK. H.JordanC. (1981). Teaching reading to Hawaiian children: Finding a culturally appropriate solution. In TruebaH. T.GuthrieG. P.AuD. H. (Eds.), Culture and the bilingual classroom: Studies in classroom ethnography (pp. 139–152). Rowley, MA: Newbury.
7.
AuK. H.MasonJ. (1981). Social organizational factors in learning to read: The balance of rights hypothesis. Reading Research Quarterly, 17, 115–152.
8.
AuK. H.MasonJ. M. (1983). Cultural congruence in classroom participation structures: Achieving a balance of rights. Discourse Processes, 6, 145–167.
9.
BakerK. A.de KantorA. A. (1983). Federal policy and the effectiveness of bilingual education. In BakerK. A.de KantorA. A. (Eds.), Bilingual education (pp. 33–86). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
10.
Baratz-SnowdenJ. C.DuranR. (1987, January). The educational progress of language minority students: Findings from the 1983–84 NAEP reading survey.Princeton, NJ: National Assessment of Educational Progress and Educational Testing Service.
11.
Baratz-SnowdenJ.RockD.PollackJ.WilderG. (1988). The educational progress of language minority children: Findings from the NAEP 1985–86 special study.Princeton, NJ: National Assessment of Educational Progress and Educational Testing Service.
12.
BarnhardtC. (1982). Tuning-in: Athabaskan teachers and Athabaskan students. In BarnhardtR. (Ed.), Cross-cultural issues in Alaskan education (Vol. 2, pp. 144–164). Fairbanks: Centers for Cross-Cultural Studies, University of Alaska.
13.
BattleJ. (1993). Mexican-American bilingual kindergarteners' collaborations in meaning making. In LeuD. J.KinzerC. K. (Eds.), Examining central issues in literacy research, theory, and practice. Forty-second yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 163–170). Chicago: National Reading Conference.
14.
BeanT. W.PotterT. C.ClarkC. (1980). Selected semantic features of ESL materials and their effect on bilingual students' comprehension. In KamilM.MoeA. (Eds.), Perspectives on reading research and instruction. Twenty-ninth yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 1–5). Washington, DC: National Reading Conference.
15.
BernhardtE. B. (1991). Reading development in a second language: Theoretical, empirical, & classroom perspectives.Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
16.
BernhardtE. B. (1994). A content analysis of reading methods texts: What are we told about the nonnative speaker of English?Journal of Reading Behavior, 26, 159–189.
17.
BernhardtE. B.KamilM. L. (1993, December). Relationships between L1 and L2 literacies: Consolidating the linguistic threshold and linguistic interdependence hypotheses. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Reading Conference, Charleston, SC.
18.
BevingtonE.Rodriguez-GrownF. V.ShanahanT. (1993). Empowerment through family literacy: A training of trainers model. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta.
19.
BondG. L.DykstraR. (1966–1967). The cooperative research program in first-grade reading instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 2, 5–142.
20.
BruttenS. R. (1981). An analysis of student and teacher indications of vocabulary difficulty. RELC Journal, 12, 66–71.
21.
CarrellP. L. (1987). Facilitating ESL reading by teaching text structure. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 727–752.
22.
CarrellP. L.PharisB. G.LibertoJ. C. (1989). Metacognitive strategy training for ESL reading. TESOL Quarterly, 23, 647–678.
23.
CarterT. P.ChatfieldM. L. (1986). Effective bilingual schools: Implications for policy and practice. American Journal of Education, 95, 200–234.
24.
CazdenC. B. (1992). Language minority education in the United States: Implications of the Ramirez report. (Educational Practice Report 3). Santa Cruz: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning.
25.
CohenS. A.RodriquezS. (1980). Experimental results that question the Ramirez-Castaneda model for teaching reading to first grade Mexican Americans. Reading Teacher, 34, 12–18.
26.
CollierV. P. (1987). Age and rate of acquisition of second language for academic purposes. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 617–641.
27.
CollierV. P. (1989). How long? A synthesis of research on academic achievement in a second language. TESOL Quarterly, 23, 509–531.
28.
CollierV. P.ThomasW. P. (1989). How quickly can immigrants become proficient in school English?Journal of Educational Issues of Language Minority Students, 5, 26–38.
29.
CrawfordJ. (1989). Bilingual education: History, politics, theory and practice.Trenton, NJ: Crane.
30.
CrowJ. T.QuigleyJ. R. (1985). A semantic field approach to passive vocabulary acquisition for reading comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 497–513.
31.
CumminsJ. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting success for language minority students. In Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3–49). Developed by office of Bilingual Bicultural Education. Los Angeles, CA: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University.
