The impact of L2 German on component processes of reading.

Background: In Germany, there is a substantial gap in reading literacy between monolingual children and their L2-speaking peers. Nevertheless, it is still unclear where these performance differences are rooted. Methods: We investigated children of grades 5, 6 and 7 with comparable socio-economic status, who completed a battery of tests assessing their linguistic and executive functioning skills as well as their reading performance on the letter, word, sentence and text level. Results: Whereas L1 speakers showed better linguistic skills, there was no difference between groups in executive functioning. After controlling for individual differences on each level of reading, groups only differed in text comprehension. This effect, however, disappeared when participants’ linguistic skills were additionally controlled. Conclusions: In sum, results show that reading problems in L2 speakers cannot be attributed to deficits on specific component processes of reading, but to a lack of linguistic skills, which negatively affects reading comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved)

Accession Number: 2016-36159-001. Partial author list: First Author & Affiliation: Schröter, Pauline; Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. Other Publishers: Blackwell Publishing. Release Date: 20160725. Correction Date: 20180329. Publication Type: Journal (0100), Peer Reviewed Journal (0110). Format Covered: Electronic. Document Type: Journal Article. Language: English. Major Descriptor: Bilingualism; Childhood Development; Linguistics; Monolingualism; Reading. Classification: Psychosocial & Personality Development (2840). Population: Human (10); Male (30); Female (40). Location: Germany. Age Group: Childhood (birth-12 yrs) (100); School Age (6-12 yrs) (180). Tests & Measures: Vocabulary Knowledge Test for German; Test of Everyday Attention for Children; Stroop Test DOI: 10.1037/t05449-000. Methodology: Empirical Study; Quantitative Study. Page Count: 18. Issue Publication Date: Dec, 2017. Publication History: Accepted Date: Jun 1, 2016; Revised Date: Feb 3, 2016; First Submitted Date: Aug 24, 2015. Copyright Statement: Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. UKLA. 2016.