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Running head: ESL UNDERGRAD STUDENTS IN BILINGUAL IL PROGRAM1

Assessing the Information Literacy Skills of

ESL Undergraduate Students Attending

a Bilingual Spanish/English IL Program

A Research Proposal

Matthew Chase

INFO 285

San Jose State University

ESL UNDERGRAD STUDENTS IN BILINGUAL IL PROGRAM2

Introduction

While information literacy instruction is a predominant theme and practice among

U.S. academic libraries, it nonetheless faces the challenges of an increasingly diverse

college population across the country. According to the National Center for Education

Statistics (2016), undergraduate enrollments have steadily increased since 1970, with

over 17 million undergraduates enrolled nationally by 2014. This exponential growth in

undergraduate levels has observed a parallel growth across ethnic and racial diversity for

Latinos, Asians, Pacific Islanders, blacks, Native Americans, and Alaska natives. In

particular, the percentage of Latino students increased from 4 percent in 1976 to 17

percent by 2014.

The concept of a traditional college student is rapidly experiencing a sense of

obsolescence with these ongoing demographic trends. It raises questions of how

universities will be able to address the needs of its diversifying student populations,

including academic libraries and their embedded roles in developing students’

information literacy skills. As English-only instruction remains the prevalent practice

among many academic libraries, it raises issues of how might ESL undergraduate interact

with information literacy across language differences and barriers. Kanno and Varghese

(2010) called for a transformative policy shift in higher education that challenges the

institutional framing of ESL students as deficient in linguistic capital and the structural

obstacles being established as a result. Bilingual information literacy instruction could

posit a potential alternative model for which ESL undergraduates can experience a

mutual enrichment of both their linguistic and information literacy skills. This study aims


to explore the impact of this alternative model by asking the following research

questions:

1. How effectively do ESL undergraduate students locate and access information of

specific topics that will support their use of library resources?

2. How do ESL undergraduate students critically evaluate sources of information?

3. How effectively do ESL undergraduate students perform ethical use of

information?

Based on the above-mentioned research questions, my proposed study postulates

the following hypothesis: ESL undergraduate students in a bilingual IL program will

report significantly better information literacy skill development than ESL students in

an English-only IL program.

Literature Review

In order to achieve insight into the dynamics and complexities of how bilingual

instruction can develop the information literacy skills of ESL undergraduate students, it is

important to begin with a comprehensive review of the existing literature. Previous LIS

research has already observed meaningful links between language barriers and

information literacy, creating new spaces for further exploration and study. While the

literature is still relatively new and thus small in terms of bilingual instruction, it can

nonetheless offer valuable understanding regarding the relationship between language

and information literacy in higher education settings. This relationship is central to

supporting my research questions.

The first key component to understanding the relationship for ESL undergraduates is

to delve into their experiences and struggles with information literacy. Johnston,


Partridge, and Hughes (2014) get to the heart of these issues as their study revealed the

major impact of language on information literacy development. Specifically, they found

that ESL students experienced considerable difficulty across all stages of literature

searching, including locating relevant sources, evaluating their relevance and quality, and

using them effectively. Due to these language barriers, the students would resort to

shortcut and other adaptive strategies such as reading only the abstracts or using only

short articles to quickly scan for information they can understand. Academic English

vernacular and contexts were particularly difficult for these students to comprehend. As a

result, having to translate information from English to their native language took

considerable time, often resulted in mistakes and misunderstandings, and produced

unsatisfactory searches overall (Johnston et al., 2014). These findings would suggest a

real need for information literacy instruction to better account for language barriers in

regards to information access, especially for international and ESL students as they

navigate the intricacies of context, translation, and definition.

These language barriers have real negative effects on the achievements and

development of many students in which English is a second language. Macdonald (2008)

found that students with English as a second language have poor information literacy, and

thus they lack the access to information that could improve their learning and overall

quality of life. This impact is particularly devastating to refugee and immigrant students.

There are strong correlations between information literacy and their feelings of inclusion

at school and in the broader society (Macdonald 2008). It is also not to suggest that ESL

students are completely lacking in information literacy. The literature indicates otherwise


as ESL students demonstrate certain IL skills, but they are largely grounded in

understanding of their own language (Johnston et al., 2014).

