Profiles of Reading Specialists’ Knowledge for Supporting Multilingual Learners: Knowledge of Spanish/English Cross-Linguistic Transfer

• Eliza Coull, Psychology, Dickinson College

• Steve Amendum, Educational Linguistics, University of Delaware

Due to the increasing number of multilingual learners (MLs) in schools across the United States, particularly Spanish-speaking MLs, it is important that students receive adequate support services to develop English reading and oral language skills. Finding effective ways to prepare teachers to support students with the acquisition of English is particularly important, yet it is unclear whether reading specialists across the country possess adequate knowledge of cross-linguistic transfer from Spanish to English to be able to effectively support students in need. In the present study, we plan to address this lack of clarity by designing and administering a nationally representative survey to examine reading specialists’ knowledge of cross-linguistic transfer of oral language and reading skills from Spanish to English for K-3 Spanish-speaking multilingual students. The survey will be administered electronically via Qualtrics with a target of 500 completed surveys. Data from the survey will be analyzed using latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify latent groups based on reading specialists’ self-reported knowledge. We predict that two to four latent groups of reading specialists will be identified. Results will have important implications for teachers and school districts, as findings from this study could help inform standards for reading specialists regarding their knowledge of cross-linguistic transfer and their ability to facilitate effective instruction based on this knowledge. Additionally, gaining a better understanding of the varied knowledge and perspectives of reading specialists across the country has the potential to help inform reading specialist preparation programs and professional development programs for current reading specialists.