ELL/Multilingual Learners: Phonics Transfer & Growth — Stats

Welcome to a deep dive made simple. This article is for teachers, school leaders, and parents who want clear steps to help multilingual learners grow fast in reading. We focus on phonics transfer, the bridge that links what a child knows in their first language to how they learn to read in English. We keep the words short, the ideas concrete, and the actions easy to use tomorrow morning. Each section will open with a key stat and then unpack what it means, why it matters, and exactly what to do. By the end, you will have a working plan you can follow in class or at home without fancy tools.

1) After 12 weeks of explicit phonics, ELL decoding accuracy rises by 15–25 percentage points.

What this means in the classroom

Twelve weeks is one school term in many places. In that time, a clear phonics plan can shift accuracy in a big way for multilingual learners. A gain of fifteen to twenty-five points is not just a number.

It looks like fewer guesses, smoother word reading, and more smiles when a child reaches the end of a page. This jump happens because daily, direct work on sound–letter links builds strong brain paths. The practice is short and focused.

The teacher models the sound. The class says it. Students trace it, read it in a word, then meet it again in a short sentence. The loop repeats with small changes so the brain locks in the pattern.

For ELLs, the loop also includes quick oral practice, so each child can hear and feel the sound before seeing it on the page. The win is not only better reading. It is stronger focus and a habit of steady effort that helps in math, science, and coding too.

How to run a twelve-week plan

Set a narrow scope. Choose core consonants, short vowels, digraphs, and a few blends that show up often. Map them week by week on a simple grid. Keep each day consistent. Start with a two-minute sound warm-up.

Add three minutes of blending with chips or letter tiles. Read five to eight decodable words that use only taught patterns. Follow with one or two tight sentences and a one-minute dictation line. Close with thirty seconds of quick success, like reading a word wall with a timer.

Make it friendly and brisk. For ELLs, add ten seconds per word to rehearse mouth shape and voicing, using a mirror or a finger on the throat to feel voiced sounds. If a sound is not in the child’s first language, give it an anchor motion or a fun cue so the brain tags it as new.

How to track and keep momentum

Measure accuracy twice a week. Use the same ten words in mixed order. Mark total correct and note which patterns miss the mark. When you see a sticky sound, slow down, not speed up. Circle back with a micro-review the next day.

Keep a small “win chart” where students color a box for each session with nine or ten correct. This tiny reward keeps energy high without long talks about effort. Share a simple progress note with families every two weeks, and add one easy home task like read and point, whisper blend, or trace and say.

If you want a ready-made scope and daily routine, our Debsie reading coaches can share a free template in your trial session at debsie.com/courses.

What to do if growth stalls

If gains pause for more than one week, check three things. First, decodability. Make sure all practice words only use taught patterns. Second, pacing. Keep the whole routine under fifteen minutes to protect focus.

Third, mouth-first work. ELLs need a beat to shape the sound before print. A quick fix is to add a five-sound “mouth gym” at the start and a two-sound contrast at the end. Small, clear changes beat big shifts every time.

2) Cross-linguistic mapping instruction makes grapheme–phoneme learning 30–40% faster for ELLs.

Why mapping across languages works

When we show learners how sounds and letters connect in both languages, the brain uses what it already knows. A child who reads in Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin, or any other language brings rules, patterns, and routines that can carry over.

Cross-linguistic mapping is the act of lining up what is shared and what is different. It may be matching a letter that behaves the same, like m in many scripts. It may be spotting a false friend, like the English short i versus a different vowel in the home language.

This side-by-side view speeds learning because it lowers confusion. The child does not have to guess. They can say, this part works the same, and this part is new, so I will give it more time.

Clear maps also build metacognition, the habit of asking, what do I already know that can help me here. That habit pays off in science labs, coding puzzles, and math word problems where transfer matters.

How to build a quick mapping routine

Pick one target sound–letter pair per day. Start by naming the sound in English and, if possible, naming its closest match in the student’s first language. Use a tiny chart with three boxes. In the first, write the letter or letters in English.

In the second, write or draw the match in the home language, or a mouth cue if the script differs. In the third, list two example words in each language that the learner knows. Say the sound, trace the letter, read the word. Keep the tone light and curious.

For example, today we map the sound /f/. English uses f and sometimes ph. In Spanish, we also have f. In Arabic, we can show ف. In Hindi, we can point to फ. We say the sound, we trace, we read fan, photo, familia, foto.

The brain links them as one family. Then we read a short line that uses the English pattern only. This prevents drift into guesswork.

How to handle differences and false friends

The most helpful maps are the places where English does not match. Point out the difference in a calm, simple way.

If a sound exists in English but not in the home language, give a clear mouth cue and a slow-motion model. If a letter looks the same but sounds different, tag it with a bright phrase, like same suit, new job. Practice in short bursts through the week, not one long block.

Two minutes a day wins. Keep your materials small and reusable. A set of cards, a mini whiteboard, and a sand tray are enough. If you want a library of ready maps across several languages, Debsie coaches can share printable sets in a live demo and help you adapt them to your class mix.

How to measure faster learning

Time a simple task at the start of the week and again at the end. Ask the learner to read ten sound–letter pairs and ten real words built from those pairs. Track both accuracy and seconds. When mapping is working, you will see fewer hesitations and smoother blending.

If speed rises but accuracy drops, slow down and add a short oral drill before print. If accuracy rises but speed stays flat, add quick repeated reading of two clean sentences to build fluency on top of the new links. Share gains with families so they can cheer at home and keep practice light and joyful.

3) Phonological awareness training yields 0.4–0.6 SD gains in word reading for multilingual learners.

Why this matters

Phonological awareness is the skill of hearing sounds in words without looking at print. It includes rhyming, counting syllables, blending sounds, and pulling sounds apart. For ELLs, this work gives a safe space to learn the music of English before letters get in the way.

A gain of four to six tenths of a standard deviation is a strong lift. It shows up as fewer stalls when blending, better self-correction, and more steady pace line by line. It also builds focus.

When a child holds three sounds in mind and blends them, they practice working memory in a gentle way. That same skill helps in math facts, science steps, and coding loops. This is why we give sound-first time every day at Debsie. It is short, joyful, and linked to what comes next in print.

A simple daily routine that works

Keep it to five minutes. Start with one minute of syllable claps. Say two to three words from today’s text and have learners clap, tap, or step the parts. Move to two minutes of onset–rime play. Say the first sound and the rest, then snap them together.

Model with clear mouth moves so ELLs can see how the sound is shaped. Finish with two minutes of phoneme work. Use three chips on the table. Say a word like sun. Learners slide a chip for each sound as they say /s/ /ŭ/ /n/, then they push the chips together and say the whole word.

Keep voices soft to lower stress. Keep pace brisk to keep attention. Stay with sounds that appear in your phonics lesson of the day so transfer is tight.

Making it friendly for many languages

Some sounds are new for many learners. Gentle contrast helps. If the class speaks Spanish, Arabic, or Hindi, pick one pair like /b/ and /v/ or short /i/ and long /ee/. Model, let them feel voiced versus unvoiced on the throat, and practice three quick words.

Give time for echoing. Praise the effort, not just the answer. If a learner uses an L1 sound, accept it in the sound game and fix it when you connect to print a minute later. This keeps flow and avoids shame.

Tracking growth and keeping momentum

Pick a simple probe. Once a week, give ten blend items and ten segment items without print. Record total correct in one minute. If growth slows, reduce the number of sounds per task. Two-sound blends before three.

Add picture cards if needed to anchor meaning. If you want ready-made sets and a coaching script, schedule a free trial at debsie.com/courses and we will share a pack you can start with tomorrow.

4) L1–L2 phoneme overlap explains 20–30% of variance in ELL decoding growth.

What this means for planning

The match between a child’s first-language sounds and English sounds can predict a big slice of reading growth. When many sounds overlap, decoding gets easier sooner. When many sounds are new, the road is longer.

This is not about talent. It is about the sound set the child brings to English. Teachers can use this fact to plan support that is fair and smart. You look at the overlap and you choose where to slow down and where to fly. This saves time and cuts frustration for everyone.

How to build an overlap map

List the core English consonants and vowels you will teach in the next month. Next to each, mark same, close, or new based on the main L1 in your room. If you have many L1s, make two or three mini-maps, not one huge chart.

Share the map with students in simple words. Say these sounds will feel easy. These are cousins. These are brand new. The brain likes labels. Now plan your week. Give extra mouth practice to the new group, a quick check for the close group, and fast review for the same group.