Ultimately, the literature shows that information literacy cannot be beholden to a

single language. In an increasingly globalized world, there is the parallel need for a more

global learning model. It requires a self-reflective teaching approach that goes beyond the

skills-based direction that has long predominated IL instruction. Rather, as Kutner and

Armstrong (2012) argued, information literacy should be reframed and expanded to also

include cultural, social, and linguistic contexts. It would allow for ESL students to learn

how these contexts affect their ability to access, retrieve, use, and create information. A

bilingual instruction could potentially provide these students with a greater insight into

these differences and resulting challenges, with an added appreciation for their difficult

experiences with information literacy. By instilling a bilingual component to information

literacy competence, ESL students might have a more positive experience with

navigating the growing information landscapes.

Positioning information literacy in a globalized, multilingual framework opens new

opportunities for pedagogical and instructional approaches. A number of different models

and programs have been developed in response to dismantling the language barriers

inherent to English-only instruction. Significant lessons could be gleaned from the

performance of these approaches in creating an effective bilingual information literacy

instruction.

When it comes to advancing instruction for ESL undergraduate students, the literature

offers several recommendations. A major finding has been the collaborative partnership

between the librarian and an ESL instructor. Martin, Reaume, Reeves, and Wright (2012)


found that this collaboration allowed for the librarian to build trust with the ESL students,

enhancing the instruction by incorporating critical thinking skills as part of information

literacy. The librarian could gain feedback from the ESL instructor regarding the

students’ cultural beliefs, practices, and values. This knowledge helped the librarian to

better understand how the students perceived information literacy as a cultural and a

conceptual product. By working together, the librarian and the ESL instructor can engage

in pedagogy where both support information literacy through activities and discussions

relevant to the needs of their students. The full integration of IL instruction in courses

with ESL instructors made the learning process more consistent for ESL students,

fostering their confidence as well as their skill in using information literacy (Bendriss,

Saliba, & Birch, 2015). It also significantly reduced the time and energy costs for both

librarian and instructor in establishing a positive conducive learning experience for ESL

students.

However, the gap with much of the existing literature is the lack of discussion on the

potential benefits from implementing a fully bilingual instruction experience for ESL

students. Rather, the focus has remained on developing cultural competence on part of

the librarian, either through culturally relevant pedagogy and/or partnership with ESL

instructors. Although both have provided significant advances to engaging in meaningful

learning of information literacy with ESL students, the language barriers found in

previous research are not necessarily being addressed.

The progressive models being offered by the literature have scarcely covered a

bilingual component to the instruction experience. Luly and Lenz (2015) have been one

of the few scholars so far to study the impact of implementing a language-oriented library


instruction. This instructional model involved having the instruction delivered in the

language of the target population. This delivery included providing all instruction

materials and information being translated into the target language. They found that

employing instruction in a language other than English offered the ESL students a richer

experience and supported their information literacy development in an increasingly

multicultural context. The students were able to utilize their language skills to improve

their skills in locating, accessing, evaluating, and using relevant information.

Given the literature presented, it strongly supports a language-positive instructional

approach. It not only facilitates increased engagement between librarian and ESL

students, but also significant improvements in students’ IL skills and critical thinking of

information. Although the literature offers considerable support for my research

questions, there are still challenges and limitations to be confronted. As I mentioned

before, very few studies have engaged in a language-oriented approach as observed in

Luly and Lenz’s (2015) research. Yet even their approach only sought to immerse the

instructional experience in the target language rather than a bilingual/multilingual

environment. It remains largely unexplored as to the real impact and value of creating

bilingual instruction.

In terms of targeted user groups, the literature has addressed a wide array of

populations within the international student community. The populations in focus have

ranged from immigrants and refugees to various racial and ethnic groups such as

Europeans, Middle Easterners, and Asians. Interestingly enough, none of the studies I

have discussed raised the language barriers for Latina/os and Spanish-speaking

communities, particularly in the United States. This gap could yield potentially insightful


results from my own assessment as I examine the effects of bilingual Spanish/English

information literacy instruction for ESL undergraduate students whose native language is

Spanish.

Although the literature has its own limitations as discussed above, they can

nonetheless become valuable opportunities and avenues for my own assessment research.

