English-language learners’ problem solving in Spanish versus English

Resumen

To explore the role of language in English Language Learners (ELLs)´ problem solving, we compare the performance of a group of Latino first graders when working in Spanish and in English on two equivalent sets of story problems. We contrast our results with others from previous studies with bilingual and monolinguals children by focusing on students´ performance in problems with the same semantic structure. This comparison leads us to discuss some factors influencing students´ problem solving. The findings support the use of problem solving in teaching ELLs. Students’ performance was slightly higher in English, even in problems of higher language complexity, but lower than monolingual students from other studies.