The Importance of SES, Home and School Language and Literacy Practices, and Oral Vocabulary in Bilingual Children’s English Reading Development

Abstract

This study explores the role that socioeconomic status (SES), home and school language and literacy practices, and oral vocabulary play in the development of English reading skills in Latino English language learners (ELLs) and how these factors contribute differentially to English reading BILINGUAL CHILDREN'S ENGLISH READING DEVELOPMENT 121 outcomes for children of different ages and in different settings: 292 Spanish-speaking kindergarteners in mostly English instruction, 85 Spanish-speaking third graders in bilingual instruction, and 70 Spanish-speaking fifth graders in both English and bilingual settings. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression. Findings indicate that for each sample, English oral vocabulary is a significant predictor of English reading accuracy and comprehension once SES and home and school language and literacy factors have been considered. Beyond oral vocabulary, however, there is considerable variability across samples in the home and school language and literacy variables that are predictive of English reading outcomes. The study points to the importance of looking closely at the texture of children's lives in coming to an understanding of second-language literacy development.

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Narrative Story Retells of School-Aged English Language Learners

“…The ubiquity of these linguistic disparities due to SES can a be attributed to the multitude of environmental factors associated with SES, including prenatal factors and cognitive stimulation (Hackman, Farah, & Meaney, 2010). Measures of low SES, whether indexed through maternal education, occupational status, or income, have consistently been reported in the literature to predict cognitive and academic outcomes in both native English speakers and ELLs (Howard et al, 2014). However, documented trends seem to be more straightforward in monolingual than bilingual populations and have focused on language development in infants.…”

How a Third‐Grade Reading Retention Law Will Affect ELLs in Michigan, and a Call for Research on Child ELL Reading Development

“…In addition to indicators of the child's English‐language reading growth (which could include the child's longitudinal ACCESS scores), such a portfolio could include information on the ELL child's home language, prior schooling, and home‐language literacy practices. These should be included because they have been proven to influence English reading development in bilingual children (August & Shanahan, ; Dixon & Wu, ; Halle et al., ; Howard, Páez, August, Barr, Kenyon, & Malabonga, ) and thus are important for understanding an ELL's academic trajectory.…”

The Impact of Bilingual Experience on The Literacy Development of Struggling Readers

“…Such comparison can be problematic as the bilinguals are usually compared to their monolingual counterparts on measures in the second language of the bilingual children [19]. Disparities in the social economic status and home language literacy practices between the bilingual and monolingual children should also be considered since these factors are strong predictors of literacy development [57,58]. We argue that comparisons in this line of research have to be made with caution to maintain comparability.…”