There is a clear need to address how bilingual instruction can influence the IL

development for ESL undergraduate students. My assessment further explores the gaps

left in the existing research as well as their interlocking complexities regarding how

librarian-faculty collaborations, language immersion, and inter-cultural contexts can

shape information literacy for these students. There remains an opportunity to study the

nuances of language as a barrier in an English-only environment and as a potentially

positive strategy in a bilingual environment. My hypothesis ultimately emerges: ESL

undergraduate students in a bilingual IL program will report significantly better

information literacy skills than ESL undergraduate students in an English-only IL

program.

Methodology

Participants

Thirty-five Spanish/English-speaking undergraduate students attending a four-

year public university in San Marcos, California will be recruited to participate in the

study through convenience sampling. Flyers inviting participation will be posted at

several points on campus as well as having faculty promote the study in their classes. The

students will become part of the bilingual Spanish/English IL course. The program will

consist of a ninety-minute session in the library. The librarian is a native Spanish speaker.


The program contains a significant research component as it requires students to research

their chosen topics in Spanish and English, and the librarian will introduce research skills

and library resources for them to use. The librarian will explain and demonstrate five

library resources available to students: (1) online library catalog, (2) Interlibrary Loan,

(3) the library’s discovery search tool, (4) San Diego Circuit, and (5) Academic Search

Premier. The librarian will also cover the effective use of keywords, synonym selection,

Boolean logic to broaden and narrow search results, popular vs. scholarly sources, and

ethical information use. As a control group, another thirty-five Spanish/English-speaking

undergraduate students attending the same university will participate in a program of the

same structure and content, but instructed only in English. Informed consent will be

acquired from the participants. An incentive will be provided to encourage participation.

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Students will be able to identify differences between scholarly and popular

sources.

2. Students will be able to select appropriate information tools for locating different

information types.

3. Students will be able to identify strategies for determining a source’s relevance

and accuracy to a specific topic.

4. Students will be able to differentiate between ethical and unethical information

use.

Assessment Design

The study will utilize a survey-based approach to evaluating participants’

information literacy development. An online pre-test survey will be sent to the students’


campus emails, one week before the scheduled program, to assess their pre-existing

knowledge of library resources and services. The pre-test will also record demographic

data such as student level (e.g., freshman, senior, etc.), academic major, race/ethnicity,

native language, perceived fluency in second language (if applicable), and gender. See

Figure 1.

Immediately following the program, students will receive an online skill-based

post-survey through their campus emails to reevaluate their knowledge and skills, to be

completed within a week after the session. See Figure 2. The survey will include both

questions drawn from the pre-test as well as four open-ended skills-based questions. The

foundation of the skills-based questions will be presented as four scenarios corresponding

with the SLOs. Participant answers will be measured by breadth and depth. Breadth

represents the number of different ideas and resources that the student proposes in a given

scenario. Depth represents the number of distinct ideas provided to describe their Breadth

answers. The scenarios will be constructed around real-life situations so the student can

better relate and apply their information literacy skills. Each scenario will measure a

specific SLO, and the post-test results will be compared by student’s perceived fluency in

English, student level, race, and gender to observe any differences in student performance

and IL development between the two program sessions.

For the pre- and post-test surveys, it is important that they are presented to the

students in Spanish as well as English to ensure consistency in the bilingual program. The

surveys will be hosted through Google Forms.

Ethical Implications


The sample is composed of adult college students who can give informed consent

as participants, and articulate for themselves how the program affects their information

literacy development. Given their ESL status, these students can provide relevant insights

into the issues of IL instruction in relation to their own research skills and knowledge. It

is not to suggest that are no ethical considerations to be mentioned.

Given that the study asks the students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills,

participants may be reluctant to give their honest input in light of their bilingual

proficiency. They might feel embarrassed or ashamed about any gaps in their research

skills. It is important to inform before and during the study that their participation is

completely voluntary, and they can exit out of the study at any point in time. All of their

personal data will be kept strictly confidential, secured in a locked cabinet accessible only

to the researcher, and their input in the study will be completely anonymous. Participants

will be followed up a post-study interview from the researcher to inquire about their

experiences as well as offer mental health resources available on campus.

