English Word Reading Research Articles

Home Literacy Environment and Children's English Language and Literacy Skills in Hong Kong.

Emerging evidence has shown a positive association between the home literacy environment (HLE) and monolingual children’s language and literacy development. Yet, far fewer studies have examined the impact of the HLE on second language development. This study examined relations between the HLE and children’s development of English as a second language in Hong Kong. Participants were 149 ethnic Chinese children (80 girls; Mage = 59 months, SDage = 10 months) and one of their caregivers. Caregivers completed questionnaires about their family backgrounds and HLE and children were assessed on their English language and literacy skills. Findings revealed considerable variability in the types of literacy activities that caregivers were engaged in at home with their children. A series of multilevel regressions demonstrated that the HLE was differentially associated with English vocabulary, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and word reading skills after controlling for child and family characteristics. Results highlight the importance of a literacy-rich home environment for children’s development of English as a second language and the need to support caregivers in providing a range of home literacy activities to facilitate different language and literacy skills.

Literacy learning in early Chinese-English bilinguals: the role of pure copying skill

Literacy learning in different writing systems involves both universal and unique features, even in bilinguals. The present study investigated whether the role of pure copying differs in Chinese and English literacy acquisition by following a group of early Chinese-English bilinguals from kindergarten to grade two across three time points. Age, nonverbal IQ, three cognitive-linguistic skills administered in Chinese (i.e., phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and RAN) and pure copying of unfamiliar scripts (Korean and Hebrew) were tested in 188 children (mean age = 5.54 years) when they were in their final year of kindergarten. Both Chinese and English word reading and spelling performance were measured when they were in first and second grades, respectively. Results showed that pure copying skill was a critical predictor of Chinese reading and spelling, whereas it was not a significant longitudinal correlate of English reading and spelling. In addition, Chinese phonological awareness was a unique correlate of subsequent English, but not Chinese, word reading and spelling. This finding highlights the unique features of literacy learning in two different writing systems and suggests the importance of using somewhat different strategies according to the unique features of different writing systems during literacy learning and teaching.

Predictors of verbal fluency performance in monolingual and bilingual children: The interactive role of English receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence

IntroductionPrevious research has found that when bilingual and monolingual children are equated on English receptive vocabulary, bilingual children outperform monolingual children on verbal fluency tasks (e.g., Pino Escobar et al., 2018; Zeng et al., 2019). However, the locus of these differences in performance is poorly understood. The current study investigated the linguistic and cognitive components that underlie verbal fluency performance in bilingual and English-speaking monolingual children. MethodsStudents in fourth and sixth grade (63 bilinguals and 31 monolinguals) performed both category and letter fluency tasks in English where they named members of provided categories in one-minute trials (e.g., animals, words that start with “F”, respectively). Participants also completed a battery of English language measures (e.g., English receptive vocabulary, English word reading fluency) and cognitive measures (e.g., fluid intelligence, working memory). ResultsAlthough monolinguals outperformed bilinguals on English receptive vocabulary, no group differences emerged on verbal fluency measures. When English receptive vocabulary served as a covariate, bilinguals generated significantly more items than monolinguals in the verbal fluency tasks. For monolinguals, only English receptive vocabulary accounted for unique variance in verbal fluency performance. However, for bilinguals, receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence were significant predictors in both fluency tasks. Additionally, for bilinguals, fluid intelligence impacted the strength of the relationship between English receptive vocabulary and letter fluency performance; they were not significantly correlated for individuals with low cognitive ability and were strongly correlated for individuals with high cognitive ability. ConclusionsResults suggest that unlike monolingual children, bilingual children recruit additional cognitive resources to meet the demands imposed by the verbal fluency task.

Second language immersion impacts native language lexical production and comprehension

Abstract We investigated whether the features of the second language (L2) matter when we consider the consequence of short-term L2 immersion on performance in the native language (L1). We compared L1 performance in English-speaking learners of a typologically-dissimilar L2-Chinese immersed in Chinese while living in Beijing, China and learners of a typologically-similar L2 (Spanish or French) exposed to the L2 in a classroom setting only. The groups were matched on cognitive abilities. Each group performed a battery of language tasks in English that assessed the ability to produce and recognize spoken words, as well as to name written words and pseudo-words in the native language. Immersed learners produced fewer words in their native language, made more semantic errors, and benefited more from higher lexical frequency when retrieving L1 words relative to classroom learners. Immersed learners also revealed reduced competition from dense phonological neighborhoods when listening to English words presented in noise, but no difference in English word reading and phonemic decoding performance compared to classroom learners. Results are consistent with the view that L2 immersion reduces access to the native language, but suggest that the consequences of L2 immersion on the L1 may be dependent upon the form of cross-language differences.

