Future early childhood teachers as EFL learners.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process and outcomes of incorporating children's books written in English into an English Reading course designed for pre-service early childhood teachers in Taiwan. Based on a sociocultural perspective, the instructor and the students were involved in a cyclical process of designing and re-directing the directions of the course. The results showed that the use of children's books did have positive impacts on the students' motivation and English skills, such as oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process and outcomes of incorporating children's books written in English into an English Reading course designed for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) non-traditional college students in Taiwan. In recent years, English learning has become a popular activity in Taiwan. Adults, as well as very young children in early childhood programs, follow this social trend. As a result, preschool and kindergarten teachers are expected to offer some sort of English activities to help young children learn English; teacher education programs in turn are asked to offer relevant training for in-service and pre-service teachers. This kind of training may include workshops that share English teaching strategies or courses that intend to improve in-service and pre-service teachers' English skills. In this article, the experience of an English Reading course offered by a teacher education program to future early childhood teachers will be described.

Overview of the Context

The Program. This undergraduate-level English Reading course was offered to a group of non-traditional college students enrolled in an evening early childhood teacher education program at a university in Southern Taiwan. This early childhood teacher education program was offered to students who held a high-school diploma or equivalent. Students become certified early childhood teachers after successfully completing all required coursework and a full-year student teaching experience.

The students. Most of the students in this program were in their 30s, 40s, or 50s and had full-time jobs during the day. Many of them had prior experiences working with young children. Some of the students were sponsors or owners of private day care centers, preschools, or kindergartens. Thirty-eight students, 34 females and 4 males, were enrolled in the English Reading course. They were all in their sophomore year. These students took English courses when they were in high school; however, they hadn't continued the study of English for many years until they entered college. In the year prior to the English Reading course, the students took two English courses that focused on conversation skills. The students' English skills varied widely.

The course. This English Reading course normally requires students to read professional articles and materials related to early childhood education written in English. The reading materials may be selected from classic educational works or from magazines and journals published by professional educational organizations. Through reading these English materials, it is hoped that students will improve their English skills as well as increase their knowledge of the field. This course is an elective course.

The instructor. When beginning teaching this English Reading course, the instructor had just returned to Taiwan after teaching graduate and undergraduate courses related to early literacy and TESOL for three and a half years at four-year colleges in the US. With no prior experience working with Taiwanese non-traditional college students, the instructor faced new challenges while teaching this English Reading course.

Theoretical Framework

Dewey (1938) has pointed out that it is important to bring children's experiences into the classroom. This suggestion remains true when it comes to adult English learning settings. When reading and learning to read, students bring and apply their interests and background knowledge into the process (Rosenblatt, 1982). Research has shown that when students' experiences are valued and their voices are honored, their learning will be maximized. For example, Moss and Hendershot (2002) found that when students were involved in the decision-making related to their curriculum, they became more willing to learn. Maloney (2003) described a program that connected students' life experience with academic literacy. She chose well-written fiction and nonfiction texts that addressed students' life experiences and taught students reading strategies applicable to academic areas. It was found that students were more engaged in reading and writing. Another example described by Huerta-Macias (2003) also stresses that a culturally responsive classroom that values students' lived experiences, knowledge, and opinions is one of the main characteristics of quality instruction for adult English language learners.

Based on the sociocultural perspective that recognizes the importance of honoring students' voices (Cox & Boyd-Batstone, 1997) and bringing students' cultural and social experiences into classrooms (Bruner, 1996; Schmidt, 1998; Vacca et al., 2003), instead of following the traditional perspective that views students as passive learners, the instructor of the English Reading course and the 38 non-traditional college students were involved in a cyclical process of designing and re-directing the directions of the course.

Process and Findings

The investigation process was a cyclical one in which planning, action, reflection and re-planning occurred (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988). What participants did and what participants experienced were all part of the research. The course began by following a preliminary course outline designed by the instructor. As the semester proceeded, through observing in the classroom, assessing students' progress, and getting responses from the students, the instructor reflected and then re-selected reading materials and replanned activities for the next cycle.

The primary data included observation notes, teaching journal entries, self-reported surveys from the students, such as self-evaluations and responses, and instructor-led assessments, such as paper-pen tests and oral reading assessments. The secondary data included informal interviews, students' writing samples, products, and class materials. These data were collected throughout the process.

Reflection and interpretation of data collected previously provided information and insights for later stages (Reason, 1994); therefore, the data were analyzed continuously. Three stages were identified in this 18-week English Reading course. Based on student instructor discussions, the directions and the foci of the course changed in these three stages.

(a) Week 1 to Week 2: The Professional Academic Reading Stage. The instructor designed an initial course outline and asked students to read and to study documents from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website [1]. The students had extremely difficult time understanding the materials due to their limited English experiences and skills. They spent a lot of time just looking up almost every single word in their dictionaries. It was also difficult for them to understand the meaning of the sentences. Based on discussions and exchanges of opinions and concerns, the instructor re-selected materials that were at the students' instructional level.

