Faculty & Staff
Faculty
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MARÍA S. Carlo, PhDAssociate ProfessorPhone: 813-974-5787 |
Research Interests:
Bilingualism and literacy development in children; cross-language transfer of reading skills; educational interventions that support first- and second-language development
Dr. Carlo is an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida in the Department of Child and Family Studies. She joined USF in 2017 as part of the USF Rightpath Research and Innovation Center.
Dr. Carlo specializes in bilingualism and literacy development in children and adults and is involved in multiple projects involving these areas. Her research focuses on the cognitive processes underlying reading in a second language and in understanding the cross-language transfer of reading skills and how it affects the development of such skills.
She is also interested in generating educational interventions that support first- and second-language development, particularly around vocabulary. She has been involved in grants funded through the National Institute of Health and the Institute for Educational Sciences and has authored multiple publications. She earned her doctorate in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was previously on the faculty at the University of Texas, Harvard Graduate School of Education and at the University of Miami. She is a member of the American Educational Research Association and the International Reading Association.
Current Research
The Effect of Definitions, Contextual Support, and Cognate Status on 4th Grade Spanish-speaking English Learners' (ELs) Understanding of Unfamiliar Words in Text
Contact:
María S. Carlo, PhD
Principal Investigators:
Professor María S. Carlo, PhD
Professor Mary Avalos, (University of Miami) Co-Principal Investigator
Funding Source:
Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Project Description:
With funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, our research team conducted two experiments to help Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) understand academic words in English. ELs often come across unfamiliar words when they read, which can make it challenging to comprehend what they're studying. Knowing these words is crucial for better reading and understanding.
In our experiments, we tried different methods to assist ELs in learning new academic words and comprehending them when they read. We looked at how providing various types of definitions, using similar words from their native language (cognates), and offering context-related support could improve their ability to learn these words and read texts that contained them. Our findings suggest that fourth-grade Spanish-speaking ELs benefit equally from Spanish and English definitions for learning English words, but this might depend on their Spanish vocabulary skills. Students with higher Spanish vocabulary benefit more from Spanish definitions than students who are low in their overall Spanish vocabulary knowledge.
The findings from these studies will guide the development of future programs designed to support Spanish-speaking ELs in building their academic vocabulary. Additionally, our research results will also influence the types of accommodations provided to ELs during assessments.
Item Pool and Parameters for this project:
Effect of Bilingual vs Monolingual Methods of Explicit English Vocabulary Instruction on 4th Grade Spanish-speaking English Learners (EL)
Contact:
María S. Carlo, PhD
Principal Investigators:
María S. Carlo, PhD
Dr. Sara A. Smith, University of South Florida
Funding Source:
Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Project Description:
There is reason to believe that instruction that incorporates Spanish definitions in teaching academic English words may benefit Spanish-speaking children who are learning English as a second language. This study compares the effectiveness of mixed-language (English and Spanish) vs single language (English) vocabulary instruction in promoting learning of English words by 4th grade Spanish speaking children who are learning English. The students receive 6 weeks of vocabulary instruction twice a week via remote instruction (using Microsoft Teams) with USF instructors. Students learn 60 academic words that are taught via 6 units about the Florida Everglades. We expect that results of this research will help us design more effective curricular materials for English learners.
Effects of Home and Classroom Practices on Language, Cognitive, and Social Development of Young Spanish-Speaking Dual Language Learners
Contact:
María S. Carlo, PhD
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Tricia Zucker, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, PI
María S. Carlo, PhD - Co-PI
Funding Source:
Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Project Description:
English learners living in poverty are at risk for later reading difficulties and are less likely than their peers to encounter the level of responsive, extended conversations in their homes and preschools needed for school readiness. Furthermore, many types of dual language programs in U.S. schools operate in ways that delay regular exposure to English until later grades, rather than systematically teaching in ways that build on students’ knowledge of their home language to accelerate English proficiency. The proposed project will evaluate a dual-language approach that: a) maintains and improves the home language of English learners who speak mostly Spanish in their homes via parent coaching, and b) simultaneously coaches teachers to use an explicit cross-language transfer approach in which sophisticated concepts are introduced in Spanish before English. The expected outcome of this project is increased understanding of effective classroom instruction and family engagement approaches for English learners at risk of later reading difficulties. This project is led by The University of Texas Health Science Center’s Children’s Learning Institute in collaboration with USF.