Use mirrors, felt squares for voiced sounds, and hand cues for new sounds. Keep it kind. The message is this is new, so we will give it care.

Instruction that adapts on the spot

In small groups, start with the same decodable set for everyone, but give different warm-ups. Group A gets a two-minute drill on new sounds with minimal pairs. Group B does a one-minute check on close sounds. Group C jumps right to blending.

During reading, pause to spotlight the target sounds. Ask, what helped you read that? Invite learners to point to the mouth cue or to the L1 anchor on a small card. This shows them that using what they know is a strength.

Progress checks that guide action

Every Friday, run a quick two-minute check. Read ten words built around new sounds and ten built around same or close sounds. Compare accuracy and time. If the gap between new and same stays wide after two weeks, trim the week’s target set.

Teach fewer new sounds and add more repetition in connected text. If the gap narrows, keep the pace. Share a short note with families explaining which sounds their child is practicing and how they can help by playing a ten-second echo game at home.

If you want help building the first overlap map for your class mix, our team at Debsie can model it live and send you a custom template when you book a trial class.

5) Daily 3–5 minute phonics review reduces decoding error rates by 25–35%.

Why tiny reviews beat long reteach

Short, sharp review keeps sound–letter links warm in memory. When a learner sees a pattern often, in tiny doses, the brain stores it for quick use. This cuts errors at the point of reading because the child does not have to stop and think hard.

The handoff from sound to letter to word becomes smooth. For ELLs, tiny review also lowers stress. It is easier to try, miss, and try again when the task is small and over in minutes. Over time, fewer mistakes mean more trust in self, which keeps students reading instead of avoiding the page.

What a 3–5 minute review looks like

Pick one power move per day and rotate across the week. On Monday, do rapid sound flash with mouth cues. On Tuesday, run blend lines with only taught patterns. On Wednesday, read four high-yield words in phrases.

On Thursday, do one line of dictation with quick correct. On Friday, play a timed review where the group tries to beat last week’s score. Keep the tone calm and the pace brisk. Give clear, short feedback.

Say try again with the short a sound rather than long explanations. If a sound is tricky, anchor it to a clue word and a motion. For example, short i can be tagged to tick with a tiny finger tap under the chin.

Making it stick for multilingual learners

If your class has mixed levels, run the same routine but swap the content set. Group one sees simple CVC words. Group two sees blends and digraphs. Group three sees vowel teams or r-controlled vowels already taught.

Use visual supports sparingly. Too many pictures invite guessing. Keep decodability tight. Every item must use only patterns the group has learned. This is the secret to cutting errors. It removes traps.

How to measure the error drop

Choose one decodable passage aligned to your current patterns. Record each student reading for one minute on Monday and again on Friday. Count total words read and mark errors. Track error rate as errors divided by words read.

A drop of a quarter to a third over three to four weeks shows the review is doing its job. If the rate does not move, check if your items are truly decodable and if your feedback is immediate.

Many teachers fix this by trimming the word list and shortening their talk. If you want a ready set of 3–5 minute drills, our Debsie coaches can share a week-by-week pack in your free session at debsie.com/courses.

6) ELLs typically begin with gaps in 8–12 of the 44 English phonemes that are absent in their L1.

Why this matters

Most multilingual learners walk into class with a strong sound system from home. That is a gift. But English has sounds that many languages do not use. These missing sounds create small holes that show up as reading slips.

A gap in eight to twelve sounds is common. It is not a problem with the child. It is a map of what is new. When we teach with that map in hand, stress drops and growth rises. We can give more time to the new sounds and keep pace on the ones they already know. This saves energy and keeps trust high.

How to find the gaps fast

Run a simple sound check in week one. Say each target sound and have the student repeat. Use a mirror so they can see lip and tongue. If a sound is shaky or swapped for a nearby sound, note it.

Make a small card for that sound with a mouth picture, a key word, and the letter link. Do not test all forty-four at once. Start with the ones in your first unit. Add more over the next two weeks. Keep it calm and short. Two minutes a day is enough to spot the pattern.

How to close the gaps in daily work

Give each new sound a tight routine. Start with mouth-first practice. Show where the tongue sits. Let the learner feel voiced sounds with a hand on the throat. Contrast the new sound with a close neighbor, like /b/ and /v/ or /i/ and /ɪ/.

Move to print in the same minute. Show the grapheme. Blend it in two or three short words. Read one line with that pattern only. End with a one-line dictation so the hand learns the path too. Repeat this across the week. Keep items clean. Do not mix many new sounds in the same line. Small, steady steps win.

Family support that helps

Send a tiny home card for each new sound. On one side, show the mouth and the letter. On the other, write two or three short words and a sentence. Ask families to echo the sound and read the words for one minute a night. Keep the tone friendly.

Tell families that new sounds take time, and progress comes from small daily practice. If you want ready-made mouth cards and a week plan, our Debsie coaches can share a set in a free trial so you can start this Monday at debsie.com/courses.

How to track gains

Choose five target sounds per week. On Friday, give a one-minute probe. Read the sounds, then read five words with those sounds. Mark accuracy and note any swaps. When a sound holds steady for two weeks, move it from “new” to “review.” This keeps the plan focused and shows the learner their wins in a clear way.

7) Teaching 100 high-utility GPCs covers ~90% of words in beginner decodable texts.

Why this matters

A small set of letter–sound links gives huge reach. When learners know one hundred high-use grapheme–phoneme correspondences, they can read almost all words in early decodable books.

This makes reading time smooth and joyful. It also builds the habit of looking at each letter and each chunk. For ELLs, this is key. It keeps them from guessing by picture or by first letter. It trains them to trust the code and feel in control.

How to choose the one hundred

Pick the most common consonants, short vowels, digraphs, blends, common r-controlled vowels, magic e, and high-frequency vowel teams. Add soft c and g, common endings like -ng and -nk, and a small set of tricky but frequent patterns like ow, ou, and igh.

Do not rush to rare ones early. Teach the set in a clear order that lets you build books and sentences the child can really read. Keep a class chart that shows which GPCs are learned, in review, or new.

How to teach and spiral

Work in tight loops. Each day, review five known GPCs for one minute, teach one new GPC for three minutes, and push it into words and a sentence for five more. The next day, that GPC moves to review and you add a new one.

Every Friday, run a short mix where learners read a page that uses only taught GPCs. Use clean decodables, not leveled books that are full of untaught patterns. For ELLs, pair the GPC with a clear mouth cue and a simple key word.

Say it, trace it, blend it, write it. Keep your talk simple and direct so the brain can focus on the link.

Building texts that match the set

If your decodable library is thin, write your own short lines. Use a word bank made from the taught GPCs and five to ten high-frequency words you have taught by mapping. Keep each line short, like Pam can pack a bag.

Read it two to three times across the week to build ease. Add one tiny question so the child also thinks about meaning. This keeps reading real while the code does the heavy lift.

Tracking reach and closing gaps

Make a small “coverage tracker.” List the one hundred GPCs in rows of ten. Each time you add one, highlight it. Every two weeks, pick a new decodable and count what percent of its words use only your taught GPCs. When you hit about ninety percent, celebrate.

The child now has a big key ring for early books. If progress slows, check if any GPCs were taught too fast. Slow down, add more practice lines, and bring back quick dictation.

If you want a tested set of one hundred GPCs and matching passages, join a Debsie live class. We will share the scope and daily plans in your first session.

8) Bilingual phonics with cognate mapping yields 10–15 WCPM gains over monolingual instruction in 8–12 weeks.

Why this works

WCPM means words correct per minute. It is a simple measure of reading fluency. When we teach phonics in both languages and use cognates, children read more words, and they read them accurately. Cognates are word cousins that look or sound alike across languages and share meaning.

Think of family and familia, animal and animal, piano and piano. When learners see the link, they can unlock new words faster. That speed stack shows up as a higher WCPM number in just a few weeks.

How to run a bilingual phonics routine

Pick a weekly theme. Choose a target GPC in English and find two or three cognates that use it. Start each day with a one-minute chat in the home language if you can, or with simple pictures and gestures if you cannot. Name the cognates.

Say them in both languages. Point to the shared parts. Move to mouth-first English practice on the new sound. Then read a short line that uses the English pattern. End with a one-minute quick write where learners spell one cognate and one new English word that fits the pattern.

Keep it light and brisk. The goal is to show transfer, not to give a language lecture.

