How vocabulary breadth and depth influence bilingual reading comprehension: Direct and indirect pathways

Abstract

This study examined the links between two aspects of vocabulary knowledge (i.e., breadth and depth) and reading comprehension, and the mediating impact of word reading on these links within and across first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English among 391 Hong Kong Chinese-English bilingual second graders. After administering tasks on receptive and expressive vocabulary breadth, expressive vocabulary depth, word reading, and reading comprehension, path model analyses revealed a direct effect of receptive vocabulary breadth, and indirect effects of expressive vocabulary breadth and depth through word reading, on reading comprehension in L1 Chinese. However, in L2 English, a direct effect occurred in expressive vocabulary depth, while indirect effects were observed in receptive and expressive vocabulary breadth. The cross-language analyses showed a direct effect of Chinese receptive vocabulary, and an indirect effect of Chinese expressive vocabulary depth through L2 English word reading, on English reading comprehension.