Foundations of Language Learning · 22 min read
Foundations of Language Learning
Category II asks you to explain why English learners (ELs) produce the language they do and what a teacher should do about it. The test rarely asks for a theorist’s name in isolation; it presents a student utterance, a classroom moment, or a program decision and asks which theory explains it or which response fits the learner’s stage. This chapter organizes the major models, the stages of development, error analysis, Cummins’ framework, and the learner factors that speed or slow
First and Second Language Acquisition Compared
First language (L1) acquisition and second language (L2) acquisition share core processes: both follow predictable developmental sequences, both depend on meaningful input and interaction, and both produce systematic, rule-based errors such as goed and foots. They differ in what the learner brings. An L2 learner already has a complete language system, a store of concepts, often literacy, and an awareness of being judged, all of which shape the route and rate of
Starting No prior language; concepts and language grow point together
An established L1 and conceptual base that can transfer positively or negatively
Input Massive, caregiver-tuned, highly contextualized
Varies widely; often limited, classroom-based, or academic
Sequence Predictable order of morphemes and structures
Similar predictable order for many structures, shaped partly by L1
Outcome Native competence in almost all children
Wide variation; some features may fossilize
Anxiety, identity, and motivation strongly influence progress
Literacy Learned after oral language is well developed
Often learned at the same time as oral English, or transferred from L1
Major Theories of Language Acquisition
Each theory below highlights a different ingredient of acquisition: habit, innate capacity, input, interaction, output, attention, or social mediation. Strong instruction combines them. On the exam, match the scenario’s key feature to the theory that best explains it, and be ready to name the classroom practice each theory supports.
Behaviorism (B. F. Language is habit formed through imitation, Skinner)
Basis of the Audio-Lingual Method’s drills; criticized because it cannot explain novel sentences or overgeneralization repetition, and reinforcement; errors are bad habits
Humans have an innate Language Acquisition Device
Explains predictable orders and creative errors such as goed; supports rich exposure over drills (Noam Chomsky) and Universal Grammar; input triggers acquisition
Monitor Model Five hypotheses; acquisition comes from (Stephen Krashen) comprehensible input in a low-anxiety setting
Comprehensible input (i+1), low-stress classrooms, the Natural Approach
Interaction Negotiation of meaning (clarification requests, Hypothesis (Michael
Information-gap tasks, pair work, structured academic conversation comprehension checks, confirmation checks) makes
Frequent speaking and writing with feedback; pushed output
Producing language pushes learners to notice gaps, (Merrill Swain) test hypotheses, and reflect on form
Learners must consciously notice a form in input before
Input enhancement (bolding, color coding), focused attention to form within meaning (Richard Schmidt) it can become intake
Learning is socially mediated; learners grow within the
Scaffolding, collaborative tasks, gradual release, private speech accepted as normal zone of proximal development (ZPD) with expert
Learners build an evolving, systematic rule system
Treat errors as evidence of the current system; target fossilizing forms with explicit feedback between L1 and L2; some features may fossilize
Krashen’s Five Hypotheses in Detail
Acquisition– Acquisition is subconscious, like a child’s L1; learning is learning
Prioritize meaningful communication; treat grammar study as support, not the engine conscious knowledge of rules. Only acquired language drives
Learned rules act only as an editor, and only when the learner has
Allow planning and editing time for writing; do not expect learned rules in rapid speech time, focuses on form, and knows the rule
Grammatical morphemes are acquired in a predictable order regardless of teaching order (e.g., -ing early, third-person -s late)
Expect late forms to stay inaccurate even after teaching; be patient with third-person -s
Learners acquire language by understanding input slightly
Use visuals, gestures, modified speech, and context so new language is understandable beyond their current level (i+1)
Anxiety, low motivation, and low self-confidence raise a mental
Build a low-risk climate; avoid forced public speaking and overcorrection filter that blocks input from becoming acquisition
Items often describe a practice and ask which hypothesis it reflects. Pictures and gestures that make a read-aloud understandable = input hypothesis. A newcomer who freezes when called on cold, and a teacher who switches to partner talk first = affective filter. A student who uses a rule correctly on a written quiz but not in conversation = monitor and acquisition–learning. Pairs asking each other “Do you mean…?” during an information gap =
Interlanguage develops in stages that look similar across L1 backgrounds. Negation and questions are the clearest examples. A learner who says He no like pizza is not careless; that is a predictable early stage. Fossilization occurs when an interlanguage form stops changing despite continued exposure, often because the error does not block communication. Targeted, explicit feedback on persistent forms is the usual response.
