French immersion experience and reading skill development in at-risk readers

Abstract

We tracked the developmental influences of exposure to French on developing English phonological awareness, decoding and reading comprehension of English-speaking at-risk readers from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Teacher-nominated at-risk readers were matched with not-at-risk readers in French immersion and English language programs. Exposure to spoken French phonetic and syllabic forms and to written French orthographic and morphological forms by children attending French immersion programs was expected to promote phonological, decoding and reading comprehension achievement. Growth in all outcomes was found, with children in immersion experiencing higher final status in phonological awareness and more rapid growth and higher final status in decoding, using multilevel modeling. At-risk readers in French immersion experienced faster growth and higher final status in reading comprehension. Benefits to reading of exposure to an additional language are discussed in relation to cross-language transfer, phonological grain size and enhanced executive control processes.

Cross Linguistic Transfer of Literacy Skills between English and French among Grade 1 Students Attending French Immersion Programs

“…These findings are in line with previous correlational research indicating the presence of a strong relationship between L1 and L2 phonological awareness (e.g. Kruk & Reynolds, 2012) and word and pseudoword reading skills (Bialystok, Luk, & Kwan, 2005;Snow, 2008).…”

“…Studies demonstrate that strong correlations exist between L1 and L2 phonological awareness skills (e.g. Bialystok, McBride-Chang, & Luk, 2005;Kruk & Reynolds, 2012) and between L1 and L2 word and text reading skills in languages with similar orthographic systems (e.g. Genesee & Jared, 2008;Melby-Lervåg & Lervåg, 2011).…”

Exploring Trends in 21st Century Canadian K-12 French as Second Language Research: A Research Synthesis

“…Subsequent research suggested that gains experienced immediately following this specific intervention were maintained for two years (see Wise, D'Angelo, & Chen, 2016). Other relevant studies have detailed the literacy skill development of at-risk readers (Kruk & Reynolds, 2012) as well as their perspectives on their experiences in FI (Capina & Bryan, 2017).…”

Quantitative Approaches for Analyzing Longitudinal Data in Second Language Research

“…Seven studies were identified that used MLM to analyze longitudinal L2 data to address various questions concerning L2 development over time. Two of these studies (Kozaki & Ross, 2011; Usborne et al, 2009) were observational, while the other five (Gutierrez-Clellen, Simon-Cereijido, & Sweet, 2012; Kieffer & Lesaux, 2012b; Kruk & Reynolds, 2012; Shneyderman & Abella, 2009; Tong, Irby, Lara-Alecio, Yoon, & Mathes, 2010) aimed to examine the effects of particular interventions on L2 learning. These studies involved three to five measurement occasions and included variables at two or three levels; level 3 variables were either classroom or school characteristics.…”

“…Kruk and Reynolds (2012) investigated the effects of exposure to French on growth in English phonological awareness, decoding, and reading comprehension among 44 English-speaking at-risk and not-at-risk readers attending French immersion and English programs over 3 years (Grades 1 to 3). Reading instruction in French immersion was provided in both French and English, while the English program provided instruction in English only.…”