Cross Linguistic Transfer of Literacy Skills between English and French among Grade 1 Students Attending French Immersion Programs

ABSTRACT This study explored the impact of a supplemental reading intervention delivered in English in Grade 1 on the performance of at-risk children educated in French Immersion schools. The intervention contrasted “Direct Mapping and Set-for-Variability” with a “Common and Best Practices” taught control condition in a matched quasi-experimental design. To test claims of cross-linguistic transfer, measures of English and French word reading were administered before and after intervention. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses confirmed that children in the intervention condition showed improved performance at posttest on measures of English and French regular, exception, and pseudoword reading compared to the control condition. Intervention-specific cross language effects on French word and pseudoword reading shown here provide partial support for causal models of transfer in bilingual reading development.

Word reading in English and Arabic in children who are Syrian refugees

AbstractWord reading is a fundamental skill in reading and one of the building blocks of reading comprehension. Theories have posited that for second language (L2) learners, word reading skills are related if the children have sufficient experience in the L2 and are literate in the first language (L1). The L1 and L2 reading, phonological awareness skills, and morphological awareness skills of Syrian refugee children who speak Arabic and English were measured. These children were recent immigrants with limited L2 skills and varying levels of L1 education that was often not commensurate with their ages. Within- and across-language skills were examined in 96 children, ages 6 to 13 years. Results showed that phonological awareness and morphological awareness were strong within-language variables related to reading. Additionally, Arabic phonological awareness and morphological processing were strongly related to English word reading. Commonality analyses for variables within constructs (e.g., phonological awareness, morphological awareness) but across languages (Arabic and English) in relation to English word reading showed that in addition to unique variance contributed by the variables, there was a high degree of overlapping variance.

The role of word reading and oral language skills in reading comprehension in Syrian refugee children

AbstractCanada has resettled more than 57,000 Syrian refugees since 2015 (Government of Canada, 2017). However, little is known about refugee children’s language and literacy development. The present study evaluated Syrian refugee children’s performance on language and literacy measures in English and Arabic, and examined whether the simple view of reading model is applicable in both of their languages. Participants consisted of 115 Syrian refugee children 6–13 years of age. They received a battery of language and literacy measures including word reading, vocabulary, oral narratives, and reading comprehension in both English and Arabic. Compared to the normative samples, refugee children performed poorly on English standardized measures. They also demonstrated difficulties in Arabic, as more than half of the children were not able to read in the language. Despite the relatively low performance, there was evidence to support the simple view of reading model in both languages. In addition, oral language skills played a larger role in English reading comprehension in the older group than the younger group. This age-group comparison was not carried out in Arabic due to reduced sample size. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Revisiting a Long-Lasting Legacy

This review of literature will address the influences of knowledge of Chinese characters on the reading development of English. This question stems from an increasing number of children of Chinese heritage enrolling in school in the U.S. who wish to gain biliteracy in English and Chinese. On the one hand, bilingualism is acknowledged to be beneficial to young readers’ language and cognitive development. However, on the other hand, the logographic nature of Mandarin Chinese makes it difficult for many educators in the country who only know alphabetic languages like English and Spanish to understand how Chinese-English bilingual readers reconcile two different systems and envision what support they may need.
 This review will primarily focus on the basics of Mandarin Chinese and developmental models of the two languages to examine how proficiency in Chinese can transfer to and facilitate the reading development of English. Departing from the comparison and contrast between linguistic features and developmental models of the two languages, this review will investigate contributions of Chinee characters to English word reading at the levels of cognition, morphology, and phonology. While Chinese characters as logograms demand predominantly morphological knowledge than phonological awareness from readers, it is phonological awareness that contributes most to reading English words among beginning readers in kindergarten and first grade.

Early Elementary Grade Dual Language Learners from Spanish-speaking Homes Struggling with English Reading Comprehension: The Dormant Role of Language Skills.

