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How Implementing ESL Strategies During Modified Guided Reading Affects a Deaf Student’S Language Acquisition Process

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How Implementing ESL Strategies During Modified Guided Reading Affects a Deaf Student’S Language Acquisition Process READING BEYOND THE WORDS: HOW IMPLEMENTING ESL STRATEGIES DURING MODIFIED GUIDED READING AFFECTS A DEAF STUDENT’S LANGUAGE ACQUISITION PROCESS Laura Christian Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2013 APPROVED: Patricia Cukor-Avila, Committee Chair Haj Ross, Committee Member Shobhana Chelliah, Committee Member Brenda Sims, Chair of the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Christian, Laura. Reading beyond the words: How implementing ESL strategies during modified guided reading affects a deaf student’s language acquisition process. Master of Arts (Linguistics), August 2013, 113 pp., 4 tables, 13 figures, references, 96 titles. While Deaf students are not typically classified as English as a second language (ESL) students, the majority of deaf students first become fluent in a signed language, making them ideal candidates for ESL research. This case study has been designed to explore the ways in which one method of ESL reading instruction, known as modified guided reading (MGR), affects the language acquisition process, and resulting reading comprehension level, of a deaf student over eleven weeks. The study documented the student’s language acquisition development both in American Sign Language (ASL) and in English, as well as tracked the student’s growth in reading comprehension, metalinguistic awareness, and visual attention skills. The Accelerated Reader (AR) program, benchmark testing, and daily observations were used to measure growth. Findings of the study suggest that the ESL methods implemented through MGR positively impacted the student’s language acquisition process, reading comprehension level, metalinguistic awareness, and visual attention skills. Results showed an increase in all three of the student’s AR scores as follows: 31% in reading level, 13.1% in number of words read, and 13.2 % in comprehension test scores. Observations and benchmark testing revealed increased metalinguistic knowledge in word, syntactic, and pragmatic awareness. Visual attention skills were found to be the key element in allowing reading comprehension to take place and strategies for improving these skills were found to be a necessary part of the MGR process. Copyright 2013 by Laura Christian ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a deep debt of gratitude to all the individuals who aided in the final completion of this work. I especially wish to thank Helene Gilbert for her humble heart, nurturing words, and brilliant mind that guided much of my research along the way. I also wish to thank Melissa Smith for inspiring and shaping the course of this study. I thank my home school district for allowing me to conduct this study and my student and her parents for being willing to participate. I owe special thanks to Aimee Driggers and Karen Baker for their invaluable assistance in the school library. I am indebted to Maureen Gordon and Anna Linch for overseeing the study as experienced certified teachers and for adding their thoughts and expertise along the way. To Christi Coe and Laura Freeman I owe my sanity. Thank you for allowing me to share the ups and downs of research with you both and for encouraging me along the way. I am thankful to have been a part of such an outstanding degree program at the University of North Texas. I owe special thanks to my friends and colleagues Lisa Jeon, Justin Lee, and Katie Lee. To my committee chair, Dr. Patricia Cukor-Avila, and the members of my committee, Dr. John (Haj) Ross and Dr. Shobhana Cheliah, I wish to extend heartfelt gratitude for your involvement, encouragement, and passion for ASL. Without your help and support, this project would not have been realized in its entirety. I am especially indebted to all of the friends and family who supported me along the way. To my mother, who had the insight to tell a frustrated twelve year old girl that she was a linguist with a strong vision, thank you for believing in me. Many hugs and kisses to my son for understanding every time Mommy had just one more homework. To my husband, you are my anchor. Thank you for being my rock during this journey. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Statement of Problem ................................................................................ 1 1.2 Purpose of Proposed Study ....................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2 DEAF EDUCATION AND INTERPRETING IN K-12 CLASSROOMS ........ 6 2.1 History of Deaf Education in the United States .......................................... 6 2.2 Controversial Decisions ............................................................................. 8 2.3 Current Legislation Governing Deaf Education ........................................ 10 2.4 The Impact of PL 94-142 on Placement of Deaf Students ....................... 11 2.5 The Deaf Education Team ....................................................................... 12 2.6 The Role of Educational Interpreters in Guiding Language Acquisition ... 13 2.7 Summary ................................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER 3 USING MODIFIED GUIDED READING TO ADDRESS THE UNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS OF EDUCATING DEAF CHILDREN ............................................ 18 3.1 Modified Guided Reading Instruction ....................................................... 18 3.2 Implementation of Modified Guided Reading with Deaf Students ............ 21 3.3 Cognitive Development ............................................................................ 21 3.4 Addressing the Language Delay .............................................................. 22 3.5 Metalinguistic Awareness ........................................................................ 23 3.5.1 The Role of Metalinguistic Awareness in Acquiring Reading Skills24 3.5.2 The Role of Noticing in Acquiring Reading Skills .......................... 25 3.5.3 The Role of Metalinguistic Awareness and Noticing in MGR ........ 27 3.6 Teaching Reading and Writing ................................................................. 29 3.7 Investigating the Widespread Reach of Modified Guided Reading .......... 30 iv CHAPTER 4 PERSONAL BACKGROUND ................................................................... 31 CHAPTER 5 METHODOLOGY AND DATA .................................................................. 33 5.1 Methods ................................................................................................... 33 5.2 Participant Overview ................................................................................ 34 5.2.1 Participant’s Background .............................................................. 34 5.2.2 Participant’s School Environment.................................................. 35 5.2.3 Participant’s Personality ................................................................ 35 5.3 Data Collection ........................................................................................ 37 5.3.1 Observations ................................................................................. 37 5.3.2 Accelerated Reader Scores .......................................................... 38 5.3.3 Benchmark Tests .......................................................................... 38 5.3.4 Summary ....................................................................................... 39 5.4 Further Modifications ............................................................................... 39 5.4.1 Classroom Setting and Spatial Considerations ............................. 40 5.4.2 Coordinating Visual Input .............................................................. 41 5.4.3 Materials and Resources .............................................................. 43 5.5 From Beginning to End: The Reading Process ........................................ 44 5.5.1 Introducing the Book ..................................................................... 44 5.5.2 To Sign or Not to Sign ................................................................... 44 5.5.3 Checking for Reading Comprehension ......................................... 45 5.5.4 Note-Taking .................................................................................. 46 5.5.5 Discussing Content ....................................................................... 47 5.5.6 Review and Testing ....................................................................... 49 5.6 Summary ................................................................................................. 49 CHAPTER 6 RESULTS ................................................................................................. 51 6.1 Overall ATOS Reading Level, Word Count, and Comprehension Test Averages .................................................................................................. 51 6.2 Comparative ATOS Reading Level, Word Count, and
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