Is Overall Oral English Ability Related to Young Latinos' English Reading Growth?

Abstract

The present study investigated whether young Latino dual-language learners' 2-year English reading growth varied over time according to their initial overall oral English ability. We followed 41 Latino children for 2 years. We tested overall oral English at the beginning of the study and administered multiple curriculum-based reading assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of each of the 2 years. The main conclusions were as follows: (a) The pattern of Instructional Reading Level growth and sound- and word-level subprocesses varied according to Overall Oral English ability. However, the impact of oral English was principally for students who had extremely low initial oral English. (b) There was no differential pattern in Comprehension or Fluency growth according to initial Overall Oral English.