Why You Shouldn’t Stop Speaking Spanish at Home

Janie Carnock wrote for Education Post about research that shows native language at home supports English education at school. The piece was also republished with Univision in English and Spanish:

When I was a second-grade teacher, around half of my students spoke Spanish at home. 

While nearly all of them were born in the United States, many of their parents and family members had immigrated from Central American countries.

These parents often asked how they could help their children and because of their limited English, some felt they had no way to do so.

This was not true. I told them they could speak, read stories and solve math problems with their children in Spanish—and that all this would support their children’s education in English.