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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on schools around the world with many forced to suspend in-person classes. This has meant teachers have been required to find ways to continue teachi...

With the impact of COVID-19, the higher education sector was forced to shift classes to a flexible delivery method that was not limited by space. To provide equal learning opportunities to every student, universities turned to technology to support teaching and learning across the platforms. Drawing from Vygotsky's social, emotional, and cognitive interaction theories, this qualitative case study presents an innovative teaching and learning support system (OEIP) that blends technology with pedagogy. This study brings forth three critical perspectives to investigate how OEIP facilitates interaction for language learners in a blended learning environment. Findings demonstrate how inclusion, collaboration, and processing time are key components for teaching language learners in a blended learning environment.

This report documents the adaptations made by three teacher educators in an early childhood teacher preparation programme in New York City when classes were transitioned to digital environments due...

Critical reflection is an integral part of the teaching and learning process that requires educators to reflect on their assumptions and practices to promote equity in their classrooms. While critical reflection practices and frameworks have been proposed in teacher education, a TESOL-specific tool that engages with the unique complexities of world Englishes has not been developed. The current chapter, thus, engages in critical praxis by providing an evidence-based, step-by-step reflection tool for TESOL educators to enact inquiry. The reflection tool is called the critical language reflection tool, which offers open-ended questions surrounding assumption analysis, contextual awareness, and reflection-based action. Moreover, it applies a critical lens to the TESOL international teaching standards to help TESOL educators and teacher educators foster critical consciousness in TESOL classroom contexts.

The authors introduce a Digital Book Project that was implemented in an early childhood literacy course for preservice teachers. The project required preservice teachers to explore digital librarie...

Classic studies of educational media have demonstrated that children can engage in quick, incidental word learning on the basis of a single exposure of a program. Since most words are learned from context, a lingering question has been whether the kind of contextual support affects word learning. Using a within-subjects design this study examined 102 low-income preschoolers’ word learning of digital episodes in three contextual settings: participatory, expository, and narrative contexts. Across three rounds, children’s word knowledge was assessed through researcher-developed measures. Results indicated that target word learning occurred most frequently in the participatory followed by the expository context, with narrative being the most challenging for children. In all cases, however, children with lower receptive language scores acquired fewer words than their higher language peers, suggesting that without additional supports, educational media might exacerbate rather than close the word gap.

This study was designed to examine the effects of coviewing on low-income children’s attention to and understanding of novel words in educational media. In addition, we sought to understand coviewing’s contribution to children’s receptive and expressive word learning when some target words were repeated more or less frequently. Using a within-subjects design, 83 preschoolers viewed 2 educational media stories, 1 with an adult coviewer, and the other without, in a counterbalanced approach. Eye-tracking technology recorded children’s attention throughout viewing; pre- and posttests examined children’s gains in receptive and expressive word identification. Results indicated that children’s attention to target words was greater in the coviewing condition but appeared to contribute to expressive word learning only of lower repetition words. Attention mediated the relationship between coviewing and low-repetition word learning for expressive, but not receptive, vocabulary. Regardless of condition, children learned more words when they were repeated more frequently. This study provides further evidence that low-income children can pick up at least partial word knowledge on their own, particularly when words are repeated frequently. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Children from diverse backgrounds are able to learn new words from educational media. However, learning is often partial and fragile, leaving much room for uncovering strategies that can increase the efficacy of educational media in supporting children's vocabulary knowledge. The present study investigated one such strategy—repeated viewing of educational media—in a sample of low-income preschoolers. One hundred thirty one preschoolers were randomly assigned to view an educational media clip teaching three vocabulary words in one of three conditions: (a) once, (b) three times in immediate succession (massed repetition), or (c) three times with views spaced 1 hour apart (spaced repetition). Children completed a target vocabulary assessment both immediately after the final view and 1 week later. Results indicate that certain types of word knowledge were supported by repetition, particularly spaced repetition. Children also effectively retained the vocabulary knowledge they acquired from educational media over a 1-week period in all conditions. This suggests that educational media is a strong platform for teaching low-income preschoolers new words, and that spaced repetition might further support low-income preschoolers' vocabulary learning.

