The biliteracy advantage: How heritage languages boost English proficiency and workforce readiness

Key points:

The winning equation is English proficiency plus biliteracy
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In just one academic year, Marietta City Schools in Georgia saw the percentage of elementary English learners (ELs) working in or above grade level rocket from 11 percent to 67 percent. Among the charter system’s middle and high schoolers, the percentage of students struggling with foundational grammar skills plummeted from 78 percent to 34 percent.

The catalyst for this surge in language skills wasn’t smaller class sizes or intensive tutoring. It was something far simpler. Marietta City Schools implemented programs that leveraged students’ heritage language as a bridge for English learning.

Previously, the charter system had adhered to traditional pedagogical models such as sheltered content-area classes, which taught academic subjects and English simultaneously. Each school had also adopted its own English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instructional model. But while students were improving their language skills, they were still lagging on state literacy assessments.

The district adopted literacy software that included the option for multilingual learners to hear instructional directions in their heritage language. The lesson content was in English, but a Native Language Support button allowed students to hear directions in their first language after initially hearing them in English.

That native language support also proved beneficial for ELs at the McAllen Independent School District in Texas. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the district’s 20,399 students were multilingual learners, and nearly 2,000 students had been identified with dyslexia or as needing extra support.

McAllen also adopted literacy software with native language support. Within one academic year, 85 percent of the district’s students who met the platform’s usage guidelines had advanced by at least one grade level. The district’s RTI/504/dyslexia director confirmed that several students with dyslexia were among that number.

Leveraging students’ heritage languages contradicts decades of conventional wisdom that held that ELs only became proficient in English when their heritage languages were discarded. However, educational researchers such as Dr. Elena Schmitt, professor of applied linguistics at Southern Connecticut State University, have found that English and heritage languages can collaborate rather than compete.

English plus heritage languages are a powerhouse combination

Dr. Kathy Escamilla, Professor Emerita at the University of Colorado, Boulder, compares the way bilingual students learn to read to riding a tandem bike. When a multilingual learner reads, the linguistic systems of English and the students’ heritage languages work in coordination. The student draws on both systems to process meaning.

The practice of making instructional directions available in multilingual learners’ heritage language allows the students to be certain that they’ll understand what to do. That ease of comprehension, in turn, helps them feel more connected to what they’re learning. However, the provision of instructional directions is only one example of the ways in which heritage languages can support English language acquisition.

When students speak a language other than English at home, they still acquire valuable linguistic knowledge. For example, they may learn how sentences work, how verbs and nouns function, and how to connect ideas to form meaning. Mapping that existing knowledge onto English learning helps those students gain proficiency more thoroughly than if they’d suppressed their heritage language.

The performance of bilingual students as they gain English proficiency serves as proof. EdSource reported that in 2022, over half (58.8 percent) of English-proficient Californian students who had been ELs met or exceeded the English language arts standard on the state assessment. In comparison, 51.8 percent of students who spoke only English at home met or exceeded the test’s English language arts standard. The most impressive group were students who spoke both English and another language fluently before entering California schools. EdSource reported that 72.7 percent of that group met or exceeded the standard.

What schools and districts can do

Educators can harness multilingual learners’ heritage languages through instruction that not only aligns with the science of reading but is also culturally affirming. For example, students may be given access to literacy programs that include diverse bilingual characters. In addition to giving language support, those characters can provide students with a sense of belonging and a vision of what they can become.

Another way to include students’ heritage language in the classroom is through translanguaging (allowing students to switch between languages). For example, teachers could allow students to speak and write in their home language during specific activities. They might also allow students to use a mix of their heritage language and English (such as “Spanglish”) to communicate in certain contexts.

Additionally, schools can organize multicultural events where ELs can share their traditions or food with others, including their teachers. Being able to communicate what they value about their culture will boost multilingual learners’ confidence and help them better connect with the school community. In turn, that greater confidence can increase engagement in the classroom.

Finally, educators can implement the Seal of Biliteracy award program to leverage students’ multilingualism for enhanced college and career readiness. Schools or districts in all 50 states can implement the program and add the award to the records of high school graduates who achieved proficiency in two or more languages.

Educators’ daily decisions regarding whether to suppress or leverage a student’s heritage language determine the academic and life outcomes for that student. The results from Marietta, McAllen, and California prove that embracing multilingual learning cultivates the next generation of confident, literate, and globally ready citizens. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and workforce competition intensifies, the winning equation is English proficiency plus biliteracy.