+Using Parallel Texts for ESL Students

A Guide

For Educators

+What Are Parallel Texts? When someone refers to a parallel text they are

talking about two copies of the same book, but each copy is in a different language.

One should be in the school language and the other copy should be in the students home language.

+What Is Their Purpose?

Parallel texts are used as tools to help create a bridge between languages. They give educators the opportunity to teach children in the school language, while at the same time they foster an appreciation for the home language.

Parallel texts aid in allowing parents to continue using their home language, knowing that it will benefit, not detract from, their children’s school language learning.

+Why Should Educators Use PT?

The use of parallel books in the classroom have a significant impact on learners vocabulary, knowledge, & growth.

Using Parallel Texts, learners can develop strategies for learning new words, make use of images in comprehending the story and engage eagerly to the stories as they reflect and value their own culture and heritage.

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+How Do Educators Use PT in Their Classrooms?  Research continues to show that support for the home

language is an essential element in supporting children’s academic skills. Parents who engage with their children in their home language through discussion, reading books out loud and in everyday activities help children to do better in school, even if the school language is different from the home language. This is in contrast to research many decades ago that encouraged parents to speak the community language at home with their children, believing this would strengthen their children’s academic language skills. We now know that this past research was flawed and that, in fact, the opposite is true.

+Parent-Teacher Involvement: Working Together Teachers should read Parallel Texts out loud in the

school language while parents read the same book out loud at home in their language.

+Hearing & Seeing at the Same Time Teachers read bilingual books in the school language

and show the words written in the other language.

+Multicultural Awareness

Read PT that highlight different cultures

+Pick & Choose Keywords

While reading the story in the school language, pick out a few key words in the other language.

+Have ESL Parent’s Read in School Parents or volunteers read a bilingual book to the class

in one language.

+Students as Writers

Encourage students to write their own Parallel Text books.

+Use the Library

Allow children to pick out bilingual books from the school library. Be sure to use your school’s librarian as a resource.

+Discussion in 2 Languages in 2 Places Ask questions and encourage discussion in both

languages.

+Don’t Just Stick to the Home Language Book Encourage children to read Parallel Texts in both

languages.

+Have Fun!

Bilingual books provide an opportunity to have fun with language.

+The Goal

The goal is to help our children embrace all of their languages so that as they grow they will be able to use these languages with confidence and pleasure in the many multilingual and multicultural situations in which they may find themselves. Reading and enjoying bilingual books is one great way to help our children achieve this goal.

+Bibliography

Turgut, Y., & Tuncer, U. (2011). Literacy Development in Multicultural Settings with Digital Dual-language Books. Journal Of Language & Linguistics Studies, 7(2), 117-143.

Language lizard blog. (2011). Retrieved from http://blog.languagelizard.com/2011/05/16/10-ways-to-use-bilingual-books-with-children/

Roessingh, H. (2011). Family Treasures: A Dual-Language Book Project for Negotiating Language, Literacy, Culture, and Identity. Canadian Modern Language Review, 67(1), 123-148.