WORKED EXAMPLE: DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCES IN LEARNER SPEECH
No want lunch. (no + verb or phrase)
You like it? (statement word order, rising intonation)
He no like pizza. (no/not placed before the verb)
I don’t can swim. (don’t used as an unanalyzed chunk)
Is she a teacher? (inversion with be only)
What did you eat? Does he play? (do-support and inversion)
Stages of Second Language Acquisition
The five stages popularized by Krashen and Terrell describe what learners can do receptively and productively and suggest the teacher moves and question types that match each stage. Time in each stage varies with age, prior schooling, L1 literacy, and the quality of input. Students rarely sit neatly in one stage across all four domains.
STAGES OF SLA WITH TEACHER MOVES AND QUESTION TYPES Stage Learner behavior
Preproduction Comprehends more than produces;
Early production One- or two-word answers,
Speech emergence Simple sentences, more vocabulary,
Intermediate Complex sentences, fewer errors,
Advanced fluency Near-native social language; CALP
RECEPTIVE BEFORE PRODUCTIVE
Listening and reading generally develop ahead of speaking and writing. An EL in the silent period may understand far more than he or she can say, so comprehension should be checked with nonverbal responses. The silent period is a normal stage, not a sign of disability or defiance.
Amira, a second grader who arrived from Syria two months ago (L1 Arabic, WIDA level 1), has not spoken in class, but she follows directions and watches peers closely. Her teacher worries she is “not learning.” Best response: treat this as the silent period. Check comprehension with TPR and pointing (“Show me the triangle”), pair Amira with a supportive peer, accept drawings and gestures, and avoid pressuring her to speak aloud. Why: receptive skills precede productive skills, and forced
output raises the affective filter.
Following Pit Corder, an error reflects a gap in the learner’s competence: it is systematic and the learner cannot self- correct it. A mistake is a performance slip, such as one caused by fatigue or haste, that the learner can fix when prompted. Errors are further classified by source. Developmental errors (overgeneralization) appear in learners from every L1. Transfer (interference) errors come from the learner’s L1. Positive transfer helps when languages share features, such as cognates or SVO order.
Yesterday I goed to the park. (went) Developmental: overgeneralization
Applies regular past -ed to an irregular verb; shows the rule is acquired
She have two brother. (has, brothers) Developmental
I have 12 years. (I am 12 years old.) Negative transfer — L1 Spanish
Calque of Spanish Tengo 12 años
The car red is fast. (red car) — L1 Negative transfer Spanish
Spanish places most adjectives after the noun (el carro rojo)
I am student. (a student) — L1 Negative transfer Mandarin or Russian
Neither language has articles like a/the
He is very inteligent. (intelligent) — L1 Positive transfer with spelling Spanish interference
Cognate inteligente supports meaning; L1 spelling shapes the written form
When a question asks which errors are developmental, choose overgeneralizations (goed, mouses, more better) that native-speaking children also produce. When it asks about transfer, look for the feature that mirrors the L1: adjective after noun, missing articles, omitted subject pronouns (Is raining) for Spanish speakers, or missing plural endings for speakers of languages without plural marking.
Jim Cummins distinguished Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS) from Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). A student can sound fluent on the playground within one to three years yet need five to seven years, and up to seven to ten years with limited prior schooling, to reach grade-level academic language. Mistaking BICS for full proficiency leads to premature exit from support and to misreferrals for special education.
Typical time to About 1–3 years (often cited as 2) develop
About 5–7 years; 7–10 with interrupted or limited schooling
Context Face-to-face, rich in gestures and shared situation
General academic and domain-specific (Tiers 2 and 3)
Grammar Short clauses, contractions, simple tense
Passive voice, nominalization, embedded clauses, hedging
Thinking demand Low; familiar topics
Examples Greeting friends, talking about weekend plans
Explaining a cause-and-effect chain, writing a lab report
Quadrant A · BICS zone
Chatting at lunch about a COGNITIVELY UNDEMANDING soccer game; following a demonstrated classroom routine
Copying notes from the board; a phone call about a familiar topic; a routine spelling list
Quadrant B · scaffolded CALP COGNITIVELY Hands-on science lab with DEMANDING visuals; solving a math problem with manipulatives and a model
Quadrant D · full CALP
Reading a textbook chapter; writing a research essay; a standardized content test
Teach here first, then reduce context →
Simplified schematic: tasks vary by context (embedded to reduced) and cognitive demand (undemanding to demanding), and teachers move ELs toward Quadrant D by teaching demanding content in context-embedded ways first.
