In this episode, Susan Lambert was joined by Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities presented when teaching multilingual learners how to read. Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan is a bilingual speech language pathologist and a certified academic language therapist. She is also the director of Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas. On the podcast, she and Susan talked about how teachers can make connections between students’ home languages and English in order to celebrate their language and give them new tools to better understand English. She stressed the importance of teachers educating themselves on their students’ home languages so they can spot orthographic and phonological similarities and differences, and highlighted the importance of educator collaboration to drive student success.

Show notes:  Literacy Foundations for English Learners: A Comprehensive Guide to Evidence-Based Instruction by Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan Presentation: “Making Connections for Structured Literacy Instruction Among English Learners” Reading SOS special video series: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading Online book study of Literacy Foundations for English Learners By Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan Mylanguages.org Podcast survey

Quotes:

“The more we’re able to read, the more we’re able to learn.“           —Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan  “Sometimes as teachers, we feel so overwhelmed with, Oh, I don't know that language. How in the world am I going to introduce a whole new thing? Instead we should be starting to understand connections.”         —Dr. Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan 

Summer ‘22 Rewind: Empowering English language learners: Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan

Science of Reading: The Podcast will deliver the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading. Via a conversational approach, each episode explores a timely topic related to the science of reading.

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To kick off our miniseries focused on how the Science of Reading serves multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs), Amplify Vice President of Biliteracy Kajal Patel Below joins Susan Lambert for a retrospective discussion of the history of literacy education through a biliteracy lens. Together, they discuss the significance of a recent joint statement put out by The Reading League and the National Committee for Effective Literacy. Below sheds light on why this statement is so monumental, and what it means for serving ML/ELs going forward.

Show notes:Joint Statement from The Reading League (TRL) and the National Committee for Effective Literacy (NCEL)2006 Report: Developing Literacy in Second-Language LearnersQuotes: 

“It must be acknowledged that there is more scientific research, or there has been more scientific research, conducted with monolingual English-speaking children, and that additional research related to teaching literacy development for English learners and emergent bilinguals is needed to advance our understanding of their literacy development.” —Kajal Patel Below “We have an underserved area that's experiencing a massive growth in student population. And so it's really important to then focus on it. Schools are adjusting, they're quick, they're doing the best they can, but we need to be having these conversations around research [and] best practices so that we can set schools up for success and students up for success." —Kajal Patel Below

 “I just think we have an exciting future in this country. I was in a classroom last week—I saw some of their writing. I saw them speaking, heard them speaking in two languages fluently, easily, excitedly. I just got very excited. These kids are going to be our doctors and our teachers and our engineers and they’re bilingual or multilingual.” —Kajal Patel Below

 “Their language is an asset, whatever language it is and however much it is.” —Kajal Patel Below

Episode timestamps*
5:00 Introduction: Who is Kajal Patel Below?
7:00 Terminology: Bilingual vs biliterate; Multilingual/English learners 
10:00 History in the US of multilingual learners being underserved
11:00 Multilingualism as an asset
12:00 Importance of messaging
17:00 Advocates for multilingual learners and the science of reading
21:00 Concerns regarding the science of reading movement
25:00 Screening and assessment
31:00 Teacher support and need for better materials
34:00 What is the joint statement? 
43:00 Hopes for the future
46:00 Why is this conversation important? *Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute 


ML/EL E1: Language is always an asset, with Kajal Patel Below

Science of Reading: The Podcast is launching a special miniseries dedicated to multilingual/English learners (ML/ELs)! Host Susan Lambert will chat with leading researchers and practitioners about how the Science of Reading supports ML/ELs and why this is so important. Through exploration of the key research and enlightening discussions, Susan and guests will discuss the optimal use of the Science of Reading to enhance students’ classroom experiences and overall learning journeys.  Listen to this trailer for a sneak peek and be sure to subscribe now so you don’t miss this exclusive miniseries—the first episode is out April 30! 


