I have a 14 year old student from Guatemala. She is brand
new to the USA and speaks no English. She was in 5th grade
last year in Guatemala but due to her age the school placed
her in 7th grade here. Her academic skills are very weak.
She is literate in Spanish but things just don't connect.
She does learn, but slowly and only with more than a
regular amount of repetition. Her native language is
Spanish, not an indigenous language. I do a one on one pull-
out with her.

My principal observed me today and told me that I'm using
too much Spanish with her and she'd learn English faster if
I didn't speak English. (He has no ESL background although
he is fluent in Spanish himself.) My feeling is that she
won't get it if I only use English. I feel that she will
learn slower if I only use English. Obviously if I didn't
speak Spanish then I'd have to only use English and she
would still learn fine.

I'm looking for opinions on how much L1 to use. My
observation overall was fine and I get along well with my
principal so I'm not worried about that. But the L1 issue
with Spanish-speaking newcomers has always been a tough
issue for me. I don't like to see a student struggling when
I could explain it quickly in Spanish. But then does that
create an over-reliance on Spanish?

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