Component skills that underpin listening comprehension and reading comprehension in learners with English as first and additional language

Babayiğit, Selma; Shapiro, Laura

doi:10.1111/1467-9817.12291

Cited by 37 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…These results relate to previous findings on second language vocabulary: second language learners have been reported to possess smaller vocabularies in their second language (e.g. Babayiğit & Shapiro, 2020; Verhoeven, 2000) with fewer associative links between these words (e.g. Vermeer, 2001; see also the meta-analysis by Melby-Lervåg & Lervåg, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Vermeer, 2001; see also the meta-analysis by Melby-Lervåg & Lervåg, 2014). They also match findings that vocabulary outcomes of both first and second language learners influence comprehension outcomes (Babayiğit & Shapiro, 2020; Verhoeven & van Leeuwe, 2012). Although the findings on the role of vocabulary in listening comprehension sit well with models and empirical findings of comprehension, there are limits to the conclusions that can be drawn.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

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The unique role of verbal memory, vocabulary, concentration and self-efficacy in children’s listening comprehension in upper elementary grades

Bree

Zee

2020

First Language

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Listening comprehension is important for daily communication and at school, yet relatively little is known about the variables contributing to listening comprehension, especially in the upper elementary years. The aim of this study was to explore whether vocabulary, verbal memory, but also self-efficacy and self-reported concentration contribute to listening comprehension. The authors assessed oral text comprehension, as well as the concurrent contributors vocabulary, verbal short- and long-term memory, self-efficacy and concentration in a sample of 442 upper elementary school children (9- to 12-year-olds). Structural equation models were used to test for direct and indirect associations. The best-fitting model was an indirect model in which verbal short-term memory and self-efficacy were positively associated with children’s vocabulary. Vocabulary, in turn, was positively associated with children’s listening comprehension. Using bias-corrected bootstrap procedures, however, vocabulary appeared to mediate the association between academic self-efficacy and listening comprehension. The indirect association between verbal short-term memory and listening comprehension through vocabulary just missed significance. The findings relate to models of listening comprehension that state a dominant role for vocabulary, also in the upper elementary years. They imply that the models could extend to evaluating broader student-related resources, such as academic self-efficacy. Furthermore, the findings on general cognitive resources fit the pattern of mixed findings in previous research. Together, the results motivate further research into contributors to listening comprehension throughout the elementary years.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

The unique role of verbal memory, vocabulary, concentration and self-efficacy in children’s listening comprehension in upper elementary grades

Bree

Zee

2020

First Language

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“…With EM students in elementary and secondary grades, Christopher et al (2012) found that after controlling for cognitive predictors, the correlation between latent D and LC factors dropped significantly (p < .01), from .59 to .28, supporting the prediction that cognitive skills underlie shared variance between D and LC. With EBs, a few studies have examined the roles of general cognitive predictors, such as working memory (Farnia & Geva, 2013) and nonverbal reasoning (Babayiğit & Shapiro, 2020), in addition to D and varied measures of LC, with mixed findings and not specifically addressing the shared variance between D and LC. Wu, Barquero, Pickren, Taboada Barber, and Cutting (2020) recently demonstrated that two of the three specific EF skills that we examined (cognitive flexibility and inhibition) not only predicted growth in reading comprehension in EMs from grade 1 to grade 4 but also that children with stronger EFs demonstrated faster rates of growth in reading comprehension.…”

Section: The Current Study: the Role Of Ef Skills In Explaining Shared Variance In D And Lcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Current Study: the Role Of Ef Skills In Explaining Shared Variance In D And Lcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Simple View of Reading: The Role of Executive Functions in Emergent Bilinguals’ and English Monolinguals’ Reading Comprehension

