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Development of reading skills from K-3 in Spanish-speaking English language learners following three programs of instruction

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Abstract

The development of English and Spanish reading and oral language skills from kindergarten to third grade was examined with a sample of 502 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in three instructional programs. The students in the transitional bilingual and dual-language programs had significantly higher scores than the students in the English immersion program on the Spanish reading and oral language measures and significantly lower scores on the English reading comprehension and oral language measures. Multiple-group path models showed that the predictors of third grade English and Spanish reading comprehension did not differ across the three programs. Spanish phonological/decoding skill and oral language in first grade mediated the association between Spanish phonological/decoding skill and oral language in kindergarten and third grade Spanish reading comprehension. English phonological/decoding, Spanish phonological/decoding skill, and English oral language in first grade mediated the link between Spanish phonological/decoding skill in kindergarten and third grade English reading comprehension.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Evaluation Research Program, WestEd, 4665 Lampson Ave., Los Alamitos, CA, 90720, USA

    Jonathan Nakamoto

  2. Palos Verdes, CA, USA

    Kim A. Lindsey

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Franklin R. Manis

Authors
  1. Jonathan Nakamoto
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  2. Kim A. Lindsey
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  3. Franklin R. Manis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Nakamoto.

Additional information

This research was supported in part under grant RO3 HD 39488-02 as part of the Biliteracy Research Network, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Institute of Education Sciences as well as under grant RO1 HD044081-01, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Nakamoto, J., Lindsey, K.A. & Manis, F.R. Development of reading skills from K-3 in Spanish-speaking English language learners following three programs of instruction. Read Writ 25, 537–567 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-010-9285-4

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