Language Maintenance versus Language of Instruction: Spanish Reading Development among Latino and Latina Bilingual Learners

Latino/a children who attend schools in the United States must learn English well for schooling success. However, bilingualism is associated with achievement in both cognition and general literacy, which are core components of academic development. We examined the growth of Spanish reading comprehension among 101 Spanish-English bilingual Latino/a children in second through fifth grade in three urban U.S. districts. The students received literacy instruction in one of three groups: English-only, Spanish-only, and bilingual. Language of instruction had a significant effect on Spanish reading, but students who received Spanish language instruction were losing Spanish literacy skills relative to the norming sample for the reading assessment. English reading and Spanish vocabulary were predictive of Spanish reading, but socioeconomic variables were not. Heritage language loss is described as paradoxical because Spanish and English reading skills are intertwined and biliteracy is associated with better economic opportunities for Latino/as in the U.S. job market.