Newton Rayzor's DL Teachers Embrace the Bridge
by : Jesús López De Nava Elementary Bilingual Coach One of our main focuses as a department throughout this year has been the explicit teaching of the Bridge as "a tool for developing metalinguistic awareness: the understanding of how language works, and how it changes and adapts in different circumstances" ( Beeman & Urow . Teaching for Biliteracy. 2013 ). The importance for students developing metalinguistic awareness relies on what research tells us about language learners: "Two-language learners who understand how their languages are similar and different achieve higher levels of academic achievement. Though some two-language learners make connections between their languages on their own, many need explicit instruction in the transfer of language and concepts (this instruction comes during the bridge). Students who experience the Bridge as part of biliteracy development will begin bridging on their own and will continue to do so as t