Handling false friends and sound shifts

Some words look alike but mean different things. Flag these as tricksters. Explain the difference in one clear sentence and move on. Sounds also shift. A vowel may look the same but sound different in English.

Show the shift with a mouth cue and a key word. Have learners echo both versions and point to the letter chunk that changed its sound. This quick compare builds flexible thinking and keeps errors from sticking.

How to measure WCPM growth

Choose a clean decodable passage that matches your taught GPCs. On week one, record one minute of reading and count words correct per minute. Score the same way at week four, eight, and twelve.

If you are using bilingual phonics with cognates, you should see a lift of ten to fifteen words per minute over what you would expect from English-only work. If gains stall, check your match between the cognates and the target GPC.

Make sure your daily line is truly decodable and that you are giving time to shape the English sound before print.

Family role and class culture

Invite families to share cognates from home life. Put them on a wall. Let students add new ones as they read. This gives pride and voice to multilingual knowledge. It shows every child that the home language is an asset in the reading room.

If you want a ready list of high-yield cognates by grade and a set of matching passages, our Debsie reading team can send them when you book a free trial at debsie.com/courses. We will also show how to score WCPM in a friendly, low-stress way so kids see fluency as a game, not a test.

9) Syllable-type lessons (6 types) cut vowel misreads by 20–30%.

Why this matters now

Most reading slips for ELLs come from vowels. English vowels change their sound based on the syllable type. When we teach the six types in a clear way, misreads drop fast because students learn a simple rule to pick the right sound. Closed syllables like cat give a short vowel.

Open syllables like he give a long vowel. Magic e, also called silent e, turns cap into cape. Vowel teams like rain and boat use two letters for one sound. R-controlled vowels like car or bird change the vowel sound.

Consonant-le endings like table make their own final beat. When a child can spot these types, they do not guess. They make a small choice based on form, and that choice leads to the right sound.

A classroom routine that works

Teach one type per week and keep the routine steady. On Monday, show what the type looks like and say the rule in ten words or fewer. On Tuesday, sort words by type with large print cards and have students read each one out loud.

On Wednesday, build and read with tiles, then write two short lines that use only that type with known sounds. On Thursday, read a short passage with high control, then do a one-minute dictation. On Friday, give a quick check with ten words and two sentences.

Keep the talk simple and keep the pace brisk. For ELLs, add a mouth cue for the vowel sound and have them feel the difference between short and long with a chin tap for short and a chin slide for long.

Small moves that prevent confusion

Teach the visual signal first. Draw a roof over closed syllables to show they are closed in. Draw an arrow out for open syllables to show the vowel is free. Put a small hat on the magic e to remind students it is silent but strong.

Color the vowel teams in one color so the eye sees them as a pair. For r-controlled, circle the ar, er, ir, or, ur so students read them as one unit. For consonant-le, have students count back three letters to find the syllable break and then read. These light marks help ELLs see the pattern that controls sound.

How to track fewer misreads

Pick ten target words for the week and two short sentences. Have students read them on Monday and Friday. Mark only vowel errors. You should see a drop by the end of the week. If not, slow down and add a two-minute daily sort where students say the type before they read.

If your class has many L1s, keep the rules even shorter and rely on pointing, colors, and mouth models more than long talk. If you want ready-made mini-lessons and word sets for each type, our Debsie team can walk you through them live in a free class so you can try them the same day.

10) Orthographic mapping practice 5×/week produces 2–3× more secure word forms by term end.

What this means in plain words

Orthographic mapping sounds fancy, but it is simple. It means locking a word into memory by linking its sounds to its letters in the right order.

When students do this five times a week, the number of words they can read and spell without strain grows two to three times faster by the end of the term. For ELLs, mapping is a game changer because it reduces guesswork.

The child stops relying on first letters or pictures and starts trusting the exact letter path in the word.

A five-step mapping routine

Say the word. Stretch the sounds with your fingers. Tap the same number of boxes. Write the letters for each sound while saying the sounds. Read the full word, then turn the card over and spell it from memory, saying the sounds again.

The whole cycle takes less than a minute per word when practiced. Keep words fully decodable with taught patterns, plus a few high-frequency “heart words” where one part is irregular. For those heart words, mark the tricky part with a small heart and say this part we must learn by heart, the rest we can sound.

Making it fit the week

Do mapping for five to seven words per day. Use three from the new phonics pattern, two review words, and two high-frequency words needed for your texts. Keep the set small, and revisit words across the week. On day one, map and read.

On day two, map and write a phrase. On day three, map and write a sentence. On day four, read a short passage that uses the words. On day five, do a one-minute check where students read and spell as many as they can.

ELLs benefit from hearing the word in a short spoken sentence first so meaning is clear before mapping begins.

Feedback that sticks

When a student misses a letter, point to the sound box they skipped and ask what sound lives here. Let them supply the sound, then the letter. Keep your words short. Avoid long talk about rules in the middle of the mapping cycle.

Save notes for after. Praise precise actions like you matched three sounds to three letters or you fixed the vowel after you checked the sound. Small, exact praise trains attention to process.

Home support and tools

Send home a tiny map card with two or three words for nightly practice. Ask families to do the same five-step routine. It takes three minutes. If you want printable boxes, word lists, and a quick training video, join a Debsie free trial. We will set you up with a full mapping pack so your class can start this week with no extra prep.

11) 90 minutes/week of targeted phonics leads to 1.5–2.0× expected growth on NWF for ELLs.

Why time and focus matter

NWF stands for Nonsense Word Fluency. It checks if a learner can blend sounds quickly to read made-up words. This shows pure decoding skill without help from memory. For ELLs, ninety minutes each week of tight phonics practice creates far more growth than a looser plan.

The key is that the minutes are focused, not fluffy. Every part of the block points to sound–letter work, blending, and reading in controlled text.

How to schedule the minutes

Use three sessions of thirty minutes or five sessions of about eighteen minutes. Start each block with a two-minute mouth warm-up to tune target sounds. Spend six minutes on direct teaching of one new pattern or a tight review of a sticky one.

Spend eight minutes on blending lines and word reading that use only known patterns. Spend eight minutes on sentence and short text reading. Finish with five minutes of dictation and quick feedback.

Keep the same frame every time so students can relax into the routine. For mixed groups, keep the frame but swap the content level.

What to teach inside the block

Follow a narrow scope and sequence. Consonants and short vowels first, then digraphs, blends, magic e, r-controlled, vowel teams, and common suffixes. Keep decodability tight in all tasks. Use simple, clear language.

Model once, then get the group reading and writing right away. For ELLs, add fast contrast when a sound is new in English. Use a mirror, a hand on the throat for voiced sounds, and a quick mouth cue to lock in the feel.

Tracking NWF growth

Once a week, give a one-minute NWF probe with ten to fifteen CVC or CVCC nonsense words using taught patterns. Count correct letter-sounds and whole words. Chart the growth line on a small card. Share progress with the student and set a tiny goal for next week, like two more words correct.

If growth slows for two weeks, check three things. First, are your texts truly controlled. Second, are you teaching too many new patterns too fast. Third, are you giving immediate feedback within three seconds. Fix these before you add more minutes.

Extending gains beyond NWF

Blend NWF practice with real reading. After the probe, let students read a short decodable story and talk about meaning for two minutes. This shows them that code leads to message, not just tests. Invite families to listen to a one-minute read at home and celebrate smooth blending.

If you want a full ninety-minute weekly plan with texts and probes ready to print, our Debsie coaches can share it in a free session and model the pacing so you feel the rhythm right away.

12) Teaching 37 common rimes enables decoding of ~500 additional words.

Why this unlocks fast growth

A rime is the chunk of a syllable that starts with the vowel and includes everything after it, like at in cat or ing in sing. When multilingual learners master a small set of high-frequency rimes, they can read many new words at once because the brain latches onto the chunk and does not have to rebuild it letter by letter.

Thirty-seven common rimes show up again and again in early texts. Once these are firm, a child can read families like at, an, ap, ack, ing, ight, and more, giving them reach across hundreds of real words. For ELLs, this approach lowers the load on working memory.

They blend the onset with a known rime and move on, which keeps pace steady and confidence high. This also reduces frustration because the patterns feel familiar every time they appear.

A simple routine to teach rimes

Start with two or three rimes per week. On day one, introduce the rime with a quick mouth model of the vowel sound and a stretch of the whole chunk. Write the rime large and bold. Say the rime, tap the sounds, and underline the chunk.

