Linguistic Diversity and the Development of Reading Skills: A Longitudinal Study

TLDR

The study investigates whether children with different English proficiency levels rely on the same component processes during reading acquisition in kindergarten and first grade. Data from 858 children—727 native English speakers and 131 English‑as‑a‑second‑language learners—were collected using tasks measuring basic literacy, phonological processing, verbal memory, and syntactic awareness. Although ESL children lagged behind native speakers on phonological and linguistic tasks, both groups showed comparable growth in basic literacy, with alphabetic knowledge and phonological processing driving early reading skills and suggesting that English learners acquire literacy similarly, albeit with alphabetic knowledge preceding phonological awareness.

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine whether the same component processes are involved in reading acquisition for children with varying levels of proficiency in English in kindergarten and the first grade. The performance of 858 children was examined on tasks assessing basic literacy skills, phonological processing, verbal memory, and syntactic awareness. There were 727 children who were native English speakers (NS children) and 131 children who spoke English as a second language (ESL children). Although ESL children performed more poorly than NS children on most measures of phonological and linguistic processing in kindergarten and first grade, the acquisition of basic literacy skills for children from both language groups developed in a similar manner. Furthermore, alphabetic knowledge and phonological processing were important contributors to early reading skill for children from both language groups. Therefore, children learning English may acquire literacy skills in English in a similar manner to NS children, although their alphabetic knowledge may precede and facilitate the acquisition of phonological awareness in English.