Bilingual children can become biliterate if they have access to literacy instruction in both languages. Biliteracy or dual literacy refers to the ability to read and write in two languages. Biliteracy has a positive impact on children’s educational achievement and cognitive development When children learn to write in two languages they do not confuse the two systems and when the writing system is the same (for example in alphabetic languages like Spanish and Swedish) there is a facilitative effect, so skill developed in one language transfer to the other.
Children can reap the benefits of biliteracy before they are ready to read and write themselves. Playing with sounds and letters, sharing books and telling stories all contribute to literacy development.