This study determined the effectiveness of an early literacy program that embeds skills-based instruction into meaningful contexts, documented children's engagement in the instruction, and obtained insights into how language of origin (Spanish or English) influences performance in instruction in two languages. The program, Systematic and Engaging Early Literacy Instruction (SEEL), is a meaning-based approach that highlights literacy targets in hands-on and interactive activities. Researchers monitored the progress of children participating in dual-language Spanish—English classrooms and compared performance of classrooms where instruction was applied to different skills at different times (first or second 6-week block of instruction). ANCOVAs were conducted with time of assessment (Posttest 1 and Posttest 2) and class (alliteration first versus rhyme first) as independent variables, mean raw score for each of the tasks (rhyme, alliteration, blending, and word recognition) as dependent variables, and entering performance on each measure as the covariate. Assessment of children who were native speakers of both Spanish and English showed significant time effects, reflecting progress in acquiring early literacy skills. English-speaking children demonstrated significant Time × Class effects for alliteration and rhyming. The ANCOVA analysis for Spanish-speaking children's data resulted in a significant Time × Class interaction for syllable alliteration, indicating that performance gains were related to the presence of instruction. In addition, observation of children's performance demonstrated developmental progression in attaining the targeted literacy skills, revealed high levels of engagement in instruction, and gave insights into the role played by language of instruction in the learning process.
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