Development of Spanish Literacy Skills among Bilingual Students
Igone Arteagoitia, Marleny Perdomo, Carolyn Fidelman
2016
Informes del Observatorio / Observatorio Reports
This exploratory study was conducted to evaluate the Spanish literacy skills of fourth grade students in a two-way immersion program in the United States after participating in a vocabulary enrichment program. We wish to thank Donna Christian for her constructive feedback on an earlier version of this article. We also want to express our appreciation to Escuela Bilingüe Key, especially to Marjorie Myers, the principal, the Spanish teachers, and the fourth grade students. ¡Muchas gracias! ©
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... Arteagoitia, Marleny Perdomo y Carolyn Fidelman Development of Spanish Literacy Skills among Bilingual Students Informes del Observatorio / Observatorio Reports. 025-11/2016EN 3 and districts that are looking for ways to strengthen and develop the language resources of all of their students. There are different DL program models. Some integrate native speakers of English and native speakers of another language, such as Spanish or Chinese, with the goal of promoting high academic achievement, first and second language development, and cross-cultural understanding for all students. Other DL program models provide instruction in two languages to native speakers of the same language, be it English (so-called one-way or foreign language immersion programs) or another language (developmental bilingual education programs). All these program models have a common goal of bilingualism and biliteracy and provide instruction in a language other than English at least 50% of the time. Furthermore, dual language programs, in particular the two-way immersion model, address the equity-related issue of segregation by integrating language minority speakers and native English speakers, on the principle that isolating language minority students in separate classrooms, programs, or schools is detrimental to their academic, social, and emotional growth (Brisk 2006 ). Students in dual language programs are expected to develop literacy in English and the other language by the end of 5th grade (Howard & Sugarman 2007). There is a growing body of research on bilingual education that suggests that dual language programs, such as two-way immersion, have a positive impact on bilingual students' academic achievement in English (Lindholm-Leary & Borsato © Igone Arteagoitia, Marleny Perdomo y Carolyn Fidelman Development of Spanish Literacy Skills among Bilingual Students Informes del Observatorio / Observatorio Reports. 025-11/2016EN
doi:10.15427/or025-11/2016en
fatcat:jzvl7ot4zzftfd5vaiqg5xadie