tools. Lastly, students who believe that reading is useful, important, and interesting are also more likely to do well (Wigfield et al., 2016). Teachers can choose practices and activities that explain and emphasize how and why reading is useful to students’ everyday lives and their futures.
Supporting Multilingual Learners in Reading
In the United States, approximately 15 percent of children enrolled in public schools are multilingual learners (sometimes called English learners or English language learners) (NCES, 2022). Most of these students are in English-only classrooms and face additional challenges when learning to read. Not only are they learning to read like their peers, they are also learning to become more proficient in English. Some students may already have some literacy skills in their home languages but must then transfer those skills to a new language that they are also learning to speak and communicate in. Other students may be learning to read for the first time. It is important to understand the unique experiences and needs of multilingual learners and to provide the additional support they may need to set them up for success in their school experience. Like all students, multilingual learners are also learning to decode words. However, even though they may be successful in decoding a word, they might face the additional challenge of not fully understand- ing its meaning, as they are simultaneously learning English. This situation makes it harder to verify for themselves whether they have successfully decoded the word. Research on supporting multilingual learners in reading has yielded important insights for teachers to keep in mind as they instruct and support their students. Teaching multilingual learners to read English is similar to teaching learners who are not multilingual in many important ways, and the basic Science of Reading still applies (Goldenberg, 2020). Effective instruction benefits both children who are and children who are not multilingual (Goldenberg, 2020). Multilingual learners who are struggling likely need some of the same type of reading support that nonmultilingual learners who are struggling would need. However, evidence from reading interventions shows that it is key that multilingual learners also get good English language development (ELD) instruc- tion and support (Goldenberg, 2020). Interventions for multilingual learners are most effective when they include ELD modifications to ensure that multilingual learners understand key words and directions and can benefit from and understand the reading activities (Gersten et al., 2007). In addition, having a dedicated block set aside for ELD is more beneficial than having it throughout the day or assuming children will simply “pick it up” from their teachers and peers without explicit instruction (Saunders et al., 2006). Research on language and the brain indicates that for multilingual learners, learning to read is more effortful, so ELD is important, particularly as students advance in grades and comprehension demands increase (Goldenberg, 2020).
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The Science of Reading | What Research Says About Setting Young Readers Up for Success
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