Running Head: Journal 1 1

Journal 1

Lizbeth Jara Oregon

University of St. Thomas

Professor Cruz
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There is a clear connection between L1 literacy and learning to read in a second language

which is evident in every dual language classroom. It is important to develop a child's L1 so that

they can be successful when acquiring a new language. The Spanish language is syllabic which

may make it easier to learn for some students. One way that students can learn to read in the

second language is by transferring letter sounds that they learned in Spanish to English. Most

students will be able to read many high frequency words by sounding out the words in English

with the exception of irregular words. Educators must be familiar with both Spanish and English

phonological differences so that they can support the students with different sheltered

instruction strategies as they are acquiring the language. Beeman & Urow state, “Spanish and

English have clear phonological difference. Recognizing differences in Spanish and English can

help educators understand common errors by Spanish speakers who are learning English”

(Beenam & Urow, 2013).

Another connection between L1 literacy and learning to read in a second language is

through the use of meta linguistic connections. The educator must preplan these metalinguistic

connections so that they can successfully show the students the connection between the

languages. The bridge is one of the most powerful tools to show the similarities and differences

in both Spanish and English. The bridge should be done in the language of instruction an it

should have opportunities for students to share and create these anchor charts so that they can

practice generating these connections. Beeman and Urow state, “The bridge is a powerful

concept: with strategic planning, the bridge allows students who are learning in two languages to

strengthen their knowledge of both languages to strengthen their knowledge of both languages” (

Beeman & Urow, 2013).

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References

Beeman, K., & Urow, C. (2013). Teaching for biliteracy: Strengthening bridges between

languages. Philadelphia: Caslon.