The quadrants help teachers plan. Quadrant A tasks are where BICS lives. The goal is Quadrant D, but ELs reach it most efficiently through Quadrant B: cognitively demanding content made accessible with visuals, hands-on work, models, and interaction. Quadrant C tasks, such as copying or rote worksheets, keep context low without building thinking and should
COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY AND THE THRESHOLD HYPOTHESIS
conceptual and academic base below it.
Concepts, comprehension strategies, and literacy learned in L1 transfer to English and do not have to be relearned; only the
English labels and forms are new.
Threshold hypothesis — cognitive benefits of bilingualism appear once learners reach adequate proficiency; a lower threshold avoids negative effects, and a higher one yields cognitive advantages. Practical result: maintaining and developing L1 supports English and academic growth; telling families to stop using the
home language is not recommended.
Social Versus Academic Language and Registers
A register is a variety of language suited to a purpose, audience, and setting. Academic register uses precise vocabulary, nominalization (evaporate → evaporation), passive voice, and connectives such as consequently and whereas. ELs need explicit instruction to shift registers, and comparing two versions of the same idea is an effective technique.
Sentence The water got hot and then it went away into the air.
Heat caused the water to evaporate into the atmosphere.
Vocabulary got hot, went away, air
Grammar Two clauses joined by and then; pronoun it
Nominalized cause (Heat) with causative verb caused
Teaching move Accept as a starting point
Use a frame: “___ caused ___ to ___.”
A grade 6 science teacher says Diego (L1 Spanish, in U.S. schools three years) “speaks perfect English” and should not need ESL, yet he scores poorly on written unit tests. Best response: explain BICS versus CALP, share his ELP domain scores showing lower reading and writing, and co-plan scaffolds such as a word bank of Tier 2 and Tier 3 terms, sentence frames for explanations, and a graphic organizer for lab conclusions. Why: conversational fluency develops years before academic
proficiency.
Simultaneous bilingualism
Two languages acquired from birth or before about age 3; the child develops both systems in parallel and may mix them early on.
Sequential (successive) bilingualism
L2 learned after L1 is established; the typical pattern for ELs entering school, with transfer and often a silent period.
Additive bilingualism
English is added while the L1 is maintained and developed; linked to stronger cognitive, academic, and family outcomes.
Subtractive bilingualism
English replaces the L1; L1 loss weakens family communication, cultural identity, and the CUP that supports learning.
Code-switching is alternating between languages, or between dialects, within one conversation or sentence (Vamos al store after school). It is rule-governed and serves social functions such as signaling identity, filling a lexical gap, quoting, or emphasizing. It is a normal bilingual skill, not evidence of confusion, a language disorder, or a lack of proficiency in
Build peer friendships, authentic social tasks, community connections
Desire to connect with and belong to the English-
Instrumental motivation Practical goals: grades, a job, passing a test (Gardner)
Show how skills lead to goals; set clear, reachable targets
Interest and enjoyment vs rewards and pressure
Offer choice and relevant topics; use rewards sparingly
Anxiety Fear of speaking or being judged raises the affective filter
Wait time, partner rehearsal before sharing, low- stakes practice
Self-esteem and risk- Confident learners take risks and get more taking practice and feedback
Praise effort, normalize errors, value L1 and culture
Leverage older learners’ literacy and metalinguistic skills; give young learners rich oral input
Younger learners tend toward native-like pronunciation (critical period debate); adolescents and adults often learn grammar and vocabulary
External factors include the quantity and quality of English input, prior schooling and literacy in L1, family literacy practices, socioeconomic status, community language use, and the instructional program itself. Prior trauma, interrupted schooling, and frequent moves (Chapter 5) also shape progress. Students who remain ELs for six or more years without reaching proficiency are often called long-term English learners (LTELs).
When asked which factor most explains slow progress, look for evidence in the stem. A student with strong L1 literacy and high anxiety points to the affective filter; a student with gaps in L1 schooling points to limited CUP to transfer. Choose answers that lower anxiety and build on assets, never answers that ban the home language or delay content instruction until English is “ready.”