Across the world, children from non-dominant language speaking families are not performing as well as their peers who speak a dominant language when they enter school. The current study examines the case of Indonesia, investigating the influence of language background status, early literacy characteristics, and socioeconomic status on literacy achievement in Indonesia. Drawing from the PIRLS 2011 dataset (N = 2,725), findings reveal that there is a significant association between each variable and literacy achievement, and that socioeconomic status explains literacy achievement most strongly among 4th grade students in Indonesia. Implications are discussed.DOI:doi.org/10.24071/ijiet.2019.030211

Les autoévaluations sont des outils de formation qui ont le pouvoir d’améliorer les processus d’autorégulation et d’apprentissage linguistique chez les étudiants des classes de rédaction. Bien qu’elles aient fait l’objet de maintes études dans le contexte de l’apprentissage d’une langue principale, les autoévaluations ont été assez peu analysées dans celui de la rédaction en langue seconde (L2). Or, de récentes recherches indiquent que les exigences de la rédaction en L2 peuvent être moins lourdes lorsque les enseignants prennent le temps de cultiver chez leurs étudiants l’autorégulation et la métacognition, ce qui confère un rôle tout particulier à l’autoévaluation dans les classes de rédaction en L2 au primaire, du fait qu’elle contribue à améliorer les compétences d’autorégulation et de métacognition chez les apprenants. Les auteurs s’emploient à éclaircir les principales questions que soulève l’autoévaluation dans des situations rédactionnelles en L2 en présentant d’abord un concept théorique sous-jacent à l’autoévaluation en classe de L2. Ils font ensuite valoir les principes issus de la recherche guidant l’autoévaluation dans le cadre de l’enseignement de la L2 au primaire, proposent des façons d’incorporer l’autoévaluation aux divers stades de l’apprentissage de l’écriture et se penchent sur les défis e la mise en application de l’autoévaluation. En s’appuyant sur la théorie de l’étayage de Vygotsky et les recherches portant sur la métacognition et la formation métacognitive, les auteurs établissent un lien clair entre l’enseignement et l’apprentissage de cette technique d’évaluation et proposent des exemples tirés de diverses situations d’enseignement et d’apprentissage d’une langue seconde. En définitive, leur étude a pour intérêt de renseigner les enseignants sur la façon d’utiliser l’autoévaluation en classe afin de promouvoir l’autonomie et l’indépendance de l’apprenant.

Children are spending an increasing amount of time in front of screens. However, little is known about the content of educational media, particularly in relation to vocabulary instruction. Since vo...

Educational screen media is increasingly salient in the lives of young children. Research affirms preschool-aged children can learn content from media when they attend to it, however less is known ...

Educational media is ubiquitous in the lives of young children, promising high-quality programming to equip them with vocabulary knowledge and school readiness. To meet the needs of preschool-aged dual-language learners (DLLs), many educational programs are marketed to promote vocabulary learning in two languages. In this study, we use a content analysis to examine (1) the extent to which these programs focus on vocabulary in two languages, (2) dual-language instructional supports used in media; and (3) the quality of words taught on screen. We analyzed 50 episodes from five leading dual-language educational programs. Using a flow chart and an iteratively-developed codebook, we identified vocabulary clips and screen-based pedagogical supports used in these programs. Results indicate there were strikingly few vocabulary clips in the videos analyzed. Moreover, most of the clips were of simple vocabulary words taught primarily in English rather than Spanish or Mandarin. The most prevalent screen-base...

This article reports on two studies designed to examine the landscape of online streamed videos, and the features that may support vocabulary learning for low-income preschoolers. In Study 1, we report on a content analysis of 100 top language- and literacy-focused educational media programs streamed from five streaming platforms. Randomly selecting two episodes from each program, we identified the prevalence of vocabulary opportunities, and the pedagogical supports—techniques or features in these media that are designed to orient children to specific vocabulary words. In over the 2,000 scenes coded, we identified two overriding categories of supports: ostensive cues, designed to provide definitional information to children; and attention-directing cues, designed to signal children’s attention to a target word. In Study 2, we use eye-tracking technology to examine which of these pedagogical supports might predict children’s ability to identify program-specific vocabulary. Results indicated that although ostensive cues predicted overall attention to scenes, attention-directing cues were most effective in directing children to target words and their subsequent word identification. Children with higher language scores were more likely to use these cues to their advantage than their lower language peers. These results may have important implications for designing digital media to enhance children’s opportunity to learn vocabulary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Teachers in Hong Kong endured an unprecedented 2019–2020 school year with widespread civil unrest followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These events placed a great deal of stress on teachers as they n...

