Teaching for Biliteracy by Karen Beeman & Cherly Urow

Chapter 1:  Foundations in Teaching for Biliteracy

In collaboration with teachers and researchers, it was found that teaching for biliteracy is different than teaching for monolingual literacy.  Also, teaching for Spanish literacy is different than teaching for Spanish literacy in Spanish-speaking countries.

Teaching for biliteracy is a comprehensive approach to literacy instruction that integrates content, literacy, and language instruction and connects reading with oral language and writing. 

Students are now called "bilingual learners" rather than Spanish-dominant and English-dominant.  Recent research has shown that bilingual students who receive instruction in how both of their languages are similar and different achieve higher levels of academic success. 

Teaching for English/Spanish biliteracy in the U.S. is different than teaching for monolingual literacy because of the following:

1. Spanish in the U.S. is a minority language within a majority culture.   Spanish speaking children in the U.S. quickly internalize the lower status Spanish holds in the larger society and manifest their perception by showing a preference for English.  Therefore, a school community must intentionally implement ways to elevate the importance of Spanish. 
2. Students use all of the languages in their linguistic repertoire to develop literacy.
3. Spanish and English are governed by distinct linguistic rules and coutural norms. 

Bilingual teachers are rarely taught how to teach in Spanish.  Too often English drives the instruction that takes place in Spanish.  Teachers need professional development in how to deliver literacy instruction in Spanish.  This is especially true now that many Latino children were born in the U.S. and are, therefore similtaneous bilinguals rather than sequential bilinguals.  This will affect pedagogical decisions.  There needs to be a strategic use of both languages in literacy and content instruction, with the help of the "Bridge." 

Chapter 2:   Students:  A Multilingual Perspective

Instruction is most effective when it is differentiated to reflect the linguistic, cultural, and academic backgrounds of the students.  Students who participate in biliteracy instruction in the U.S. are not a homogeneous group. 

Key Characteristics That Distinguis Bilingual Learners

• Linguistic Characteristics--including the region, social group, and social class
• Cultural Characteristics--socioeconomic status is as important an aspect of culture as immigration status and country of origin
• Academic Characteristics--students learning literacy in Spanish in the U.S. represent the same diversity of academic ability and achievement as all students

Administrators and teachers need to use tools and strategies to collect information about students.  An intake interview and a supplemental home visit are effective ways to do this. 

Chapter 3:  Teachers:  Capitalizing on Life Experiences and Diversity

• The cultural and linguistic background of teachers affects their understanding of students and their interpretation on how to instruct in Spanish and English.
• All teachers of Spanish literacy require specific professional development on how to teach literacy in Spanish in the U.S. 
• Literacy learning is enhanced when teachers are reflective and aware of their own strengths and challenges.

Teachers need to engage in ongoing professional development and collaborate with other teachers.  True collaboration requires trust, flexibility, and shared philosophy.  To prepare for collaboration teachers need to reflect on their own experiences and professional development. 

The more teachers reflect on their practice, the better they teach.  Keeping a journal is one effective way for individual teachers to keep a consistent focus on their practice.  Journaling can start by asking these three questions:

1. What went well?  Why?
2. What surprised me?  Why?
3. What do I want to improve?  Why?

Chapter 4:  Planning the Strategic Use of Two Languages

An effective biliteracy framework includes the folowing:

• Tackles the issue of allocation of time and resources
• Provides a structure for planning for the strategic use of Spanish and English
• Includes activities and strategies that reflect the distinct linguistic rules of Spanish and English
• Includes strategies for transferring skills and understanding between languages
• Integrates instruction in literacy skills with meaningful content

Instruction begins with a them or a big idea related to the grade-level content areas that will be the focus of study, rather than with a discrete skill.  Beginning with concrete, teachers can provide the background knowledge and teach oral academic language that make text comprehensible.  The teacher supports students by giving them sentence prompts and collaboration time with peers.  Through the Bridge the teacher explicitly teaches learners how to make connections between their two languages, such as using cognates. 

