Morphological analysis skill and academic vocabulary knowledge are malleable through intervention and may contribute to reading comprehension for multilingual adolescents

Abstract

Background Morphological analysis skill is the ability to problem‐solve meanings of unfamiliar words by applying knowledge of morphological constituents. For vocabulary words from the academic layer of English, the major, meaning‐carrying morphological contituents are Latin roots (nov meaning ‘new’ in innovative). The degree to which morphological analysis skill using Latin roots is susceptible to intervention and whether improvements relate to reading comprehension remains unclear. Methods We investigated the effects of a morphology intervention designed to promote academic vocabulary learning, morphological analysis and reading comprehension with 140 adolescent, multilingual learners in US schools (intervention n = 70; comparison n = 70). We estimated direct effects of the intervention on morphological analysis and academic vocabulary knowledge and examined whether they mediate intervention effects on reading comprehension. Academic vocabulary was measured as both definitional and multidimensional knowledge. Results We found significant, direct effects of the intervention on morphological analysis skill and academic vocabulary knowledge. Additionally, we found a significant indirect effect on reading comprehension via academic vocabulary and a marginally significant indirect effect via morphological analysis skill. Notably, the indirect effect of academic vocabulary was evident only for multidimensional, not definitional knowledge. Conclusions Findings extend current understanding about how morphology intervention promotes vocabulary and reading comprehension improvement for multilingual learners. (word count = 207)

The effects of a gamified morphological awareness intervention on students' cognitive, motivational and affective outcomes

“…Most morphology interventions have been delivered by teachers or experimenters (Crosson et al., 2021), but the development of educational technologies had led to new opportunities for literacy learning. Gamification is an emerging approach aimed at enhancing learning and motivation.…”

Think Like a Linguist: Leveraging Multilingual Students’ Expertise about Language

“…multi-year research project to develop an academic vocabulary program called English Leaners' Robust Academic Vocabulary Encounters (EL RAVE; Crosson et al, 2019aCrosson et al, /2021). In the first 3 years of the project, we carried out iterative development studies to design and implement units of instruction in diverse contexts, analyze effective and ineffective aspects of lesson design, then revise and implement anew.…”

“…This study was carried out in the context of a multiyear research project in collaboration with two urban school districts, to develop EL RAVE (Crosson et al, 2019b(Crosson et al, /2021. The study was approved by the university and school district IRBs, and there were no restrictions on using the project title (rather than a pseudonym).…”

“…In the first 3 years of the project, we carried out iterative development cycles of implementation, analysis, and revision. Following iterative development, we conducted a quasi-experimental study to test the effectiveness of the overall program (Crosson et al, 2021). (See https://sites.psu.edu/elrav e/ for sample materials).…”

Special issue editorial: Advances in understanding the role of morphemes in literacy development

“…Crosson et al (2021) examined whether English Learners' Robust Academic Vocabulary Encounters (EL RAVE) was effective in raising academic vocabulary knowledge for seventh‐grade and eighth‐grade (11 to 13 years old) English language learners in the United States. EL RAVE focuses on teaching and analysis of Latin roots – using constituent morphemes to problem solve word meaning.…”