ERIC Number: EJ1342515
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Feb
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Contributions of Oral Narrative Skills to English Reading in Spanish-English Latino/a Dual Language Learners
Huang, Becky H.; Bedore, Lisa M.; Ramírez, Rica; Wicha, Nicole
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v65 n2 p653-671 Feb 2022
Purpose: The study examined the contributions of Spanish and English oral narrative skills to English reading among 95 early elementary dual language learners (DLLs) from Spanish-speaking homes in the United States. This sample of first- and third-grade DLL children attended Spanish-English dual language immersion programs and received language and literacy instruction in both English and Spanish. Method: All participants completed a storytelling task in both languages and two English reading tests in decoding and reading comprehension. The story narratives were analyzed for microstructures (number of different new words, lexical diversity [D], mean length of utterance, subordination index [SI]) using the Computerized Language ANalysis program. The narrative samples were also evaluated for macrostructures (i.e., discourse-level features) using the Narrative Scoring Scheme. Results: Grade, English D, and Spanish SI significantly predicted English reading. Grade level was the strongest predictor of the three for both decoding and comprehension. However, Spanish SI was more robust than English D for decoding whereas English D was a stronger predictor than Spanish SI for comprehension. Conclusions: Young DLL children's oral narrative skills in English as well as in their home language Spanish contributed to their English reading outcomes. The study further specified the contributions of narrative elements to different reading skills. Microstructural elements appeared to play a stronger role in English reading than macrostructural elements for DLLs in dual language programs in early elementary grades. The results provided support for the "simple view of reading" and the "linguistic interdependence hypothesis." The results also implicated that maintaining young DLL children's home language skills may be beneficial, rather than harmful, to their English reading development.
Descriptors: Oral Language, Computational Linguistics, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Spanish, Elementary School Students, Bilingualism, Story Telling, Literacy Education, Immersion Programs, Vocabulary Skills, Discourse Analysis, Grade 1, Grade 3, Reading Tests, Decoding (Reading), Reading Comprehension, Scoring, Linguistic Theory, Native Language, Interference (Language), Transfer of Training, Prediction, Task Analysis, Narration, Achievement Tests, Hispanic American Students
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 1; Primary Education; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement
Grant or Contract Numbers: SC2HD100362