Chapter 5:  Language Resources, Linguistic Creativity, and Cultural Funds of Knowledge

• Bilingual learners develop and use oral language differently than monoingual learners.  Teachers must understand these differences so they can develop appropriate expectations for their students.
• One of the major characteristics of Spanish in the U.S. is its relationship with English.
• Bilingual learners use variations of Spanish that come from different Spanish-speaking countries.
• Background knowledge is crucial for learning and plays a key role in literacy development. 

Oral language development is the crucial first step in developing literacy skills.  We must be aware of the different ways children develop their two languages orally so that we do not mistake normal use of language for a sign of confusion or problems.  The simultaneous bilingual learner, from the beginning, will use both languages, often mixing them in one phrase or sentence. 

Stages of the sequential bilingual learner (add the second language after age 3 and before age 7):
    First stage:  Use home language even when others do not understand
    Second stage:  Speak rarely or use nonverbal means to communicate
    Third stage:  Ue simple words or phrases
    Fourth stage:  Productive language emerges

Both simultaneous and sequential bilingual learners know some words in one language, and not the other.  The number of words in the two languages combined is comparable to the number and range of words young monolingual learners know. 

Students learning Spanish in the U.S. will develoop their language differently than students in Spanish-speaking countries.  It is common for them to use code-switching.  Teachers need to recognize that this code-switching follows predictable patterns so as not to look at code-switching as a deficit.  Also, it is important for teachers to acknowledge and accept students' social language and use it as a stepping-stong to academic language.  This is more effective than reprimanding studnets for the language they use. 

Incorporating Funds of Knowledge will help draw upon the background knowledge of students.  It is based on the following assumptions:

1. All people have knowledge that comes from their life experiences.
2. Teachers need to learn about their students' knowledge by observing, by asking questions, and by building relationships with students and their families.
3. The role of the teacher is to adapt the curriculum and materials to incorporate student experiences and knowledge. 

Instructional programs or lessons designed for English that have been translated into Spanish do not reflect linguistic richness students bring to the classroom. 

Chapter 6:  Building Background Knowledge

• Effective biliteracy instruction begins with the establishment of a comprehensive context.
• Strategies that build on student language and experiences also develop background knowledge and academic oral language.

Strategies that support the development of background knowledge and formal language:

• Total Physical Response (James J. Asher)
• Adapted Readers' Theater
• Fishbowl
• Field Trip, Experiment, Movie
• Sentence Prompts

Students who recognize the relationship between their languages reach higher levels of language proficiency in their languages and have the potential for higher academic achievement than those students who see their languages as separate and unrelated. 

Beginning a unit in Spanish helps to raise the status of Spanish.

Chapter 7:  Reading Comprehension

• Comprehension is the focus and goal of all literacy instruction.
• Skills taught separately from comprehension send the message that comprehension is not an integral part of reading and writing.
• Comprehension is a complex task that requires specific strategies for teaching, learning, and assessing.

The goal of all literacy instruciton is to instill in students the ability to read and write comprehensibly. Teaching students to read means teaching students how to comprehend text, and literacy instruction includes reading and writing.

Because Spanish is a phonetic language and students can learn quickly to decode, it is easy to focus on the success students are having in decoding without really looking at whether they are comprehending.  An assignment that becomes no more than a matter of learning random vocabulary words is a waste of time. 

In planning for comprehension, the teacher begins by understanding the reader and the experiences, background knowledge, and oral language and vocabulary knowledge that he or she brings to the text.

The Text:  With an understanding of the reader, the teacher can look for texts that are culturally relevant and interesting.  Teachers must prepare them to comprehend the text through concrete, comprehensible activities
The Context:  The sociopolitical or cultural environment in which students live affects their reading comprehension. 

Some strategies that make explicit the active interaction between text, reader, and context:

• Picture Walk, Read Aloud, Talk to Your Partner, and Sentence Prompts
• Language Experience Approach--A highly comprehensible experiences that all the students have shared
• Focused Reading (Or "narrow reading"--Krashen)
• Say Something:  Summary, Prediction, Question/Answer, Personal or Academic Connection

Classroom Routines That Enhance Comprehension:

1. Sustained Silent Reading
2. Readers' Interviews--one-on-one meetingsd with individual students

A system needs to be developed that monitors the books each student is reading, the language or languages the text are in, and the students' comprehension of the texts they are reading and their use of comprehension skills. 