Sneak peek: A miniseries on multilingual and English learners

Susan Lambert joins biliteracy expert and professor Lillian Durán, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota and researches the improvement of instructional and assessment practices with preschool-aged multilingual/English learners. Durán begins by pointing out the difference between being bilingual and biliterate, then describes the key advantages of being bilingual and the unique skills students who speak multiple languages bring to school. She then discusses how the Simple View of Reading connects to Spanish, the double standard that often occurs when bilingual students are celebrated vs. when they are not, and the process of screening and assessment for multilingual/English learner students. Lastly, Durán compels educators to avoid viewing biliteracy and dual language support as a sub-population of their classroom and instead prioritize the development of students’ home languages, whatever they may be, alongside English instruction.

Show notes:Listen: Science of Reading: The Podcast biliteracy playlistQuotes:

“Language is inextricably linked to culture. We want to make sure these families and children feel valued and honored within our schools.” —Lillian Durán, Ph.D.

“No matter what language you start to learn some of those skills in, there's a transfer and understanding of how to listen to sounds and how to put sounds together.” —Lillian Durán, Ph.D.



Spring Rewind '24: Biliteracy and assessment, with Lillian Durán, Ph.D.

Join Susan B. Neuman, professor of early childhood and literacy education at the Steinhardt School at New York University, in our Deconstructing the Rope series. She explains the important link between background knowledge and reading comprehension in the Science of Reading, and shares her five research-based principles to build knowledge networks in literacy instruction. She also highlights the connection between speech and reading, and previews her upcoming studies on the role of cross-media connections in children’s learning.

Show notes: Book: Changing the Odds for Children at Risk, by Susan B. Neuman. (More books in the link.)Article: “Developing Low-Income Children's Vocabulary and Content Knowledge through a Shared Book Reading Program” by Susan B. Neuman and Tanya KaeferArticle: “The Information Book Flood: Is Additional Exposure Enough to Support Early Literacy Development?" by Susan B, NeumanQuotes: 
“What you’re helping children do is create a mosaic, putting all those ideas together in a knowledge network. If you don’t do it explicitly, many children cannot do it on their own.” —Susan B. Neuman “We’ve got to start early. We’ve got to start immediately, and know that children are eager to learn and use the content to engage them.” —Susan B. Neuman




Spring Rewind '24: Deconstructing the Rope: Background knowledge, with Susan B. Neuman

Catherine Snow, Ph.D., Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, joins Susan Lambert on this episode to reflect on the state of language and literacy instruction in the U.S. They begin their conversation by discussing linguistics in young children and the relationship between language and literacy, before diving into Dr. Snow’s biggest takeaways from her work on the National Research Council report, “Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children." Susan and Dr. Snow talk about building vocabulary, growing student curiosity in reading, and exposing students to academic language. Dr. Snow talks about the specific tools educators should be given for meaningful help in the classroom, shares her hopes—and fears—for the future of reading instruction in this country, and explains why she encourages teachers to let their classrooms be noisier.

Show notes:Read: National Research Council Report: Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young ChildrenRead: Reading for Understanding: Toward an R&D; Program in Reading ComprehensionQuotes:
“Part of preventing reading difficulties means focusing on programs to ensure that all children have access to books from birth and that they have access to adults who will read those books with them and discuss them.” —Catherine Snow, Ph.D. “I see academic language and exposure to academic language as an expansion of children's language skills that both contributes to successful literacy—successful reading comprehension—and gets built through encounters with texts, but also encounters with oral activities.” —Catherine Snow, Ph.D.

“Let your classroom be noisier. Let the kids be more engaged and more socially engaged, because that is actually a contribution to their language development and to their motivation to keep working.” —Catherine Snow, Ph.D.

Episode timestamps*
2:00 Introduction: Who is Catherine Snow?
3:00 Linguistics in young children
6:00 What is language? 
8:00 Language and its impact on literacy
14:00 National Research Council Report: Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children
22:00 Building vocabulary and a love for reading
26:00 Academic language
28:00 “Science of Reading” movement and the reading wars
33:00 Scientific research in the hands of educators in the field
36:00 Tools teachers need in their toolbox
38:00 Hopes and fears for the future of the “Science of Reading movement”
41:00 Final advice
*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute 
 


Summer ‘22 Rewind: Empowering English language learners: Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan

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