WIDA English Language Proficiency Levels
Many states use the WIDA framework, whose English Language Development Standards cover Language for Social and Instructional Purposes, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, organized around the Key Language Uses Narrate, Inform, Explain, and Argue. Other states use ELPA21, the Texas ELPS, or their own standards. WIDA
Understands and uses words, chunks, and gestures with heavy visual
2 Emerging Uses phrases and short sentences on familiar topics
Word banks, sentence frames, yes/no and choice questions
Produces expanded sentences and some paragraphs; errors may
Graphic organizers, structured partner talk, modeled texts
Developing obscure meaning at times
Uses more complex, connected language with some technical
Academic vocabulary work, text structure, extended writing
5 Bridging Uses grade-level academic language with minimal support
Nuance, genre features, targeted feedback
6 Reaching Performs at the level of English-proficient peers
Silent period and receptive-before-productive development are normal; check comprehension nonverbally. Errors are systematic competence gaps; mistakes are slips. Overgeneralization = developmental; L1 mirroring =
BICS about 1–3 years; CALP about 5–7 years (7–10 with interrupted schooling). Teach in Quadrant B to reach
English learners (ELs) learn to read and write in English while still acquiring the oral language that reading depends on. Some arrive literate in an alphabetic L1, some in a logographic or right-to-left script, and some with little formal schooling. This chapter covers the sound–symbol foundations of English literacy, reading and spelling development, what L1 literacy contributes, and the non-language factors that shape literacy growth.
The Alphabetic Principle and Phonemic Awareness
The alphabetic principle is the understanding that letters and letter patterns (graphemes) represent the sounds of spoken language (phonemes) in a systematic way. It rests on phonemic awareness, the ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words. Phonemic awareness is oral; phonics links those sounds to print. For ELs, a phoneme that does not exist in the L1 is harder to hear, so it is harder to segment, blend, and spell.
Word awareness Clap each word in The cat sat.
Some L1 scripts (e.g., Thai) do not separate words with spaces
Rhyme Do cat and hat rhyme?
Rhyme depends on vocabulary knowledge; use known words with pictures
Usually transfers easily, especially from syllable-timed languages such as Spanish
New onsets such as /θ/ or /st/ clusters may be unfamiliar
Phoneme isolation and What is the first sound in ship? blending Blend /ʃ/ /ɪ/ /p/
Use L1-present sounds first, then contrast new ones with minimal pairs
Phoneme manipulation Say ship without /ʃ/; change /ɪ/ to /i/
Vowel contrasts like /ɪ/–/i/ are hardest for many ELs
English has roughly 44 phonemes written with 26 letters, so many phonemes have several spellings (/i/ in be, see, sea, key, chief) and many graphemes represent several sounds (ough in though, through, cough). Phonics teaches these correspondences explicitly so students can decode unfamiliar words. For ELs, phonics should use words whose meanings are known or taught, because decoding a word the student has never heard does not build comprehension.
WORKED EXAMPLE: ENGLISH SOUNDS ABSENT OR DIFFERENT IN COMMON L1S
Substitutes /t d/ or /s z/: tink, dis; spells think as tink
Confuses short i and long e: shep, sheep for ship
Spanish (one phoneme with two allophones)
bery for very; vest read as best bicnic for picnic; difficulty hearing the contrast
Japanese, Korean, some Chinese varieties lun for run; confusion in minimal pairs
Final consonants and clusters Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese (cats, desk)
Drops endings: ca for cat, des for desk, missing -s and -ed
Adds a vowel: eschool, espot chip for ship; chop and shop confused
Start with shared sounds
Teach consonants that exist in the L1 first (/m/, /s/, /p/ for Spanish speakers) so early decoding succeeds, then add new phonemes.
Contrast explicitly
Use minimal pairs with pictures (ship/sheep, vest/best) so students hear, say, read, and spell each contrast.
Connect sound to meaning
Decode words students know or have just learned, and use each word in an oral sentence before and after reading it.
Use the L1 as a bridge
Point out where letters match (Spanish m, s, t) and where they differ (Spanish j, ll, h), and celebrate cognates.
