Previous studies offer mixed evidence regarding whether a unified model of reading comprehension predictors applies to Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and English Speakers (ESs), or whether distinctive models across language groups are empirically supported. The present study adds another dimension to this body of work by examining multiple reading…

An increasing number of high-stakes mathematics standardised tests around the world place an emphasis on using mathematical word problems to assess students' mathematical understanding. Not only do these assessments require children to think mathematically, but making sense of these tests' mathematical word problems also brings children's language…

Despite the increasing popularity of dual language education programs in Taiwan, limited research assesses their effectiveness. This study evaluated eight English Immersion Programs (EIPs) in Taiwan, representing a dual language education model, using the "Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education" (GPDLE) framework. Interviews with…

This report examines the Spanish language proficiency of fifth-grade students enrolled in the two-way Dual Language (DL) Program. Both native and non-native English speakers' Spanish language proficiency was assessed with the STAMP 4Se assessment in Spring 2020. Students were assessed on four domains of Spanish language proficiency (reading,…

This report documents how 5th grade native English speakers in the two-way dual language program at Austin Independent School District performed on STAMP 4Se, a Spanish-language proficiency test, during the 2017-2018 school year.

There are no salient word spaces in Mandarin Chinese. Thus, it is unclear whether word spacing information differentially affects the reading speed of children with and without reading difficulties (RD). In the present study, native Chinese-speaking children of differential reading abilities were tested with Chinese text in un-spaced versus spaced…

This study examined the contribution of word decoding, first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) vocabulary and prior topic knowledge to L2 reading comprehension. For measuring reading comprehension we employed two different reading tasks: Woodcock Passage Comprehension and a researcher-developed content-area reading assignment (the Global…

The overall objective of this article is to examine how oral language abilities relate to reading profiles in English language learners (ELLs) and English as a first language (EL1) learners, and the extent of similarities and differences between ELLs and EL1s in three reading subgroups: normal readers, poor decoders, and poor comprehenders. The…

As an initial step toward understanding which features of academic language make science-based expository text difficult for students with different English language proficiency (ELP) designations, this study investigated fifth-grade students' thoughts on text difficulty, their knowledge of the features of academic language, and the…

We examined theoretical issues concerning the development of reading fluency and language proficiency in 390 English Language Learners (ELLs,) and 149 monolingual, English-as-a-first language (EL1) students. The extent to which performance on these constructs in Grade 5 (i.e., concurrent predictors) contributes to reading comprehension in the…

Twenty-four studies were included in this systematic review of vocabulary research literature. The review corroborates the findings of past studies that several strategies have emerged that increase students' vocabulary knowledge. Findings further reinforce the National Reading Panel's recommendations regarding the context and magnitude of studies…

This quantitative, causal-comparative study examined the possible cause and effect relationship between educational programming, specifically one-way Spanish immersion and traditional English-only, and native English-speaking fifth graders' vocabulary and reading comprehension. Archival data was used to examine students' reading achievement as…

This study investigated the influence of general vocabulary knowledge, science vocabulary knowledge, and text based questioning on the science reading comprehension of three types of students who varied in their English language proficiency. Specifically, grade 5 English-Only speakers, English Language Learners in the United States, and students…

This study examined whether measurement constructs behind reading-related tests for struggling adult readers are similar to what is known about measurement constructs for children. The sample included 371 adults reading between the third-and fifth-grade levels, including 127 men and 153 English speakers of other languages. Using measures of skills…

The purpose of this research was to ascertain if the reading comprehension skills of English-speaking fifth grade students improve when they study a second language. The research was done in an inner-city elementary school in Rochester, New York. The researcher provided a weekly after-school workshop in foreign languages for a group of children…