The Neuroscience of Biliteracy: Why AI Has to Be Built with Intention

“I like that the EL students are able to practice reading with assistance from Amira. They do not get that at home since most of the parents do not speak or read in English so they cannot offer help at home.” — District Administrator – ESL & Bilingual Programs, Tangipahoa Parish, LA

In classrooms across the country, bilingualism is on the rise. More than 5 million students in U.S. public schools are classified as English Learners, and the number is growing. But many reading platforms still treat English as the default, and Spanish as an afterthought.

The problem? Translation isn’t the same as true biliteracy support. And neuroscience shows why.

One Brain, Two Languages: A Complex Cognitive Network

Researchers studying the bilingual brain have found something remarkable: learning to read in two languages doesn’t just double the workload, it reshapes how the brain processes information.

When students are exposed to both English and Spanish reading instruction, their brains form:

• More flexible cognitive connections
  
  
• Stronger executive functioning skills
  
  
• Improved phonological awareness in both languages

But to support that kind of development, students need more than side-by-side texts. They need tools that understand the structural, phonetic, and syntactic differences between languages—and how those differences affect reading development.

Why AI Must Be Bilingual By Design

Many edtech tools rely on translation overlays or English-trained AI models “converted” into Spanish. But neuroscience - and classroom practice - makes it clear: that’s not enough.

To truly support biliteracy, AI must:

• Be trained on authentic Spanish speech, not translated English
  
  
• Assess and respond to language-specific errors
  
  
• Account for differences in syllable structure, word order, and decoding patterns
  
  
• Recommend instruction that respects both linguistic and cultural contexts

That’s where Amira is different.

Built From the Brain Out: Amira’s Bilingual AI

Amira Learning’s bilingual support is fully integrated into the core Reading Suite, not a separate product. It’s the only AI-powered literacy platform built with dual-language neurodevelopment in mind. Our Spanish experience is:

• Trained on native Spanish speakers, not machine-translated scripts
  
  
• Designed for syllable-timed languages like Spanish (vs. stress-timed like English)
  
  
• Tuned to the unique patterns of bilingual readers including transfer effects, cross-language support, and decoding variability

In real classrooms, this means students read aloud to Amira in either language and get feedback that is accurate, immediate, and rooted in research.

What the Research Shows

The neuroscience of biliteracy isn’t just theory, it’s showing up in data:

• Students using Amira in bilingual classrooms are growing up to 2x faster
  
  
• Teachers report higher confidence in supporting biliteracy
  
  
• Districts are using Amira’s unified platform to track growth across both languages

And because Amira connects English and Spanish instruction in one seamless system, students experience continuity, not fragmentation.

Bilingual Support requires Authenticity

As more districts embrace dual-language and English Learner support, they need tools that are designed for the bilingual brain, not just retrofitted to support it.

Amira represents a shift toward what neuroscience demands:

• Authentic models
• Dual-language design
• Instruction that respects the cognitive journey of bilingual learners

Want to See the Bilingual Brain in Action?

Amira is helping districts across the country accelerate biliteracy with AI built for both languages.

Schedule a demo to see how it works.

Let’s grow reading—a juntos!