Spanish interactions with their teachers were more likely to
engage in more complex linguistic interactions than children who
experienced only English interactions with their teachers. Teachers in classrooms where Spanish was used also tended to rate their students more positively in terms of the students’ frustration tolerance, assertiveness, and peer social skills.
Teachers can also use the students’ home language in various
ways that support children’s learning, even when instruction is
essentially in English. For example, teachers could supplement a
book they are reading aloud with explanations or brief clarifications in the home language or by pointing out a cognate an make texts in English more accessible to DLLs and possibly
make them aware of linkages across languages