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ERIC Number: EJ1003466
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1523-5882
EISSN: N/A
Should Bilingual Children Learn Reading in Two Languages at the Same Time or in Sequence?
Berens, Melody S.; Kovelman, Ioulia; Petitto, Laura-Ann
Bilingual Research Journal, v36 n1 p35-60 2013
Is it best to learn reading in two languages simultaneously or sequentially? We observed second- and third-grade children in two-way "dual-language learning contexts": (a) 50:50 or Simultaneous dual-language (two languages within same developmental period) and (b) 90:10 or Sequential dual-language (one language, followed gradually by the other). They were compared to matched monolingual English-only children in single-language English schools. Bilinguals (home language was Spanish only, English-only, or Spanish and English in dual-language schools), were tested in both languages, and monolingual children were tested in English using standardized reading and language tasks. Bilinguals in 50:50 programs performed better than bilinguals in 90:10 programs on English Irregular Words and Passage Comprehension tasks, suggesting language and reading facilitation for "underlying grammatical class and linguistic structure" analyses. By contrast, bilinguals in 90:10 programs performed better than bilinguals in the 50:50 programs on English Phonological Awareness and Reading Decoding tasks, suggesting language and reading facilitation for surface "phonological regularity" analysis. Notably, children from English-only homes in dual-language learning contexts performed equally well, or better than, children from monolingual English-only homes in single-language learning contexts. Overall, the findings provide tantalizing evidence that dual-language learning during the same developmental period may provide "bilingual reading advantages". (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 2; Grade 3
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A