A third-grade English language learner with a home language related to English can best transfer literacy skills by:

A third-grade English language learner with a home language related to English can best transfer literacy skills by:

• A. studying new words from categories such as foods, clothing, and toys
• B. learning English words through cognates
• C. using translation dictionary to practice words and meanings
• D. asking for clarification of unfamiliar words

Answer: (B)

When a third-grade English language learner has a home language related to English, using cognates helps transfer literacy skills most effectively. Cognates are words in two languages that share similar form and meaning, like animal, color, or doctor in English and their counterparts in a related language. Because the words look and sound alike and carry the same meaning, students can recognize them quickly, pronounce them more accurately, and infer meanings with less explicit instruction. This builds vocabulary and supports decoding and reading comprehension, since familiar roots and patterns carry over from the home language to English. Other strategies don’t tap into that cross-language leverage as directly. Studying words by category expands vocabulary but doesn’t connect to the learner’s existing language knowledge, so transfer isn’t as automatic. Relying on a translation dictionary helps with individual word meanings but doesn’t promote fluent, real-time word recognition and comprehension in texts. Asking for clarification is important for understanding, but it doesn’t provide the bridge to broader vocabulary and decoding skills across contexts.

When a third-grade English language learner has a home language related to English, using cognates helps transfer literacy skills most effectively. Cognates are words in two languages that share similar form and meaning, like animal, color, or doctor in English and their counterparts in a related language. Because the words look and sound alike and carry the same meaning, students can recognize them quickly, pronounce them more accurately, and infer meanings with less explicit instruction. This builds vocabulary and supports decoding and reading comprehension, since familiar roots and patterns carry over from the home language to English.

Other strategies don’t tap into that cross-language leverage as directly. Studying words by category expands vocabulary but doesn’t connect to the learner’s existing language knowledge, so transfer isn’t as automatic. Relying on a translation dictionary helps with individual word meanings but doesn’t promote fluent, real-time word recognition and comprehension in texts. Asking for clarification is important for understanding, but it doesn’t provide the bridge to broader vocabulary and decoding skills across contexts.