Skills Transfer Theory

Learning Theories and Transfer of Learning

Skills transfer theory provides valuable insights about important topics in teaching and learning in bilingual/ESL classrooms, such as the following: (a) the relationship between proficiency in the LI (native language) and achievement in L2 (English, the second language), (b) the relationship between overall reading abilities in LI and in L2, and (c) the relationship between oral language proficiency in English and reading abilities in English. Furthermore, study of skills transfer theory helps researchers learn more about LI literacy transfer to L2 literacy. Educators who work with second-language learners have found that skills transfer theory helps them understand more about the relationship between the processes involved in developing reading skills in the second language and the learner's reading ability in the native language.

The Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis

Skills transfer theory states that language and literacy skills can be transferred from one language to another in bilingual learners. The linguistic interdependence principle holds that certain processes are basic to reading and that, once learned, they can be applied to reading other languages. Specifically, when children learn the meaning of print materials that characterize their native language and home sociocultural community, the linguistic interdependence principle predicts that they will be able to extend their literacy expertise to a range of language and social contexts in their second language. Children who can read well in Spanish, for example, are actively involved in highly selective, multifaceted processes that are identical to the mental processes used to read in English. The skills needed to read well in Spanish are also needed to read well in English. Therefore, children who learn to read well in their native language need not totally relearn basic literacy skills in English. In other words, learning to read in the native language is beneficial because students apply many of the skills and strategies they acquired when learning how to read in their native language to the task of reading in the new language, English. A high level of proficiency in the native language leads to accelerated cognitive growth and, hence, to positive academic outcomes in the second language. Furthermore, instruction in native-language reading helps limited or non-English speakers appreciate their linguistic heritage, develop positive literacy experiences, and attain competence in both their home language and English. In contrast, excluding the native language from a student's instructional program or minimizing its use in classroom pedagogy may seriously reduce the learning options for nonnative speakers of English, compared with their English-dominant peers.

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