Bilingual First-Graders’ Reading Development in Two Languages

• In Event: Perspectives on Biliteracy Research

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Spanish and English reading development of four Hispanic bilingual first-graders and their interpretations of reading. Drawing from sociocultural and sociocognitive perspectives on literacy, the parents’ ideologies towards bilingualism and biliteracy and the childrens’ enactment of reading in both languages are explored. Findings drawn from qualitative case studies reveal that the two children whose parents chose Spanish maintenance successfully developed decoding and strategic reading skills in both languages by the end of first grade. The two sets of parents who chose English reading instruction were more ambivalent about their children’s biliteracy. These children developed decoding skills in English and only minimal reading skills in Spanish even with their mothers’ help at home.

Authors

• Angela Maria Lopez-Velasquez, Southern Connecticut State University

• Georgia E. Garcia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign