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However influential the interdependence hypothesis has become in bilingual research, it still lacks full empirical support. This longitudinal study explores the parallels in the biliteracy development (L1 Spanish and L2 English) of 20 students in a European immersion programme (i.e. CLIL) over a two-year period. A bilingual learner corpus of history narratives, based on history curriculum content, was collected during ninth and tenth grade. These essays were processed with MultiAzterTest, a state-of-the-art language analysis tool, and a Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to determine if any dimensions evolved in unison in both languages. The results show that some dimensions – length measures, nominalisation, subordination and lexical development – evolve in a similar fashion, thus supporting the interdependence and the common underlying proficiency hypotheses. Additionally, the results of a mixed-model analysis confirm that the fixed effect of time and language on such progress is significant, unlike the random effects introduced by the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents play a significant role in fostering Korean-American children's heritage language learning. This qualitative inquiry investigates Korean immigrant parents' beliefs and the language practices they engage in to raise their children to speak Korean. Based on questionnaires completed by 40 parents and in-depth, open-ended interviews with 5 parents, this study specifically focuses on Korean parents residing in an area with a low Korean immigrant population and how they perceive, foster, and advocate for their children's Heritage Language (HL) learning. The findings show that parents play crucial roles as active advocates of their children's HL learning and positive belief in HL maintenance, making best efforts to help their children see the value of learning. In addition, the findings show that parents serve as HL educators, who create an HL learning environment, instruct HL reading and writing, and incorporate digital tools and popular culture for HL learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on an investigation into the bilingual development of literacy skills in Portuguese heritage language speakers in Switzerland in which we sought to put Cummins' linguistic interdependence hypothesis to the test. Three predictions were derived from this hypothesis: (1) Literacy skill levels in one of the bilinguals' languages can best be predicted from skill levels in both languages at an earlier point in time; (2) Crosslinguistic effects originating from the language in which literacy skills are explicitly taught are stronger than those originating from the language in which they are not explicitly taught; (3) Crosslinguistic effects are stronger between more closely related language pairs. These three predictions were evaluated using longitudinal reading and writing data from 233 French–Portuguese and German–Portuguese bilingual children. Results show that prediction (1) is borne out but predictions (2) and (3) are not. The discussion centres on the vast array of possible results that are compatible with the interdependence hypothesis in correlational studies, particularly if it is combined with post hoc thresholds. Our conclusion is that current forms of the interdependence hypothesis do not offer a fruitful framework for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the role of phonological awareness and morphological awareness in concurrent and subsequent oral vocabulary among Chinese-English bilingual children who learned Chinese as their heritage language and English as their societal language. Ninety-one Chinese-English bilingual children in kindergarten and Grade 1 who were recruited from Chinese heritage language classes in Canada, participated in the study. They were tested twice, 1 year apart, on a battery of cognitive and literacy measures in Chinese and English. The results indicated that for oral vocabulary, morphological awareness was the only concurrent predictor in both languages. English morphological awareness made a direct contribution to English vocabulary measured a year later. By contrast, the contribution of morphological awareness to vocabulary in Chinese at Time 2 was indirect and mediated by vocabulary at Time 1. Phonological awareness did not make a significant contribution to vocabulary at Times 1 or 2 in either language. Our results highlight the importance of morphological awareness in oral vocabulary for children learning Chinese and English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is dyslexia in Chinese for Chinese-English bilinguals associated with difficulties in reading English, given differences in L1 and L2 orthographies? Among 11 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents with dyslexia, who were diagnosed by professional psychologists using the diagnostic criteria set out in a standardized test, and 14 adolescents without dyslexia, Chinese word reading was tested at the age of 9 years; English word reading was tested across ages 9, 10, 11, and 12 years; and English orthographic processing was tested in a lexical decision task at the age of 13 years. The lexical decision task required participants to judge whether or not stimuli appeared to "look like" a possible real word in English across 3 conditions (real words, look-like words that were orthographically possible in English, and nonwords that violated orthographic rules of English). English word reading differed significantly between the 2 groups in 2 of the 4 years. Both groups found it easier to identify nonwords that violated English orthographic rules than those that did not. However, compared with peers without dyslexia, adolescents with dyslexia had more difficulties with English orthographic rules in accuracy but not reaction time, suggesting that children with dyslexia may manifest specific difficulties in English orthographic processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on the impact of bilingualism on metalinguistic development has concentrated on the development of phonological awareness. The present study extended the scope of existing research by focusing on morphological awareness, an aspect of metalinguistic awareness that becomes increasingly important beyond the initial phase of literacy development. Participants included three groups of fourth-grader children from the same school with comparable SES and non-verbal IQ: (a) monolingual English-speaking children from a general education programme, (b) Spanish-speaking children from a Spanish–English dual-language programme and (c) English-speaking children from the same Spanish–English dual-language programme. Researcher-developed measures of vocabulary and morphological awareness were administered. Results suggested that bilingual education can have a positive impact on the development of morphological awareness through cross-language transfer as well as increased sensitivity to structural language features. The findings contribute to a growing body of research on how bilingual experience may shape children’s metalinguistic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, carried out in the bilingual and bicultural border area of South Texas, is an exploration of bilingual preservice teachers' identity formation and their experiences and beliefs about literacy and biliteracy during an undergraduate class focused on learning about emergent literacy in the bilingual classroom. This study is based on a sociocultural approach to learning and identity development, and research that explores how bilingual teachers' identity is shaped through their participation in cultural and linguistic practices. The purpose of this practitioner research is to provide insights into preservice teachers' identities as they start to explore literacy and biliteracy practices. Two research questions guide the study: What experiences about literacy and biliteracy development do prospective teachers identify as meaningful? How do these experiences contribute to define bilingual preservice teachers' identities? Findings indicate that bilingual preservice teachers' identities are shaped by cultural and linguistic experiences that define the bilingual and bicultural dynamics of the region. Two predominant types of experiences impact bilingual preservice teachers' beliefs about teaching, learning, and literacy I biliteracy development. Particularly significant in defining their perceptions are the lessons learned from meaningful others -- especially mothers and teachers -- and certain relevant memories regarding effective practices they experienced when learning to read and write. Implications for teacher education preparation of bilingual teachers are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study investigated transfer of reading-related cognitive skills between learning to read Chinese (L1) and English (L2) among Chinese children in Hong Kong. Fifty-three Grade 2 students were tested on word reading, phonological, orthographic and rapid naming skills in Chinese (L1) and English (L2). The major findings were: (a) significant correlations between Chinese and English measures in phonological awareness and rapid naming, but not in orthographic skills; (b) significant unique contribution of Chinese and English rapid naming skills and English rhyme awareness for predicting Chinese word reading after controlling for all the Chinese and English cognitive measures; (c) significant unique contribution of English phonological skills and Chinese orthographic skills (a negative one) for predicting English word reading after controlling for all the English and Chinese cognitive measures; and (d) significant unique contribution of Chinese rhyme awareness for predicting English phonemic awareness. These findings provide initial evidence that developing reading-related cognitive skills in English may have facilitative effects on Chinese word reading development. They also suggest that Chinese orthographic skills or tactics may not be helpful for learning to read English words among ESL learners; and that Chinese rhyme awareness facilitates the development of English phonemic awareness which is an essential skill predicting ESL learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Will teaching children to read and write in two languages in the school environment lead to confusion and possible interference in the literacy learning process? By focusing on the emergent Chinese and English literacy of a 5-year-old boy from Taiwan, this research provides insights into the debate within the field of bilingual education as to whether the introduction of literacy in languages with two different writing systems helps or hinders literacy development in both languages. The researchers involved the participant in a variety of interactive reading and writing activities and games, both in English and Chinese, for 1.5–2 h a week over the course of 15 weeks. Drawing on Common Underlying Proficiency Hypothesis, data was coded, analyzed and organized into two categories: the Foundational Level Emergent Literacy Awareness and the Surface Level Emergent Literacy Awareness. Results suggest that Foundational Level Awareness, literacy awareness that applies to either language, is characterized by the intentionality of print, the match between written and spoken words, and the conventions of print. The Surface Level Awareness, literacy awareness unique to each writing system, is differentiated into two distinct categories that pertain to the specifics of the writing systems of English and Chinese. Discussions center on the relationship between Chinese literacy and English literacy, the impact on biliteracy over time, and the participant’s future literacy development. Implications for biliteracy research, development, knowledge, and pedagogy are suggested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]