| The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a multimedia-based self-paced instructional module for teaching native language literacy skills to elementary school students who were also learning the English language. According to the Idaho Evaluation of Programs (2000), the number of English Language Learning (ELL) students in Idaho was 16,338 in 2000, with more than 80% Hispanic. With the new mandates within the No Child Left Behind Act, all students are subject to testing (Education Research Service, 2003). Many ELL students are unable to read and comprehend the English language, and their test scores in reading and mathematics tend to be low (Education Research Service, 2003).;It was hypothesized that a multimedia-based self-paced instructional module of Spanish literacy would help ELL elementary students to become literate in their native language, and that this would then help these learners more readily acquire English literacy skills through a multimedia-based self-paced English instructional module.;Participants in the experimental group completed the first module (Spanish literacy) within the frame of one semester and participants in the experimental and control group completed the second module (English literacy) in a second semester. Results showed that all participants found both modules helpful, and had consistent increases in reading and writing scores. However, no significant increase in literacy scores was found between the control and experimental group. |
