Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Understanding individual differences in word recognition skills of ESL children

  • Part IV Reading And Foreign Language Learning
  • Published:
Annals of Dyslexia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper focuses on the extent to which the development of ESL (English as a Second Language) word recognition skills mimics similar trajectories in same-aged EL1 (English as a First Language) children, and the extent to which phonological processing skills and rapid naming can be used to predict word recognition performance in ESL children. Two cohorts of Grade 1 ESL and EL1 primary-level children were followed for two consecutive years. Results indicated that vocabulary knowledge, a measure of language proficiency, and nonverbal intelligence were not significant predictors of word recognition in either group. Yet, by considering individual differences in phonological awareness and rapid naming, it was possible to predict substantial amounts of variance on word recognition performance six months and one year later in both language groups. Commonality analyses indicated that phonological awareness and rapid naming contributed unique variance to word recognition performance. Moreover, the profiles of not at-risk children in the EL1 and ESL groups were similar on all but the oral language measure, where EL1 children had the advantage. In addition, EL1 and ESL profiles of children who had word-recognition difficulty were similar, with low performance on rapid naming and phonological awareness. Results indicate that these measures are reliable indicators of potential reading disability among ESL children.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, M. J. 1990. Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print. London: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • August, D., and Hakuta, K. Eds. 1997. Improving Schooling for Language-Minority Students: A Research Agenda. Committee on Developing a Research Agenda on the Education of Limited English Proficient and Bilingual Students - Board on Children, Youth and Families. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, P. G. 1995. Tracing symbol naming speed’s unique contributions to reading disabilities over time. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 7:189–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowers, P. G., and Wolf, M. 1993. Theoretical links among naming speed, precise timing mechanisms and orthographic skill in dyslexia. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 5:69–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, L., and Bryant, P. E. 1985. Rhyme and Reason in Reading and Spelling. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruck, M., and Genesee, F. 1995. Phonological awareness in young second language learners. Journal of Child Language 22:307–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campione, J. C. 1989. Assisted assessment: A taxonomy of approaches and an outline of strengths and weaknesses. Journal of Learning Disabilities 22:151–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chall, J. S. 1996. Stages of Reading Development (2nd ed.). Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cisero, C. A., and Royer, J. M. 1995. The development and cross-language transfer of phonological awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology 20:275–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, E. 1996. Immigrant and refugee children and families: Supporting a new road traveled. In Dynamic Assessment for Instruction: From Theory to Application, ed. M. Luther. Toronto: Captus University Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comeau, L., Cormier, P., Grandmaison, E., and Lacroix, D. 1999. A longitudinal study of phonological processing skills in children learning to read in a second language. Journal of Educational Psychology 91:29–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, J. 1984. Bilingualism and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy. England: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, J. 1991. Language development and academic learning. In Language, Culture and Cognition, eds. L. M. Malavé and G. Duquette. Clevedon, England: Multicultural Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunnigham, P. M., and Allington, R. L. 1994. Classrooms That Work. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dao, M. 1991. Designing assessment procedures for educationally at-risk southeast Asian-American students. Journal of Learning Disabilities 24:594–601.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denkla, M. B., and Rudel, R. G. 1976. Rapid ‘automatized’ naming (R. A. N.): Dyslexia differentiated from other learning disabilities. Neuropychologia 14:471–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, L. M., and Dunn, L. M. 1981. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. Circle Pines, Minnesota: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duran, R. P. 1989. Assessment and instruction of at-risk Hispanic students. Exceptional Children 56:154–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durgunoglu, A. Y., Nagy, W. E., and Hancin-Bhatt, B. J. 1993. Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness. Journal of Educational Psychology 85:453–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehri, L. C. 1991. Learning to read and spell words. In Learning to Read: Basic Research and Its Implications, eds. L. Rieben and C. A. Perfetti. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, A. J., and Nicolson, R. I. 1994. Naming speed in children with dyslexia. Journal of Learning Disabilities 27:641–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felton, R. H., Wood, F. B., Brown, I. S., and Campbell, S. K. 1987. Separate verbal memory and naming deficits in attention deficit disorder and reading disability. Brain and Language 31:171–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feuerstein, R. 1979. Dynamic Assessment of Retarded Performance: The Learning Potential Assessment Device, Theory, Instrument, and Techniques. Baltimore: University Park Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueroa, R. A. 1989. Psychological testing of linguistic-minority students: Knowledge gaps and regulations. Exceptional Children 56:145–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, J. 1995. English-as-a-second-language reading instruction in the United States: A research review. Journal of Reading Behavior 27:115–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fowler, A. E. 1991. How early phonological development might set the stage for phoneme awareness. In Phonological Processes in Literacy, eds. S. Brady and D. Shankweiler. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C., Baddeley, A. D., and Emslie, H. 1994. The children’s test of nonword repetition: A test of phonological working memory. Memory 2:103–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gavillan-Torres, E. 1983. Issues of assessment of limited English proficiency students and of truly disabled children in the United States. In Bilingualism and Language Disability, ed. Niklas Miller. San Diego: College Hill Press, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geva, E. 2000a. Issues in the assessment of reading disabilities in L2 children - beliefs and research evidence. Dyslexia, in press.

