Breaking barriers for multilingual learners

During a reading lesson, Mateo, an elementary multilingual learner (MLL) in a Delaware public school, read "sit" as "seat." Jon Kittle, his reading interventionist, walked him through the short vowel sound, but Mateo made the same "mistake" and grew frustrated. Kittle began to wonder if these "errors" were actually the result of Mateo applying what he knew from Spanish, where the letter "i" carries the sound of the English long "ē".

When Kittle explained this difference, the tension in the boy's face eased as they discussed how Matteo was navigating his two languages. That moment reshaped Kittle's teaching and provided an early spark for his future research.

Now, as a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware, Kittle is using his innovative research in literacy education to support K-3 reading specialists as they work with MLLs across the country, including in Delaware, where more than 11% of all K-12 students speak Spanish, Chinese, Haitian Creole or another language at home.

Kittle's research positions MLLs' home languages as a vital asset in their education rather than an obstacle. His dissertation examines what reading specialists understand about K-3 Spanish-speaking students' home language and literacy skills and how they can leverage them to build English proficiency.