Semiotic anomalies in English, as second language learners of immigrant parents acquire first time literacy

• Main Author: Snelgar, Elizabeth Claire Gien
• Other Authors: Nel, N. M.
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Learner; Limited English proficiency (LEP); English language learner (ELL); First Language (FL); Second language (L2); First Language acquisition (FLA); Second language acquisition (SLA); Second language learners (SLL); Target language (TL); Limited language proficiency (LLP) hidden comprehension deficit (HCD); Reading specific comprehension deficit (SCD); Comprehension deficit (CD); Specific comprehension levels (SCL) basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS); Cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP); Literacy skill; Rapid automatic naming (RAN); Phonemic awareness (PA); Inclusive education; Barriers to learning; 428.24; English language > Acquisition; English language > Study and teaching > Foreign speakers; Language and languages
• Online Access: Snelgar, Elizabeth Claire Gien (2010) Semiotic anomalies in English, as second language learners of immigrant parents acquire first time literacy, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/4815>; http://hdl.handle.net/10500/4815

Research has shown that literacy acquisition and the ultimate realisation of literacy, comprehension of the written text requires more than the ability to decode individual words. This study brings together a synthesis of current research on early language acquisition, language structure, vocabulary development and its intrinsic underpinning of comprehension in monolinguals thereby providing a theoretical framework for a comparative study of limited English proficient learners (LEP’s)/English language learners (ELLs) acquiring first time literacy with the attendant vocabulary deficits and age appropriate decoding skills. A quantitative and qualitative study examines the statistical differences between reading, vocabulary, rapid automatic naming (RAN/decoding) and comprehension when a learner born of foreign parents acquires first time literacy in a language other than the language spoken at home. The study isolates and specifies an at risk educational minority through the identification of a hidden comprehension deficit (HCD). In summarising the main findings from the literature review and the empirical investigation, an “at risk educational minority” was identified and isolated through the identification of the HCD. The envisioned outcome was achieved and the hypothesis accepted. === Educational Studies === M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)