Running Record Comparisons

I always enjoy the opportunity to listen to children read to me.  Although it is occasionally frustrating to listen to a student struggle through a text, it is also exhilarating to listen to a student conquer a challenging text. 

For this activity, I listened to second and third grade students read to me.  At the school I have been working at, the only second language is Spanish.  I will be comparing a second grade ELL student, a third grade ELL student and a second grade student whose native language is English.  All three students were assessed using the same texts at Level J from readinga-z.com.  The Level J book is called The Laughing Lady about a lady that laughs at everyone because it is her way of showing how she cares about them. 

When looking at the second grade ELL student’s running record, I see that she made three visual errors, and a syntax error.  She said “left” for “felt”, “chenkly” for “chuckle”, and “was laughing” for “laughed”.  She read the 102 word passage in one minute and four seconds.  The third grade ELL student made two visual errors, and two meaning errors.  She missed the word “once” but did say (w).  Instead of “chuckle” she said “chokey”.  She also said “the” instead of “a” and “the” instead of “his” the other time.  She read the passage in one minute and twenty seconds.  The second grade student whose native language is English made three syntax errors and a visual error.  He started to say “giggle” instead of “chuckle”, but caught himself and self-corrected.  He said “sometimes” for “someone”, but self-corrected.  He skipped the word “and”.  He also said “more than” instead of “everyone so”.  The sentence did not quite make sense, but he did not self-correct.  He read it in one minute and thirty nine seconds. 

As I look at the errors that these students made, I do not see errors that are specifically related to learning a second language.  I would have expected to see pronunciation errors, but I did not.  The errors I saw were universal.  I saw students who need to practice reading for meaning.  They need to be constantly checking that their reading makes sense.  When the sentence does not make sense, they need to learn to go back and take another look at the text.  I also saw students who need to slow down and look more closely at the words they are reading.  I thought it was interesting that the two ELL students read the story more fluently than the native English speaking student. 

Instruction for all of these students would include teaching them to look for familiar letter chunks in unfamiliar words.  Going forward, I would also spend time practicing simple sight words, since they were substituting the word “the” for “a”, or “his”.  Students may practice reading short passages to ensure they are monitoring understanding as they read.  Although the two ELL students read the passage more fluently than the native English speaking student, it would be a good idea to set up a fluency exercise daily.  They could read the same passage all week.  They would be timed on their first read, and read it aloud at least three times before reading it for time again.  Practicing reading this way and then answering a comprehension question daily will help students read more fluently and ensure they understand what they are reading. 

All three of these students need  a routine that will help them focus on the word that is written, break unfamiliar words into familiar letter chunks, monitor understanding as they read, and make sure they read basic sight words accurately.    I believe small group instruction is the best way to provide that support.

Learning Model vs. Acquisition Model

Sometimes it seems that language is something that just happens.  Parents have watched in awe as their children develop language.  Every mother is overcome with joy the first time their baby calls them “Mama”.  Before long, the child has developed a repertoire of words and they begin to experiment with ways to combine words in an effort to have their needs met.  Missionaries visit a different country and before long, they are able to speak fluently with the native population.  Many of us took a second language in high school and college.  Some people have successfully learned a language through these more formal courses that focus on the individual pieces of language before putting the pieces together and creating fluent language.   

Experts have studied how language is developed.  The question is whether language is acquired or learned.  If we look at toddlers as they learn to speak or missionaries who go to a different country without knowing the language and eventually find they can speak the language fluently, we might say that language is acquired.  No one taught them formally how to speak the language, but through total immersion, they managed to develop the language.  On the other hand, high school and college courses have broken foreign languages down into manageable portions for us to practice and learn.  Many people have learned to speak a foreign language this way.  Of course, there are those who maintain that once a person gets to a certain age, he can no longer learn a second language at all regardless of the method. 

Experts (specifically, Krashen) have determined that language can be developed in one of two ways.  Language can be learned or acquired.  The traditional strategies used to help people develop a new language follow the learning model.  More recently, the acquisition model has risen to favor.   After reading about the two models, I wonder if a combination of these strategies would be more successful for the second language learner. 

