Building Learner Profiles for EFL Reading Intervention through the Use of the ABLE (Assessing Basic Literacy in English) Kit Dr. Susie Russak, Beit Berl Academic College Dr. Lisa Amdur National Authority of Measurement and Evaluation in Education (RAMA) ACROLT Conference May 7,2012

Overview of ABLE kit A research-based assessment tool designed to help teachers identify learners at risk for reading difficulties in the EFL classroom at the end of the first year of literacy instruction. Comprised of a whole class screening and an individual diagnostic test. Using the results from the two stages of the assessment kit, individual learner performance profiles can be used to inform personalized reading intervention.

Rationale for development To provide a valid and reliable kit for use by teachers to assess literacy acquisition in EFL To diagnose pupils at risk for reading difficulties in EFL as early as possible To provide teachers with clear guidelines and practical tools of “best practices” in teaching beginning literacy in EFL TEACHER EMPOWERMENT

Screening test: Diagnostic test: Objectives Identify pupils having difficulty acquiring basic literacy skills in EFL Diagnostic test: Identify domains of difficulty within different pupils Inform intervention options through test performance profiles

Full class screening: classroom administration Components Full class screening: classroom administration Listening comprehension Reading comprehension Spelling Individual diagnostic test: individual administration Phonological representations Phonological awareness Letter sound knowledge Word decoding

Notes on task construction All words for the class screening section were chosen from a corpus of all lexical items that appear in text books used from the beginning of formal literacy instruction ( 3rd grade). Phonemic inventories of Arabic, Hebrew, and English were considered. All items that the pupils needed to hear were recorded by a native speaker ( Arabic for Arab sector, Hebrew for Jewish sector).

Theoretical framework Thanks to Prof.Esther Geva

Theoretical framework Phonological Distinctness/Representations hypothesis (Elbro, 1996, Goswami, 2000, Snowling, 2000) Linguistic Affiliation Constraint (Saiegh-Haddad, 2003, 2004, 2007; Russak & Saiegh-Haddad, 2010) Linguistic coding difficulties hypothesis (Sparks, Ganschow, & Pohlman, 1989).

Theoretical framework English/language-specific characteristics Linguistic features Phonological inventory, complexity Orthographic depth Foundation literacy acquisition More prolonged route of acquisition (accuracy and speed) Processing mechanisms Dual route to reading model (Seidenberg & McClelland, 1989)

Theoretical framework Dual route to reading model Pre-lexical assembled phonology route: Grapheme-phoneme correspondences which are regular and consistent Visual route: Orthographic patterns which are irregular but consistent Sight words which are irregular and inconsistent Lexical access

Preliminary findings - letter-sound knowledge (N=58)

Preliminary findings - word repetition (N=58)

Preliminary findings - phonological awareness (N=58)

Preliminary findings - word decoding (N=58)

Building performance profiles Qualitative analysis on a random sample of 10 native Hebrew and 10 native Arabic speaking pupils’ test protocols from the pilot stage of individual diagnostic test Answers for each item of each sub-test were mapped out Categories were identified based on error patterns and characteristics

Letter sound knowledge Arabic speakers Hebrew speakers W-10 J-9 H- 8 U,Y- 7 G, P, L- 6 B,K,I -5 H -8 W, L-7 J -6 U, N - 5

Word repetition Arabic speakers Hebrew speakers Linoleum – 7 Articulate – 5 Metropolis – 4 Pertain - 4 Articulate – 5 Reciprocate – 5 Thorough – 5 Linoleum - 4 4 syllable words Novel phonemes ACROLT Conference May 7,2012

Phonological awareness Arabic speakers Hebrew speakers Lame* – 8 Main* – 7 Lift – 6 Must – 6 * Strange errors! Bend – 8 Must – 6 Lift – 5 Ramp* - 5 * Primarily difficulties with pronouncing the r (as a w) Deletion of the first consonant in a final consonantal cluster ACROLT Conference May 7,2012

Specific difficulties lack of sound-letter correspondence knowledge representation of novel phonemes orally and in writing short vowels vowel digraphs consonant digraphs bi and tri-consonantal clusters magic e directionality (b-d) orthographic patterns sight words ACROLT Conference May 7,2012

Tentative learner profiles L1 based EFL specific poor phonological representation phonological awareness sound-letter correspondences orthographic patterns lack of familiarity with novel sounds decoding and spelling esp. regular consistent words: phonological decoding and spelling esp. irregular consistent words: orthographic

susie.russak@gmail.com lamdur.rama@education.gov.il Thank you susie.russak@gmail.com lamdur.rama@education.gov.il