How to Develop the Interdisciplinary Literacy of English Language Learners

Mirela Zemani Papandreou

This article argues for the importance of the acquisition of interdisciplinary literacy of English Language Learners in order to succeed in different disciplines of a University. I consider teaching academic vocabulary in the classroom as the key factor to developing the students’ comprehension skills across the disciplines. Employing digital articles, news or stories to develop the students’ literacy skills is a helpful method to construct the students’ academic English language. Additionally, ELLs need to be exposed to a variety of deconstructed texts to comprehend what they read. We have a plethora of digital sources from online sites, which are designed to meet the English language proficiency level of each student.

Ford-Connors. E & Paratore, J. R. (2014) argue the significance of increasing the vocabulary knowledge of the students. They have emphasized vocabulary instruction as one of the factors that increases the scores of the students’ literacy skills. Their article provides the reviews of extended and thorough analysis of the vocabulary that should be taught in schools with the focus on practice to enhance the development of a content area.

Ford-Connors. E & Paratore, J. R. (2014) state that students in the U.S. are showing minor increases of progress in reading proficiency level compared to national and international rates from 2011 to 2013 (Ford-Connors. E & Paratore, J. R. (2014, p 50).  Hence, finding the most effective method of instruction to facilitate the students’ reading abilities is the priority of educators. The students should be provided with adequate vocabulary to comprehend what they read. According to the studies, the students who have shown a higher level of vocabulary also show a higher reading comprehension level. Thus, the vocabulary is the essential key to enabling the students to improve their literacy skills. Ford-Connors & Paratore have also indicated that the students of color, English-language learners, and special education students who have a limited vocabulary perform poorly academically.

Cohen (2011) brings another effective method of how to increase the reading comprehension to the ESL students. Repeating is one of the approaches that continues to be a benefit for the students to improve their reading pace. Cohen (2011) indicates that re-reading paragraphs of texts, poems, novels or newspapers has been a successful way for the students to develop their English skills. He claims that Koskinen and Blum (1986) and Dowhower (1989) have stated “the learner has some ability to read because it gives them a chance to integrate skills they have already begun to acquire, such as flow, fluidity, and comprehension” (Cohen, 2011, p. 20). Thus, repeated reading is a crucial tool to develop fluency in reading a text, which I assume is not only for the skills that they acquire but also is a beneficial tool for the students to build their reading confidence in a non-native language. The students re-read the texts in English, which they work individually out of the classroom and develop their metacognitive reading skills.

Zimmer (2015) mentions the key role of technology in education, in which the technology enables the students to be exposed to a broad range of insights. The digital world can develop students’ collaborative learning skills while they read a variety of perspectives. This article also indicates the importance of employing of technology in the classroom, which is going to prepare the students for the future and digital citizenship. The digital world enables the students not only to construct their critical thinking and creativity to innovative insights, but also it helps them to develop their reading skills in English. I assume that the desire towards innovation drives the students to develop their non-native language skills when they read about the current events in English from Breaking News English (http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ ) This site provides a variety of news that the students are interested in learning more about.

ELLs need to acquire academic English language to pursue their educational goals. Thus, it is important to coordinate the students’ work in the class and out of the class. Scaffolding reading instruction in the classroom is helpful for the students. However, the students need extended practices that can fit with their level of reading comprehension. I have started to use Newsela website (https://newsela.com/ ), which is a digital platform where students can practice the vocabulary of the unit discussed in the classroom by reading an assigned article. The assigned article is relevant to the topic that we have discussed in the classroom. In this way, the students develop their cognitive reading skills in the classroom, but also, they develop their metacognitive reading skills when they read the assigned article. This website has articles from different disciplines in different Lexile levels, and the students can choose to read articles according to their interests and specialties.
 

References
Cohen, J. (2011). Building Fluency through the Repeated Reading Method. English Teaching Forum 49(3), 20-27.

Breaking News English online  http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

Ford-Connors. E & Paratore, J. R. (2014). Vocabulary Instruction in Fifth Grade and Beyond: Sources of Word Learning and Productive Contexts for Development Review Of Educational Research, March 2015, Vol. 85, No. 1, pp. 50–91 DOI: 10.3102 http://rer.sagepub.com/content/85/1/50.full.pdf+html

NEWSELA online https://newsela.com/

Zimmer, S. (2015). Assessing Digital Literacy. “Research Starters: Education (Online Edition). 

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Mirela Zemani Papandreou teaches English as a Second Language (ESL) to international students at Rockford University