32.
CzikoG. A. (1992). The evaluation of bilingual education: From necessity and probability to possibility. Educational Researcher, 21, 10–15.
33.
Delgado-GaitanC. (1987). Mexican adult literacy: New directions for immigrants. In GoldmanS.TruebaH. (Eds.), Becoming literate in English as a second-language: Advances in research and theory (pp. 9–32). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
34.
Delgado-GaitanC. (1990). Literacy for empowerment: The role of parents in children's education.New York: Falmer Press.
35.
DiazS.MollL. C.MehanH. (1986). Sociocultural resources in instruction: A context-specific approach. In Beyond language: Social & cultural factors in schooling language minority students (pp. 187–230), developed by Bilingual Education Office, California State Department of Education, Sacramento, CA. Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University.
36.
DoeblerL. K.MardisL. J. (1980–1981). Effects of a bilingual education program for native American children. NABE Journal, 5 (2), 23–38.
37.
DreisbachM.KeoghB. K. (1982). Testwiseness as a factor in readiness test performance of young Mexican-American children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 224–229.
38.
EbelC. (1980). An update: Teaching reading to students of English as a second language. Reading Teacher, 33, 403–407.
39.
EdelskyC. (1991). With literacy and justice for all: Rethinking the social in language and education.New York: Falmer.
40.
EspinosaR.OchoaA. (1986). Concentration of California Hispanic students in schools with low achievement: A research note. American Journal of Education, 95, 77–95.
41.
FitzgeraldJ. (1993). Views on bilingualism in the United States: A selective historical review. Bilingual Research Journal, 17, 35–56.
42.
FitzgeraldJ. (in press). English-as-a-second-language learners' cognitive reading processes: A review of research in the United States. Review of Educational Research..
43.
FloydP.CarrellP. L. (1987). Effects on ESL reading of teaching cultural content schemata. Language Learning, 37, 89–108.
44.
GaiesS. J. (1979). Linguistic imput [sic] in formal second language learning: The issues of syntactic gradation and readability in ESL materials. TESOL Quarterly, 13, 41–50.
45.
GarciaE. (1992a, Spring/Summer). Director's Note… In AguilarE. (Ed.), Focus on diversity, 1(2), pp. 1–2. University of California, Santa Cruz: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning.
46.
GarciaE. (1992b). Linguistically and culturally diverse children: Effective instructional practices and related policy issues. In WaxmanH. C.de FelixWalker J.AndersonJ. E.BaptisteH. P.Jr. (Eds.), Students at risk in at-risk schools: Improving environments for learning (pp. 65–86). Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.
47.
GarciaE. (1992c). Teachers for language minority students: Evaluating professional standards. In Proceedings of the second national research symposium on limited English proficient students: Focus on evaluation and measurement (Vol. 1, pp. 383–414). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.
48.
GarciaG. E.MontesJ.JanischC.BouchereauE.ConsalviJ. (1993). Literacy needs of limited-English-proficient students: What information is available to mainstream teachers? In LeuD. J.KinzerC. K. (Eds.), Examining central issues in literacy research, theory, and practice. Forty-second yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 171–178). Chicago: National Reading Conference.
49.
GerstenR. (1985). The effects of a structured immersion approach on language-minority Asian students. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 7, 187–196.
50.
GlaserB. (1978). Theoretical sensitivity: Advances in the methodology of grounded theory.Mill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
51.
GriffenS. M. S. (1990). The effect of media choice on English literacy acquisition for preliterate Hmong adult learners. Dissertation Abstracts International, 51, p. 4043A.
52.
GriffinS. M. (1992). Reading aloud: An educator comments. TESOL Quarterly, 26, 784–786.
53.
GumperzJ. J.Hernandez-ChavezE. (1972). Bilingualism, bidialectalism, and classroom interaction. In CazdenC. B.JohnV. P.HymesD. (Eds.), Functions of language in the classroom (pp. 84–108). New York: Teachers College Press.
54.
GuthrieL. F.GuthrieG. P. (1987). Teacher language use in a Chinese bilingual classroom. In GoldmanS. R.TruebaH. T. (Eds.), Becoming literate in English as a second language (pp. 205–234). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
55.
HakutaK. (1986). Mirror of language: The debate on bilingualism.New York: Basic Books.
56.
HakutaK.GouldL. J. (1987). Synthesis of research on bilingual education. Educational leadership, 44, 38–45.
57.
HamayanE. (1990). Preparing mainstream teachers for teaching potentially English proficient students. In Proceedings of the first research symposium on limited English proficient students' issues (pp. 1–22). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs.
58.