A transparent (shallow) orthography has close one-to-one letter–sound matches; Spanish, Italian, Finnish, and Turkish are examples. An opaque (deep) orthography, such as English, has many exceptions shaped by history and morphology: sign keeps its g to match signal. Spanish-literate students often expect every vowel letter to have one sound and may pronounce silent e or read e as /e/, so English vowel teams and spelling patterns need explicit teaching.
WORKED EXAMPLE: ONE LETTER, MANY SOUNDS Word IPA cat /kæt/ /æ/ short a
/eɪ/ long a (silent e pattern)
/ə/ schwa in an unstressed syllable
Expect items that show a student’s oral reading or spelling and ask which L1 feature explains it. Match the error to the specific contrast: bery = /b/–/v/, eschool = epenthesis before s-clusters, ca for cat = final consonant deletion, tink = /θ/ substitution. The best instructional answer is usually explicit minimal-pair and phonics work with known
The Five Components and the Simple View of Reading
Phonemic Hearing and manipulating phonemes in spoken awareness words
Teach new English phonemes; L1 phonological awareness transfers
Phonics Letter–sound correspondences used to decode and spell
Contrast English with L1 spellings; use meaningful words
Fluency Accurate, appropriately paced, expressive reading
Rate may lag comprehension; model, echo, and choral read
Vocabulary Knowledge of word meanings
The largest gap for most ELs; teach Tier 2 words and cognates explicitly
Comprehension Constructing meaning from text
Depends on vocabulary, background knowledge, syntax, and cultural context
The Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tunmer) states that Reading Comprehension = Decoding × Language Comprehension. Because the terms multiply, weakness in either one limits comprehension. Many ELs decode well because phonics is teachable and often transfers, yet comprehend poorly because English vocabulary, syntax, and background knowledge are still developing. Others, including some students with interrupted schooling, need both.
READER PROFILES UNDER THE SIMPLE VIEW
Strong decoding, weak language comprehension — typical of many ELs; can read aloud fluently but cannot retell. Build
oral language, vocabulary, and background knowledge.
Weak decoding, strong language comprehension — understands a read-aloud well but cannot read the text. Provide
explicit, systematic phonics.
Weak in both — common for newcomers with limited schooling; teach foundational skills and oral language together with
age-appropriate materials.
Word calling — fluent decoding without understanding; oral reading fluency alone overestimates an EL’s reading.
Thanh, a grade 4 EL (L1 Vietnamese, WIDA level 3), reads a grade-level passage aloud at a good rate with few errors, but answers only one of five comprehension questions. Best response: recognize word calling; preteach key vocabulary, build background for the topic, model a think-aloud, and have Thanh retell with a story map before answering questions. Why: under the Simple View, his decoding is strong but language comprehension is limiting reading, so more fluency practice would
not address the gap.
Stages of Reading and Spelling Development
Pre-alphabetic Reads by visual cues and context, not letters
“Reads” a store logo by its color and shape
Uses some letter–sound cues, often first and last letters
Full alphabetic Decodes all letter–sound correspondences
Sounds out /s/ /æ/ /t/ for sat
Reads chunks such as -ight, -ing, and syllables as units; builds
Reads night, fight, light quickly by analogy
Spells by letter names and salient sounds; vowels often omitted
BD for bed; LF for laugh; JRV for drive
Short vowels correct; experiments with long-vowel patterns
TRANE for train; FLOTE for float
Syllables and affixes Errors at syllable junctures and with affixes
HOPING for hopping; CAPTIN for captain
Derivational relations Uses meaning relationships among related words
Invented Spelling with Analyzed Student Samples
Invented spelling is the systematic, unconventional spelling learners produce while applying what they know about sounds and letters. It is a diagnostic window, not something to suppress. For ELs, invented spellings often show L1 phonology or L1 spelling conventions. The samples below come from typical EL writing and show how to analyze them.