This study investigated contributors of English reading comprehension outcomes among predominantly U.S.-born first and third grade (N = 73) dual language learners (DLLs) from Spanish-speaking, low-income homes who attend English-only instructional schools in the Southern region of the U.S., which is experiencing historic rates of school-age DLL enrollment. We investigated the utility of various conceptualizations of vocabulary, namely English-only, Spanish-only, and specifically Spanish-English conceptually-scored receptive vocabulary, in understanding DLLs' reading comprehension. We first examined whether a gap was evident between the various conceptualizations of vocabulary and English word reading. Then, using structural equation modeling, we investigated the influence of the various conceptualizations of vocabulary on English reading comprehension, accounting for English word reading skills. Finally, we examined the potential contributions of DLLs' home language environments. Results revealed that the gap between English word reading and vocabulary varied as a function of the conceptualization of vocabulary. Further, English word reading emerged as the robust contributor to children's English reading comprehension, with no significant influence of receptive vocabulary, regardless of how it was conceptualized. Finally, and contributing to a nascent area of research, attention to DLLs' home language use practices suggests that the productive language domain (i.e., children's own home language use) may represent an important contributor to English reading comprehension among DLLs from Spanish-speaking homes. We discuss theoretical and practical implications.

CompLex: an eye-movement database of compound word reading in English.

The CompLex database presents a large-scale collection of eye-movement studies on English compound-word processing. A combined total of 440 participants completed eye-tracking experiments in which they silently read unspaced English compound words (e.g., goalpost) embedded in sentence contexts (e.g., Dylan hit the goalpost when he was aiming for the net.). Three studies were conducted using participants representing the non-college-bound population (300 participants), and four studies included participants recruited from the student population (140 participants). The database comprises trial-level eye-movement data (47,763 trials), participant data (including a measure of reading experience estimated via the Author Recognition Test), and lexical characteristics for the set of 931 English compound words used as critical stimuli in the studies. One contribution of the present paper is a set of regression analyses conducted on the full database and individual experiments. We report that the most reliable and consistent main effects were those elicited by compound word length, left constituent frequency, right constituent frequency, compound frequency and semantic transparency. Separately, we also found that the effect of left frequency and compound word length is weaker among more frequent compounds. Another contribution is a power analysis, in which we determined the sample sizes required to reliably detect effect sizes that are comparable to those observed in our regression models. These sample size estimates serve as a recommendation for researchers wishing to either collect eye-movement data for compound word reading, or use the current database as a resource for the study of English compound word processing.

Toward Biliteracy: Unpacking the Contribution of Mid‐adolescent Dual Language Learners’ Spanish and English Academic Language Skills to English Reading Comprehension

Academic language skills support mid‐adolescents’ comprehension of the language of school texts. To date, scarce research has explored associations between dual academic language skills and reading comprehension among mid‐adolescent dual language immersion (DLI) students. This study examined individual differences in Spanish and English academic language skills and their contribution to English reading comprehension in a cross‐sectional sample of DLI students in Grades 4–6 (N = 101). Taking advantage of a recently proposed construct, the core academic language skills (CALS), and the CALS instruments available in Spanish and English, dual academic language skills were examined as predictors of English reading comprehension. Results revealed that Spanish and English CALS were both significant predictors of English reading comprehension even after accounting for students’ sociodemographic background, English proficiency designation, and English word reading fluency. Findings underscore the cross‐linguistic contribution of Spanish academic language skills to English reading comprehension and highlight the importance of promoting these skills in both languages to support mid‐adolescent DLI students’ biliteracy development.

Reading in English as a Foreign Language by Spanish Children With Dyslexia.

It has been reported that children with dyslexia have difficulties with learning a second language. The English alphabetic code is opaque, and it has been stated that deep orthographies cause important problems in children with dyslexia. Considering the strong differences between the Spanish and English orthographic systems, we predicted English reading problems in Spanish-speaking children with dyslexia. The current study focused on English as a foreign language in a group of 22 Spanish children with dyslexia (8–12 year olds), compared to a control group matched for age, gender, grade, and socioeconomic status. The objective was to identify the main difficulties that Spanish-speaking children with dyslexia demonstrate during English reading, to develop specific teaching programs. Participants were given four tasks related to reading: discrimination of phonemes, visual lexical decision, reading aloud, and oral vs. written semantic classification. The results suggest that children with dyslexia demonstrate problems in using English grapheme–phoneme rules, forcing them to employ a lexical strategy to read English words. However, they also showed difficulties in developing orthographic representations of words. Finally, they also exhibited problems with oral language, demonstrating difficulties accessing semantic information from an auditory presentation.