Results

Based on the content of the program, the possible value range for the Breadth

responses is 0-5. For example, students can choose among the five different library

resources covered: interlibrary loan, San Diego Circuit, online library catalog, Academic

Search Premier, and discovery search tool. The Depth responses will also be a 0-5

possible value range, corresponding to the articulated explanations for using the different

sources chosen in their Breadth response. The mean and standard deviation of both

Breadth and Depth will be obtained from both the bilingual program and the English-only

program. Statistical significance will be determined using a multivariate regression


model, analyzing survey responses between the two programs with the control

demographic variables of gender, race/ethnicity, student level, and perceived English

fluency.

Discussion and Conclusion

The results of this study will be evaluated in relation to the hypothesis, SLOs, and

research questions. If the findings show support for the hypothesis, then the impact of a

bilingual IL program can significantly improve ESL undergraduate students in their

information literacy skills and knowledge. Practical implications and programming

recommendations will be discussed in consideration of the results.

Limitations of the proposed research will be identified after the study is

conducted. A potential limitation of the current study is that the sample is drawn from

only one public university, in which future studies could expand the sampling to multiple

universities to further generalize the findings. Also, the study’s focus does not address

different ESL student populations such as international students or different immigrant

generations, which might be another site of research to explore.


Timeline

June 15 – August 15

Sampling; participant recruitment

August 21

Send out pre-test to participants; participation required by program session

August 28

Hold bilingual IL program

Hold English-only IL program

Send out post-test survey to participants

Collection of pre-test data

September 4

Collection of post-test survey data

September 5-October 3

Data analysis

Write drafts of analysis

Revise methods write-up to reflect what actually occurred

October 4-December 4

Finalize full study report


References

Bendriss, R., Saliba, R., & Birch, S. (2015). Faculty and librarians’ partnership:

Designing a new framework to develop information fluent future doctors. The

Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41, 821-838.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2015.09.003

Johnston, N., Partridge, H., & Hughes, H. (2014). Understanding the information literacy

experiences of EFL (English as a foreign language) students. Reference Services

Review, 42(4), 603-715. doi:10.1108/RSR-05-2014-0015

Kanno, Y., & Varghese, M. M. (2010). Immigrant and refugee ESL students’ challenges

to accessing four-year college education: From language policy to educational

policy. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 9, 310-328. Retrieved from

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hlie20/current

Kutner, L., & Armstrong, A. (2012). Rethinking information literacy in a globalized

world. Communications in Information Literacy, 6(1), 24-33. Retrieved from

http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/libfacpub/10/

Luly, S., & Lenz, H. (2015). Language in context: A model of language oriented library

instruction. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41, 140-148.

doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2015.01.001

Macdonald, K. (2008). ESL library skills: An information literacy program for adults

with low levels of English literacy. Australian Library Journal, 57(3), 295-309.

doi:10.1080/00049670.2008.10722481

Martin, J. A., Reaume, K. M., Reeves, E. M., & Wright, R. D. (2012). Relationship

building with students and instructors of ESL: Bridging the gap for library

http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/libfacpub/10/

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hlie20/current


instruction and services. Reference Services Review, 40(3), 352-367.

doi:10.1108/00907321211254634

National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Enrollment: Fast facts. Retrieved from

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98.

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98


Appendix

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/

1FAIpQLSc0EMBMPV6yn8wwACutt5wfQlNOzcK7je0jjiHZQSi5pyR3XA/viewform

Figure 1. URL to sample draft of pre-test survey in Google Forms.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0EMBMPV6yn8wwACutt5wfQlNOzcK7je0jjiHZQSi5pyR3XA/viewform

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0EMBMPV6yn8wwACutt5wfQlNOzcK7je0jjiHZQSi5pyR3XA/viewform


https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/

1FAIpQLSeDCjDwBrjBbyryTm7jSMoZyACQ0FcrnRBPfaOoy3pSGT2s3A/viewform

Figure 2. URL to sample draft of post-test survey in Google Forms.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDCjDwBrjBbyryTm7jSMoZyACQ0FcrnRBPfaOoy3pSGT2s3A/viewform

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDCjDwBrjBbyryTm7jSMoZyACQ0FcrnRBPfaOoy3pSGT2s3A/viewform

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