Hamp-LyonsL. (1985). Two approaches to teaching reading: A classroom-based study. Reading in a Foreign Language, 3, 363–373.
59.
Huerta-MaciasA.QuinteroE. (1992). Code switching, bilingualism, and biliteracy: A case study. Bilingual Research Journal, 16 (3 & 4), 69–90.
60.
JohnsonK. E. (1992). The relationship between teachers' beliefs and practices during literacy instruction for non-native speakers of English. Journal of Reading Behavior, 24, 83–108.
61.
JohnsonP. (1982). Effects on reading comprehension of building background knowledge. TESOL Quarterly, 16, 503–516.
62.
KaufmanM. (1968). Will instruction in reading Spanish affect ability in reading English?Journal of Reading, 17, 521–527.
63.
KleinmannH. H. (1985). The effect of reading laboratory instruction on ESL growth. Research & Teaching in Developmental Education, 1, 38–52.
64.
KleinmannH. H. (1987). The effect of computer-assisted instruction on ESL reading achievement. Modern Language Journal, 71, 267–276.
65.
KrashenS. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning.New York: Pergamon Press.
66.
KrashenD. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications.New York: Longman.
67.
KrashenS. D. (1991, Spring). Bilingual education: A focus on current research. (Focus occasional Papers in Bilingual Education Number 3). Washington, DC: George Washington University and Center for Applied Linguistics.
68.
KrashenS.BiberD. (1988). On course: Bilingual education's success in California.Sacramento: California Association for Bilingual Education.
69.
LippE.WheelerJ. P. (1991). Sustaining the reading interest of academically oriented ESL students. TESOL Quarterly, 25, 185–189.
70.
Mace-MatluckB. J.HooverW. A.CalfeeR. C. (1984). Final report: Teaching reading to bilingual children study (Vol. 8: Executive Summary). Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
71.
MalaveL. (1990–1991). Effective instruction: A comparison of LEP student behaviors and language distribution in regular and effective early childhood classrooms. In MalaveL. (Ed.), Annual conference journal (pp. 61–87). Washington, DC: National Association for Bilingual Education.
72.
McDonnellL. M.HillP. T. (1993). Newcomers in American Schools: Meeting the educational needs of immigrant youth.Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
73.
McLaughlinB. (1987). Theories of second-language learning.Baltimore, MD: Arnold.
74.
MollL. C.EstradaE.DiazE.LopesL. M. (1980). The organization of bilingual lessons: Implications for schooling. Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 2(3), 53–58.
75.
MooreF. B.ParrG. D. (1978). Models of bilingual education: Comparisons of effectiveness. Elementary School Journal, 79, 98–97.
76.
MulhernM. (1993). A further validation: An inside look at family literacy in the home. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta.
77.
National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. (1991, May). Forum (p. 14). Washington, DC: George Washington University and Center for Applied Linguistics, National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.
78.
NeumanS. B.KoskinenP. (1992). Captioned television as comprehensible input: Effects of incidental word learning from context for language minority students. Reading Research Quarterly, 27, 95–106.
79.
OvandoC. J.CollierV. P. (1985). Bilingual and ESL classrooms: Teaching in multicultural contexts.New York: McGraw-Hill.
80.
OwenV.LiR.Rodriguez-BrownF. V.ShanahanT. (1993). Parent attitudes: Critical perspectives of the changing nature of parents' pedagogical theories. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta.
81.
OwenV.ShanahanT. (1993). Validating success: A three-year evaluation of the children's literacy gains. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta.
82.
PadronY. N. (1992). The effect of strategy instruction on bilingual students' cognitive strategy use in reading. Bilingual Research Journal, 16 (3 & 4), 35–51.
83.
ParrG. D.BacaF.DixonP. (1981). Individualized versus group instruction in bilingual education: A two-year study. Elementary School Journal, 81, 223–227.
84.
RamirezA. G. (1994). Literacy acquisition among second-language learners. In FerdmanB. M.WeberR. M.RamirezA. G. (Eds.), Literacy across languages and cultures (pp. 75–101). Albany: State University of New York Press.
85.
RamirezJ. D.YuenS. D.RameyD. R. (1991, February). Executive summary: Final report: Longitudinal study of structured English immersion strategy, early-exit and late-exit transitional bilingual education programs for language-minority children.San Mateo, CA: Aguirre International.
86.
RaphaelG. E.BrockC. H. (1993). Mei: Learning the literacy culture in an urban elementary school. In LeuD. J.KinzerC. K. (Eds.), Examining central issues in literacy research, theory, and practice. Forty-second yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 179–188). Chicago: National Reading Conference.
87.