An fMRI study of English and Spanish word reading in bilingual adults

Reading relies on a left-lateralized brain system, including occipito-temporal (OTC), temporo-parietal, and inferior frontal (IFC) cortices. Neuroimaging studies have investigated whether activation in these cortices is modulated by a language’s orthographic depth (consistency of grapheme-to-phoneme conversion). In Spanish-English bilinguals, some but not all studies have reported activation differences between the two languages during reading. Here, we studied Spanish-English early bilingual adults living in the United States (N = 25; 17 females, 8 males). We examined local activity, functional connectivity, and spatially distributed activity patterns during English and Spanish word reading. We found overlap in local activity for the two languages in the left IFC, but no differences in activation between them and few differences in functional connectivity (none of which were in pairs of regions known to be involved in reading); yet, there were spatially distributed patterns of brain activity that differentiate English and Spanish in regions of bilateral cerebellum/left OTC, the left superior occipital gyrus, the left IFC, and the left medial frontal gyrus. Overall, we found no evidence for differences in local activation or functional connectivity during English versus Spanish word processing in regions known to be involved in reading, yet we found brain-based evidence that Spanish-English bilinguals distinguish between the two languages.

Adolescent word reading in English as a foreign language

The current study examined the proficiency of Israeli adolescents in reading single words in English, which is taught as a foreign language, and what language skills predict individual variability. Parallel measures of word reading, phonology, decoding, morpho‐syntax and vocabulary in Hebrew and English were administered to 217 adolescents in 8th and 11th grade. Following 5–8 years of English as a foreign language instruction, participants achieved reading levels commensurate with those of third to fourth grade native English‐speaking children. Decoding and vocabulary knowledge were significant predictors of single word reading across both orthographies. Morpho‐syntactic knowledge predicted word reading only in Hebrew. Further, there was pronounced variability in the extent to which phonological awareness and vocabulary predicted word reading across languages. Low levels of reading performance underline the inherent challenge in achieving reading proficiency in the complex English orthography in a foreign language setting, with limited instruction time and suboptimal pedagogy. Decoding and vocabulary are identified as important universal processes in reading, whereas differences in other predictors support script‐dependent processes in reading as well.

Phonological specificity relates to phonological awareness and reading ability in English–French bilingual children

The 1-year longitudinal study presented here examined the extent to which the ability to build phonologically specific lexical entries as a result of increasing vocabulary size predicts word reading via its impact on phonological awareness within and across languages in 62 emerging English (L1) and French (L2) Grade 1 children (M = 75.69 months, SD = 3.18) enrolled in an early French immersion program in Canada. Lexical specificity was assessed with a computerized word learning game in which children were taught new English (e.g., ‘foal’ and ‘sole’) and French (e.g., bac ‘bin’ and bague ‘ring’) word pairs contrasted by minimal phonological differences. The results revealed that the specificity of English words at the beginning of Grade 1 predicted English word reading at the end of Grade 1 and that this relationship was mediated by English phonological awareness at the beginning of Grade 1. French lexical specificity at the beginning of Grade 1 did not predict French word reading at the end of Grade 1. Notably, English lexical specificity at the beginning of Grade 1 also predicted French word reading at the end of Grade 1 and this relationship was mediated by English phonological awareness at the beginning of Grade 1. It is concluded that exposure to word pairs involving minimal phonological contrasts fosters phonological awareness, which in turn facilitates word reading within the L1 that then transfers to the L2.

The Role of Prekindergarten Spanish in Predicting First-Grade English Word Reading Among Dual-Language Learners.

Purpose The purpose of the current study was to examine the role that the 1st language, Spanish, at prekindergarten (pre-K) plays in predicting 2nd language (L2), English, word reading in 1st grade. In addition, it examines the role of conceptual vocabulary in predicting word reading in English. Method As part of a longitudinal study of predictors and models of reading comprehension from pre-K to 3rd grade, 248 children attending preschool programs completed Spanish and English measures in the spring of each academic year. In this article, we report the results of English and Spanish measures of oral language and literacy skills that were administered in pre-K and 4 measures of English word reading that were administered in 1st grade. Results Results from structural equation modeling indicated that Spanish oral language made significant direct and indirect contributions to English oral language and word reading. Further, results supported previous evidence indicating that L2 letter knowledge and L2 oral language proficiency are the strongest predictors of L2 word reading in 1st grade. Discussion Similar to findings with monolingual English-speaking children, results support findings that, in the early stages of reading development, oral language in both 1st language and L2 make a significant and independent contribution to word reading. This study has important implications for the support of oral language skills in Latino preschool children.