Build words by adding different first letters and blends, read each word, and then sweep back to reread the list a little faster. On day two, write a short line using only those rimes, such as Pat can pack a bag if you are working with at and ack. Keep every word decodable.

On day three, mix in a few quick dictation items, asking students to write two words and one sentence. On day four, read a tiny passage with high control of the target rimes.

On day five, do a one-minute check where students read as many rime family words as they can. Keep the tone brisk and warm. For ELLs, always preview meaning with a quick picture or a simple definition so words do not turn into empty sounds.

Making rimes stick across languages

Connect rimes to sound patterns in the home language when possible. If the same chunk appears in L1 words, show the link and celebrate it. If not, anchor the rime with a vivid key word and a hand cue.

For nasal endings like ng, let learners feel the hum in the nose. For ight, explain that the gh is silent and the chunk is learned as one sound group. Keep examples concrete and relevant to daily life so meaning stays clear.

Invite students to hunt for rime families in decodables and keep a class chart where each new member they find gets added to the word family house. This gives a sense of progress and makes the room feel like a lab where patterns are discovered, not just given.

Checking progress and adapting

Track three things each week: accuracy on isolated rime words, speed on a short list, and transfer into sentence reading. If accuracy is strong but speed is slow, add two rounds of repeated reading of the same rime line to build ease.

If speed is fine but errors appear in sentences, reduce the number of rimes in play and re-teach the vowel sound with a clear mouth cue. Share a tiny home card with five words from the week and ask families to do a one-minute echo read.

If you want a full map of the top thirty-seven rimes with matching lines and passages, our Debsie coaches can share a ready set in a short demo so you can start right away.

13) Accuracy on continuous consonants is 10–12% higher than on stop consonants for ELLs new to English.

What this means for early blending

Continuous consonants are sounds you can stretch without breaking, like s, m, f, and n. Stop consonants are quick bursts like b, d, g, and t. New English learners usually find stretching sounds easier because the stretch gives time to blend smoothly into the vowel.

That is why early accuracy tends to be higher on continuous sounds by about ten to twelve percent.

This insight helps you sequence instruction for faster wins. Start with words that begin with continuous consonants and short vowels, then add stop-start patterns after blending is smooth. Wins build confidence, and confidence keeps kids reading.

How to design blend lines that work

In week one, use CVC words that start with s, m, f, n, l, or r. Model a slow blend where you keep the first sound going into the vowel, like sssĭt becoming sit. Let students use a finger to track under the letters as they say the sounds. Keep the tempo calm and the voice low so the room feels safe for echoing.

In week two, bring in stop consonants at the end of words first, like sap or mat, where they cause less disruption. Only after students blend smoothly should you introduce words that begin with a stop sound, like bat or dig.

For ELLs, teach a tiny mouth cue: a buzz for s, a hum for m, a breath for f. These cues help students feel the airflow and maintain the stretch.

Fixing common slips

A frequent error is adding a vowel to a stop consonant at the start of a word, turning b into buh. To fix this, have the learner place a finger between the lips and practice a crisp b without an echo vowel, then slide right into the next sound.

Another slip is losing the vowel sound after a long stretch. Keep stretches short and natural. Say sĭt, not sssssssĭt. If a sound does not exist in the home language, spend an extra minute on mouth position.

Use a mirror, show where the tongue sits, and let students feel voiced versus unvoiced by touching the throat. Tiny sensory checks work better than long talk.

Assessment and pacing

Once a week, run a quick blend probe with ten words, five starting with continuous sounds and five with stop sounds. Track accuracy and seconds to read. If the gap is more than twelve percent, keep most new items in the continuous group and add only one or two stop-initial words per day.

If the gap is small, you can balance the mix. Send home two lines for whisper reading so families can hear progress. If you want sample blend lines sequenced from continuous to stop with clear mouth prompts, you can see them in a Debsie trial lesson and take the set back to class the same day.

14) Explicit instruction on English vowel contrasts improves minimal-pair accuracy by 18–25 points.

Why vowel contrasts are the big lever

Minimal pairs are word pairs that differ by one sound, like ship and sheep or bit and beat. English has many close vowel sounds that are not present or not distinct in other languages. For multilingual learners, clear and direct teaching of these contrasts turns confusion into control.

An improvement of eighteen to twenty-five points in minimal-pair tasks means fewer mix-ups in real reading and spelling.

It also boosts listening, which supports speaking and writing across the day. When learners can hear and say the difference, they can map it to print and choose the right letter patterns.

A contrast routine that takes five minutes

Pick one vowel contrast for the week, for example short i versus long e. Start with one minute of mouth modeling. Show tongue and lip shape. Use a finger under the chin to feel the short sound and a finger slide for the long sound.

Spend one minute on listening. Say a word from a picture pair and have students point to what they heard. Spend one minute on saying. Learners echo the word and feel the mouth cue. Spend one minute on print mapping.

Show the grapheme choices for each vowel and have students read two words per pattern. Spend one minute on dictation. Call one word from each side and have students write it. Keep the pace brisk and the feedback immediate. Small, quick cycles beat long lectures.

When sounds are not in L1

If a vowel is missing in the home language, give extra sensory cues. Use a colored mouth card, a mirror, and a simple motion. Anchor each sound with a key word tied to a picture that is easy to remember. For example, ship can be tied to a boat icon and sheep to a fluffy animal icon.

Make the icons small so print stays the main focus. Avoid adding many new words during contrast work. Keep the set tight so the brain can lock onto the sound difference rather than the story.

Bringing contrasts into real reading

Right after the five-minute contrast, switch to a short decodable line that uses both patterns, such as Tim will feed his big fish if your contrast is i versus ee. Ask students to underline the vowel in each target word and say the sound before reading the word.

This tiny pause prevents guesses and trains accurate choices. End with a quick oral check where students explain why a vowel is short or long in one word from the line. This builds metacognition and helps them talk about their own strategies in simple terms.

Tracking gains and next steps

Each Friday, give a one-minute minimal-pair check with ten items. Track correct responses and note which words cause confusion. If a contrast still causes trouble after two weeks, slow down and revisit the mouth model and the print link before adding more pairs.

Share a one-minute home game with families where they hold up one finger for sound A and two fingers for sound B. Keep it playful and short.

If you want a bank of minimal pairs with matching mouth cues and decodable lines, our Debsie teachers can share them in a live session and show exactly how to keep the cycle tight and joyful.

15) Multisensory phonics produces 0.3–0.5 SD gains in decoding for multilingual learners.

Why the senses speed learning

When eyes, ears, hands, and mouth all join the lesson, new sound–letter links settle faster. For multilingual learners, this matters because English often asks for mouth moves and sound blends that feel new.

A multisensory routine turns each step into something you can see, hear, say, and do. That rich input lowers confusion and builds strong memory traces. The result shows up as steady gains in decoding, not by luck, but by design.

A tight daily sequence you can run tomorrow

Start with a mouth warm-up. Model the target sound while students mirror you. Let them touch the throat to feel voiced versus unvoiced. Move to kinesthetic tracing. Students sky-write the grapheme with big arm strokes while saying the sound once, not chanting.

Shift to tactile mapping. Use sand, felt, or a textured card. Learners trace the letter as they whisper the sound. Jump to blending. Slide a finger under the letters, connect sound to print, and read two or three words.

Finish with a quick write. Students say the sounds, write the letters, and read the word back. The whole cycle takes five to seven minutes and fuels the longer block that follows.

Keeping it clean and efficient

Use simple tools so setup never steals time. A tray of salt, a stack of index cards, and one mirror per pair is enough. Keep visuals small. Big, busy charts can distract ELLs who are still building English attention cues.

Name each step in the same order every day so the routine feels safe. If a sound is missing in the learner’s first language, add one extra contrast word and a clear cue, like a puff for /f/ or a lip bite for /v/.

Correcting errors without stress

When a student slips, go back one step in the sequence. If print reading fails, return to tactile tracing. If tracing fails, return to the mouth. Ask, what sound lives here, then let them show it with the cue before trying again. Keep your words short so the brain can stay on the action, not on your talk.

Measuring the lift

Pick five target words per day. On Friday, run a one-minute read and a one-minute spell check with the same set. Track accuracy and seconds.

Share the graph with the student so progress feels visible. If you want ready-made multisensory slides, tracing cards, and a pacing script, join a free Debsie trial class and we will coach you live while you teach your first round.

