Alexandra Gottardo

Factors Related to English Reading Performance in Children with Chinese as a First Language: More Evidence of Cross-Language Transfer of Phonological Processing.

Parallel measures of phonological, syntactic, and orthographic processing skill and reading were administered in English and in Chinese to 65 children whose 1st language (LI) was Cantonese and whose 2nd language (L2) was English. Phonological skill was correlated across L1 and L2. Phonological skill in both L1 and L2 was correlated with L2 reading and contributed a unique variance to L2 reading, even though the childrens L1 was not written in an alphabetic orthography, whereas the 2nd language had an alphabetic orthography. This research adds to a growing body of evidence for cross-language transfer of phonological processing in L2 learning of English-as-a-Second-Language students.

Reading-related skills of kindergartners from diverse linguistic backgrounds

This study examined whether measures used to identify children at risk for reading failure are appropriate for children from different language backgrounds. Tasks assessing literacy and phonological and language processing at the beginning and end of kindergarten were administered to 540 native English speakers (NS), 59 bilingual children (BL), and 60 children whose initial exposure to English was when they began school (ESL). Although the BL and ESL children performed more poorly than the NS children on most measures of phonological and linguistic processing, the acquisition of basic literacy skills for children with different language backgrounds developed in a similar manner. Furthermore, planned contrasts between the language groups did not explain the variance in the children’s literacy performance in May. Instead, alphabetic knowledge and phonological processing were important contributors to early reading skill. Therefore, children learning English may acquire literacy skills in English in a similar manner to NS children, although their alphabetic knowledge may precede and facilitate the acquisition of phonological awareness in English.

A longitudinal study of phonological processing skills and reading in bilingual children

French/English bilingual children ( N =40) in French language schools participated in an 8-month longitudinal study of the relation between phonological processing skills and reading in French and English. Participants were administered measures of phonological awareness, working memory, naming speed, and reading in both languages. The results of the concurrent analyses show that phonological awareness skills in both French and English were uniquely predictive of reading performance in both languages after accounting for the influences of cognitive ability, reading ability, working memory, and naming speed. These findings support the hypothesis that phonological awareness is strongly related to beginning word reading skill in an alphabetic orthography. The results of the longitudinal analyses also suggest that orthographic depth influences phonological factors related to reading.

Relationships Between First and Second Language Phonological Processing Skills and Reading in Chinese‐English Speakers living in English‐Speaking Contexts

The relationships between phoneme categorisation, phonological processing, and reading performance were examined in Chinese‐English speaking children in an English‐speaking environment. Second language (L2, i.e., English) phonological processing but not phoneme categorisation was related to L2 reading. First language (L1) oral language skills were related to Chinese reading with L1 phonological processing being related to the Chinese reading task with a strong phonological component (pseudocharacter reading). L1 phoneme categorisation skill was not strongly related to L1 reading. These findings suggest that phonological processing is related to reading tasks with heavy phonological demands, such as reading in an alphabetic orthography or pseudocharacter reading in a nonalphabetic orthography. Exposure to L1 reading might influence processes used by Chinese‐speaking children in an English‐speaking environment.

Vocabulary, Context, and Speech Perception among Good and Poor Readers.

This study examined the interaction between speech perception and sentential context among 13 poor readers and 49 good readers in grades one to three. Childrens performance was examined on tasks assessing expressive and receptive vocabulary, reading skill, phonological awareness, pseudoword repetition, and phoneme identification. Good readers showed clearly defined categorical perception in the phoneme identification task for both sentence frames biased to the identification of the /b/ or /p/ phoneme. The /b/–/p/ category boundary for the BATH frame was at longer voice onset times (VOTs) than the boundary for PATH frame. Poor readers showed less sharply defined categorical perception with both sentence frames. Although poor readers did not show a shift in the /b/–/p/ category boundary, sentential context did affect the overall rate with which phonemes were identified as /b/ or /p/ at each VOT. These findings suggest that semantic information may operate as a compensatory mechanism for resolving ambiguities in speech perception. Furthermore, expressive vocabulary was more closely related than receptive vocabulary to individual differences in reading and phonological processing, providing support for the phonological distinctness hypothesis.

