Page 9 - ELG2410 October Issue 492

NEWS
Teach your children well
T each your childr en well

First language literacy skills enhance second language learning.

arly enhancement of last sessions included tasks such (Spanish) improved literacy skills
reading skills in Spanish as giving titles to short stories and in the second language (English).
translates to improved expanding on sort sentences. Although these languages may
EEnglish literacy, according A second group of 191 learners seem relatively similar, Spanish is a
to a study by Raul Gutiérrez- followed the usual curriculum much more transparent language—
Fresneda and colleagues at the without the literacy intervention. meaning words can be more
Universities of Alicante and Both groups of students were easily decoded letter by letter—
Málaga in Spain. tested before and after the than English, with its infamous
The participants in this study intervention period and one year inconsistencies and exceptions.
were 386 Spanish six- to seven- later. Tests included an assessment This makes the transfer of
year-olds, just starting formal school of phonemic awareness and an literacy skills especially interesting
in the region of Valencia. Children evaluation of reading skills in both and not something that could be
in these schools have a standard Spanish and English. The core assumed. The authors suggest
curriculum for both Spanish and reading skills assessed were decoding, that, in general, exposure to more in other languages. Where such
English from their first year. fluency and comprehension. than one language may expand foundations have been lacking,
Learners were divided into two The results showed that gains literacy skills more generally. perhaps further interventions for
groups; the first group of 195 were in all skills in both Spanish and Another implication from this second language learners could
given three 50-minute sessions English were significantly greater study is that second language close the gap.
per week for 16 weeks designed to in the intervention group and the proficiency can be strongly
enhance literacy skills in Spanish. differences were maintained at the influenced by the quality of REFERENCE
These sessions aimed to stimulate one-year follow-up assessments. education in the learners’ n Gutiérrez-Fresneda, R., Rico, T. P.,
phonological and syntactical The effect sizes ranged from first language, independent of Tárraga, M. J. G. and Jiménez-Pérez,
awareness, increase vocabulary moderate (phonemic awareness) individual differences in otherwise E. 2024. Effect of the development of
and speed up word recognition. to large (reading fluency and innate abilities. precursor skills for literacy in Spanish
Early sessions, for example, comprehension)—impressive for Setting up young children on learning to read in English, The
practiced distinguishing known a four-month intervention. with strong foundations in their Journal of Educational Research
phonemes by sound and rapid It appears that increasing first language can have a long- https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2
naming of everyday objects. The reading skills in the first language lasting impact on their success 024.2387644.

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