16) Reading decodables at 80–90% decodability boosts word accuracy by 10–15 points.

What decodability really means

Decodability is the match between what your students have learned and the words on the page. At eighty to ninety percent, most words can be sounded out with current knowledge, and the few tricky ones can be taught or mapped quickly.

This sweet spot drives accuracy up because practice lines up with taught code. ELLs feel in control, which lowers anxiety and keeps effort high.

How to check a text before you teach it

Scan the first one hundred words. Mark each word that uses only taught patterns. Divide that count by one hundred.

If you land between eighty and ninety, you are in range. If you land lower, rewrite or pick another text. If you land higher than ninety, the text may be too easy for growth. Keep a small notebook of running tallies so you can pick with confidence in seconds.

Building or fixing decodables fast

When your shelf falls short, craft your own page. Start with a word bank made from current GPCs, plus a tiny set of high-frequency words you have already mapped. Write four to six short lines. Keep meaning simple and concrete.

Replace any out-of-scope word with a decodable cousin. If a must-have word breaks the code, teach it as a heart word first, mark the odd part, and then place it once in the text so it does not hijack attention.

Running the read

Give a silent scan. Students underline target patterns first, then read aloud in pairs. Move around the room and listen for blend breakdowns. Offer quick prompts like check the vowel type or use the two-letter team.

End with a timing round where students reread one line for ease, not speed. Finish with a single, short comprehension talk so code leads to meaning.

Tracking the ten-to-fifteen point lift

Use the same passage on Monday and Friday. Count words correct and errors. Chart the change for each student.

If accuracy does not rise, your decodability may be off or your feedback too slow. Tighten both. If you want a bank of high-control passages at each stage with decodability percentages labeled, our Debsie coaches can share a set and show you how to adapt them to your class mix.

17) Cognate-aware instruction increases vocabulary growth rate by 20–30% in Grades 1–3.

Why cognates are a growth engine

Cognates are word cousins across languages that share meaning and often share form, like animal and animal, family and familia, radio and radio. When teachers name and use these links on purpose, children grow vocabulary faster because they are not starting from zero.

They stand on what they know and step into English with confidence. For ELLs, this lift is huge. It speeds reading, supports writing, and makes content lessons easier to enter.

A daily routine that takes minutes, not periods

Open your phonics or text block by spotting two or three cognates tied to today’s pattern or topic. Say them in both languages if you can, or play the English and show a quick visual. Highlight the shared letters. Say, this part is the same, this part shifts.

Read a short sentence with the English word. Ask a tiny meaning question so the word lives in context. Return to the decodable line and watch for the word in print. Close with a ten-second talk where students use the word in their own small sentence.

Handling false friends and sound shifts

Some look-alikes trick us. Flag them with a friendly tag like careful cousin. Give the true meaning in one small line and move on. Sounds also move. A vowel may flip between languages. Point to the chunk that changed and model the English mouth move.

Let students echo once. Do not turn it into a long pronunciation class. Keep the main goal in sight: build meaning and link to print.

Measuring real vocabulary growth

Pick a tight list of ten to twelve high-utility words for the month. Pre-check with a quick listen-and-point and a one-sentence use. Teach with cognate bridges each week. Midway and at the end, run the same quick check.

Track not just known or unknown, but also speed to answer and quality of the sentence. Share wins with families so they can celebrate in both languages at home.

Making it a culture, not a trick

Honor every language in the room. Invite students to bring family cognates and add them to a live wall. Let them lead a one-minute share on how a word works in both tongues. This builds pride and shows that bilingual brains are powerful.

If you want a grade-wise cognate list aligned to core phonics patterns and content themes, book a free Debsie session and we will send a starter pack plus a modeling video you can use with your team.

18) Systematic phonics begun by Grade 1 reduces later reading difficulty risk by 40–50% among ELLs.

Why an early start changes the whole path

First grade is a window where small daily steps make a huge difference for multilingual learners. When phonics is taught in a clear order, with short practice every day, the brain learns to link sounds and letters before bad habits grow.

This early lift cuts the chance of serious reading trouble almost in half. It also builds focus and steady work, two skills that help in math, science, and coding later on. Children who start strong feel safe with print.

They try hard words, fix errors quickly, and finish pages with a sense of calm. That feeling drives more reading, which then feeds more growth. It is a positive loop that starts with clear, early code work.

What a Grade 1 plan looks like

Keep it simple and steady. Map the year into small units. Teach consonants and short vowels first. Add digraphs, blends, magic e, r-controlled vowels, common vowel teams, and endings like -ng, -ed, and -es. Use the same frame each day so children know the steps.

Start with a quick mouth warm-up. Teach or review one pattern. Blend words that use only taught patterns. Read two or three clean sentences. Do a one-line dictation. Close with a tiny success, like a timed reread of one line.

The whole block can sit inside fifteen to twenty minutes. For ELLs, add a five-second mouth cue before each new sound and a quick compare if the sound is different from the home language. Do not rush. Depth beats speed.

Home links that multiply gains

Families want to help, but time is tight. Send one small card each week with five decodable words and two short lines. Ask for three minutes a night of whisper reading. Add a quick tip in plain language, such as touch under each letter and slide as you read.

Invite families to a short online demo so they can see what blending looks like. At Debsie, we show this in our free trial class and share printables so home support matches class moves.

How to spot and fix risk early

Run a three-minute check every other week. Use a short list of decodable words and one quick passage aligned to your current patterns. Track accuracy and time. When a child stalls for two checks in a row, move them into a small group for ten extra minutes of tight practice three times a week.

Keep the same steps, but make the texts even more controlled. Give clear, short feedback within three seconds. Celebrate small wins out loud. Children hear your belief and start to believe it too. Early, steady, kind teaching lowers risk and raises joy.

19) Screening ELLs three times per year identifies 80–90% of students at risk for reading delays.

Why routine checks save time later

Screening is a quick health check for reading. It is not a label. It helps you catch trouble before it grows. When you screen in fall, winter, and spring, you catch most students who need a closer look.

For multilingual learners, this matters because new sounds and patterns can hide under brave effort. A brief, honest look three times a year lets you tune teaching without waiting. It also gives a clear story to share with families about growth and next steps.

How to run a triannual cycle that feels humane

Pick short tools that match the grade and the code you teach. In early grades, use letter–sound fluency, simple word reading, and a quick decodable passage for one minute. In later grades, include multisyllabic word reading and a short comprehension check on a controlled text.

Set a calm tone. Explain that this is a quick check to see what to teach next. Sit side by side if possible. For ELLs, give one or two practice items to warm up ears and mouths. Keep your voice steady and your face kind. The goal is a fair picture, not a surprise.

Turning scores into action within days

Right after the screen, sort students by need. Group one is on track. Group two needs a nudge on a few patterns. Group three needs targeted support. Match each group to a plan. On track students keep the core block with small challenges.

Group two gets daily three-minute reviews and extra practice lines. Group three gets short, focused small-group lessons three times a week with very clean decodables and tight feedback. Re-screen group two and three in six to eight weeks to check if the plan works. Do not wait for the next big window.

Avoiding common mistakes

Do not test with texts full of patterns you have not taught. That hides true skill. Do not mix many tools and drown in data. Choose a tight set and stick with it. Do not let the screen replace daily observation.

Your ears and eyes catch things a number cannot, like a child guessing from pictures or freezing on a new vowel. Blend the scores with your notes and decide.

If you want a simple screening kit with recording sheets and a quick scoring guide, our Debsie coaches can share one in a free session and walk you through the whole cycle.

Sharing results with care

Families worry when they hear “screening.” Use plain words. Say this is a quick check to help us teach smarter. Show one tiny chart of growth. Give one clear next step they can try at home, such as echo reading one short line each night. Keep the message hopeful and specific. Early help works, and we will do it together.

20) Teaching the schwa pattern reduces multisyllabic word errors by 25–35%.

Why the schwa matters so much

The schwa is the most common vowel sound in English. It is the relaxed, quick sound you hear in the first syllable of about or the second syllable of pencil. In long words, many vowels reduce to this sound. ELLs often try to give every vowel a full sound from the alphabet song, which leads to slips.

When children learn to expect a soft, quick vowel in some syllables, they stop over-reading the vowel and start picking the right rhythm. This shift lowers errors in long words by a large margin and makes reading sound smooth and natural.

