Intro: High standards in immersion classrooms regarding TARGET LANGUAGE ONLY (Spanish/Mandarin) use by students as well as teachers seem to directly impact L1 (English) reading scores.

First Grade Immersion Students Learn to Read in Spanish, but...

Although "non-transferable" language arts skills exist between Spanish and English, many decoding skills transfer easily.  Think about traditional students learning to read from left to right and ending sentences with a pause when they see a period.  Spanish immersion students learn to do the same, but in Spanish instead of English.  The language doesn't matter; the skill does. 

So Why does oral language use in Spanish impact reading in English?

When students have to negotiate meaning with a limited vocabulary in their second language, it forces them to problem solve.  How can first grade Spanish immersion students who understand the word for "homework" in Spanish (tarea) but cannot yet say it explain to their teacher that they have left their assignment at home?  Problem solving of course - hand gestures, talking around the word (circumlocution), or listening carefully to fellow classmates - allows students to covey meaning.  All that problem solving opens new neural pathways in the brain - Could it be that all the "brain exercise" leads to greater decoding skills when reading in either language?  We think so....

Notice the first grade reading scores of add.a.lingua immersion students who followed our "Spanish Only Timeline."  Although they have not received ANY formal English instruction, you can see for yourself where their English benchmarks fall....