The Gap Between Spanish Speakers' Word Reading and Word Knowledge: A Longitudinal Study

This longitudinal study modeled growth rates, from ages 4.5 to 11, in English and Spanish oral language and word reading skills among 173 Spanish-speaking children from low-income households. Individual growth modeling was employed using scores from standardized measures of word reading, expressive...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2011-09, Vol.82 (5), p.1544-1560
Main Authors: Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette, Lesaux, Nonie K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Achievement
Beginning Reading
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child development
Child growth
Child, Preschool
Children
Comprehension
Developmental psychology
Early Intervention, Educational
EMPIRICAL ARTICLES
English
English (Second Language)
English language learners
Expressive Language
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hispanic or Latino - education
Hispanic or Latino - psychology
Humans
Income
Knowledge
Language Acquisition
Language development
Language Skills
Longitudinal Studies
Low Income
Low income groups
Male
Memory
Memory, Short-Term
Multilevel models
Multilingualism
National Norms
New England
Oral Language
Poor children
Poverty
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reading
Reading comprehension
Reading Skills
Scores
Second Language Learning
Short term
Short Term Memory
Spanish language
Spanish Speaking
Standardized Tests
Sustained attention
Verbal Ability
Verbal Behavior
Verbal Learning
Verbal memory
Vocabulary
Words
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This longitudinal study modeled growth rates, from ages 4.5 to 11, in English and Spanish oral language and word reading skills among 173 Spanish-speaking children from low-income households. Individual growth modeling was employed using scores from standardized measures of word reading, expressive vocabulary, and verbal short-term language memory. The trajectories demonstrate that students' rates of growth and overall ability in word reading were on par with national norms. In contrast, students' oral language skills started out below national norms and their rates of growth, although surpassing the national rates, were not sufficient to reach age-appropriate levels. The results underscore the need for increased and sustained attention to promoting this population's language development.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01633.x