The development of English grammar and reading comprehension by majority and minority language children in a bilingual primary school

Anja K Steinlen

doi:10.14746/ssllt.2017.7.3.4

Abstract

Both for the first language (L1) and for all additional languages (L2 or L3), grammatical knowledge plays a vital role in understanding texts (e.g., Grabe, 2005). However, little is known about the development and interaction of grammar and reading comprehension in beginning foreign language learning, especially with respect to children with a minority language background. This longitudinal study, therefore, examined minority and majority language children’s English grammar and reading comprehension skills. The children attended a German-English partial immersion primary school and were tested at the end of Grades 3 and 4. As expected, we found grammar to affect reading comprehension but also reverse effects. Most importantly, the results did not reveal any differences between the two language groups, irrespective of the test. Therefore, immersion primary school programs seem to be suitable for minority language children, and these children do not automatically represent an at-risk group for foreign language learning.

Highlights

Regardless of the language to be learnt, successful reading comprehension is dependent on the grammar the reader knows, that is grammar plays a very important role in understanding texts, both for the first language (L1) and for the other languages (L2 or L3)1 acquired (e.g., Grabe, 2005, 2009; Jeon & Yamashita, 2014)
No significant differences between these two groups were found regarding their performance in Grade 3, except for the grammar test, where minority language children even outperformed majority language children
Minority language children sometimes referred to their family language to account for structural differences, which indicates that they were able to exploit an additional resource, which hardly receives any attention in foreign language teaching. This longitudinal study examined the development of English grammar and reading comprehension by minority and majority language children attending a bilingual primary school

Summary

Introduction

Regardless of the language to be learnt, successful reading comprehension is dependent on the grammar the reader knows, that is grammar plays a very important role in understanding texts, both for the first language (L1) and for the other languages (L2 or L3) acquired (e.g., Grabe, 2005, 2009; Jeon & Yamashita, 2014). Little is currently known about how grammar and reading comprehension for English as a foreign language develop and interact in a bilingual primary school context, especially with respect to minority language children who often have a migration background. Bilingual programs are effective if 50% of the teaching time is used to teach content subjects entirely in the target language (e.g., Genesee, 1987, 2004; Pérez-Canado, 2012; Wesche, 2002; Wode, 1995) In such a (partial) immersion context, the students acquire skills in the school language (L1, often the students’ first language, in this case German) as well as in the target language (here English).. In such a (partial) immersion context, the students acquire skills in the school language (L1, often the students’ first language, in this case German) as well as in the target language (here English). The umbrella term throughout Europe for the educational option of teaching content through another language is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), which refers to “all types of provision

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Discussion

Conclusion