The study she executed was in a 1st and 2nd grade integrated classroom that consisted of 20 native Spanish speaking students and a teacher, Ms. Page, who believed in valuing the first language and culture of her students. She believed in utilizing those things to better their first language (L1) and second language (L2) development. Ms. Page allowed for first language use within her classroom throughout the day despite the activity or presence of monolingual students. Students used their L1 often to translate in many different avenues. Some examples of when these students used their L1 and L2 skills to translate were during daily news, in their writing, and during book discussions (Manyak, 2004). Students were able to share their daily news in either their L1 or L2 and then other students depending on the language it was reported in helped to translate for the students who may not have understood. Students also used their L1 when writing and then translated their L1 writing into English, creating bilingual books. Lastly, when monolingual peers from other 1st and 2 grade classrooms integrated into this room, throughout book discussions, both the L1 and L2 were used. In order to ensure that everyone was being heard and understood the bilingual students used their L1 and L2 skills to …show more content…
Seltzer (2014) describes several different gains teachers have from incorporating this method of translanguaging. First, teachers have the ability to teach their ELLs at the appropriate content level for their grade versus having to keep things simple because of the lack of English proficiency. Seltzer (2014) also pointed out that due to the home language use teachers are able to obtain a more accurate look at how their students are actually progressing, therefore making their assessment more valid. Lastly, due to the acceptance of the home language and culture and the appreciation that is being shown to the student for their diversity and set of unique skills, the teacher and student relationships grow much