Why teaching beginning Spanish literacy is different than teaching beginning English literacy

Research has been very clear when it comes to our ELL students learning an English curriculum: they must be taught how to read in their primary language first. Once these students master the skills necessary to decode, these will transfer to their L2 language without having to be retaught. This is critical for our ELL students as it is the foundation to accomplish a smooth transition to English.

It is very important to choose early Spanish literacy programs that address and follow these studies. Unfortunately, some educational companies offer literacy programs that are pretty much a direct translation of their English versions which is not good for our bilingual students. Since there is a linguistic difference between the Spanish and English languages, teaching how to read in both languages cannot be the same. 

Here is a chart that provides some examples of the differences between early literacy development in English and Spanish:

(This information was extracted from this two page article that I invite you to read. It was written by Karen Myer, M.A., author of the Estrellita early Spanish literacy program.  Enjoy!)

Jesús López De Nava
BE/ESL Instructional Coach/Facilitator

Denton ISD