A simple way to teach it this week

Start with the idea of strong and soft beats. Clap a strong beat for the stressed syllable and a soft tap for the others. Say a word like banana. Clap for na and tap for ba and na. Explain that soft beats often use the schwa sound.

Use a tiny symbol, like a small dot above the vowel, to mark schwa in practice words. Show how the mouth relaxes and the jaw drops a little. Have students echo a set of common schwa words and feel the quick, light sound.

Move to print right away. Read a line of two- and three-syllable words where the schwa syllable is underlined. Then read a short sentence that uses one or two of those words so the pattern lives in real reading.

Using syllable types to predict schwa

Teach that open and closed rules help for stressed syllables, but in unstressed syllables the vowel may reduce. Show common spots where schwa hides, like the a in about, the o in button, the e in problem, the i in family, and the u in support.

Keep the examples simple. Let students box the schwa syllable and read the word smoothly, not slowly. For ELLs, add a mouth cue, like a soft ah hand motion, to remind them to relax the vowel.

Practice that builds automaticity

Give a daily two-minute schwa drill. Show five long words. Students mark the likely schwa with a dot, then read the word. Follow with one short sentence that includes one target word. Keep items decodable outside of the schwa so focus stays on the rhythm.

On day four, flip it. Read the word first, then ask students to mark the schwa they heard. On day five, run a quick check with the same set. Aim for smooth, not perfect. The goal is to hear and feel the relaxed vowel and let it guide reading.

Tracking the drop in errors

Pick ten multisyllabic words from your science or social studies text that week. On Monday, have students read them and mark which syllables felt strong and which felt soft. On Friday, repeat. Count errors and note how many schwa markings they got right.

A drop of a quarter to a third in errors shows the lessons are working. If the numbers do not move, you may be using words with many untaught patterns. Switch to high-control words first, then return to content words once the ear is trained.

If you want ready-made schwa lines and practice pages, book a free trial at debsie.com/courses and we will share a full pack you can use tomorrow.

21) Introducing 2–3 new GPCs per week optimizes retention; >5/week lowers retention by ~20%.

Why fewer new patterns stick better

Grapheme–phoneme correspondences are the backbone of early reading. When students meet only two or three new letter–sound links each week, their brains have time to practice, forget a little, and then remember again.

That small forget-and-recall loop is how long-term memory forms. When we push five or more new GPCs in a week, accuracy drops because attention splits and practice gets thin.

For multilingual learners, the load is even heavier, since some sounds are brand new to the mouth and the ear. A slower, steadier pace turns new sounds into solid tools that students can use in real books, not just on a chart.

A weekly plan that fits any classroom

On Monday, teach one new GPC with a short mouth model, a clear key word, and three clean words to blend. On Tuesday, spiral that GPC with one older pattern and add two short sentences. On Wednesday, teach the second new GPC for the week and follow the same steps.

On Thursday, blend both new GPCs with two review patterns in short lines, then do one minute of dictation. On Friday, run a quick check using ten words and two sentences that only use taught patterns.

If you want a third new GPC in a week, place it on Wednesday and keep Friday’s assessment small. This rhythm keeps energy high and practice dense without overload.

Keeping practice rich without adding more new items

Grow depth, not width. Use the same new GPC to build many short tasks. Read it in words, write it, spot it in a sentence, and use it in a tiny caption. Swap out first letters to make a word family and reread the list for ease.

For ELLs, add a five-second contrast with a nearby sound and let students feel voiced versus unvoiced with a hand on the throat. Tie print to mouth first, then to meaning in a short line so the sound lives in a real context.

Fast ways to monitor retention

Give two one-minute checks each week. Midweek, show six words with Monday’s GPC and four review words. On Friday, mix both new GPCs with six review targets. Track percent correct and seconds to read.

If accuracy falls when you add a third new GPC, trim back the next week and add more rereads of decodable lines. Share a tiny progress note with families so they can echo-read two lines at home.

If you’d like a pacing map and ready passages aligned to this 2–3 GPC rhythm, our Debsie team can share a starter pack in a free trial class and help you tune it to your grade.

22) 70–85% of Spanish–English cognates retain similar spelling; explicit mapping speeds recognition ~1.5×.

Why cognates are a shortcut you should use daily

Cognates are word cousins across languages. They look alike, sound close, and mean the same. For many Spanish–English pairs, the spelling match is strong, so the bridge is easy to cross.

When we point out the match on purpose, students see a familiar shape, link it to meaning fast, and then adjust the sound for English. That one move speeds word recognition and frees up brain space for the rest of the sentence.

It also builds pride in bilingual knowledge. The message is clear: your first language helps you grow in English.

A tight routine for explicit mapping

Pick two or three cognates tied to this week’s GPCs or topic. Show the English word and the Spanish partner. Say both out loud. Underline the shared letters. Circle the chunk that sounds different in English and model the mouth move for that change.

Read a short English sentence with the word so meaning stays strong. Ask one quick check like tell me, what does this word mean in our story. Move right back to decodable practice so the code work continues. Keep the whole routine under three minutes so it boosts, not steals, phonics time.

Handling false friends and sound shifts without fuss

Some look-alikes do not share meaning. Tag them as tricky twins and give the English meaning in one short line. Keep moving. For sound shifts, keep the fix simple. If final -tion changes to /shun/ in English, mark it once with a small note and read two examples.

If a vowel shifts, give a mouth cue and one minimal pair to feel the change. Do not turn the moment into a full language lesson. The goal is a clean bridge from what students know to what they see on the page.

Measuring the 1.5× speed lift

Time a quick read of ten mixed words: five cognates and five noncognates that match your GPC set. Do this before you start explicit mapping, then again after two weeks. Track seconds and errors. You should see faster recognition for cognates and steady growth for noncognates too.

If the speed gain is small, reduce the number of new words and use the same cognates across several days so memory gets deeper. Invite families to share home-life cognates to add to a class wall.

If you want a ready bank of high-yield cognates matched to common GPCs, Debsie coaches can share printable lists and demo the routine live.

23) After 20 weeks of structured literacy, ELLs gain 25–35 WCPM vs 10–15 in business-as-usual.

Why a structured plan multiplies fluency

Words correct per minute is a simple, honest look at fluency. A twenty-week stretch of systematic lessons gives ELLs more practice with real payoffs because every part of the block points to code, accuracy, and meaning.

Business-as-usual often mixes random texts, wide but shallow word lists, and long talk. A structured plan stays narrow, keeps texts decodable, and repeats key work until it sticks. That is why the lift in WCPM is much higher. Students read more words, make fewer slips, and feel calm on the page.

What a 20-week arc can look like

Divide the arc into five four-week units. In each unit, teach a tight set of GPCs, practice with high-control lines, and map ten to fifteen high-frequency words by heart.

Run a steady daily frame: two minutes of mouth warm-up on target sounds, five to eight minutes of direct GPC work, eight minutes of blending and word reading, eight minutes of sentence and passage reading, and three minutes of dictation with quick fix.

Keep decodability at eighty to ninety percent so success is real. Add one minute of oral language use tied to the text so students connect reading to ideas, not just code.

How to track WCPM without stress

Choose a clean passage that fits the unit’s patterns. In week one, record a one-minute read for a baseline. Repeat in week four of each unit. Chart growth with the student so they see the line rise. If the line goes flat for two checks, look at fidelity first.

Are your texts truly controlled. Are you adding too many new GPCs. Is feedback fast and short. Fix the block before you add more time. For ELLs, also check if mouth work happens before print. That tiny step often unlocks a stuck slope.

Keeping motivation high across 20 weeks

Make growth visible and fun. Let students collect tiny stamps for each clean reread. Post a simple class graph that shows total words read this week. Pair students for echo reading so they hear smooth phrasing. Tie fluency to purpose with one quick question after each passage so the brain links speed with sense.

Invite families to listen to a one-minute read at home once a week and cheer for smooth lines. If you want a ready-made 20-week plan with passages, timing sheets, and coaching videos, book a Debsie trial class and we will set you up to start next Monday.

24) Dictation with phoneme–grapheme mapping twice weekly raises spelling accuracy by 15–20 points.

Why dictation is a power move

Dictation links ears, mouth, hand, and eyes in one tight loop. The teacher says a word. Students stretch the sounds, match each sound to a letter or letter team, write it, and then read it back. This builds strong memory for how words work.

For multilingual learners, this is especially helpful because it slows the moment enough to feel each sound and then lock it to print. Two focused dictation sessions a week give enough spaced practice to make spelling jump without eating your whole schedule.