(b) Week 3 to Week 13. The Children's Picture Book Stage. The students were engaged in activities that required them to comprehend and to analyze children's picture books written in English. These picture books use simple language structures and vocabulary to develop intriguing plots and themes [2]. In addition, phonics instruction as well as useful reading strategies were introduced to help students better understand these picture books. Students' responses showed that they enjoyed these picture books. First of all, these materials were not at their frustration level. They understood the content of these books and they felt that they could actually succeed. Second, the stories of these picture books were written for children. The students could learn new stories for their current or future students in their early childhood classrooms.

(c) Week 14 to Week 18." The Application Stage. Through various activities the students practiced and demonstrated what they learned from the Children's Picture Book Stage. Oral reading fluency, word attack strategies, and Reader's Theatre, etc. were among the major emphases during this period. For example, the students created a drama presentation based on Ed Young's Eon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood story from China, a Caldecott Medal award winner published in 1989. The students worked very hard to practice their lines. Props and set decorations were well prepared. In addition, the students added vivid body languages and facial expressions when presenting. Students' self-report surveys and evaluations indicated that the students "now felt more confident in reading English texts aloud," "were not afraid of English classes any more," and felt that "their English ability was improved." Some students suggested that in the future they should "read longer stories and try a Reader's Theatre with longer lines/dialogues."

Closing Thoughts

At the beginning of the English Reading course, these future early childhood teachers were worried about not being able to pass this course. While they recognized that in the future it is very likely they will be required to help young children learn English, and they will have to feel comfortable and confident when it comes to English teaching, these students still struggled to develop their English literacy. Through collaboration, the instructor and these future teachers worked together to refine the English learning process, and the results showed that the use of children's picture books did have positive impacts on these future teachers' motivation and English skills, such as oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This is consistent with the suggestions that Ernst-Slavit, Moore, and Maloney (2002) offer to teachers who work with English language learners. It is concluded that adult students with limited English proficiency benefit from the use of English children's picture books in their English

Reading course. Future studies may focus on examining whether or not these students transfer their English skills gained from this course to other settings.

References

Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Cox, C., & Boyd-Batstone, P. (1997). Crossroads: Literature and language in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. Upper Saddle River, N J: Prentice-Hall.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Macmillan. Ernst-Slavit, G., Moore, M., & Maloney, C. (2002). Changing lives: Teaching English and literature to ESL students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 46, 116-128.

Huerta-Macias, A. (2003). Meeting the challenge of adult education: A bilingual approach to literacy and career development. Journal of Adolescent & Adult literacy, 47, 218226. Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (1988). The action research planner. Victoria, Australia: Deakin University.

Maloney, W. H. (2003). Connecting the texts of their lives to academic literacy: Creating success for at-risk first-year college students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult literacy, 46, 664-673.

Moss, B., & Hendershot, J. (2002). Exploring sixth graders' selection of nonfiction trade books. The Reading Teacher, 56, 6-17.

Reason, P. (1994). Three approaches to participative inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.) (1998), Strategies of qualitative inquiry (pp. 261-191). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rosenblatt, L. M. (1982). The literary transaction: Evocation and response. Theory into Practice, 21,268-277.

Schmidt, P. R. (1998). Cultural conflict and struggle: Literacy learning in a kindergarten program. New York: Peter Lang.

Vacca, J. L., Vacca, R. T., Gove, M. K., Burkey, L., Lenhart, L. A., & McKcon, C. (2003). Reading and learning to read (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Endnotes

[1] The main reading materials used during the Professional Academic Reading Stage included: (a) Early years are learning years: Preschool-- Academics or Play? (Gronlund, 2001, http://www.naeyc.org/ece/2001/05.asp), a 500-word excerpt, and (b) Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children, Part 4: Continuum of children's development in early reading and writing (International Reading Association & NAEYC, 1998, http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/psread4.asp), a 1300-word document.

[2] The following children's picture books were used as major teaching materials during the Children's Picture Books Stage: (a) Where's my Teddy? (Jez Alborough, 1992), (b) Giraffes can't dance (Giles Andreae & Guy Parker-Rees, 1999), (c) Yoko (Rosemary Wells, 1998), and (d) Alexander and the wind-up mouse (Leo Lionni, 1969). In addition, several popular picture books were also introduced, such as (a) No, David! (David Shannon, 1998), (b) David goes to school (David Shannon, 1999), (c) Truck (Donald Crews, 1980), (d) School bus (Donald Crews, 1984), and (e) Chicken Little (Steven Kellogg, 1985).

Hsiang-Ju Ho, National Chiayi University, Taiwan

Hsiang-Ju Ho, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Early Literacy. Her research interests include technology and literacy instruction, use of multicultural literature, and curriculum integration.