Are first- and second-language factors related in predicting second-language reading comprehension? A study of Spanish-speaking children acquiring English as a second language from first to second grade.

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Gottardo ◽  
Julie Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Second Grade ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Second Language Reading Comprehension

Assessing Reading

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 208-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Perkins
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Second Language Reading Comprehension ◽  
Areas Of Interest ◽  
Comprehension Tests

The fields of reading comprehension per se and second language reading comprehension are vast indeed, and an attempt to survey them will, of necessity, be attenuated in a chapter of this size. As a consequence, I will limit my discussion to six areas: 1) general comments concerning areas of interest in reading research and assessment, 2) the adaptation of a suitable first-language reading comprehension model for second-language assessment, 3) the reliance on a top-down model of reading comprehension, 4) the validity of multiple-choice reading comprehension tests, 5) research on behavioral anchoring, and 6) the testing of reading comprehension in a CAT (Computer Adaptive Testing) context.

Background Knowledge, Linguistic Complexity, and Second-Language Reading Comprehension

1998 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mienke Droop ◽  
Ludo Verhoeven
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Second Language Reading ◽  
Minority Children ◽  
Linguistic Complexity ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Reading Efficiency ◽  
Second Language Reading Comprehension

In the present study, the role of cultural background knowledge on the reading comprehension of third graders acquiring literacy in Dutch as a first and second language is examined while the children read noncontrived texts from the reading curricula. Children were given three types of texts: texts referring to Dutch culture, texts referring to the cultures of immigrants from Near Eastern countries (i.e., Turkey and Morocco), and neutral texts. Within each type of text, a distinction was made between two levels of linguistic complexity. By means of reading-aloud protocols, retelling and questioning the children's reading performance on the distinguished types of texts was analyzed. A facilitating effect of cultural familiarity was found for both reading comprehension and reading efficiency. For the minority children, this effect was restricted to linguistically simple texts, because of their limited knowledge of the target language, Dutch.

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