Hong Kong was one of the first public school systems in the world to shift to online learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary and secondary school language teachers had to adapt instruction to cater to their students' diverse linguistic and educational needs. Drawing from the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DCE), the current study examines the experiences of primary and secondary school English language teachers’ digital competence as they navigated digital resources, teaching and learning, assessment, and empowering learners in an emergency remote teaching context. Using a two-stage design, this study drew from qualitative survey data (N = 73) and follow-up interviews (N = 10). Findings illuminate how language teachers responded to their students' educational and linguistic needs in online environments. Notably, educators adapted their virtual instruction to cater to students with varying English language proficiency levels and leveraged both synchronous and asynchronous platforms to best support student learning. Moreover, the current study sheds light on how the DCE framework might be used as a tool to assess the digital competencies of educators and better prepare them for virtual teaching. It concludes with a call for more research on emergency remote teaching, particularly within primary and secondary language classrooms.

Translanguaging is an increasingly notable term in the field of applied linguistics. Defined as an approach to using language and educating multilingual students with the language practices of bilingual speakers who draw from one linguistic repertoire (Garcia and Wei 2014, p. 2), translanguaging is at the forefront of the research agenda. According to Mazak and Carroll (2017), the editors of this volume, research in translanguaging is often situated in the primary and secondary school classroom where teachers engage students in their multiple languages to facilitate a deeper understanding of school content. For this reason, they use this edited volume to bring the conversation of translanguaging to the tertiary classroom, a space traditionally known for its monolingual ideology where prestige is ascribed...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of digital and non-digital storybooks on low-income preschoolers’ oral language comprehension. Employing a within-subject design on 38 four-year-olds from a Head Start program, we compared the effect of medium on preschoolers’ target words and comprehension of stories. Four digital storybooks were adapted and printed for read-alouds. Children were randomly read two stories on the digital platform, and two by the assessors. Following the story, children completed vocabulary and comprehension tasks, and a brief motivation checklist. We found no significant differences across medium; children comprehended equally well regardless of whether the story was read digitally or in person. However, using repeated ANOVA measures, we found a significant main effect of the story read. This research indicates that the content of the book rather than its form predicts story comprehension. Implications for using digital media in the preschool years are discussed.

This article presents the current state of ongoing research on policy development and implementation of first language-based multilingual education in five northeastern provinces of Cambodia that are home to significant ethnolinguistic minority populations. This research, supported by CARE Cambodia in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, qualitatively investigates policy development and structural support for MLE implementation and analyzes learner achievement data. Pulling together the findings, we highlight lessons learned throughout the process about creating the conditions for MLE success and about assessing MLE student outcomes that could inform MLE policy and practice in similar low-income contexts and have important implications for quality and equity in educational development.

Reading instruction in English language lessons in Hong Kong primary schools was long dominated by the use of textbooks designed to prepare learners for high-stakes assessments. However, recent educational reforms have placed a new prominence on the teaching of reading with English language teachers advised to allocate 40% of lessons to reading and to use real books. Emphasis is now placed on developing learners’ reading skills and an enjoyment of reading. To achieve this, primary schools have joined government-developed literacy programs or developed their own school-based programs. However, these programs have yet to receive much attention from researchers. This chapter provides an introduction to lower-grade reading programs in Hong Kong, followed by the case of one school’s development and implementation of a school-based reading program.

Multilingual education (MLE) is paramount in providing educational access and social equity to ethnolinguistic minority populations. This has been long recognized since UNESCO’s classic statement that it is “axiomatic” for children to learn in their own languages. Undertaking research in the Ratanak Kiri province of Cambodia, this book chapter aims to illuminate how MLE policy and practice have affected the Kreung-speaking Indigenous communities. The discussion in this chapter will be based on main findings from a study conducted in June/July 2015 that evaluated the state of MLE implementation in Cambodia. Data collection methods included report reading/analysis, informational meetings, individual interviews, group discussions, classroom observations, and some photographic recordings at the national, provincial, and local levels. Based on our analysis, we support current strategies and recommend further steps to strengthen the quality, improve the sustainability, and further expand the approach to MLE at the preschool and primary levels.