Comparing Factors Related to Reading Comprehension in Adolescents Who Speak English as a First (L1) or Second (L2) Language

This study examined factors related to reading comprehension in adolescents who spoke English as a first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Measures of decoding, vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension were administered to 31 L1 and 44 L2 speakers. English L2 adolescents scored significantly lower than their L1 peers on all measures. Factor analyses produced different configurations of variables for each group. For L1 learners, measures of decoding and vocabulary were separate factors but were one factor for English L2 learners. For the L1 learners, it was only the measure of vocabulary that was a significant predictor of reading comprehension. For L2 learners, decoding, vocabulary, and the interaction of decoding and vocabulary were all significant predictors of reading comprehension. Relations among these variables in adolescents who are beginning to learn English as an L2 are explored.

Assessing the Content and Quality of Commercially Available Reading Software Programs: Do They Have the Fundamental Structures to Promote the Development of Early Reading Skills in Children?

The current study developed a taxonomy of reading skills and compared this taxonomy with skills being trained in 30 commercially available software programs designed to teach emergent literacy or literacy-specific skills for children in preschool, kindergarten, and Grade 1. Outcomes suggest that, although some skills are being trained in a developmentally appropriate manner (e.g., Alphabetic Knowledge), others are absent or have incomplete presentations. Additionally, the quality of instruction for skills being trained was generally quite low due to limited examples for training each skill and few opportunities to practice the skills. Finally, scaffolding by providing access to easier and more challenging items and automaticity in moving children among levels of difficulty were inconsistent across software packages and within the software. Recommendations on best practices for choosing emergent literacy software packages and for designing pedagogically appropriate software for young children were provided.

Parent Scaffolding of Young Children When Engaged with Mobile Technology.

Shared parent–child experiences while engaged with an iPadTM were examined to determine if and then how parents interact with their children when using mobile digital devices. In total, 104 parent–child dyads participated in an observation session where parent–child interactions using the touchscreen tablet device were video recorded in order to observe first-hand the supports and exchanges between parent and child (age range 46.21–75.9 months). Results indicate that parents provide a great deal of support to their children while interacting with the touchscreen tablet device including verbal, emotional-verbal, physical and emotional-physical supports. The types of support offered did not differ as a function of parent gender or experience with mobile devices (users versus non-users). Overall, parents rated their own experience engaging with the touchscreen tablet and that of their child’s positively. Additional survey measures assessed parents’ perceptions of their child’s technology use and attitudes regarding optimal ages and conditions for introducing and using technology. Most parents indicated a preference for very early introduction to mobile technologies. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The impact of language on the relationships between phonological awareness and word reading in different orthographies: A test of the psycholinguistic grain size theory in bilinguals

The relationships among first language (L1) and second language (L2) phonological awareness and reading skills were examined in English L2 learners with a variety of L1s, specifically Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese (maximum N = 252). Longitudinal and concurrent relations between word reading and subcomponents of phonological awareness (i.e., syllable, onset-rime, phoneme, and, where applicable, tone awareness) were examined in kindergarten and first and second grades. The relationships between reading and specific subcomponents of phonological awareness were associated with the orthography being read, English or the L1. Phonological awareness subcomponents related to English reading were generally similar for the three English L2 groups, despite differences in the orthographies of learners’ native language. The findings support the psycholinguistic grain size theory with regard to links between phonological sensitivity and the sound–symbol correspondences used to read the specific languages.

English proficiency and acculturation among Chinese immigrant youth in Canada: a reciprocal relationship

ABSTRACT The main focus of this study was to refine our understanding of the link between English proficiency and mainstream acculturation in adolescent Chinese immigrants. The sample consisted of 112 adolescents in grades 7–12 living in urban areas in southern Ontario, Canada. English proficiency was assessed individually using standardised tests of vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension, and reading fluency. Mainstream acculturation was measured by the Vancouver Index of Acculturation. The results of structural equation modelling support a reciprocal relationship between English proficiency and mainstream acculturation after controlling for age, length of residence in Canada, and nonverbal reasoning. The results suggest that learning English may be one important variable affecting motivation for cultural immersion in immigrant youth.