Anyone who has taught in a dual language program knows the struggle of fitting in sufficient instruction in each content area in both languages while complying with the state requirements. With most standardized reading tests only given in English, it is tempting to devote more time to reading instruction in English, while setting aside writing instruction in either language. However, by not teaching and assessing writing in a holistic manner, we are denying our students the opportunity to use their full set of language skills to construct meaning and demonstrate their knowledge and thinking (Ramos and Musanti, 2021).
Writing is an amazingly complex process to learn in one language, let alone two. Bilingual students need to have appropriate proficiency in both languages to transcribe their thoughts into words (Kim et al., 2022). They need to combine their skills, background knowledge, and experiences to plan, draft, and revise (Graham and Harris, 2019). As bilingual students are exposed to and learn in two languages, it is crucial that bilingual educators not only allow but encourage the use of the full set of skills in both languages to demonstrate their writing skills.
For teachers, it is difficult to commit to and push for the necessary time to allow students to learn and practice writing skills in both languages. Bilingual educators must also consider offering choice in writing; providing culturally relevant and engaging writing prompts, assignments, and projects; setting up a positive environment that motivates students to write; differentiating the instruction to meet students’ needs; and providing the right amount of support to challenge students without discouraging them, to name a few things (Graham and Harris, 2019).
Translanguaging in Writing
Translanguaging, or the ability for a person to move fluidly between languages, should be fostered in the dual language classroom. Allowing space for students to use their full linguistic repertoire to make meaning and demonstrate knowledge should be standard practice in any program that includes multilingual learners. “Writing quality is a unitary construct that cuts across languages and genres, not a two-factor construct driven by genre” (Kim et al., 2022, p. 11).
Translanguaging is especially important in writing. One study on the crosslinguistic transfer of higher-order cognitive skills in writing done on bilingual (Spanish/English) first- and second-graders found evidence that higher-order cognitive skills transfer between languages. The same study also found a strong relationship between writing quality and higher-order cognitive skills (Kim et al., 2022).
As a veteran teacher in a dual language program, I can verify these findings. From my personal observations, students who have critical-thinking skills in one language are easily able to transfer those skills to their second language.
Another study exploring the use of multimodal writing and translanguaging practices in dual language (Spanish/English) second graders found that the development of literacy skills in either language positively contributed to the literacy skills in the other language, and that a paired literacy instruction approach that teaches in both languages simultaneously, beginning in kindergarten, yielded the best results. Using multimodal writing also allowed more equitable access to biliteracy for emergent bilingual students. This study allowed students to use their full linguistic repertoire with the help of apps and other digital literacies. Students were able to use photos, online translators, peers, and their own experiences to construct writing in both languages (Ramos and Musanti, 2021).
All too often in dual language education programs, instruction is done strictly by language, without allowing for students to use both languages to their advantage or instructing them how. An analogy would be teaching a developing basketball player to practice dribbling with each hand separately, but not allowing them to use both hands to dribble during a game. It severely limits what they can do, especially during an assessment (or game). This is especially true in secondary dual language programs. The most common models have students doing 50% of their day in English and 50% in a different language. Often, due to the staffing and scheduling constraints of secondary schools, this means students receive instruction in certain subjects only in one language and in certain subjects only in the other language each day.
For example, in the middle school dual language program I teach in, students take science, social studies, and a language arts class in Spanish each day, while the rest of their classes are in English. The teachers of their English courses do not know Spanish. Therefore, the teachers of their Spanish courses need to make sure they are getting as much instruction in Spanish as possible. This model does not allow for simultaneous teaching of both languages. Students receive only one language in certain content areas, meaning they are not developing vocabulary, reading, or writing skills in both languages in each content area.
Using Writing to Assess Biliteracy
The increased importance placed on standardized testing puts bilingual students, especially those whose first language is not English, at a significant disadvantage because standardized tests are, by and large, only available in English. Furthermore, as far as literacy is concerned, students are often only assessed in reading, through multiple-choice tests. If schools and districts truly want to obtain information on the skills of their dual language and/or multilingual students, they should adopt assessments through writing and allow students to use their literacy skills in their native languages to demonstrate what they can do.
