Lessow-Hurley, J. (2003). Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners: An Educator's Guide.

Lessow-Hurley, J. (2003). Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners: An Educator's Guide. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (92 pp., $16.95 pb, ISBN-0-87120-759-1).

As the overall school population grows more diverse, the scarcity of diverse students in gifted programs becomes increasingly apparent. It seems clear that developing a greater awareness of and connection with colleagues and programs serving second language learners could benefit educators of the gifted, particularly by opening a promising avenue through which to redress the problem of differential representation. Like gifted education at various times in its history, language learning has aroused vehement public debate. Also, both areas share a similarly marginalized position with regard to mainstream education. For all these reasons, it is important for educators of the gifted to make themselves aware of this similar yet often distant field of study.

Although it does not concern gifted students directly, Judith Lessow-Hurley's book Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners offers a concise and readily comprehensible introduction to the important issues surrounding the education of this rapidly growing student population. As educators who wish to help gifted students, we benefit from learning about other program areas where these students may be found. This book is well suited for such a purpose.

Lessow-Hurley is a well-known expert on linguistic and cultural issues in the schools. Her prior publications include the Commonsense Guide to Bilingual Education (also available from ASCD) and The Foundations of Dual Language Instruction (now in its third edition). In this newest book, she integrates a multicultural perspective with the theoretical and practical content knowledge that educators need to work successfully with second language learners.

Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners features six short chapters that address the who, what, and why of working with second language learners in the schools. The first chapter introduces issues related to terminology and diversity, including the nature of culture and the important political and philosophical implications of labels such as "limited English proficient" that sometimes are used to describe students who display linguistic and cultural differences. The second chapter presents, as its title states, "what educators need to know about language." This chapter should prove valuable to anyone who has not recently studied linguistics or language acquisition, as it offers an efficient overview of concepts and processes such as phonology, code-switching, and language acquisition.

Some interested readers may decide to jump directly to the third chapter, which is titled "Best practices." In this chapter Lessow-Hurley describes the variety of instructional formats that have been devised to promote language learning. She includes instructional designs developed for English language learners, as well as other options used primarily with English-speaking students who are learning a foreign language. She stresses the important role that verbal interaction plays in learning, an assertion that will come as no surprise to educators familiar with the learning processes of students who are gifted or talented. Despite its title, chapter 3 bears more resemblance to a catalog of potential program designs and ancillary issues than a distillation of best practices. Conciseness is one of this book's strengths, but I would have welcomed more detail in this chapter. For example, I would like to have encountered more detailed information about traditional language instruction methods; also, the author neglects heritage language instruction, an approach that may show promise for gifted English language learners (e.g., Matthews & Matthews, 2004). The reader may ultimately find that the recommendations in the FAQ section, the book's sixth and final chapter, offer more in the way of practical implications than the chapter 3 content does.

As with gifted education, the professional qualifications mandated for teachers of English language learners vary widely from one state to the next, ranging from relatively stringent to nonexistent. The root of this problematic situation may sound familiar: "all too often ... lay people and even some professionals assume that any English-speaking teacher can teach English as a Second Language" (p. 50). Special populations of students require special competencies of their teachers. To this end, chapter 4 of Meeting the Needs of Second Language Learners considers the qualifications that effective teachers of ELL students should possess, whether or not local requirements mandate them. Particular areas of emphasis relate to language, culture (including community relations), and content-specific pedagogy. These are in many respects the same proficiencies one would hope to find in a teacher of gifted students, so the details in this chapter are perhaps more directly relevant to the teacher of gifted students than those presented in some of the other chapters.

The fifth chapter introduces the reader to the political and social context of language and language education in the United States, and makes a strong case as well for approaching teaching as a political act. Here Lessow-Hurley discusses a handful of landmark events, including both judicial as well as legislative actions. For example, she considers judicial interpretations of the phrase "appropriate action" in the context of the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974. Such vague federal mandates may seem eerily familiar to readers acquainted with the general history of legislation regarding gifted education.

Lessow-Hurley incorporates relevant citations throughout the text to guide those wishing to learn more about particular topics. These additional sources offer a relatively balanced and in-depth perspective on all the major issues, although the reader may need to look elsewhere to find mention of works by the more vehement English-only critics. Lessow-Hurley also has provided a very brief list of abbreviations just before the book's index, a feature that will surely be appreciated by anyone trying to recall the difference between a LAD and CALP.

The book's only real weakness, its short length, is probably also its greatest strength. It can be read quickly, as either an introduction or a refresher, but its references are sufficiently strong to scaffold such textual brevity in case the reader wishes to delve deeper into the issues the book raises. The book's physical size and price are both reasonable as well. Lessow-Hurley covers all the major issues in this important field, in clear and simple terms, and without the excessive jargon or preaching that sometimes mar this type of work. The majority of this book, and especially the chapters concerning language, culture, and educational policy, will be directly relevant to those of us who strive to improve the identification and participation of gifted students from diverse backgrounds. I would encourage teachers and administrators to use this book to become more aware of the second language learners in their schools, the unique characteristics, strengths, and educational needs that these students bring with them, and the perspective that we may gain on our own field by examining language education in its social and historical context.

REFERENCES

Matthews. P., & Matthews, M. S. (2004). Heritage language instruction and giftedness in language minority students: Pathways toward success. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 15, 50-55.

Reviewed by Michael S. Matthews, Ph.D., The University of South Florida. Dr. Matthews is an assistant professor with the graduate Gifted Education Program in the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida. His research interests focus on achievement variation within the gifted population and on issues affecting culturally and linguistically diverse gifted learners. Email: [e-mail]