A case study of bi-literacy development among children enrolled in an Italian-English dual language program in Southern California

This study examines bi-literacy development among 60 children enrolled in an Italian-English dual language (DL) program in Southern California. Using a variety of measures including (1) oral reading fluency (ORF), (2) accuracy scores, and (3) standardized test for the assessment of reading (STAR) test's estimates of reading ability for English, the study investigates how Italian and English literacy skills emerged and developed among first-, second-, and third-graders - and among English speakers and learners - educated via Italian immersion. The study also examines the extent to which ORF was correlated, and therefore transferred, between languages. The results indicate that reading fluency emerged first in Italian for all students. However, in a relatively short period of time, it became comparable across languages and even higher in English for English-speaking students. Correlations between Italian and English reading fluency scores were statistically significant and moderately high. This finding suggests that Italian decoding skills transferred to English, possibly helping children develop English literacy while primarily instructed in Italian. STAR test results further indicate that after a brief, initial lag in English reading skills, students caught up to and eventually read increasingly better than grade level in English. This finding confirms the possible long-term benefits of DL instruction on English reading development.