Educators trained in language acquisition who understand the relationship and correlation between languages can gain a significant amount of knowledge about the skills and abilities of their students through analyzing writing samples in both first and second languages. In analyzing text organization and coherence, use of transitional words and phrases, punctuation, sentence structure, syntax, and spelling, teachers can learn an incredible amount about a student’s level, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they use translanguaging. One study done on bilingual elementary students showed that many students who scored as at risk on the DIBELS English reading test and/or showed little to no progress throughout the year showed grade-level-appropriate writing skills when allowed to use both languages to construct their writing (Butvilofsky et al., 2021). By using English-only assessments with multilingual students, schools are often incorrectly identifying students for intervention, often taking away from instruction in the general education setting.
Resources for the Classroom
Literacy Squared is a “comprehensive biliteracy model” for developing biliteracy in Spanish–English-speaking students (Literacy Squared, 2024). They have several resources on their website, including one of my favorite strategies, Lotta Lara. Although Lotta Lara is largely a reading strategy where students read a text multiple times in various manners, it also includes vocabulary using total physical response and oral practice in answering comprehension questions. Writing could easily be added on as an extension activity. Lotta Lara is not only a great way to increase vocabulary and reading fluency but it also allows students the opportunity to learn these things in both languages, as the language of the selected text can vary.
Another tried-and-true Literacy Squared strategy I do often with my intervention classes is El Dictado (dictation). This is the only activity I have done in my 14 years of teaching, with classes ranging in size from five to 30 students, where every single student has engaged in the task. El Dictado can be used in English and/or Spanish to teach elements of spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
An important part of this strategy is that students self-correct their work and track their number of errors each day. Most students will see a drastic improvement in their number of errors, giving them pride and confidence in themselves as writers. This activity also gives the teacher vital information on the literacy abilities of their students. By doing this activity in both languages, teachers can gain information on how students are using translanguaging in their writing and how their biliteracy is progressing. It can also help identify students who are struggling by analyzing their improvement, or lack thereof, from day to day.
Multimodal writing, as outlined in the previously mentioned study by Ramos and Musanti (2021), is also a useful strategy. In their study, students use a variety of apps and tools in the Google Suite to construct their writing in both languages, including pictures, videos, illustrations, different font colors, and/or links (Ramos and Musanti, 2021). If replicated in the classroom, this would require plenty of time to learn to use the different tools available correctly to be beneficial to them in gaining literacy skills in both languages. Especially at the secondary level, students can and will use online translators in a way that is not beneficial to their learning (i.e., copying and pasting from Google Translate).
In summary, dual language students benefit from opportunities to use translanguaging and their full linguistic abilities when producing writing and demonstrating knowledge. They also benefit from a holistic approach to writing instruction that allows for crossover between languages. Dual language programs should consider their program models and analyze whether they allow for these things to happen in each content area.
References
Butvilofsky, S. A., Escamilla, K., Gumina, D., and Silva Diaz, E. (2021). “Beyond Monolingual Reading Assessments for Emerging Bilingual Learners: Expanding the understanding of biliteracy assessment through writing.” Reading Research Quarterly, 56(1), 53–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.292
Graham, S., and Harris, K. R. (2019). “Evidence-Based Practices in Writing.” In Graham, S., MacArthur, C. A., and Hebert, M. (Eds.) Best Practices in Writing Instruction (3rd Ed.). Guilford Press.
Kim, Y. G., Wolters, A., Mercado, J., and Quinn, J. (2022). “Crosslinguistic Transfer of Higher Order Cognitive Skills and Their Roles in Writing for English–Spanish Dual Language Learners.” Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000516
Literacy Squared. (2024). “Building Trajectories toward Biliteracy.” https://literacysquared.org/ABOUT%20Page/LiteracySquaredhandout_2-12-13.pdf
Ramos, L. B., and Musanti, S. I. (2021). “‘I Don’t Like English because It Is Jard’: Exploring multimodal writing and translanguaging practices for biliteracy in a dual language classroom.” NABE Journal of Research and Practice, (11)1–2, 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/26390043.2021.1974803
Holly Denecour has been a teacher in inner-city bilingual and dual language programs in Texas and Minnesota for 14 years. Currently, she is a middle school Spanish literacy teacher in a dual language program in Minneapolis Public Schools and is working on getting her master’s degree in K–12 literacy instruction through Concordia University–St. Paul.