Bidirectional relationships between children’s executive functioning, visual skills, and word reading ability during the transition from kindergarten to primary school

This longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relationships between executive functioning (EF), visual skills, Chinese and English word reading abilities in children transitioning to primary school. A total of 165 children in Hong Kong were followed from the third year of kindergarten (Time 1) (mean age: 62.80 months, SD: 3.74) to the first year of primary school (Time 2) (mean age: 77.25 months, SD: 4.60). Assessments for measuring EF, visual skills, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and Chinese and English word reading were administered to the children at the two time points. Results of cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that after age, phonological awareness, and morphological awareness were controlled, EF and visual skills exhibited a bidirectional relationship. Furthermore, EF and word reading in Chinese or English reciprocally predicted each other during the school transition period after other skills were controlled. However, visual skills and word reading in Chinese or English did not predict each other. These findings highlight the close associations between EF and visual skills as well as the importance of EF in learning to read Chinese and English in kindergarten and early primary school.

Cross-Language Pattern Similarity in the Bilateral Fusiform Cortex Is Associated with Reading Proficiency in Second Language

Previous studies have found that native Chinese speakers recruit the bilateral fusiform gyrus to read English words, in the same manner as they read Chinese words (i.e., the assimilation process). In this study, we quantified the neural pattern similarity between native (L1) and second languages (L2) by using representational similarity analysis (RSA), and examined the modulatory effects of L2 proficiency on cross-language neural pattern similarity (PS) in the bilateral fusiform cortex. Results showed that, for Chinese–English bilinguals, higher reading proficiency in L2 was associated with greater cross-language PS in the left fusiform gyrus, but with lower PS in the right fusiform gyrus. These results suggest that, as L2 proficiency increases, the assimilation process is enhanced in the region for word reading (left fusiform gyrus), but reduced in the region for nonlinguistic processing (right fusiform gyrus).

Bidirectional Cross-Linguistic Association of Phonological Skills and Reading Comprehension: Evidence From Hong Kong Chinese-English Bilingual Readers

This study examined the roles of first-language (L1) Chinese and second-language (L2) English phonological skills in English and Chinese reading comprehension, respectively, and their association with reading comprehension difficulties among Hong Kong Chinese-English bilingual children. We tested 258 second graders on nonverbal intelligence, working memory, phonological skills, word reading, and reading comprehension, in both Chinese and English. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that Chinese phonological skills contributed to English reading comprehension both directly and indirectly, through the mediation of English phonological skills and English word reading. In contrast, English phonological skills contributed only indirectly to Chinese reading comprehension through L1 Chinese phonological and word reading skills. Furthermore, poor Chinese readers, poor English readers, and poor readers in both Chinese and English exhibited lower levels of lexical tone awareness than average readers, even after controlling for nonverbal intelligence, word reading, and working memory. Poor Chinese readers outperformed poor English readers and poor readers in both Chinese and English on Chinese segmental phonological awareness, and their performance was comparable to average readers. These findings suggest that both suprasegmental and segmental phonological skills are critical to the development of reading comprehension across L1 Chinese and L2 English in Hong Kong Chinese-English bilingual children.

Associations between language and literacy skills and sight word learning for native and nonnative English-speaking kindergarteners

This study, which was drawn from a larger published work, examined language proficiency and literacy skills predictive of learning content and function words via the commonly used practice of flashcard word reading, which tests word knowledge in isolation. The current study also investigated differences in word learning performance between students of different language backgrounds (native and nonnative English speakers), and between students at the same grade level but in different alphabetic phases of word reading development. Kindergarten students (n = 81) practiced learning to read content and function words on flashcards. Analyses examined the extent to which students’ baseline English language skills, phonemic awareness, spelling knowledge, and/or word reading predicted performance on the word learning task. Results of linear regressions demonstrated that language skills accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in reading function words in isolation, but this was not the case for reading content words in isolation. Further, results indicated that baseline alphabetic phase, and not language background, moderated the relationship between language skills and word learning, such that language skills predicted function word learning only for full alphabetic readers and not partial alphabetic readers. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the teaching of function words as dependent on children’s relative phase of literacy development rather than their language backgrounds.