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Journal 6
Professor Cruz
Journal 6 2
Students who are enrolled in a dual language or two-way immersion program have many
benefits when acquiring a second language. These students are exposed to many cultures, are
better able to empathize and are better prepared for the changing demographics by being
bilingual in a country that speaks 350 languages. Research also shows that the bilingual brain has
cognitive advantages that the monolingual brain does not. Some of these advantages include
multitasking, language processing, and academic achievement. These benefits are not exclusive
to English Language Learners. Native English speakers whose initial literacy is in Spanish will
also benefit.
Native English speakers benefit from initial literacy instruction in Spanish due to the
similarity in alphabets between English and Spanish and the phonetic nature of the Spanish
language. Providing students with simple T charts, sentence stems, visuals, and opportunities to
develop oracy in the minority language will prepare the students to move from the concrete to
the abstract. These factors can help students with the language transfer and language
development. Metalinguistic awareness such as bridging can help students in the same ways that
Spanish speakers benefit from making connections between the languages. It is also important to
elevate the status of the minority language to match the primary language. According to Beeman
& Urow, by prioritizing Spanish “the teacher is sending a clear message that Spanish is important
and that the students are expected to use Spanish for academic interactions. Also, in keeping with
her understanding of the first premise, she is setting aside time for explicitly teaching in Spanish”
(Beeman & Urow, 2013). Students who are in a dual language or two-way immersion program
References
Beeman, K. & Urow,. C. (2013). Teaching for biliteracy. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon Publishing
Escamilla, K., Hopewell, S., Butvilofsky, S., Sparrow, W., Soltero-Gonzalez, L., Ruiz-Figueroa,
O., & Escamilla, M. (2014). Biliteracy from the start: Literacy squared in action.