scholarly journals USING MULTIPLE TEXTS TO TEACH CRITICAL READING SKILLS TO LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE STUDENTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Kaemanje Thomas ◽  
Minkyung Choi

Mastery of developmental reading courses offers both an opportunity for academic enrichment and a barrier to college completion. We examine what it means to use multiple texts in college developmental reading courses, the benefits of using them, and considerations that instructors may employ in their instructions. A review of the literature indicates Linguistically Diverse students (LDs) often lack the required critical thinking skills needed to tackle the rigor and demand of their college level courses. We conducted a study to tests whether using multiple texts improved LDs critical reading skills.� Participants of 30 undergraduate students taking RDL 500 course were analyzed using pre and posttest results. Findings indicated that integrated use of multiple texts is a practical teaching approach for LDs improved their critical reading skills and their navigation of unfamiliar texts. This implies the use of the one size-fits-all approach may not be an effective pedagogical practice by instructors who teach the LD student.Keywords:�community college; critical literacy; cultural capital; developmental reading; language minority students; linguistically diverse students; multiple texts; sociocultural literacy.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Kaemanje Thomas

Critical reading is the apex of tertiary education and the chief focus in higher education courses as they prepare adults for the workforce. Without significant improvements in academic preparation and support, many linguistically diverse [LD] students will have higher drop out rates in their first year of college. Developmental reading instruction practices are designed to emphasize moving the first-year LD students from sub-par reading levels towards the application and development of critical reading skills, as demanded by their college courses. Many community colleges across the United States prepare assessments tests in reading and mathematics for most, if not all, newly admitted students. These tests are used as placement guides, especially when the newly admitted applicant�s high school transcript or SAT scores do not demonstrate that the student possesses the critical reading or mathematical ability needed to pass the 70 percentage threshold, an indication of being college ready. This paper argues that teaching critical reading requires embracing students� cultural capital and implementing scaffolds that will support the Adult Linguistic Diverse learner/students (ALDl/s). Results from this study indicated that both intrinsic values and instructor�s disposition influence the ALD learner attitudes related to developed critical reading performance. These findings indicate that using multiple instructional mediums [MiMs] had a positive impact on students� critical reading skills and contributed to the ALD learners� comprehension, motivation, and critical reading skills.Keywords: critical literacy; community college; developmental reading; language minority students; adult linguistic diverse learner; culturally relevant teaching; cultural capital.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-76
Author(s):  
Tanzina Ahmed

Although community colleges are important entry points into higher education for many American students, few studies have investigated how community college students engage with different genres or develop genre knowledge. Even fewer have connected students’ genre knowledge to their academic performance. The present article discusses how 104 ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse students reported on classroom genre experiences and wrote stories about college across three narrative genres (Letter, Best Experience, Worst Experience). Findings suggest that students’ engagement with classroom genres in community college helped them develop rhetorical reading and writing skills. When students wrote about their college lives across narrative genres, they reflected on higher education in varied ways to achieve differing sociocultural goals with distinct audiences. Finally, students’ experience with classroom and narrative genres predicted their GPA, implying that students’ genre knowledge signals and influences their academic success. These findings demonstrate how diverse students attending community college can use genres as resources to further their social and academic development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (71) ◽  
pp. 159-174
Author(s):  
SULTAN . ◽  
Ahmad ROFIUDDIN ◽  
NURHADI . ◽  
Endah Tri PRIYATNI

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