| An enduring struggle for educators in the United States has been and continues to be that of finding the most fortuitous way in which to teach the English language to second language learners. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the home language environment of second language learners and its contribution to a student's academic success.; In addition to a search of the literature, I chose to conduct case studies of six students for whom English was a second language and who were academically astute and successful learners. The data for the study were gathered through interviews, questionnaires and observation and were organized into cases. Triangulation was employed in the study using multiple cases/subjects, and continuous comparative analysis.; The analysis and interpretations were represented in a verbal portraiture, which highlighted context, voice, relationships, emergent themes and the aesthetic whole. The contexts were the home and school environments and the countries in which the students acquired their grounding in a first language. The voices were those of the students and their families. They were recurring themes in each child's life which lent to the aesthetic whole in that they helped unify the positive literacy aspects in the students' lives and hence solidified a base for their academic success to grow. Each student demonstrated an inner drive and motivation that spurred on these themes.; For the most part the successful students mirrored the literature. They also added to the literature as to the process of second language acquisition: its whole and its parts. Each of these students had a significant person in their early journey of language acquisition that played a major role in learning language.; The implications for learning, curriculum and instruction, policies and politics are many. The results of the study imply that the home environment is extremely important in the development of language and literacy. To aid, if needed, and enhance this environment for literacy development, politicians can implement all day kindergarten and fund Head Start programs. Educators can enrich the classroom setting for language development and become aware of the home environment their students come from. Curriculum and instruction policies and practices can be structured to enhance language acquisition skills. |
