This proposal is an experiment of nature that examines the profound effect of contrasting environment on neuroplasticity. Most current views of reading posit that the development, involvement and interaction of ortho-phonological and ortho-semantic systems depend on the statistical properties of languages. The overarching goal of this study is to take advantage of these differences, and perform a comprehensive neurocognitive investigation of how the complex process of learning to read in English (Eng.) is shaped online during the critical period of reading acquisition. This will be achieved by prolonged and intensive exposure to contrasting languages (Spanish, SP; Cantonese, Cn) that differentially stress these ortho-phonological and ortho-semantic systems. Sp has the same Roman alphabet as Eng., but with a different and more regular spelling-to-sound mapping that emphasizes phonological recoding. Cn uses the Chinese morphosyllabic writing system that is opaque and has weak character-to-sound mapping, presumably leading to greater reliance on ortho-semantic processes. Specifically, we will launch a prospective, longitudinal, and bidirectional examination of reading acquisition from kindergarten (K) to end of 2nd grade in 5 groups that is manipulated based on Eng. being their first or second language (L1 vs. L2) and the immersed language (Sp vs. Cn vs. none): native Eng. (L1) emerging readers in the U.S. starting Sp and Cn immersion programs initially learning primarily their L2 (L1Eng/L2Sp, L1Eng/L2Cn), L1 Sp and Cn speakers in the U.S. starting the same two-way immersion programs initially learning primarily their L1 (L1Sp/L2Eng, L1Cn/L2Eng), and Eng. monolinguals attending the same schools but not in the immersion programs (L1Eng). The main aims of the study are to investigate: 1) individual differences in the development of reading-related processes and brain circuitries in Eng., 2) how learning to read in Sp and Cn influence Eng. reading development given variant linguistic properties, 3) factors that affect interlinguistic/interliteracy influence (or transfer) , and 4) how these processes are shaped by early linguistic environment (e.g. early exposure to Eng., Cn versus Sp as their L1) and neurocognitive capacities (e.g. phonological awareness and related brain circuits, a significant risk factor of future reading impairment). The findings from this last exploratory aim will provide important initial insight into the influence of second language learning on children at-risk for developing reading disabilities, a population that is often discouraged from learning a foreign language. Children will be recruited from a local school district with which we have a collaborative relationship. The district is well-known for its extensive two-way immersion programs. This large-scale effort will advance theories of the neurocognitive processes underlying literacy development in Eng. by perturbing the system with languages of variant linguistic properties, advance understanding of the neurocognitive processes underlying multilingualism, and how minority students learn to read Eng. in the U.S.

Public Health Relevance

The proposal will contribute important foundational knowledge in the following areas: 1) English literacy development in native English speakers learning a second language, 2) literacy development in over 10% of the Nation's minority students learning English, and 3) influence of foreign language learning in the 12-18% of the Nation's children at-risk for developing reading disabilities. Ultimately, research such as ours may help optimize reading and second language learning instructions, raise literacy levels and lead to the economic growth of the U.S. 1

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD078351-04
Application #
9525139
Study Section
Language and Communication Study Section (LCOM)
Program Officer
Miller, Brett
Project Start
2015-09-01
Project End
2020-06-30
Budget Start
2018-07-01
Budget End
2019-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2018
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California San Francisco
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
094878337
City
San Francisco
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94118
Patael, Smadar Z; Farris, Emily A; Black, Jessica M et al. (2018) Brain basis of cognitive resilience: Prefrontal cortex predicts better reading comprehension in relation to decoding. PLoS One 13:e0198791
Uchikoshi, Yuuko; Yang, Lu; Liu, Siwei (2018) Role of narrative skills on reading comprehension: Spanish-English and Cantonese-English Dual Language Learner. Read Writ 31:381-404
Hendren, Robert L; Haft, Stephanie L; Black, Jessica M et al. (2018) Recognizing Psychiatric Comorbidity With Reading Disorders. Front Psychiatry 9:101
Caverzasi, Eduardo; Mandelli, Maria Luisa; Hoeft, Fumiko et al. (2018) Abnormal age-related cortical folding and neurite morphology in children with developmental dyslexia. Neuroimage Clin 18:814-821
Malins, Jeffrey G; Pugh, Kenneth R; Buis, Bonnie et al. (2018) Individual Differences in Reading Skill Are Related to Trial-by-Trial Neural Activation Variability in the Reading Network. J Neurosci 38:2981-2989
Xia, Zhichao; Zhang, Linjun; Hoeft, Fumiko et al. (2018) Neural Correlates of Oral Word Reading, Silent Reading Comprehension, and Cognitive Subcomponents. Int J Behav Dev 42:342-356
Xia, Zhichao; Hancock, Roeland; Hoeft, Fumiko (2017) Neurobiological bases of reading disorder Part I: Etiological investigations. Lang Linguist Compass 11:
Arredondo, Maria M; Hu, Xiao-Su; Satterfield, Teresa et al. (2017) Bilingualism alters children's frontal lobe functioning for attentional control. Dev Sci 20:
Haft, Stephanie L; Hoeft, Fumiko (2017) Poverty's Impact on Children's Executive Functions: Global Considerations. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev 2017:69-79
Hancock, Roeland; Richlan, Fabio; Hoeft, Fumiko (2017) Possible roles for fronto-striatal circuits in reading disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 72:243-260

Showing the most recent 10 out of 26 publications