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Updated: Jul 26, 2026
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Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Lexical quality and executive control predict children's first and second language reading comprehension.
Henriette Raudszus1, Eliane Segers1, Ludo Verhoeven1
1Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, P.P. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Reading and Writing
|February 2, 2018
Summary
Bilingual children’s reading comprehension relies on similar skills as monolinguals, but benefits from strong home language vocabulary. Syntactic integration requires more executive control for second language learners.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Reading comprehension involves lexical quality and executive control.
- Bilingualism may influence these cognitive processes in reading.
- Understanding these factors is crucial for supporting diverse learners.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare predictors of reading comprehension in monolingual and bilingual children.
- To investigate direct and indirect pathways (via syntactic integration) of lexical quality and executive control.
- To examine the role of home language vocabulary in second language reading.
Main Methods:
- 76 monolingual and 102 bilingual fourth graders reading Dutch participated.
- Multigroup path analysis was used to compare predictive models.
- Lexical quality (vocabulary, decoding) and executive control (working memory, inhibition) were assessed.
Main Results:
- Bilinguals had lower Dutch vocabulary, syntactic integration, and reading comprehension, but better decoding.
- No differences in working memory or inhibition were found between groups.
- Inhibition predicted syntactic integration more strongly in bilinguals; home language vocabulary positively impacted L2 reading comprehension.
Conclusions:
- Reading comprehension processes are largely similar for L1 and L2 readers.
- Syntactic integration demands greater executive control for second language readers.
- First language vocabulary provides an additional advantage for bilinguals' second language reading comprehension.
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