Accuracy climbs because students stop guessing and start mapping every sound with care.

A simple twice-weekly routine that fits any plan

Set aside eight to ten minutes. Start with three warm-up sounds tied to your current pattern. Students tap boxes or slide chips as they say each sound. Move to five decodable words that use only taught graphemes. Say the word in a short sentence for meaning, then repeat the word alone.

Students finger-spell, write, and then check each grapheme, underlining the new pattern. End with one short sentence that uses two of the words. Read the sentence as a class, then let students write it, say it, and read it back. Keep the pace brisk.

Your voice stays calm and clear. Your modeling is short and concrete.

Feedback that fixes errors fast

When a student misses a letter, point to the sound box they skipped and ask what sound lives here. Wait. Let them say the sound and supply the grapheme. If a sound can be spelled two ways that you have taught, prompt with a tiny clue, such as we use this team in the middle of a word.

Keep praise precise. Say you matched three sounds to three letters or great fix on the vowel. Avoid long speeches. The goal is rapid, accurate action that the student can repeat next time.

Adapting for multilingual learners

Preview tricky mouth moves before you start. Model any sound that is new to the class’s first language.

Use a mirror or a quick hand cue so students feel the sound before they write it. Keep your word set concrete and familiar so meaning is never the problem. If you must include a high-frequency irregular word, mark the odd part with a small heart and say this bit we know by heart.

Track gains and share wins

Keep a tiny scorecard. Each dictation day, record words correct out of five and sentence accuracy out of one. Chart the numbers for each learner so progress is visible. After two to three weeks, you should see a clear rise.

Share a one-page home guide so families can run a mini dictation at home once a week. If you want ready-made dictation lists, sound boxes, and scorecards, join a free Debsie trial class and we will set you up to start this week.

25) Combining phonics with oral language support yields 0.5–0.8 SD gains in word reading for ELLs.

Why code plus talk beats code alone

Phonics teaches the code, but words live in speech. When you pair sound–letter instruction with short, rich oral practice, multilingual learners connect the marks on the page to real language they can hear and say.

This blend builds clarity, lowers stress, and helps students self-correct because they know what would sound right in a sentence. The effect is big because both systems grow at once: decoding gets faster and vocabulary gets deeper.

A tight lesson frame that blends both

Open with a one-minute mouth warm-up for the target sound, then add a one-minute micro-chat that uses two or three decodable words in simple sentences. You might say I can pack a bag and Can you pack a bag, then ask two students to answer with yes, I can or no, I cannot.

Move straight into five minutes of explicit GPC work and blending. Follow with five minutes of reading sentences and a short decodable passage. Close with a one-minute oral wrap where students turn to a partner and say a tiny answer using a target word, such as I will pack a red cap.

The talk is brief, planned, and always tied to the code you just taught.

Making language supports simple and strong

Use clear gestures, quick sketches, and real objects to anchor meaning. Keep your questions yes/no or this/that at first so talk flows. Model a sentence stem that students can copy, then fade it as they gain ease.

If a word is new in English but easy to decode, give a five-second picture or demo before reading so decoding and meaning stay linked. Praise talk moves like full sentences and correct use of the target word, not just volume.

Keeping print in charge

Do not let the chat take over. The oral parts bookend the print work and exist to support it.

Every sentence students speak should use patterns they can decode. That way, speech and print pull in the same direction. If discussion drifts, bring it back with a quick read-and-point so the eyes return to the line.

Measuring the lift

Choose one clean passage per unit. Record words correct per minute and accuracy each Friday. Also keep a simple oral checklist for the week’s target words used correctly in speech. When both grow, you are on track.

If decoding rises but oral use is flat, simplify stems and reduce the number of new words. If talk grows but decoding stalls, tighten decodability. For a full set of code-plus-talk lesson plans, book a Debsie trial and we will share a ready arc plus modeling videos.

26) Teaching ~20 high-frequency prefixes/suffixes improves decoding of long words by 10–20%.

Why morphology multiplies power

Once learners handle basic phonics, long words start to block the road. Many of those words are built from a small set of common prefixes and suffixes. When students can spot and read these chunks fast, the rest of the word gets shorter and easier.

This is not a late-grade skill only. Even in Grade 2 and 3, knowing un-, re-, pre-, dis-, and endings like -ed, -ing, -er, -est, and -ly gives a big advantage. For multilingual learners, clear teaching of meaning and sound together makes long words less scary and more logical.

A three-step routine for parts that matter

Teach the chunk, the sound, and the sense in under three minutes. Show the prefix or suffix, say it, and link it to one short meaning. Read two decodable base words with the chunk attached, then remove the chunk and read the base again.

Students feel how the chunk changes the word. Next, write one simple sentence with the target word and have students read it. Finally, ask a quick oral check like what does replay mean. Keep each move short and focused. Return to the same handful of chunks across the week so memory gets deep.

Helping ELLs see and hear the parts

Mark the chunk with a color so eyes catch it. If the chunk changes spelling of the base, model the change once, then practice with two more examples. Tie meaning to gestures. Re- can be a small circle motion with a finger.

Un- can be a quick undo motion. Keep gestures simple so print stays the star. If a suffix shifts the vowel sound, say it slowly, then read the word at normal speed so students hear the change.

Using parts in real text

Choose short passages rich in the week’s chunks. Before reading, let students box the prefixes and suffixes so the long words look friendly. During reading, pause once to ask how the chunk helps you read this word. After reading, have students write one tiny caption using a target word so they own the part in writing too.

Tracking the 10–20% gain

Create a list of twelve long decodable words that use your twenty chunks. Give a one-minute read at the start of the month and again at the end. Track accuracy and seconds. You should see a steady lift.

If not, your list may include many untaught vowel teams or odd spellings. Simplify, then climb again. If you want a ranked list of high-value prefixes and suffixes with decodable bases and short texts, join a free Debsie session and we will send the full kit.

27) Native-language literacy accounts for 30–50% of variance in English decoding growth among ELLs.

Why first-language reading power matters

When a child can read in their first language, that skill does not stay in one box. It helps them break words in English too. Things like knowing where syllables break, how letters sit on a line, and how eyes move across a page carry over.

That is why a large slice of growth in English decoding links back to native-language literacy. This is not about one language being better than another. It is about habits of print. A child who already blends, tracks, and self-corrects in their first language will learn English code faster because the routine is familiar.

The same is true for word parts. If the child knows common prefixes or endings in the home language, they notice them in English and the long word feels smaller right away. This understanding should shape how we plan lessons. We do not start from zero. We start from strength.

How to find and use L1 strengths

In week one, take a short look at each learner’s reading in their first language. Ask them to read a very simple text, even if you do not share the language. Watch the eyes. Do they track line to line. Listen for steady pace. Notice if they point to letters when stuck.

Ask families three quick questions in plain words. Do they read at home in the first language. What kinds of books do they like. What helps the child when a word is hard. Now plan with this information. If the child blends well in L1, move quickly to English blending with clean decodables.

If they have strong syllable work in L1, bring that skill to English by teaching open and closed syllables early and showing how the rules look similar or different. If they use word parts in L1, teach a small set of high-value English prefixes and suffixes right away so they can use the same strategy.

Build bridges, mark gaps, and move with purpose

Make small bridge cards. On one side, write a sound or chunk in English. On the other, write the closest match in the home language or draw a mouth cue if the scripts differ. Use these cards for a thirty-second warm-up before reading.

If a sound does not exist in L1, label it new and give it extra mouth practice. Use mirrors, a hand on the throat for voiced sounds, and a simple cue. Keep practice friendly and short. When reading, pause once to ask what helped you fix that word.

Let the child say I saw the chunk or I knew that syllable from my other language. This talk builds pride and makes transfer a habit, not a guess.

Track growth and show the story

Every two weeks, record one minute of decodable reading and one minute of multisyllabic word reading. Keep a small chart for each learner. When growth is strong, note the bridge that helped. When growth dips, check if you are leaning only on English drills and not using the L1 strengths you discovered.

Adjust the next week. Share the chart with families in simple terms. Tell them that reading in the home language each night for ten minutes, even a short news piece or a story, will lift English growth too.

Invite them to a short Debsie trial class where we model these bridges and give them a set of ready cards. When a home language is treated as power, English reading rises faster and stress drops for everyone.

28) Short spaced retrieval (2–4 minutes daily) doubles long-term GPC retention vs massed practice.

