Accounts from a number of projects, including two with which the author has been involved, document a range of uses for the native language in both initial literacy and ESL instruction for adults. Further, the article details a growing body of evidence indicating that L1 and/or bilingual options are not only effective but necessary for adult ESL students with limited L1 literacy or schooling and that use of students' linguistic resources can be beneficial at all levels of ESL. Evidence from research and practice is presented which suggests that the rationale used to justify English only in the classroom is neither conclusive nor pedagogically sound.

Development of Literacy Skills in Children Learning a Second Language.

Although the exclusive use of English in teaching ESL has come to be seen as a natural and commonsense practice which can be justified on pedagogical grounds, this article argues that it is rooted in a particular ideological perspective, rests on unexamined assumptions, and serves to reinforce inequities in the broader social order. second language that the person is learning, not the native language of the. Many in media and in science often assume that reading or speaking in a second language - one that has been learned later in life than the native or first language - is always going to be difficult. ESL educators continue to uphold the notion that English is the only acceptable medium of communication within the confines of the ESL classroom. Despite widespread opposition to the English Only movement, support for bilingual education, and advocacy for language rights, many U.S. People who speak more than one language have been reported to be more adept at language learning compared to monolinguals.

Monolingual literate in native language