Learning Model	Acquisition Model
Language is taught through a series of exercises and drills on portions of language (vocabulary, verbs, pronunciation).	Language is subconscious and taught through immersion.  The second language learner learns the language by using it.
Language learned through the Learning Model is learned in a classroom and can be tested.	Learning Language through the Acquisition Model does not necessarily need to happen in school and cannot be tested.
Language learned through the Learning Model may be quickly forgotten if not used immediately and regularly.	Second Language Learners using the Acquisition Model not only learn specific vocabulary, but how to speak the language accurately.
Specific errors can be corrected so second language learners understand how the language components fit together.	Errors will occur, but the focus is on maintaining meaning and being understood.

Although there are people who are able to learn a second language through the Learning Model, I have not been successful with those strategies.  I believe I would more effectively learn a second language through the Acquisition Model.  In circumstances where I have needed to use second language skills regularly, I was more successful in learning and retaining the second language.  I have also learned that if you don’t use it, you lose it.  It has been several years since I used my second language skills and I’m not sure I would be terribly effective anymore.  That being said, it appears that the jury is still out on the exact formula for successful second language acquisition.  Some research has suggests that children who are learning English are more successful when they learn their first language alongside English as their second language.  However, it appears that complete immersion in an exclusively English only environment may not be as successful as some have suggested.  “Studies have shown that when students have full native language proficiency, including the ability to do academic reading and writing, they can transfer this knowledge from their first language to the second.”  (Freeman & Freeman, 2004). 

As is so often the case, balance appears to be the solution.  Students  engaged in a balanced bilingual program that offers both immersion and more formal classroom opportunities  are likely to be more successful than those in programs that offer English immersion or formal study exclusively.  

The Students:
L: Look up words in the dictionary to write definitions
A: Make a Venn Diagram to compare two stories
L:  Practice Sounding Out words
L: Read in Round Robin Fashion
A: Correct Peers when they make a mistake during reading
L: Identify words on a big book page that start with the same sound.  

L:  Group cards with classmates' names by a criterion on such as first or last letter
A: Write rhyming poetry and then discuss different spellings for the same sound
A: Ask the teacher how to spell any word they don't know
A: Read a language experience story they have created with the teacher
A: Work in pairs to arrange words from a familiar chant into sentences
L: Divide words into syllables
L: On a worksheet, draw a line from each word to the picture that starts with the same sound
A: Make alphabet books on different topics

The Teacher:
L: Preteaches vocabulary
A: Does a shared reading with a big book
A: Makes sure that students read only books that fit their level
L: Has students segment words into phonemes
A: Writes words the students dictate for a story and has the students help with the spelling of difficult words
L: Asks students to look around the room and find words starting with a certain letter
A: Uses decodable texts
L/A: Sets aside time for SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) each day
L: Teaches Latin and Greek roots
A: Has students meet in literature circles
L: Conducts phonics drills
A: Chooses predictable texts
A: Teaches students different comprehension strategies
A: Does a picture walk of a new book
L:  Uses a variety of worksheets to teach different skills

Reference

Freeman, D. & Freeman, Y. (2004).  Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know to Teach 

            Reading, ESL, Spelling, Phonics, Grammar.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Books that need background information

                One of my favorite authors is Tedd Arnold.  I have enjoyed his Fly Guy, Huggly, and Parts books (the list goes on and on) both at home with my family and in the classroom with my students.  I find his books fun, feel-good books that are always a bright spot in the day.  That being said, although they are fun books for students who speak English as their native language, they can be a bit of a challenge for students who are learning English.  As obvious as that sounds, this is not something I had given much thought to until earlier this school year.  I took Huggly’s Halloween to school to read to my class before Halloween.  One of my students is a first generation American from a Nepalese family.  He spoke English very well so I assumed he would have no problem understanding this book.  On the second page of the book, Huggly and his friends looked outside and noticed that all the people had turned into monsters (dressed up for Halloween).  This confused little boy asked what a monster was.  I was really surprised.  I wasn’t sure exactly how to describe or define a monster.  It was something I had always just known about.  The rest of the book was a challenge for him to understand.  Not only was the book a challenge because of the monsters, but why were the people dressing up for Halloween?  This might be a new concept for some ELL students not only from the standpoint of language, but in terms of culture as well.  That was when I realized that I needed to be much more careful about the books I chose and that I may need to clarify concepts within the story.  As I looked for a second story that might be a challenge for ELL students, I realized that Tedd Arnold’s book More Parts would also be a challenge.  It was a challenge for the little boy in the book!  The comments made in the book are not meant to be taken literally.  “I’ll bet that broke your heart,” is not an indication that your heart is physically broken or shattered.  This is a terrific opportunity to introduce some of these common phrases to students who may not understand their meaning.  Now is the perfect time to think about how these books could be used in a classroom with ELL students. 