  • Geva, E. 2000b. L1–L2 transfer and orthographic specificity? Evidence from phonological processing and rapid automatized naming in young bilingual readers. Under review.

  • Geva, E., and Petrulius-Wright, J. 2000. The role of oral language proficiency in the reading development of L1 and L2 primary level children. Under review.

  • Geva, E., and Ryan, E. B. 1993. Linguistic and cognitive correlates of academic skills in first and second languages. Language Learning 43:5–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geva, E., and Siegel, L. 2000. Orthographic and cognitive factors in the concurrent development of basic reading skills in two languages. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 12:1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geva, E., and Wade-Woolley, L. 1998. Component processes in becoming English-Hebrew biliterate. In Literacy Development in a Multilingual Context: Cross-cultural Perspectives, eds. A. Y. Durgunoglu and L. Verhoeven. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geva, E., Wade-Woolley, L., and Shany, M. 1993. The concurrent development of spelling and decoding in different orthographies. Journal of Reading Behavior 25(4):383–406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geva, E., Wade-Woolley, L., and Shany, M. 1997. The development of reading efficiency in first and second language. Scientific Studies of Reading 1:119–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gholamain, M., and Geva, E. 1999. The concurrent development of word recognition skills in English and Farsi. Language Learning 49:183–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goswami, U., and Bryant, P. 1990. Phonological Skills and Learning to Read. Hove, UK: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottardo, A., Stanovich, K. E., and Siegel, L. S. 1996. The relationships between phonological sensitivity, syntactic processing, and verbal working memory in the reading performance of third-grade children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 63:563–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gough, P. B., Juel, C., and Griffith, P. L. 1992. Reading, spelling and the orthographic cipher. In Reading Acquisition, eds. P. B. Gough, L. C. Ehri, and R. Treiman. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jastek, S., and Wilkinson, G. S. 1984. Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-R). Wilmington, DE: Jastak Associates Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerlinger, F. N., and Pedhazur, E. J. 1973. Multiple Regression in Behavioral Research. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korhonen, T. 1995. The persistence of rapid naming problems in children with reading disabilities: A nine-year follow-up. Journal of Learning Disabilities 28:232–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liberman, I., Shankweiler, D., and Liberman, A. 1989. The alphabetic principle and learning to read. In Phonology and Reading Disability: Solving the Reading Puzzle, eds. D. Shankweiler and I. Liberman. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manis, F. R., Seidenberg, M. S., Doi, M. L., McBride-Chang, C., and Patterson, A. 1996. On the basis of two subtypes of developmental dyslexia. Cognition 58:157–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morais, J., Alegria, J., and Content, A. 1987. The relationships between segmental analysis and alphabetic literacy: An interactive view. Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive 7:415–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naglieri, J. 1989. Matrix Analogies Test. New York: The Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nassajizavareh, H., and Geva, E. 1999. Cognitive and linguistic processes in adult L2 readers. Applied Psycholinguistics 20:241–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U. 1978. Minority Education and Caste. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oller, J. W., and Damico, J. S. C. 1990. Theoretical considerations in the assessment of LEP students. In Limiting Bias in the Assessment of Bilingual Students, eds. Hamayan and Damico. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz, A. A., and Ramirez, B. A. Eds. 1989. School and the Culturally Diverse Exceptional Student: Promising Practices and Future Directions. Reston, VA: ERIC Clearing-house on Handicapped and Gifted Children.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosner, J., and Simon, D. 1971. The auditory analysis test: An initial report. Journal of Learning Disabilities 4:40–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sattler, J. M. 1992. Assessment of ethnic minority children. In Assessment of Children (3rd Edition), ed. J. M. Sattler, San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, H. 1990. Very early language deficits in dyslexic children. Child Development 61:1728–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segalowitz, N., and Hebert, M. 1990. Phonological recoding in the first and second language reading of skilled bilinguals. Language learning 40:503–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segalowitz, N., Poulsen, C., and Komeda, M. 1991. Lower level components of reading skill in higher level bilinguals: Implications for reading instruction. Association Internationale de Linguistique Appliquee (AILA) Review 8:15–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Share, D. L., Jorm, A. F., Maclean, R., and Matthews, R. 1984. Sources of individual differences in reading acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology 76:1309–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., and Griffin, P. Eds. 1998. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. National Academy Press: Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snowling, M., Chiat, S., and Hulme, C. 1991. Words, nonwords and phonological processes: Some comments on Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, and Baddeley. Applied Psycholinguistics 12:369–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanovich, K. E. 1992. Speculations on the causes and consequences of individual differences in early reading acquisition. In Reading Acquisition, eds. P. B. Gough, L. C. Ehri, and R. Treiman. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torgesen, J. K. 1988. Studies of children with learning disabilities who perform badly on memory span tasks. Journal of Learning Disabilities 21:605–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., and Rashotte, C. A. 1994. Longitudinal studies of phonological processing and reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities 27:276–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tunmer, W. E., Herriman, M. L., and Nesdale, A. R. 1988. Metalinguistic abilities and beginning reading. Reading Research Quarterly 23:134–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vellutino, F. R., and Scanlon, D. 1987. Phonological coding and phonological awareness and reading ability: Evidence from a longitudinal and experimental study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 33:321–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verhoeven, L. 1994. Transfer in bilingual development. The linguistic interdependency hypothesis revisited. Language Learning 44:381–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhoeven, L., in press. Components in early second language reading and spelling. Scientific Studies of Reading.