Richard-AmatoP. A. (1988). Making it happen: Interaction in the second language classroom: From theory to practice.New York: Longman.
88.
RosenblattL. M. (1978). The reader the text the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work.Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press.
89.
RossellC. (1990). The effectiveness of educational alternatives for limited English proficient children. In ImhoffG. (Ed.), Learning in two languages: From conflict and controversy in the reorganization of schools (pp. 71–122). New York: TransactionBooks.
90.
RumelhartD. E. (1985). Toward an interactive model of reading. In SingerH.RuddellR. B. (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 722–750). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
91.
SaldateM.MishraS. P.MedinaM. (1985). Bilingual instruction and academic achievement: A longitudinal study. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 12, 24–30.
92.
SarachoO. N. (1982). The effects of a computer-assisted instruction program on basic skills achievement and attitudes toward instruction of Spanish-speaking migrant children. American Educational Research Journal, 19, 201–219.
93.
SchonI.HopkinsK. D.DavisW. A. (1982). The effects of books in Spanish and free reading time on Hispanic students' reading abilities and attitudes. NABE Journal, 7(1), 13–20.
94.
SchonI.HopkinsK. D.VojirC. (1983). The effects of Spanish reading emphasis on the English and Spanish reading abilities of Hispanic high school students. Reported in “Current Research,” edited by MancallJ. C.School Library Media Quarterly, 11, 326–328.
95.
SchonI.HopkinsK. D.VojirC. (1985). The effects of special reading time in Spanish on the reading abilities and attitudes of Hispanic junior high school students. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 14, 57–65.
96.
SchmidtP. R. (1993). Literacy development of two bilingual, ethnic-minority children in a Kindergarten program. In LeuD. J.KinzerC. K. (Eds.), Examining central issues in literacy research, theory, and practice. Forty-second yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 189–196). Chicago: National Reading Conference.
97.
SchummJ. S.VaughnS.KlingnerJ. K.HaagerD. (1992). A content analysis of basal readers: Teaching suggestions for ESL/LEP students learning to read English. In KinzerC. K.LeuD. J. (Eds.), Literacy research, theory, and practice: Views from many perspectives. Forty-first yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp. 425–434). Chicago: National Reading Conference.
98.
SnowC. E. (1987). Beyond conversation: Second language learners' acquisition of description and explanation. In LantolfJ. P.LabarcaA. (Eds.), Research in second language learning: Focus on the classroom (pp. 2–16). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
99.
StrotherJ. B.UlijnJ. M. (1987). Does syntactic rewriting affect English for science and technology text comprehension? In DevineJ.CarrellP. L.EskeyD. E. (Eds.), Research in reading English as a second language (pp. 89–101). Washington, DC: TESOL.
100.
SwicegoodM. A. (1990). The effects of metacognitive reading strategy training on the reading performance and student reading analysis strategies of third-grade Spanish-dominant students. Dissertation Abstracts International, 52, p. 449A.
101.
TangB. T. (1974). A psycholinguistic study of the relationships between children's ethnic-linguistic attitudes and the effectiveness of methods used in second-language reading instruction. TESOL Quarterly, 8, 233–251.
102.
TharpR. G. (1982). The effective instruction of comprehension: Results and description of the Kamehameha Early Education Program. Reading Research Quarterly, 17, 503–527.
103.
TruebaH. T. (1989). Raising silent voices: Educating the linguistic minorities for the 21st century.New York: Newbury House.
104.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Secretary. (1992, June 30). The condition of bilingual education in the nation: A report to the Congress and the President.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Secretary.
105.
U.S. Department of Education: Office of the Secretary. (1991, June 30). The condition of bilingual education in the nation: A report to the Congress and the President.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Secretary.
106.
ValdesG. (1991). Bilingual minorities and language issues in writing: Toward profession-wide responses to a new challenge. (Technical Report No. 54). Berkely, CA: Center for the Study of Writing.
107.
Van NessH. (1981). Social control and social organization in an Alaskan Atthabaskan classroom. A microethnography of “getting ready” for reading. In TruebaH. T.GuthrieG. P.AuK. H. (Eds.), Culture and the bilingual classroom: studies in classroom ethnography (pp. 120–138). Rowley, MA: Newbury.
108.
WeberR. (1991). Linguistic diversity and reading in American society. In BarrR.KamilM. L.MosenthalP. B.PearsonP. D. (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 9–119). New York: Longman.
109.
WilligA. C. (1985). A meta-analysis of selected studies on the effectiveness of bilingual education. Review of Educational Research, 55, 269–317.
110.
FillmoreWong L.ValadezC. (1986). Teaching bilingual learners. In WittrockM. C. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 648–685). New York: Macmillan.
