This subproject will examine reading development from pre-K through seventh grade in a substantialsample of Spanish-speaking English-language learners (ELLs) for whom we will have collected dataon home literacy, parent language use and attitudes, and socioeconomic status, as well as languageand literacy skills. In addition to providing insight into the trajectories of reading development for thisgroup of learners, this study will begin to address the question of how to differentiate sources ofreading difficulties for ELLs who are struggling, recognizing that a significant proportion of theselearners struggle as a result of contextual factors and their status as second language learners withlimited English oral language proficiency and experience with print in English, rather than withdifficulties related primarily to learning disabilities as traditionally conceived.The proposed study will continue work begun with these children in the Study of Language andLiteracy Development of Spanish-Speaking Children (current P01 project). In this subproposal, werefer to that work as the Early Childhood (EC) phase (pre-K through second grade), and the proposedwork as the Middle Grade (MG) phase (fourth through seventh grades). The study has three specificaims:1. To improve our understanding of the developmental trajectories of reading in Spanish-speakingELLs.At the conclusion of the EC phase, the dataset includes data on language and literacy skills, aswell as cultural and demographic information on 300 children from Spanish-speaking homes,collected annually from pre-K through second grade. Analyses of the data confirm significantvariability across individuals as well as across skills and language of assessment (English,Spanish). The Middle Grade (MG) phase of the study will provide the opportunity to continue tocollect data with this sample through to the seventh grade. Using the data from both phases of thestudy, we will be able to test the hypothesis that trajectories based on data collected in earlychildhood (pre-K to second grade) will be modified by the increasing text demands placed on thereader during the fourth to seventh grade time period.2. To examine the influence of social (e.g., demographic), cultural (e.g., home literacy practices), andlinguistic (e.g., phonological awareness and language proficiency in Spanish and English) factors ondevelopmental trajectories of reading.We will use social, cultural, and linguistic variables to predict growth in reading achievement frompre-K to seventh grade. The findings from the EC phase indicate that both home and classroomfactors are related to children's vocabularies and other literacy skills (see Progress Report below).Because of the longitudinal nature of this study, and because the initial data collection periodoccurred when the children were in pre-K, we will examine how the influence of these variableschanges over time and seek to identify the differential relations of precursor variables to growth inEnglish oral language and literacy skills associated with the substantial changes in the taskdemands of school-related literacy. Thus, we will incorporate time-varying predictors in theanalyses focused on modeling the relationship between social, cultural, and linguistic factors ondevelopmental trajectories of reading.3. To gain insight into the source of difficulties of ELLs who are struggling readers.Specifically, we will address the question of differentiating the source of students' difficulties,recognizing that a significant proportion of these learners struggle as a result of contextualfactors and their status as second language learners with limited English oral languageproficiency and experience with print in English, rather than with learning disabilities astraditionally conceived.Based on eight waves of data, we will examine the trajectories of reading developmentof children who demonstrate low proficiency in English and Spanish and who are thusconsidered limited dual language children. Preliminary findings from the EC phase (Lesaux,Tabors, & de la Torre Spencer, in preparation) indicate that 20 percent of the sample wasidentified as limited dual language children in the fall of pre-K, defined as scoring more thantwo standard deviations below the mean on assessments of both English and Spanishvocabulary. At first grade, only 19 percent of this sub-sample scored within one standarddeviation of the mean in English vocabulary. These differing trajectories of development will beexamined in order to contribute to our understanding of the language and learning difficultiesof ELLs. We anticipate that we will be able to identify variables or developmental trajectoriesthat are related to persistent classification as children with limited dual language abilities, aswell as variables and trajectories that are related to significant and early development of orallanguage and vocabulary to average levels.Unifying this subproject with the other three subprojects and two cores proposed in this programproject is a shared model for the development of word knowledge and comprehension skills and forthe methods used in the conduct of research. Like the other subprojects, this one begins with themodel of L2 reading comprehension outlined by Proctor, Carlo, August, & Snow (2005), which statesthat decoding and oral language skills are important factors in the reading process, with oral language(and vocabulary knowledge, in particular) being stronger reading predictors in the upper-elementarylevels. It also builds on findings from the cross-project analyses cited in the Research ProgramOverview that indicate the instrumental role that vocabulary plays in reading comprehension.This study is conceptualized as an anchor to the other studies in the proposed program project. It willprovide a comprehensive longitudinal description of vocabulary and literacy development amongSpanish-English bilinguals from the very early stages of literacy acquisition through to the middleschool years. It will help us understand the complex relationships among variables, for example, howhome language use and practices, school language use and practices may be related. Further it willhelp us understand the relationships between oral and reading vocabulary. The study proposed herewill advance our understanding of transfer and its role in the acquisition of word knowledge andcomprehension skills. Transfer is a central concept in bilingualism research, but one that has oftenbeen either presupposed or prematurely dismissed and that has itself too rarely been a focus of study,particularly longitudinal studies with learners followed for multiple years. Given the longitudinal natureof the study and the related dynamic developmental process to be studied, important insight about thecomplex relationships among variables will be gleaned and will contribute significantly to ourunderstanding of the English literacy development of Spanish speakers.This study also shares a commitment to sound methodology with the other proposed studies in theprogram project. We will collect longitudinal data and use individual and multilevel growth modeling inorder to shed light on the complex relationships among oral language and literacy skills, both withinlanguage and across languages.
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| Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Lesaux, Nonie K (2010) Predictors of Reading Comprehension for Struggling Readers: The Case of Spanish-speaking Language Minority Learners. J Educ Psychol 102:701-711 |
| Paez, Mariela M; Tabors, Patton O; Lopez, Lisa M (2007) Dual language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking preschool children. J Appl Dev Psychol 28:85-102 |
| Uccelli, Paola; Paez, Mariela M (2007) Narrative and vocabulary development of bilingual children from kindergarten to first grade: developmental changes and associations among English and Spanish skills. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 38:225-36 |
