Transfer of reading skills in bilingual children

Center For Applied Linguistics, Washington DC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from applicant's description) In this research subproject, the investigators will conduct four studies to examine the transfer of reading skills from Spanish to English for children in the kindergarten through 5th grades. Study 1 will explore the relationships between degree of competency in components of Spanish reading and the development of parallel components in English. Studies 2, 3, and 4 will consist of experiments in which these cross-language relationships will be further explored by testing whether skills in Spanish phonological awareness and morphological awareness directly facilitate the acquisition of these skills in English. Study 2 will test whether an intervention that teaches fifth grade students about cross-language morphological relationships impacts their learning of English morphology and acquisition of new English word meanings through reading. Study 3 will examine whether an intervention that develops kindergarten students' phonological awareness in Spanish facilitates their acquisition of phonological awareness in English and early reading acquisition and spelling in the first grade. Finally, Study 4 will test if and under what conditions a successful intervention implemented by researchers can be effectively implemented by classroom teachers.