Title	Challenge	Solution
Huggly’s Halloween	What is Halloween?	Help students understand that Halloween is a holiday when people choose to dress up in costumes.  Some people dress up in scary costumes, some in fun costumes.
	Why are people dressing up?	People dress up just for fun.  After dressing up, children go to different houses, knock on the door, say, “Trick or Treat” and the person inside gives them candy.
	What is a monster?	Help students understand that a monster is not a real person.  Monsters can be scary or funny.  Not all monsters are the same.  Generally, monsters cause mischief.
	What is a haunted house?	A haunted house has things in it that might be scary.  But don’t worry, it’s just for fun.
More Parts	What is a broken heart?	If someone says their  heart is “broken”, it means they are very sad about something.  Do you think your heart can really break?
	What does it mean to give someone a hand?	This saying has two meanings.  Someone might ask you to give them a hand and help them do something.  You might also give someone a hand (applause) after a performance.
	What does it mean to crack up?	When someone says they are going to crack up, it means they will laugh at something.  They find it really amusing and will laugh heartily.  Have you seen someone “crack up”?
	When someone says, “Hold your tongue,”  what do they mean?	“Hold your tongue” is a way of telling people they should stop talking.

I can relate to my ELL students

I don’t travel often.  When I do travel, I generally do not go very far from home.  Although, I’m amazed to say I’ve actually been all the way to Florida a time or two!  I have never been to another country, never had to deal with a primary language other than English.  At the same time, I’m not oblivious to the difficulties.  I have tried to learn Spanish on a number of occasions.  I took Spanish in high school, college, through a school district after college, and through the recreation center.  I’ve learned bits and pieces of the language.  I can ask for a hamburger and a beer.  I can ask for the location of the bathroom or library.  I know just enough to get me into a conversation, but not enough to continue it.  If Spanish is spoken to me, I can understand bits and pieces, but may not be able to respond correctly.  It’s really frustrating.  In that way, I can relate to my ELL students. 

To deepen my understanding, I selected a text in a foreign language that reflected my approximate reading level.  The text was chosen from Readinga-z.com and was a level Z book.  I chose to print this book in French.  I thought this would be fairly simple because parts of English are Latin-based, as are Spanish and French.  Going into the exercise, I was fairly sure I would be able to decode the book relatively easily.  I was sorely mistaken.  I found it extremely difficult to decode the book.  I looked for familiar words or chunks that might give me a clue to the meaning of the text.  The book contained pictures, so I was able to look at the pictures for clues as well, but to be honest they were not much help.  It was clear, very quickly, that I was not going to be able to decode this level Z  book.  Perhaps if the book were a little easier, I reasoned, I might be more successful.  I dropped the level to R.  The title was different, but the level was easier and the book was still in French.  This time I found little words I could recognize and chunks of words I could decode.  I was still not able to read the book entirely, but I was able to read bits and pieces. 

Next, I dropped the reading level to N.  There were more small words and chunks I recognized and could determine the meaning of, but there were still plenty of words I was unable to decode.  As a result, I was not able to read the text with any level of comprehension.  As a matter of fact, there were several words that I tried to read, but am not sure I was even pronouncing them correctly!  So frustrating!  Level H, and even D, was not much better.  I found myself struggling with the same issues regardless of the level.  Finally I dropped to level A.  I did not understand the words any better, but I was able to find a pattern in the words.  Based on the word pattern and the pictures, I was finally able to decode and comprehend the book. 

What an interesting exercise!  In order to understand a book in a foreign language, I had to drop my reading level all the way back to a kindergarten level.  I wonder how this experience would have changed if I had an instructor to guide me as I tried to read these books.  With some support, would I have been able to read a more difficult level with someone helping me decode words?  I also chose fiction stories.  Would I have been more successful with the use of non-fiction text?  Was part of the problem a lack of prior knowledge to fall back on?  I wondered, as well, how being presented with a book designed for 5 year olds would make an older student feel on a strictly personal level.  This was not as easy as I thought it would be.  I was surprised and have been enlightened as to what my ELL students experience in my classroom.