What explains children's digital word reading performance in L2?

Area of Science:

• * Educational Psychology
• * Second Language Acquisition
• * Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• * Word reading fluency is a cornerstone of early second language (L2) development.
• * Digital reading is now a prevalent mode of literacy engagement for children and adults.
• * Understanding factors influencing digital reading fluency is critical for effective L2 pedagogy.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To identify key predictors of digital word reading fluency in English (L2) among Chinese children.
• * To examine the relationship between digital and print word reading fluency.
• * To investigate the impact of reading device type and cognitive load on digital reading performance.

Main Methods:

• * Eighty-six Chinese children from Hong Kong participated in a 10-minute timed digital silent word reading test.
• * Participants used mobile phones, computers, or tablets for the reading assessment.
• * Hierarchical regression analysis was employed to determine unique predictors of digital reading fluency.

Main Results:

• * Digital word reading fluency strongly correlated with print word reading fluency, even over a year apart.
• * Socio-economic status, grade level, and English reading motivation significantly predicted digital reading fluency (explaining 48.6% of variance).
• * Reading on a mobile phone resulted in poorer fluency compared to a computer; higher extraneous cognitive load negatively impacted performance (overall model explained 58.8% of variance).

Conclusions:

• * Socio-economic status, grade, motivation, device type, and cognitive load are significant factors in children's L2 digital reading fluency.
• * Digital reading fluency is closely aligned with traditional print reading fluency.
• * This study provides a comprehensive framework for understanding L2 digital reading proficiency in young learners.