  • Wade-Woolley, L., and Geva, E. 1999. Processing inflected morphology in second language word recognition: Russian-speakers and English-speakers read Hebrew. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 11:321–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wade-Woolley, L., and Geva, E. in press. Processing novel phonemic contrasts in the acquisition of L2 word reading, Scientific Studies of Reading.

  • Wade-Woolley, L., and Siegel, L. S. 1997. The spelling performance of ESL and native speakers of English as a function of reading skills. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal 9:387–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., and Torgesen, J. K. 1987. The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills. Psychological Bulletin 101:192–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., and Rashotte, C. A. 1994. Development of reading-related phonological processing abilities: New evidence of bi-directional causality from a latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology 30:73–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., Rashotte, C. A., Hecht, S. A., Barker, T. A., Burgess, S. R., Donahue, J., and Garon, T. 1997. Changing relations between phonological processing abilities and word-level reading as children develop from beginning to skilled readers: A 5-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology 33:468–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, D. J., Price, G. G., and Gillingham, M. G. 1988. The critical but transitory importance of letter naming. Reading Research Quarterly 23:108–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, M., and Geva, E. 1999. The Development of Spelling in Chinese ESL Children. Paper presented at the Society for Scientific Study of Reading, April, Montreal.

  • Willows, D. 1998. Early systematic phonics in balanced literacy classrooms: Overview of two large scale investigations. Paper presented at the National Reading Conference, Austin, TX.

  • Wolf, M. 1991. Naming speed and reading: The contribution of the cognitive neurosciences. Reading Research Quarterly 26:123–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, M., and Bowers, P. G. 1999. The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology 91:415–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, M., and Obregon, M. 1992. Early naming deficits, developmental dyslexia, and a specific deficit hypothesis. Brain and Language 42:219–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, OISE, University of Toronto, 252 Bloor West, M5S 1V6, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Esther Geva Ph.D. (Professor), Zhoreh Yaghoub-Zadeh & Barbara Schuster

Authors
  1. Esther Geva Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhoreh Yaghoub-Zadeh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Barbara Schuster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Esther Geva Ph.D..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Geva, E., Yaghoub-Zadeh, Z. & Schuster, B. Understanding individual differences in word recognition skills of ESL children. Annals of Dyslexia 50, 121–154 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-000-0020-8

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-000-0020-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation