Does a Strong First Language Transfer Into a Strong Second Language?

There is ample evidence in both the field of education and science that a strong first language transfers into a strong second language. Recent meta-analyses, in fact, show that educational programs that implement the use of English language learners’ (ELLs) home language result in academic success of the foreign language, including achievement in literacy, that are as high as and often better than that of ELLs in English-only programs, says the article “The Home Language: An English Language Learner’s Most Valuable Resource.”

In a review of these meta-analyses, readers should understand how rare it is to have five meta-analyses on the same issue conducted by groups of researchers or independent researchers with varying perspectives, it adds. The fact that they all reached, more or less, the same conclusion is worth noting.

The journal article “The Use of First Language in the Second-Language Classroom: A Support for Second Language Acquisition” says that during the first year of school, it’s imperative that the first language be developed and maintained in students in order to have good strategies to transfer to the new language. If they don’t, cognitive development will be reduced, it states.

A report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) states that to retain their mother tongue, children whose first language is not the medium of instruction must have continued interaction with their family and community in their native language on matters outside of just household topics as well as ongoing instruction in their first language in order to develop reading and writing skills.

To help maintain the native language of Latino English language learners (ELLs), The Latino Family Literacy Project has been coming to the rescue of thousands of children and their families in 19 states (and growing!) across the country. Through its proven, age-specific parent involvement programs, The Project trains teachers on how to help parents establish a regular reading routine at home.  Along with helping to keep the child’s first language intact, a regular reading routine improves reading and vocabulary not just for the child but for parents too.