David Burns stresses the commonality of learning to read across languages
The body of research known as science of reading (SoR) is widely acknowledged among experts as both theoretically and empirically superior to other conceptions of literacy development (Rayner et al., 2001; Kilpatrick, 2015; Seidenberg, 2017). However, there is still some debate as to whether SoR can be universally applied. That is, can SoR-based theories and research effectively inform instruction in, for example, a dual language classroom or a school with a large percentage of emergent bilinguals?
Guilamo (2021) maintains that “emergent bilinguals and dual language students learn how to read differently than monolingual English-speaking students.” As a result, she urges bilingual and ESL educators to draw from a more eclectic blend of reading research, which incorporates among other things the three-cuing system (MSV) alongside SoR’s more code-centered approach. Although salient differences certainly exist in reading development across different languages, an important question to consider is whether this fact warrants the eclectic mixing of seemingly contradictory theories, or whether SoR has sufficient reach to account for the reading development of all students regardless of context or language. A more extensive dive into the science reveals SoR’s scope to be far more encompassing than critics admit.
Before widening our SoR lens, let’s meet Lilia (pseudonym), a first-grade student in an English–Spanish dual language program. Lilia, having extensive literacy experience in Spanish, her native language, came to kindergarten already reading many open syllables (e.g., ma, se, bi, tu) and quickly progressed to reading CVCV words such as mesa and lava, along with several high-frequency words (e.g., voy, puedo, gusta, etc.). A little more than halfway through first grade, she has now grasped the alphabetic principle and is reading many texts that contain three- and even four-syllable words both fluently and with adequate comprehension. Although her reading is not yet as advanced in English, she has progressed enough to read most one-syllable words with vowel teams (e.g., train, learn) as well as words with the silent -e (e.g., tape). She is currently working on decoding one- and two-syllable words with inflectional endings such as trainer and learned.
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