Examining the simple view of reading in Kiswahili: Longitudinal evidence from Kenya

Abstract

The present study examines the applicability of the simple view of reading (SVR) (Gough & Tunmer, 1986) model of reading comprehension in Kiswahili, a language that has a transparent orthography. We examined the developmental relationships among nonword decoding, listening comprehension, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension using longitudinal data from a sample of 628 Kenyan children, enrolled in first and second grade. Children completed eight different tasks. We fit autoregressive cross-lagged path models with maximum likelihood estimation to examine the developmental relationships. Our findings showed support for the SVR model, given that both nonword decoding and listening comprehension were significant predictors of reading comprehension in Kiswahili. Nonword decoding was the stronger predictor. The results further revealed that both accuracy and speed of nonword decoding played significant roles in reading comprehension in Kiswahili for beginning readers. Our findings suggest that oral reading fluency and accuracy were significant predictors of reading comprehension.