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        Developing literacy skills in a foreign language can begin as early as foreign language instruction begins. Although some EFL programs delay literacy instruction for young learners and only focus on oral language development, studies have shown that it is not necessary, or even recommended, to take this approach. First, it is widely known that literacy skills in the native or first language (L1) can be transferred to reading and writing in a foreign language, such as English. Remember that “One only has to become ‘literate’ once” (Shin and Crandall, 2014, p. 160), so English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers can tap into students’ understanding of print and strategies for making meaning from text that originate in their L1 as a starting point for building literacy in English. Even further, research supports that literacy skills can be transferred bidirectionally—that is, both ways between L1 and L2—and the language of initial literacy does not necessarily need to be the L1. Even preschool-age children who are not yet literate in their L1 can still engage in early literacy activities that build reading readiness and phonemic awareness. Teachers can read big books with print aloud and use songs and rhymes to focus on the sounds of English. They can also engage students in writing readiness exercises like tracing, connecting the dots, and coloring. These are fun and effective activities for building early literacy with young EFL learners.

        Although EFL teachers usually have limited time in class, sometimes only 3–5 hours a week, they should incorporate literacy instruction and not just oral skills development for young learners, especially because learning to read is also proven to assist in oral language development.[…] If students progress faster when reading is part of language instruction, EFL teachers of young learners should use a curriculum that integrates all four language skills and provides a balanced approach to literacy instruction.

        Note: Shin, J. K., & Crandall, J. A. (2014). Teaching Young Learners English: From Theory to Practice. Boston: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.

        Stanford linguists and psychologists study how language is interpreted by people. Even the slightest differences in language use can correspond with biased beliefs of the speakers, according to research.

          One study showed that a relatively harmless sentence, such as “girls are as good as boys at math,” can subtly perpetuate sexist stereotypes. Because of the statement’s grammatical structure, it implies that being good at math is more common or natural for boys than girls, the researchers said.

        Language can play a big role in how we and others perceive the world, and linguists work to discover what words and phrases can influence us, unknowingly.

Source: https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2019/08/the-power-of-language-howwords-shape-people-culture 

      For years, research into the best instructional approaches for students identified as English learners has pointed to the concept of translanguaging.

       Identified by bilingual education researcher Ofelia García, it’s both a skill set and a total shift in the way language is thought of, used, and taught in K-12 classrooms where multiple languages are honored and addressed, even as English remains the dominant language of instruction, said Marybelle Marrero-Colon, the associate director of professional development for the Center for Applied Linguistics.

      Researchers are looking into how it can be applied to formal assessments, such as state standardized tests on which English learners might struggle to demonstrate their academic proficiency because they are tested in an unfamiliar language.

      Translanguaging is the ability to move fluidly between languages and a pedagogical approach to teaching in which teachers support this ability.

       In translanguaging, students are able to think in multiple languages simultaneously and use their home language as a vehicle to learn academic English.

      A student could be reading an article about the solar system in English, but in their brain, they are also thinking and making connections in Spanish. They might annotate in Spanish or first write down reading comprehension responses in Spanish and then figure out how to provide the responses in English, said MarreroColon. […]

   Teachers can engage in a variety of activities that deliberately encourage translanguaging, ranging from providing vocabulary in multiple languages to collaborative translation opportunities. The goal is to get students translanguaging as a practice that can be leveraged toward supporting literacy outcomes and engagement, as well as other academic endeavors.

 

      For example, two students could be assigned to solve a word problem, and one might be stuck on a word in English. The two students can then use an equivalent word in their home language to make sense of what the word problem is asking of them, Phillips Galloway said.

      Or in group activities, students can be prompted to share with the rest of the class how something taught in English would make sense in Spanish by highlighting similar and different grammatical structures between the two languages, Marrero-Colon said.

      “When you translate, you don’t have to do it word for word. You’re really trying to capture the feeling of that text,” MarreroColon said.

        Once teachers start doing these activities, research has found that students who have not spoken before start speaking and students who were not as engaged in text-comprehension activities suddenly are, she added. That's occurring because they are being encouraged to use their home language in class to think about language use overall.

Adapted from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-translanguagingand-how-is-it-used-in-the-classroom/2023/07