The role of language comprehension skills and instructional practices in cross-language influence of Spanish-speaking dual language learners’ calculation skills

Abstract

The purpose of this empirical study was 2-fold: (a) to investigate the relationships between Spanish-speaking dual language learners’ (DLLs, N = 223) Spanish language comprehension skills, Spanish calculation performance, English language comprehension skills, and English calculation performance; and (b) to explore the relationship between teachers’ (N = 20) instructional activities and DLLs’ calculation performance. Three important findings emerged. First, significant relationships occurred: (a) between DLLs’ Spanish vocabulary knowledge and Spanish reading comprehension (β = 0.59, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.37); and (b) between DLLs’ Spanish reading comprehension and Spanish calculation performance (β = 0.17, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.12). Second, a significant cross-linguistic relationship in Spanish and English calculation performance emerged (β = 0.41, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.29). Finally, teachers’ explicit teaching and guided practice significantly predicted DLLs’ Spanish calculation performance, but only teachers’ explicit teaching significantly moderated the impact of DLLs’ Spanish calculation performance on their English calculation performance. These findings support the notion that: (a) DLLs’ Spanish language comprehension skills predict their Spanish calculation performance, which subsequently impacts their English calculation performance; and (b) teachers’ explicit teaching and guided practice directly enhance DLLs’ Spanish calculation performance, which in turn later influences their English calculation performance.