Emergent Bilinguals With Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits: A Comparative and Longitudinal Analysis

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Specific reading comprehension deficits (S-RCD) affect emergent bilingual (EB) and English monolingual (EM) students, characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate word identification.
• Understanding the factors contributing to S-RCD in EBs is crucial for developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate reading comprehension deficits in emergent bilingual (EB) students and compare them with English monolingual (EM) students.
• To identify variables beyond oral language that contribute to S-RCD in elementary school students.
• To examine the persistence of S-RCD over two academic years.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study involving 209 students in Grades 2-4, including EBs and EMs with and without S-RCD.
• Mean comparisons were used to assess differences in oral language, word identification, inference making, reading engagement, and executive functioning.
• Longitudinal analyses tracked the persistence of S-RCD over two academic years.

Main Results:

• EBs and EMs with S-RCD exhibited weaknesses in oral language, word identification, inference making, and reading engagement compared to typically developing readers.
• Executive functioning was not a differentiating factor for S-RCD in this cohort.
• S-RCD persisted across two academic years for 41% of both EB and EM students.

Conclusions:

• Reading comprehension difficulties in EB students are influenced by factors beyond oral language proficiency.
• Early identification and intervention for reading comprehension weaknesses and their components are vital for both EB and EM students.
• The study highlights the need for continued research into the evolving performance levels of students with S-RCD throughout elementary school.