With much focus on English development in United States schools and research, less is known about how bilinguals develop literacy in their home languages without sustained formal instruction. This qualitative study of reading strategies addressed that gap. It examined how young bilinguals used English literacy knowledge gained through formal…

The phonological loop of the working memory system plays a key role in language learning. This study examined the trajectories between two dual-language learner groups (English Learners [ELs] and Spanish Learners [SLs]) on phonological loop measures in L1 and L2. At Grade 1, children completed a battery of vocabulary and cognitive measures and…

This paper draws from a broader research project and reports on a qualitative case study that investigated instructional practices in grades 3-5 Two-Way Immersion (TWI) classrooms where the partner language is Spanish. Using Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to examine the degree to…

In Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) models, the reading achievement of English Learners (ELs) is assessed multiple times during the school year to monitor students' progress toward meeting grade-level reading standards. Most MTSS/RTI frameworks do not include a comparable system for assessing oral language…

Amidst the current climate surrounding bilingual education in the U.S., this study looked critically at the ways language education policies informed bilingual education as language was constructed and performed in a dual language bilingual, Spanish-English, third-grade classroom. This four-year ethnographic study explored the hegemonic realities…

This case study focused on transitional bilingual class and explored connections between the literacy practices co-constructed in this figured world and one student's developing identity. Yanet, a newcomer student from Cuba, was encouraged to draw on community cultural wealth to support her own and her classmates' language, literacy and identity…

A comparative lexicogrammatical and logicosemantic systemic functional analysis of two third-grade science curricular units on the topic of "matter" written in Spanish is presented. One of these curricular units, translated from an English textbook, or "mirror text," is used in dual language programs (Spanish-English) in the…

We examine how a third-grade bilingual teacher engaged in "translanguaging shifts"--the moment-to-moment changes in language practices--during instruction in response to students' language performances. We demonstrate how a teacher's high level of multilingual awareness connected to fostering classroom spaces with linguistic flexibility…

Using a case study methodology, the article examines the language practices of two third-grade bilingual, dual-language education teachers as they prepare their students for their state's standardized assessment. Findings revealed that both teachers taught in between the contradicting tensions of the language-as-problem and -resource orientations…

We investigated the relationship between Chichewa (L1) and English (L2) literacies in Malawi. Through our use of hierarchical linear modeling, we found that cross-language literacy transfer between Chichewa and English did occur, but that the pattern and the strength of the relationships varied depending on the literacy domain (i.e., reading or…

This study explores the role that socioeconomic status (SES), home and school language and literacy practices, and oral vocabulary play in the development of English reading skills in Latino English language learners (ELLs) and how these factors contribute differentially to English reading outcomes for children of different ages and in different…

The effects of bilingual education on reading and math achievement were examined by comparing test scores across different elementary school programs. Results revealed that bilingual Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs benefited both minority-language and majority-language students. Minority-language students in TWI programs outperformed their peers…

Is it best to learn reading in two languages simultaneously or sequentially? We observed second- and third-grade children in two-way "dual-language learning contexts": (a) 50:50 or Simultaneous dual-language (two languages within same developmental period) and (b) 90:10 or Sequential dual-language (one language, followed gradually by the other).…

This study contributes to the literature on cross-linguistic literacy relationships for English language learners, and in particular, the Spanish-influenced spelling patterns of Spanish-English bilinguals. English spelling, reading, and vocabulary assessments were administered to 220 students in four TWI programs over a three-year period, from…

Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) results in third- and fourth-grade reading and writing, 1999-2001, were compared for Latinos taking the English or Spanish CSAP and all Colorado students. Latino students had equivalent or higher scores on the Spanish CSAP compared to the English CSAP, but had lower scores than all students, regardless of…