Why tiny, frequent recall wins

The brain keeps what it has to pull back from memory. That is retrieval. When we ask students to recall a letter–sound link for a few minutes every day, then let it rest, then ask again, the pathway grows stronger. One long drill feels busy, but it fades fast.

Many short recalls stick. For multilingual learners, this pattern also gives time for the mouth and ear to settle on new sounds. The work is short, calm, and repeats across days. That is why the same GPCs are still there next week and next month. The goal is quick, clean recall, not long study sessions.

A daily micro-routine that fits anywhere

Set a timer for two to four minutes. Show five to eight graphemes you have taught. Cover them. Say the sound prompt, such as the sound for this card, and let students write the letter or letter team on a whiteboard without looking.

Reveal the card and have them check. Switch it. Show the grapheme and have them say the sound, then write one quick word that uses it. Move fast. Keep your voice low and steady. If a sound is new to English for your learners, add a one-second mouth cue before the recall so the ear and hand agree.

End with a rapid read where students slide a finger under two or three words built from the same GPCs. Then stop. Do not stretch the timer. The power comes from short, sharp pulls on memory.

Spacing across the week

On Monday, hit the new pair of GPCs plus two review items. On Tuesday, drop the easy one and keep the new one with three different review items. On Wednesday, bring back Monday’s easy one for a quick check, then add a different review set.

On Thursday, mix both new and two reviews again. On Friday, run a one-minute cold check with mixed items and track percent correct. This pattern gives at least three spaced recalls per GPC over five days, which is enough to lock them in.

If a grapheme keeps slipping, do not add more time. Add more spacing. Hit it for thirty seconds at the start and thirty seconds at the end of the lesson, then again tomorrow.

Keeping it ELL-friendly

Avoid look-and-chant. Force memory to work. Hide the card, ask for the sound or the spelling, and then check. If two graphemes are easily confused, such as e and i or b and d, never drill them back to back on day one.

Separate them by other items and only compare after each is solid alone. Give exact, short feedback within three seconds. Say try the short i sound or remember, this team says /sh/ in this word. Keep decodables tight so recall flows right into real reading.

Invite families to run a one-minute recall at home with three cards and a pencil. A tiny routine like this can fit in the time it takes to boil water for tea.

Measuring the double gain

Choose ten GPCs in play this month. On day one, run a one-minute recall for each student where they write the grapheme when you say the sound, then read three words per target. Record accuracy. After two weeks of daily spaced retrieval, run the same check.

You should see faster answers and fewer misses. If not, your set may be too large or your items too mixed. Trim to six targets, keep sessions under four minutes, and try again.

If you want a ready calendar of spaced prompts and clean word lists for each stage, book a free Debsie trial class. We will coach you live and share printable decks so your team can start tomorrow.

29) Mastery of the first 26 letter–sound correspondences predicts 60–70% of end-year decoding outcomes.

Why this early mastery matters most

The first twenty-six letter–sound links are the core of the code. When students can hear a sound, say it, point to it, and write it without pause, they unlock blending. They can look at a word like map and slide from m to a to p with a calm brain.

That skill predicts much of the year’s reading growth because it turns print from a puzzle into a plan. For multilingual learners, this base lets them use what they already know from the home language, like tracking left to right, waiting for the vowel, and fixing a slip by looking back at the letters.

When these first links are firm, new patterns sit on top with less strain.

How to build full mastery fast

Keep a five-part loop each day. Start with a one-minute mouth warm-up on two target sounds, using a mirror and a quick cue so lips, tongue, and voice feel right. Move to a one-minute sound-to-letter flash where you say a sound and students write the letter on a whiteboard, then check.

Shift to a one-minute letter-to-sound round in mixed order so memory, not guessing, does the work. Spend three minutes blending with clean CVC words that use only known letters. End with a one-minute dictation line that uses two to three target letters.

Use short, exact prompts like try the short a or check the end sound. Avoid long talk. Precision beats length.

Fixing the classic confusions

Many ELLs mix b and v, or b and d, or short i and short e. Treat each pair with a small plan. For b versus d, teach an anchor move. Make a b with the left hand and a d with the right so the shape is felt, then link the shape to print.

For b versus v, use the lip-bite cue for v and a quick throat check for b to feel voicing. For i versus e, give a key word for each and a chin tap for the short sound. Practice each target alone for a few days before comparing them. Do not rush to contrast on day one. Build one strong, then bring in the cousin.

Measuring mastery every week

Run two tiny checks. In the first, you say ten sounds and students write the letters in under one minute. In the second, you flash ten letters and students say the sounds in under one minute. Aim for at least nine of ten correct in each and smooth pace with no long pauses.

Chart scores so learners can see growth. When one link sticks at eight of ten for two weeks, give it ten extra seconds a day with a mouth cue and two clean words. Keep the rest of the plan steady. Small tweaks beat big shifts.

Make home a partner in two minutes

Send a pocket card with six letters for the week. Ask families to point to a letter, hear the sound, and have the child write it once and say a quick word with that sound. Keep it to two minutes. Share a tiny video to model the routine.

If you want a full set of pocket cards, mixed-order flash sheets, and weekly check templates, book a free trial at debsie.com/courses. We will show you the loop live and give you the pack so you can start tomorrow.

30) Corrective feedback delivered within 3–5 seconds cuts fossilized pronunciation errors by 15–25%.

Why speed is everything

A fossilized error is a mistake that turns into a habit. It shows up again and again because the brain practiced the wrong move many times. The best way to stop this is quick, kind feedback right after the slip. Three to five seconds is the sweet spot.

Wait longer, and the brain stores the miss. Correct sooner, and the right path replaces the wrong one before it sticks. For multilingual learners, fast, calm feedback is a gift. It keeps confidence high, keeps the lesson flowing, and makes each new sound feel safe to try again.

A simple three-step correction you can use all day

Keep your ladder short. First, cue. Point to the letter or chunk and give the smallest hint, like check the short a or lip bite for v. Let the learner try. If the slip stays, model once. You say the sound or the word slowly with a finger slide under the letters.

Then you do a quick we-do repeat. Third, return to independence. The student reads the word again and then reads the next word right away to lock in the fix. The whole cycle takes under ten seconds. Your tone stays warm. Your words stay few. The student feels the win, not the weight.

Make cues visual, not just verbal

Use a tiny set of hand signs and mouth cards so you can correct without long talk. A chin tap can mean short vowel. Two fingers together can mean read the team as one sound. A soft hand wave can mean schwa. Keep the set small so students learn the code.

For a new English sound that is not in the child’s home language, add a clear mouth photo on a small card and a quick contrast with a nearby sound. Let students feel voiced versus unvoiced with a hand on the throat. These cues cut the time you spend explaining and put action back in the learner’s hands.

Protect dignity while fixing fast

Correct the error, not the child. Use neutral words like try this sound rather than no, that’s wrong. When many students miss the same word, switch to choral read for a line so no one feels alone. Praise the fix right after it happens, not at the end of the page.

Say you fixed that vowel right away or great slide from s to a. These short, exact notes tell the brain what to repeat next time.

Track errors so habits really change

Keep a tiny error log for each group. Write the word, the sound that slipped, the cue you used, and whether the student fixed it on the spot. Review the log on Friday and pick two targets for next week’s warm-up.

In reading samples, track three numbers once a week: total errors, percentage of self-corrections, and time to correct. You should see fewer repeats, more self-corrects, and faster fixes in three to four weeks.

If numbers do not move, your cues may be too vague or your texts may include many untaught patterns. Tighten both and try again.

Bring families into the cue system

Share one small cue card with two to three signs and a short line of what to say at home, such as check the short a or read the two letters as one sound. Ask for a one-minute read each night with quick cues only. Remind families to keep tone kind and to move on after the fix.

If you want ready-made cue cards with photos and a short training video, our Debsie team can send them in a free trial class at debsie.com/courses. We will model the three-step correction so you can use it right away in your next lesson.

Conclusion

You now have a clear path to help multilingual learners grow fast and feel calm with print. Small, steady actions create the lift: mouth-first modeling before letters, clean decodables that match what was taught, tiny daily reviews, and quick feedback within seconds.

When you use cross-language bridges, teach a tight set of high-value graphemes, and weave in short oral practice, students read more words with fewer slips. Confidence rises, and with it come focus, grit, and problem solving that carry into math, science, and coding.

None of this needs fancy tools. It needs a clear plan, warm tone, and short routines you repeat until they stick.

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