Spanish j = /h/; correct sound, L1 grapheme
Spanish ai = /aɪ/; transparent L1 spelling of the diphthong
I like → Ai laik Spanish
Spanish u = /u/; vowel team oo not yet known
/b/–/v/ not contrasted in Spanish
Epenthetic e before s-cluster; i for /i/ from Spanish
/p/ absent in Arabic; /b/ substituted
Final cluster /mpt/ reduced; -ed omitted, a final consonant pattern jumped → jump Mandarin or Vietnamese
Drawing and scribbling Pictures and marks carry the message
Ask the child to “read” the drawing; scribe captions
Knows writing uses symbols; letters do not match
Name and form letters; connect to the child’s name
Letters represent heard sounds; message readable
Encourage sound stretching; use word walls
Mix of invented and conventional spelling; longer texts
Teach patterns, high-frequency words, simple editing
Most words correct; attention shifts to organization,
Teach text structures, revision, and academic register
Older ELs who are literate in L1 do not restart at scribbling; they move quickly through these stages and apply L1 writing knowledge. Their errors cluster around English spelling, syntax, and rhetorical organization. Dialogue journals, the Language Experience Approach, and shared writing let ELs write meaningful texts before their spelling is conventional.
A kindergarten EL (L1 Spanish, WIDA level 2) writes mi mom is jappi. A parent volunteer wants to correct every word in red. Best response: praise the message, note what the spelling shows (strong phoneme segmentation; Spanish j = /h/ and i = /i/), and plan a mini-lesson on the letter h and on final y as /i/. Why: invented spelling reveals phonological knowledge, and heavy
correction raises the affective filter without teaching the pattern.
Transferring L1 Literacy to English
Under the Common Underlying Proficiency, literacy concepts learned in L1 transfer: that print carries meaning, concepts of print, phonological awareness, comprehension strategies, and background knowledge. How much letter–sound knowledge transfers depends on the L1 writing system. The closer the system is to English, the more direct the transfer, but every literate L1 gives the student an advantage over a student with no literacy.
English vowel patterns, sounds absent from L1, false friends in letter sounds
New letter shapes; look-alike letters with different sounds (Cyrillic Р = /r/)
Alphabetic principle for consonants; reading
Phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, sound–letter decoding
Mixed or syllabic (Japanese kanji and Syllable awareness, visual and kana) comprehension skills
If a question asks what transfers from L1 literacy, the strongest answers are comprehension strategies, concepts of print, phonological awareness, and content knowledge. If it compares students, a Spanish-literate student will usually transfer letter–sound knowledge more directly than a Chinese-literate student, while an Arabic-literate student needs explicit left-to-right and vowel instruction. Never choose “L1 literacy interferes, so stop using L1.”
Reading for information
Reading for pleasure
Reading to perform a task
Directions, forms, recipes, schedules; precise comprehension with immediate practical use.
requires academic vocabulary and text- relevant texts, build volume and structure knowledge. motivation.
Non-Language Factors That Affect Literacy
Not every reading difficulty is linguistic. Poverty, mobility, trauma, and interrupted schooling affect attention, attendance, background knowledge, and access to print. These are not deficits in the student; they are conditions that schools are responsible for addressing. Before attributing slow progress to language or disability, the ESOL teacher gathers the student’s educational and family history.
Poverty Fewer books at home, food and housing insecurity, limited access to technology
Classroom libraries and book loans, meal programs, device access, community partners
Mobility (migrant, transient, Gaps and repetition in curriculum, lost homeless) records, broken relationships
Fast placement, records transfer, McKinney-Vento and migrant education services, consistent routines
Trauma-informed practices, predictable routines, counselor referral, safe spaces
Limited L1 literacy and numeracy; unfamiliar
Foundational literacy with age-appropriate materials, accelerated content, explicit routines
Long-term ELs (LTELs) Fluent social English, weak academic literacy, often after inconsistent programs
Targeted academic literacy, explicit writing instruction, goal setting, strong relationships
For a student with weak literacy and a history of interrupted schooling, the best answer combines foundational literacy with age-appropriate content and social-emotional support. For an LTEL, choose explicit academic language and literacy instruction, not more conversational practice. Do not choose answers that place an adolescent in a primary classroom or assume a disability before gathering history.
Phonemic awareness is oral; phonics links phonemes to graphemes; L1-absent phonemes are hardest to hear
English is an opaque orthography; Spanish is transparent, so English vowel patterns need explicit teaching. Simple View: comprehension = decoding × language comprehension; word calling is decoding without meaning. Spelling stages: emergent, letter-name alphabetic, within-word pattern, syllables and affixes, derivational
Invented spelling is diagnostic: jappy shows Spanish j = /h/; bicnic shows Arabic /b/ for /p/. L1 literacy transfers; alphabetic Latin-script L1s transfer letter–sound knowledge most directly. Poverty, mobility, trauma, interrupted schooling, and LTEL status call for targeted school responses, not deficit
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