Stories play a critical role in the literacy development of young children, providing them with rich experiences that support their growth as readers. In this chapter, we first describe the landscape of stories in e-books and educational media. We then move to examine the potential for media to reach preschoolers from low-income communities, presenting two case studies of children who read stories in both live and digital media. The research question guiding these case studies was: How effectively can digital books reach young children from underserved populations? Findings from the first case study revealed no differences between the digital or live platform. Preschool children were able to learn from digital platforms and had similar early literacy gains as children who experienced live presentations of storybooks. Findings from the second case study demonstrated that the content of the storybook actually had a stronger influence over a child’s comprehension than the medium did itself, suggesting children’s interest in stories are critical for early literacy. Accordingly, this book chapter does not recommend against the use of digital storybooks, but pushes for a both-and agenda between digital- and live-story use to cultivate emergent literacy among young children and unlock the power of a story.

Previous studies have often compared and contrasted differences among media presentations, including traditional storybooks and videos and their potential for incidental word learning among preschoolers. Studies have shown that children learn words from a variety of media, and that repetition is an important source for incidental learning. Yet, to date, little is known about how repeated presentations of different media, and the possible additive effect of these presentations may affect incidental word learning. Conducted over three phases, 140 preschoolers viewed or listened to two stories, repeated either with a single medium (traditional book or video) or two media (book and video) to stories. Results indicated that gains in incidental word learning were significantly stronger when children viewed two different media of comparable content compared to two exposures to a single medium. However, neither condition affected children's comprehension of the story. Findings suggest that two media presentations of comparable stories may be more effective in promoting incidental word learning than repeated presentations of a single medium.

The book Partnering With Immigrant Communities: Action Through Literacy documents the first 5 years of a 10-year study on a partnership called the Community Literacies Project (CLP) in Philadelphia...

Coviewing is a commonly recommended practice, but little is known about how coviewing impacts children's educational media viewing experience. We investigated how coviewing impacts attention and comprehension of educational media, as well as the role of baseline vocabulary in understanding these associations. Eighty-three preschoolers viewed two videos on an eye-tracker – one with an adult coviewer and the other without. Children's baseline vocabulary, attention, and comprehension were assessed. Results indicated that coviewing benefited visual attention. Neither coviewing condition nor attention, however, predicted children's comprehension. Instead, comprehension was predicted by age, vocabulary, and an interaction between coviewing condition, vocabulary, and attention. The interaction revealed that comprehension was stronger in the coviewing condition than the noninteractive condition only when children also had stronger visual attention to the program and larger vocabularies. Results suggest that coviewing benefits attention, but that both attention and child language are integrally tied to whether coviewing predicts comprehension.

Coviewing media is a practice commonly recommended to parents of young children. However, little is known about how coviewing might scaffold the vocabulary learning of low-income preschoolers. The present study focused on how coviewing educational media influences children’s learning of two different vocabulary associations—auditory-only and audiovisual vocabulary associations. We additionally studied whether children with weaker baseline vocabularies might particularly benefit from coviewing. One hundred twenty-eight low-income preschoolers viewed five educational media clips either with an adult coviewer or alone. Audiovisual and auditory vocabulary associations were then assessed. Results show that coviewing did not support vocabulary learning overall but did specifically support the development of auditory-only vocabulary associations for children with weaker baseline vocabularies. This suggests that coviewing may not provide a ubiquitous benefit but rather predicts learning in the mode of coviewer input (auditory) specifically for the children who need additional supports the most.

In second language writing, not much attention has been given to the English as a foreign language (EFL) primary context. This short research report describes the implementation of a writing curriculum project in a primary school in Hong Kong, where a team of EFL teachers attempted to overhaul the traditional product approach and implemented process-genre pedagogy collaboratively. The change initiative has brought improvement to students’ motivation in learning writing, enhanced their writing performance, and brought honor to the teachers and their school as they were awarded a prestigious teaching excellence award by the Hong Kong government. This report presents the outcomes of the project and discusses the factors that facilitated change, providing useful tips to help all other teachers working in similar contexts bring improvement to the learning and teaching of writing.