Cross-Linguistic Transfer
Purpose 6
Embedded Files
ALLOW STUDENTS TO TRANSFER CONCEPTS LEARNED IN ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER.
Dual Language Book Buddy Retell
Ways to Support Dual Language Learners at Story Time
Storytelling lives in every language. This activity invites multilingual learners to retell a story in both English and their home language, helping them transfer comprehension, vocabulary, and expression across languages. It builds reading confidence and makes space for cultural and linguistic richness in story sharing.
Materials:
A short read aloud or shared story (fiction or nonfiction)
Graphic organizers for story elements
Sentence frames for retelling in both languages
Partner pairings (especially useful if students share a home language)
Procedure:
Read and Discuss a Story: Read a short story aloud in English. Stop along the way to discuss key elements: characters, setting, problem/solution, theme. Use visuals and anchor charts as needed.
Introduce the Retell Task: Explain that students will retell the story twice once in English and once in their home language with a book buddy.
Prepare Retellings: Using graphic organizers and sentence stems, students:
Plan out what happened in the story
Write or rehearse how to say it in both languages
Retell with a Buddy: Students take turns retelling the story:
Partner A starts in English, Partner B responds in home language
Then they switch roles
Encourage gestures, drawings, and props if helpful
Class Share Out: Ask a few pairs to perform their retellings for the class. Highlight how the story may change slightly or feel different across languages and how both versions deepen understanding.
Assessment: Listen for accurate comprehension of story elements, look for use of story vocabulary in both languages, and observe whether students are making meaningful language connections.
Science Concept Flip Book
Why flip books are such a cool tool to do writing for ESL students
Multilingual learners bring deep knowledge and lived experiences that exist across languages. This activity allows students to demonstrate science understanding using both English and their home language. By creating a bilingual flipbook of a key science topic, students transfer academic content they’ve learned in one language and re-express it in another. This reinforces comprehension, strengthens vocabulary, and validates all linguistic resources in the classroom.
Materials:
Paper, scissors, staplers (or pre-cut flipbook templates)
Colored pencils, markers
Word banks in English and home languages
Reference charts or science visuals
Optional: digital version using Google Slides
Procedure:
Teach the Science Concept: Introduce a core science topic in English (water cycle, plant life cycle, force and motion). Use visuals, read alouds, and discussion to build understanding.
Introduce the Flip Book Task: Explain that students will create a flip book with labeled diagrams and short explanations and that their job is to include both languages to show what they know.
Build the Flip Book: Each page focuses on one part of the concept (“evaporation,” “condensation”). Students will
Draw a diagram
Write a sentence or short paragraph in English
Then translate or explain the same content in their home language
Support Language Transfer: Provide word banks, dictionaries, and peer support. Encourage students to work with classmates who speak the same home language when possible.
Share & Discuss: Students share their flip books in small groups or gallery walks. As they read each other’s work, prompt students to notice:
“What’s similar or different between how the idea is explained in each language?”
“Did you understand the science concept more deeply when writing it twice?”
Assessment: review the flip books for accuracy of content and check for the use of both languages
Resources:
Lampers, D. (2023). Why flip books are such a cool tool to do writing for ESL students. The ESL Educator. https://theesleducator.com/writing-for-esl-students/
Murillo, S., & Tiffany. (2024, September 24). 5 meaningful ways to support dual language learners at storytime. Cox Campus. https://coxcampus.org/5-meaningful-ways-to-support-dual-language-learners-at-storytime/
Page updated
Report abuse