A study investigated the factors influencing the English word identification performance of Spanish-speaking beginning readers. Beginning readers were administered tests of letter naming, Spanish phonological awareness, Spanish and English word recognition, and Spanish and English oral proficiency. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that the readers' performance on English word and pseudoword recognition tests was predicted by the levels of both Spanish phonological awareness and Spanish word recognition, thus indicating cross-language transfer. In contrast, neither English nor Spanish oral proficiency affected word-identification performance. Results suggest a specific way in which first-language learning and experience can aid children in the beginning stages of reading.The number of students from linguistically diverse backgrounds who are enrolled in U.S. schools is increasing rapidly (Hakuta & Garcia, 1989). For these students, learning to read in English is one of the crucial components of academic success. Hence, how these students' first-language knowledge may affect their reading in a second language is of great pedagogical importance. In addition, the effects of first language on second-language reading (i.e., cross-language transfer) is also of theoretical interest, as evidenced by the increase in research devoted to this issue in the last few years. After two decades of little attention to cross-linguistic transfer, researchers in the area of second-language acquisition have returned to studying acquisition and production of second-language structures as a function of the characteristics of the first language (for reviews, see Gass &

One of the challenges for educators working in multilingual settings has been to identify the causes of reading difficulties of language learners (LLs). It is difficult to distinguish between reading problems stemming from low levels of linguistic proficiency versus more general reading~learning difficulties. There is now growing research evidence of cross-language transfer in different literacy processes. Literacy components that reflect language-independent, metacognitive/ metalinguistic processes show similarities across the two languages of students. Some examples are phonological awareness, syntactic awareness, knowledge of genres and meaning-making strategies. A possible way to use cross-language transfer as a diagnostic tool is proposed. If children have had enough exposure to and possibly instruction in their first language (L1), we can assess their skills and insights in L1. For LLs who have these skills and insights in their strong L1, we can expect transfer to their second language (L2). If they do not have these skills and insights in their L2 yet, it indicates a delay due to limited language proficiency, and not because of a disability. This way LLs who just need more L2 practice and exposure can be distinguished from those LLs who truly have special needs.In communities around the world, there are many students who have home languages that are different from the school language. These students are learning the majority language while at the

A study was conducted to determine how Hispanic bilingual students' knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and ability to identify Spanish-English cognates relate to their comprehension of English expository text. Subjects, 74 upper elementary Hispanic students able to read in both Spanish and English, were tested for Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, and after reading each of four expository texts containing English words with Spanish cognates (e.g., English transform and Spanish transformar) were given a multiple-choice test on their understanding of key concepts from these texts. After a brief explanation of the concept cognate, they were asked to identify the words in these texts that had Spanish cognates. Performance on the multiple-choice test was found to be related to students' ability to recognize cognate relationships. The relationship between Spanish vocabulary knowledge and English reading comprehension also appeared to depend on students' ability to recognize cognates.

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