Investigating cognitive and linguistic abilities that influence the reading comprehension skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds

Nonie K. Lesaux; Orly Lipka; Linda S. Siegel

doi:10.1007/s11145-005-4713-6

Investigating cognitive and linguistic abilities that influence the reading comprehension skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds

Nonie K. Lesaux, Orly Lipka, Linda S. Siegel

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of cognitive and linguistic skills on the reading comprehension performance of a group of learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The study also compared the reading comprehension performance of grade 4 children who entered kindergarten with little or no experience with English (ESL) to that of a group of native English speakers. Examiners administered various tasks of reading, language, and memory to the children in the study (n=480). The sample included three comprehension groups: (1) children with poor comprehension in the absence of word reading difficulties (Poor Comprehenders; PC), (2) children with poor word reading and poor comprehension (Poor word Recognition and comprehenders; PR), and (3) children with good word reading and comprehension abilities (Good Comprehenders; GC). Due to the small sample size of PR reader group, no comparative analyses were conducted. However, the results indicated that within the GC and PC groups there were no differences between the ESL and L1 children on measures of reading and phonological processing. Further, within the GC and PC groups, on measures of syntactic awareness and verbal working memory, the ESL speakers performed at significantly lower levels than the L1 speakers.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	99-131
Number of pages	33
Journal	Reading and Writing
Volume	19
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-005-4713-6
State	Published - Feb 2006
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Rose K. Vukovic for significant contributions to previous versions of this manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to L.S. Siegel. The authors wish to thank Robin Brayne, Jay Merilees, Larry Johnson, Cathy Molinski, Heather Calder, Ann Tarves, Audrey Hobbs-Johnson, Lorna Bennett, Fran Blake, Bea Ingram, Laurie McDonald, Pam Ottley, Linda Pearson, Mary Tennant, Brian Ward, Rochelle Watts, Anne Woodcock, and the principals, teachers, and students of the North Vancouver School District for their support and participation in this study. The authors would like to thank Sally Porter and Elenita Tseng for assistance with data collection and entry, Young Suk-Kim for assistance with data analysis, and Dave Cupp for editorial assistance.

Keywords

ESL
Phonological awareness
Reading comprehension
Syntactic awareness
Working memory

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Education
Linguistics and Language
Speech and Hearing

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/s11145-005-4713-6

Cite this

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title = "Investigating cognitive and linguistic abilities that influence the reading comprehension skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds",

abstract = "This study investigated the influence of cognitive and linguistic skills on the reading comprehension performance of a group of learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The study also compared the reading comprehension performance of grade 4 children who entered kindergarten with little or no experience with English (ESL) to that of a group of native English speakers. Examiners administered various tasks of reading, language, and memory to the children in the study (n=480). The sample included three comprehension groups: (1) children with poor comprehension in the absence of word reading difficulties (Poor Comprehenders; PC), (2) children with poor word reading and poor comprehension (Poor word Recognition and comprehenders; PR), and (3) children with good word reading and comprehension abilities (Good Comprehenders; GC). Due to the small sample size of PR reader group, no comparative analyses were conducted. However, the results indicated that within the GC and PC groups there were no differences between the ESL and L1 children on measures of reading and phonological processing. Further, within the GC and PC groups, on measures of syntactic awareness and verbal working memory, the ESL speakers performed at significantly lower levels than the L1 speakers.",

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author = "Lesaux, {Nonie K.} and Orly Lipka and Siegel, {Linda S.}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to thank Rose K. Vukovic for significant contributions to previous versions of this manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to L.S. Siegel. The authors wish to thank Robin Brayne, Jay Merilees, Larry Johnson, Cathy Molinski, Heather Calder, Ann Tarves, Audrey Hobbs-Johnson, Lorna Bennett, Fran Blake, Bea Ingram, Laurie McDonald, Pam Ottley, Linda Pearson, Mary Tennant, Brian Ward, Rochelle Watts, Anne Woodcock, and the principals, teachers, and students of the North Vancouver School District for their support and participation in this study. The authors would like to thank Sally Porter and Elenita Tseng for assistance with data collection and entry, Young Suk-Kim for assistance with data analysis, and Dave Cupp for editorial assistance.",

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doi = "10.1007/s11145-005-4713-6",

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N2 - This study investigated the influence of cognitive and linguistic skills on the reading comprehension performance of a group of learners from diverse linguistic backgrounds. The study also compared the reading comprehension performance of grade 4 children who entered kindergarten with little or no experience with English (ESL) to that of a group of native English speakers. Examiners administered various tasks of reading, language, and memory to the children in the study (n=480). The sample included three comprehension groups: (1) children with poor comprehension in the absence of word reading difficulties (Poor Comprehenders; PC), (2) children with poor word reading and poor comprehension (Poor word Recognition and comprehenders; PR), and (3) children with good word reading and comprehension abilities (Good Comprehenders; GC). Due to the small sample size of PR reader group, no comparative analyses were conducted. However, the results indicated that within the GC and PC groups there were no differences between the ESL and L1 children on measures of reading and phonological processing. Further, within the GC and PC groups, on measures of syntactic awareness and verbal working memory, the ESL speakers performed at significantly lower levels than the L1 speakers.

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Investigating cognitive and linguistic abilities that influence the reading comprehension skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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