Bahamonde, Ana

Assignment 1
Chapter one: Why is it important to allow newcomers the opportunity to use their native
language as a bridge to learning the new language?

The U.S student population is rapidly changing as more students from different countries

are immigrating to the United States and enrolling in U.S. public schools. Many of these

children come to this country with very little English or no English at all. Some even come

without proper formal schooling, so their literacy levels are at a disadvantage compared to their

American peers. Moreover, the social and emotional ramifications of their immigrant experience

also add to the risk factors that jeopardize their academics. Additionally, there are other students

who despite having been born in this country are still English language learners (ELLs) because

they have used their parents’ native language during their first years of life. These children will

also need adequate support in the language to succeed academically (Honigsfeld & Cohan,

2016). Despite the circumstances, it is important for educators to realize that there will continue

to be increasing numbers of students who will need additional English language support to meet

the demands of public education in the United States.

Educators should strive to have students complete the language home survey as a first

step towards screening. This must be followed up by interviews with student and parents. These

tools will provide educators with information to evaluate a student based on his or her individual

context. In this way, educators can determine the best resources and instructional practices for

that particular student. One of the most important considerations that must be given to students

who are learning English is that of their native language. Students’ mother tongue should be

perceived as a strength as opposed to a limitation in order to empower these children as well as

strengthen their identity. Therefore, it is important to allow English language learners to use
 their native language as a bridge that will help them acquire the new language (Honigsfeld &

Cohan, 2016).

Recent meta-analyses have shown that educational programs that systematically

incorporate the use of ELLs' home language result in academic success (Genesee & Lindholm-

Leary, in press). Lindholm and Aclan’s (1991) study of ELLs in two-way immersion programs,

found a positive relationship between individual student's level of bilingual proficiency and their

achievement in core subjects. Furthermore, the research confirms that bilingual children exhibit

significant cognitive advantages in comparison to monolingual children (e.g., Bialystok 2006;

Chin & Wigglesworth, 2007; Kovaacs & Mehler, 2009). Finally, extensive research has found

that children who are learning to read in a second language are able to transfer many skills and

knowledge from their first language that helps facilitate their learning process in the second

language (August & Shanahan, 2006; Riches & Genesee, 2006).

Clearly, there is no doubt in the benefits that educators can garner from using the home

language to help students acquire the new language. Cloud, Genesee, and Hamayan (2009) offer

a number of suggestions:

● Help students see the similarities between their native language and the new one.

● Help students see the differences between their native language and the new one.

● Allow students who are new in the class to read the class novels in their native language.

● Ask students to think about words in their home language that either sound or mean the same in

the new language.

● Ask students to analyze how words are changed and formed in their home language and compare

these with the way English words are changed and formed.

By using some of these strategies, educators can help students find the patterns that will

help them acquire the new language. The collective skills and knowledge of all students in the

classroom add to the resources that teachers can tap into in order to promote confidence as well

as language development (Genesee, 2009).

References

Genesee, F. (2009). The Home language: An English language learner’s most valuable resource.
Retrieved from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/home-language-english-language-
learners-most-valuable-resource. 08/29/2018.

August, D., & Shanahan, T. (Eds.) (2006). Developing literacy in second language learners.
Report of the national literacy panel on minority-language children and youth. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum.

Bialystok, E. (2006). The impact of bilingualism on language and literacy development. In

Bhatia, T.K., & W.E. Ritchie (Eds.) The handbook of bilingualism (pp. 577-601). Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing.

Chin, N.B., & Wigglesworth, G. (2007). Bilingualism: An advanced resource book. London:
Routledge.

Cloud, N., Genesee, F., & Hamayan, E. (2009). Literacy Instruction for English Language
Learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K. (in press). The education of English language learners. In K.
Harris, S. Graham, & T. Urdan (Eds), APA Handbook of Educational Psychology.Washington
DC: APA Books.

Honigsfeld, A. and Cohan, A. (2016). Serving English Language Learners. Bridgepoint

Education. [Vitalsource].

Kovacs, A.M., & J. Mehler, J. (2009). Cognitive gains in 7-month-old infants. Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16), 6556-6550.

Lindholm, K.J., & Aclan, Z. (1991). Bilingual proficiency as a bridge to academic achievement:
Results from bilingual/immersion programs. Journal of Education 173, 99-113.
Riches, C., & Genesee, F. (2006). Cross-linguistic and cross-modal aspects of literacy
development. In F. Genesee, K. Lindholm-Leary, W. Saunders, & D. Christian, D. Educating
English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence (pp. 64-108). NY: Cambridge
University Press.