The role of derivational morphology in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking English language learners

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in English among Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) followed from fourth through fifth grade. Students' ability to decompose derived words while reading was assessed using an experimental task. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the contribution of performance on this task to reading comprehension above and beyond word reading skills, phonological awareness, and breadth of vocabulary knowledge. The relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension was found to strengthen between fourth and fifth grade, and in fifth grade, morphological awareness was found to be a significant predictor of reading comprehension. The findings were robust across two measures of reading comprehension and two methods of scoring the experimental task of morphological awareness, and thus support the inclusion of derivational morphology in a model of the English reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking ELLs.

Learning Difficulties in First and Second Language: Preliminary Results from a Cross-linguistic Skills Transfer

“…However, there are also studies that showed that the degree of syntactic awareness in L1 was not transferred to L2 (Chiappe, Siegel & Wade-Woolley, 2002). Furthermore, several studies have shown that language components of L1, such as phonological, morphological and syntactic knowledge, spelling knowledge and vocabulary contribute to the understanding of L2 (Abu-Rabia & Bluestein-Danon, 2012;Abu-Rabia & Shakkour, 2014;Abu-Rabia et al, 2013;Kahn-Horwitz et al, 2005;Kieffer & Lesaux, 2008;Zhang & Koda, 2008). However, researches such as that of Akamatsu, (2003) found that there was no transfer of linguistic skills that would contribute to improving L2's reading comprehension.…”

Cognitive Skill Transfer in English Reading Acquisition: Alphabetic and Logographic Languages Compared

“…Numerous research study findings indicate that linguistic components of L1, such as phonological awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic knowledge and meta-cognitive knowledge, all contribute to the development of reading and reading comprehension in a second language (Carlisle, Beeman, Davis, & Spharim, 1999;Cho & Tong, 2014;Gottardo & Mueller, 2009;Kahn-Horwitz, Shimron, & Sparks, 2005;Kieffer & Lesaux, 2008;Lefrançois & Armand, 2003;Lervåg & Aukrust, 2010;Nakamoto, Lindsey, & Manis, 2008;Nassaji & Geva, 1999;Nergis, 2013;Proctor, August, Carlo, & Snow, 2006;Pasquarella, Gottardo, & Grant, 2012;Protopapas, Sideridis, Mouzaki, & Simos, 2007;Van der Leij, Bekebrede, & Kotterink, 2010;Wang, Ko, & Choi, 2009). …”

Desarrollo de la lectoescritura en español en alumnos bilingües

“…En las evaluaciones desarrolladas por los investigadores se encontraron efectos significativos de la intervención, los cuales se correlacionaban estrechamente con la intervención que medía el conocimiento de las palabras enseñadas y con la conciencia morfológica, con tamaños del efecto ( Además de enseñar explícitamente palabras en contexto, hay expertos en vocabulario como Michael Graves (2006) que enfatizan la importancia de la enseñanza de estrategias para la adquisición de nuevas palabras en un texto, tales como la conciencia morfológica y la conciencia léxica. El papel de la conciencia morfológica en la capacidad de comprensión lectora ha sido examinado por Kieffer y Lesaux (2008). En su trabajo, estos autores describen un estudio de intervención con estudiantes bilingües y monolingües de los cursos superiores de educación primaria a los cuales se les enseñó estrategias para fomentar la conciencia morfológica en el contexto de un plan de estudios de vocabulario destinado a mejorar las habilidades de comprensión lectora en inglés.…”