ERIC Number: EJ1059629
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1539-0578
EISSN: N/A
First Language Grapheme-Phoneme Transparency Effects in Adult Second Language Learning
Ijalba, Elizabeth; Obler, Loraine K.
Reading in a Foreign Language, v27 n1 p47-70 Apr 2015
The Spanish writing system has consistent grapheme-to-phoneme correspondences (GPC), rendering it more transparent than English. We compared first-language (L1) orthographic transparency on how monolingual English- and Spanish-readers learned a novel writing system with a 1:1 (LT) and a 1:2 (LO) GPC. Our dependent variables were learning time, decoding, and vocabulary. We found a main effect for transparency. Participants learned LT faster and decoded more words in LT than in LO. L1 reading characteristics influenced learning. English-readers decoded more words in the LO-LT sequence and Spanish-readers decoded more words in the LT-LO sequence. Spanish-readers had more difficulty recalling the meaning of LO than LT words; for English-readers there was no difference between the two word types. Our findings indicate that readers' L1 orthographic transparency or GPC type influences L2 decoding and the learning of L2 words from combined written-auditory teaching.
Descriptors: Native Language, Second Language Learning, Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence, Spanish, Written Language, Recall (Psychology), English, Decoding (Reading), Transfer of Training, Reading Skills, Phonological Awareness, Reliability, Phonemes, Adults, Foreign Countries, High School Students, College Students, Reading Research
Reading in a Foreign Language. National Foreign Language Resource Center, 1859 East-West Road #106, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822. e-mail: readfl@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Jersey; Uruguay
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A