Lucía Rocha-Nestler is the founder and CEO of Hola Books, an educational publishing company dedicated to building strong, joyful Spanish literacy through research-based, Spanish-first materials. A former dual-language teacher with over 20 years of classroom experience, Lucía brings deep expertise in bilingual literacy development, curriculum design, and professional learning. She is a first-generation college graduate, the daughter of immigrant agricultural workers, and a school board trustee whose work centers equity, access, and culturally sustaining instruction for multilingual learners.

In this episode, Lucía Rocha-Nestler explains why the strongest literacy instruction for multilingual learners intentionally integrates the Science of Reading with language acquisition research. She emphasizes that language and literacy grow together—but differently—and that students need explicit foundational skills instruction alongside rich oral language, identity-affirming materials, and meaningful interaction. Using Spanish literacy as a central example, Lucía makes a compelling case for materials designed in and for the language of instruction, rather than translated from English.

Key Takeaways:

• Language and literacy develop together, but differently.

• Oral language is the thread that should run through all literacy instruction.

• Languages organize sound, print, and meaning in different ways. Literacy instruction must be designed for the language itself, not translated from English.

• Literacy materials designed for multilingual learners should be built from the ground up, not added on later.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Welcome to Literacy Across Languages!

(01:48) Meet Lucía Rocha-Nestler

(06:59) Learning to Read and Learning Language

(10:01) Language and Literacy Develop Together, But Differently

(14:46) Integrating Bilingual and Biliteracy Instruction

(17:35) Learning to Read in Spanish

(22:49) Supporting Spanish-Speaking Students in English-Only Settings

(28:17) Designing Effective Spanish-First Literacy Materials

(36:41) Curriculum Considerations for Educators and Leaders

(41:08) Celebrating Multilingual Learners

(43:48) Takeaways

Episode Resources:

• Check out Hola Books' beautiful library of Spanish-first, research-based literacy materials!
• Learn more about structured literacy in bilingual classrooms in Lucía's interview on the Literacy Lunch Break podcast.
• Want to learn more about Dr. Beatriz Diuk's research on Spanish literacy? Check out her book, Enseñar a leer y escribir.

Stay Connected:

• Visit us at ⁠literacyacrosslanguages.com⁠.
• Email us with questions or episode suggestions at [email protected].
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Keywords: Spanish-first literacy, biliteracy, bilingual education, dual language instruction, Spanish literacy development, transparent orthography, English orthography, language transfer, decoding errors, structured literacy, Science of Reading, second language acquisition, oral language development, oracy, vocabulary, syntax, morphology, meaningful interaction, culturally sustaining instruction, identity and representation, curriculum adoption, teacher usability, scope and sequence, foundational skills instruction