Biliteracy

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Biliteracy is the state of being literate in two or more languages. To be biliterate has a stronger and more specified connotation than the claim of being simply bilingual. This is because with the change of the term from 'lingual' to 'literate' and the concept of reading and writing, which are in addition to simply speaking. In bilingualism the extent of fluency in each language is in question. One can be anywhere on the spectrum from comfortable oral communication in certain social contexts to fluency in speaking, reading and writing. With the term biliteracy, however, it is understood that fluency in both reading and writing are present.

Biliteracy in the development of academic success in school for language minority students.

Research strongly supports the notion that biliteracy is the prime driver of academic success in school for language minority students in bilingual education programmes. (Cummins,2000; Baker, 2006; may, Hill & Tiakiwai, 2004; McCaffery & Tuafuti, 2003; Tuafuti & McCaffery 2005). Within the area of biliteracy there is debate as to the best way to help children become biliterate. Should biliteracy be developed simultaneously through and l1 ans L2 at the same time or sequentially, first in the L1 and later in the L2? One theory, often claimed to answer this question is the Minimum Threshold and Interdependence Hypothesis proposed by Jim Cummins, a well known researcher and writer in the field. A popular misunderstanding of Cummin's theory and writings is that to avoid a negative impact on the cognitive development of the child, the second language(L2) should not be introduced until the child has an achieved a mastery of the first language(L1). This misunderstanding of Cummins' position and research findings is widespread and is often used to justify delaying or not introducing regional or world languages until very late in elementary education.

Cummins (2000, p.20-25 and Chap 7) replies to this misunderstanding in "Language Power and Pedagogy" and says L2 programmes can begin in both literacies from an early age(p.22);rather a first literacy must not be abandoned before before it is fully developed but this does not mean that a second language and literacy cannot be started. As Cummins says," My personal belief is that there are significant advantages in aiming to have children reading and writing( or beginning to read and write )in both languages by at least grade two"( p.25). 'It does not argue that that initial instruction in the early grades should be totally in the minority language" or that an L2 literacy should not be introduced until the L1 literacy is fully developed. The findings that immigrant children who had two to three years of schooling in their native country before moving to the United States had better academic records in the United States and other research findings on the value of early and sustained instruction in students home language support the view that both L1 literacy and L2 development are important determiners of successful literacy development in the L2( English) (Cummins. p.23) Such conclusions are now supported by Colin Baker in his recent (2006) 4th edition classic, "Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism" the most authoritative current text in this field

Carole Edelsky and Nancy Hornberger (2003) are other researchers and writers who are increasingly they have found that starting with language acquisition in local languages and varieties of Spanish, and then adding the English component, does not lead to an interference in English literacy. Instead, she found that cultivating native language literacy supports the acquisition of literacy in the second language.

This does raise the question then of how to best provide for and teach bilingual students. The evidence from research is that most variations of the balance between the two literacies do work successfully. Secondly that the key elements needed are the explicit goal of developing full biliteracy, adequate instructional time to do so over an 8 year programme, and instructional strategies that show students how to use and transfer strategies (CALP) from one literacy to the other.( Baker, 2006; Cummins, 2000; McCaffery & Tuafuti,2003. Much can be learned from Dual Language/Two Way bilingual programmes about these matters. (Lindholm-Leary,2001).

[edit] Spontaneous Biliteracy

In the book "The Best for Our Children", María de la Luz Reyes, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, discusses the concept of spontaneous biliteracy. She defines it as the acquisition of literacy in two languages (in her case Spanish and English) without having formal instruction in both. She describes the case studies of four different girls who came from different bilingual backgrounds but were all enrolled in the same bilingual K-2 program. In this program the girls received literacy instruction in only one language, their native language. For two of the girls this was Spanish, and for the other two it was English. For other subjects, such as math and science, they received instruction in both languages. In addition, in their classroom they were exposed to both Spanish and English, and they were able to interact with each other.

What she found was that at the end of second grade, after following the girls for three years, they had all made huge strides in the reading and writing of their native language in which they were being directly instructed, AND in reading and writing of their second language. All of the girls were above grade level in their native language, and three of the four girls were at or above grade level in their second language - although they were higher in their native language than in their second language. These girls had received formal literacy instruction in only one language, and yet they had been able--on their own--to apply it to their second language to make strides in reading and writing.

María de la Luz Reyes identified two main factors contributing to spontaneous bilingualism.

A learning environment that foster and nurtures the cultural and linguistic resources of the student.

By being in a classroom where there is exposure to both languages, and respect for both languages, the bicultural identity of the student is legitimized. Instead of being forced to choose between the two the child is free to explore both, and in that way improve language abilities in both.

A focus on social play between the students

In social play children put themselves in roles where they see adults, trying to act and be more grown-up. In this play setting the students were able to take risks with their language usage. In this time they were able to push each other to use their second language, as well as help each other feel more confident in that usage. This played a large role in their development of spontaneous bilingualism.