驴Verdadero o falso? You must be bilingual to support emergent bilingual students in their literacy development.
隆贵补濒蝉辞!
An essential component of supporting emergent bilinguals in developing literacy is understanding cross-linguistic transfer (CLT): when emergent bilinguals use knowledge of one language to support learning another.
Educators do not need to be fluent in both languages to identify鈥攁nd teach鈥攚hich elements of one transfer to the other.
鈥淭eachers should not feel discouraged in supporting their students who are Spanish-speaking, because there are ways that they can still support cross-linguistic transfer without actually speaking the language,鈥� says 猫咪AV senior PD strategist in biliteracy Lauren Birner.
But CLT doesn鈥檛 just happen鈥攊t requires explicit instruction. So we do need to ensure that this takes place if we want to support equity in education, especially in early childhood education.
How can educators bring the power of CLT into instruction? And support equity and excellence in education?
Making connections: The impact of CLT
Our recent webinar 鈥攍ed by Lauren Birner and 猫咪AV鈥檚 Kajal Patel Below鈥攅xplored answers to these questions.
In the webinar, Birner and Patel Below describe similarities and differences between English and Spanish, discuss how those similarities and differences can impact instruction, and explain why CLT helps English learners leverage skills from both languages to build their biliteracy.
They also underscore why it matters鈥攏amely, that it鈥檚 about supporting equity in early childhood education and beyond.
More than 15% of our K鈥�3 students in this country are emergent bilinguals, and we have a responsibility to help them cultivate and expand that superpower.
鈥擪ajal Patel
The Simple View of Reading and biliteracy
The idea behind the Simple View of Reading is that the combination of language comprehension and word recognition is what leads students to gain meaning from text. If either language comprehension skills or word recognition skills are lacking, students cannot become skilled readers, and this is true in both English and Spanish.
“Research shows that when teachers explicitly teach students what transfers from one language to the other,鈥� says Patel Below, 鈥渟tudents are able to devote more cognitive processing time toward the more complex orthography and morphology systems of English that require more time than the more transparent systems of Spanish.鈥�
Birner had this to add: 鈥淲hile components of these domains might overlap, it can be helpful to think of them individually, and how they’ll impact language and literacy development.鈥�
So let鈥檚 take a look at the areas of language where we can leverage cross-linguistic transfer.
- Phonetics and phonology: 92% of all of the sounds in English and Spanish have a direct correlation. That means that teachers can focus explicit instruction only on the remaining 8% of sounds鈥攕uch as the rolled r in Spanish. Meanwhile, we can also encourage them to be language detectives and recognize where the languages do connect and how they can use their skills in one to understand the other. That approach, says Birner, 鈥渨ill not only save valuable time and energy, but it’ll also help [educators] recognize bilingualism as an asset for all of our students.鈥�
- Morphology: Students can explore cognates like hospital/hospital and 肠别濒别产谤补迟颈辞苍/肠别濒别产谤补肠颈贸苍, while also exploring similarities and differences in pronunciation. 鈥淲hether or not they are Spanish-speaking, teachers can look to cross-linguistic transfer guidance and start to recognize things, the prefixes and suffixes that are similar across the two languages,鈥� says Birner.
- Syntax and grammar: Spanish and English do have rules and structures that differ from each other, in the areas of word order, gender, conjugation, and possession. As students progress in learning these distinctions, teachers can seize opportunities for explicit instruction. For example, let鈥檚 say a student constructs the sentence: 鈥淭he flower of Ana is pretty.鈥� This is not an error, but an approximation 鈥渢o be celebrated.鈥� Birner says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a comprehensible sentence in English that just needs a minor adjustment. We can use this type of sentence as an opportunity to provide explicit instruction on possessives.鈥�
- Semantics: Semantics is the study of word meaning and is critical for language learners. Exploring idioms, homonyms and homophones, and other nuances of usage across language can give students the chance to build from similarities and identify differences. 鈥淵ou might do something like hang a chart of idiomatic phrases in each language,鈥� says Birner. 鈥淟ooking at both languages side by side is a really great way to support your students in learning a second language.鈥�
- Pragmatics: Pragmatics encompass the ways people communicate that are nuanced or unsaid. They鈥檙e often rooted in cultural norms, which include both physical norms (looking someone in the eye when speaking) and social norms (using euphemisms). 鈥淧roviding students with explicit instruction on how communicating may differ from culture to culture and situation to situation can help avoid misunderstandings,鈥� says Birner. 鈥淚t’s also a great way to allow students to see the world in perspective.鈥�
More to explore
猫咪AV鈥檚 biliteracy programs, rooted in the Science of Reading, can help all educators engage with multilingual learners and make the most of cross-linguistic transfer and dual language education. Here are some additional resources for you:
, as shared by biliteracy experts (students!)
(white paper)
(infographic)