Chapter 8:  Writing:  A Multicultural Perspective

• Reading and writing instruction are naturally linked:  comprehension and other reading skills can be taught through writing, and writing can be taught through reading instruction.

Effective writing instruction recognizes the importance of writing throughout the day and throughout the curriculum.  Students whose teachers take an integrated approach to writing:

• Write every day (or almost every day) in math, science, social studies, and language arts
• Write in a variety of genres
• Read and write together
• Use writing as a tool to learn new concepts and as a product for the teacher
• Practice free writing
• Write every day (or almost every day) in both their languages
• Learn about the different discourse patterns in their languages

Charateristics of Spanish-speaking writers:

• Longer sentences
• Frequent repetitions
• Deviations from the main topic

     Teachers need to be aware of this when evaluating the writing of Spanish speakers.  Also, English speakers will probably find this writing challenging and difficult to comprehend.  Therefore, it is important for students to receive explicit instruction in the different discourse patterns of Spanish and English texts of all genres.  This means that students need to read many original Spanish texts, not just translations--beginning in PreK and Kindergarten. 

Writing Strategies That Respect and Reflect All the Language Resources of Two-Language Learners

• Dialogue Journals--A free-writing exercise for at least a few minutes every day.  The teacher may respond to possibly 5 students a day with the following:  1) comment, 2) connection, and 3) question
• Content-Area Journals--Students respond in writing to the content they are learning in math, science, social studies, and /or literature.  The teacher assigns the topic and genre for student reflection, and the writing is done in the language of instruction for the content area.

Writing rubrics and assessment tools need to be adapted for students learning bilingually. 

Chapter 9:  Word Study and Fluency:  The Dictado and Other Authentic Methods

• Students learn discrete skills best by using words, sentences, and paragraphs they already understand.
• The explicit teaching of discrete word-study skills should come only after comprehension has been established.
• Student writing provides one of the best sources to determine what word-study skills to teach to two-language learners.

Decoding without understanding is a difficult and useless exercise. 
Reminder:  Materials from Spanish-speaking countries may require background knowledge for comprehension that doesn't match learners in the U.S.

A key element in developing biliteracy is the acknowledgment of the differences between English and Spanish:

• Syllables
• Vowels and Consonants
• Alphabet and Initial Sound
• Sight Words and Spelling
• Rhyming and Word Families
• Accent and Accent Marks

Word Walls and Anchor Charts in Spanish are helpful!

The Dictado can be used for both instruction and assessment.  Graph paper is helpful for dictados up through 5th grade.

Fluency
Fluency reflects comprehension.  Practicing fluency with incomprehensible text is as meaningless as decoding with incomprehensible text. 
Poetry, plays, songs, and tongue twisters related to a unit theme and big idea can be used effectively to practice fluency. 

Chapter 10:  The Bridge:  Strengthening Connections between Languages

The ability to transfer knowledge and skills between languages is the theoretical underpinning of bilingual education. 

The earlier we start tapping into our students' two linguistic resources and the longer they maintain them, the better they will do in school. 

The purpose of the Bridge is two-fold:

1. Help students transfer academic language learned in one language to the other language.
2. Engage in contrastive analysis by focusing on how Spanish and English are similar and different.

One Bridge can meet the needs of students at different proficiency levels, but the language activities of the Bridge will need to be differentiated. 

In the Contrastive Analysis it is easier to start with similarities between the two languages and then go to the differences.  Cognates should be a big part of the analysis, starting as early as kindergarten.  They can be noted on a side-by-side Bridge anchor chart. 

Important Elements of the Bridge
The Bridge addresses the anxiety that many educators feel about teaching subjects in Spanish on which students must be tested in English.
At a minimum, extension activities should include all four language domains (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and authentic literacy tasks.

The three biggest areas to consider to ensure successful uses of the Bridge are time and frequency, purpose, and process.