Focus on Research Lecture Series
Why Some English Language Learners Experience Persistent Difficulties in Developing Adequate Language and/or Literacy Skills in English
Note: Registration link sent to all OISE Community members via email.
We are pleased to invite you to our online Focus on Research lecture series for 2023-24 with “from research to practice and back again” as the theme. All OISE community members are welcome to attend.
Monitoring the progress of language and literacy skills of culturally and linguistically diverse learners who are not fluent in the societal language is complex. When academic difficulties emerge, they are often attributed to factors such as interrupted schooling, lack of proficiency in the societal language, or differences between writing systems. Yet, in addition to being English Language Learners (ELLs), some students may have a learning disability (LD) such as dyslexia or a developmental language delay. Figuring out whether difficulties that an ELL encounters reflect ELL status, LD, or both, is complex and has far reaching educational implications.
Professor Geva’s lecture will begin with a brief overview of contextual and theoretical factors that contribute to the acquisition of literacy skills. She will then describe the implications of studies conducted in her lab that examined longitudinally the cognitive, language, and literacy development of typically developing EL1s and ELLs and those of students whose language and/or literacy development lag behind their peers due to LD. The presentation will end with a brief discussion of “Do’s” and “Don’ts” implications in the assessment and instruction of ELLs who may have an LD.
We are looking forward to this talk and hope you will join us.
About the Speakers
Professor Esther Geva
Esther Geva is a Professor of School and Child Clinical Psychology in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development. Her work is in the development of literacy skills in children, with an emphasis on learning to read in a second language. She teaches courses in reading in a second language, as well as assessment and intervention in multicultural/bilingual contexts.