Examining the Simple View of Reading Model for United States High School Spanish Students

Abstract

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model, which posits that reading comprehension is the product of word decoding and language comprehension that make independent contributions to reading skill, has been found to explain the acquisition of first language (L1) reading and second language (L2) reading in young English language learners (ELLs). Researchers have not examined the SVR for explaining L2 reading acquisition in older L2 learners several years after they acquired literacy in their L1. In this investigation, 165 US secondary level students in high school Spanish courses were administered measures of Spanish word decoding, reading comprehension, phonemic awareness, language comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. Multiple regression analyses revealed that Spanish word decoding explained 35% and Spanish language comprehension explained 31% of the variance in Spanish reading comprehension. Participants were classified as having high, average, and low levels of Spanish reading comprehension and compared on all testing measures. Results revealed overall group differences with high-achieving Spanish readers exhibiting significantly stronger skills than average and low groups on all measures. Findings support the SVR model for older L2 readers and suggest that once a certain level of word decoding in the L2 is attained, L2 language comprehension and L2 vocabulary may be the limiting factors for proficient L2 reading comprehension.