Barber¹,

Cartwright²,

Hancock³

et al. 2021

Reading Research Quarterly

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The simple view of reading describes reading as the product of decoding (D) and listening comprehension (LC). However, the simple view of reading has been challenged, and evidence has proved it to be too simple to explain the complexities of reading comprehension in the elementary school years. Hypotheses have been advanced that there are cognitive-linguistic factors that underlie the common variance between D and LC, which are malleable, although there is no clarity at this point regarding what these are. We propose that one such group of malleable cognitive factors is executive function (EF) skills. Further, we posit that EF skills play equally strong roles in explaining reading comprehension variance in emergent bilinguals and English monolinguals. We used multigroup structural equation modeling to determine the contribution of these constructs (D, LC, and EF) to reading comprehension in 425 emergent bilinguals and 302 English monolinguals in grades 2-4. The shared variance between D and LC was explained by direct and indirect effects in the models tested, with strong indirect effects for the EFs of cognitive flexibility and working memory through D and LC, respectively, for both language groups. The indirect effect of cognitive flexibility through LC on reading comprehension was considerably larger for emergent bilinguals than for English monolinguals. Considerations for a more nuanced view of the simple view of reading and its implications for practice are discussed. P ublic discourse surrounding the science of reading has emphasized the simple view of reading (SVR; Gough & Tunmer, 1986) as a guiding framework for research under the Reading for Understanding initiative in the last decade (e.g.,

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“…Although the cause of the observed bilingual vocabulary disadvantage is likely to be multifactorial and continues to be debated (Soto-Corominas et al, 2020), it is well-established that a smaller vocabulary size undermines effective reading comprehension. In fact, several studies reported a direct association between limited bilingual vocabulary size and bilingual disadvantage in reading comprehension (Babayiğit, 2015;Babayiğit & Shapiro, 2020).…”

Section: Bilingual Cognitive Effects and Reading Comprehensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocabulary limitations undermine bilingual children’s reading comprehension despite bilingual cognitive strengths

et al. 2022

Self Cite

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Previous research reported bilingual cognitive strengths in working memory, executive function and novel-word learning skills (Bialystok in Psychol Bull 143:233–262, 2017; Kaushanskaya and Marian in Psychon Bull Rev 16:705–710, 2009). These skills should also support bilingual children’s vocabulary and reading development, yet bilingual children show weaknesses in their second language vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Our primary aim was to clarify these seemingly paradoxical reports by investigating the cognitive strengths and weaknesses associated with both bilingual experience and reading comprehension in a single study. The participants were 102 English-speaking monolingual children and 104 Hindi/Urdu-English speaking bilingual children (mean age = 118.26 months, SD = 11.23 months) in the UK. We tested children’s vocabulary, working memory, executive function (cognitive inhibition, updating memory), novel-word learning, and reading skills. All testing was conducted in English. The findings supported the previous reports of bilingual cognitive strengths in working memory, novel-word learning and cognitive inhibition skills. However, despite their cognitive strengths and adequate word reading skills, the bilingual group displayed weaker reading comprehension than their monolingual peers. As anticipated, there was a direct association between bilingual children’s smaller English vocabulary size and underperformance on reading comprehension. Along with word reading, vocabulary was the most powerful unique predictor of reading comprehension. The effects of cognitive control skills on reading comprehension were mixed and mostly indirect through word reading skills. These relations were comparable across the monolingual and bilingual groups. Together, our findings highlighted the importance of clear educational policies on oral language assessment and support in our increasingly multilingual classrooms.

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Component skills that underpin listening comprehension and reading comprehension in learners with English as first and additional language

Cited by 37 publications

References 45 publications

The unique role of verbal memory, vocabulary, concentration and self-efficacy in children’s listening comprehension in upper elementary grades

The unique role of verbal memory, vocabulary, concentration and self-efficacy in children’s listening comprehension in upper elementary grades

Beyond the Simple View of Reading: The Role of Executive Functions in Emergent Bilinguals’ and English Monolinguals’ Reading Comprehension

Vocabulary limitations undermine bilingual children’s reading comprehension despite bilingual cognitive strengths

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