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Oral language predictors of word reading and spelling: A cross-linguistic comparison in bilingual and monolingual children.

Authors :
Bonifacci, Paola
Cangelosi, Martina
Bellocchi, Stéphanie
Source :
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Jul2024, Vol. 243, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

• Verbal knowledge and syntactic comprehension predict reading accuracy. • Linguistic status (Bilingualism) is the main predictor of spelling skills. • Reading speed is predicted by syntactic comprehension in Italian but not in French. The current study investigated linguistic predictors of word reading and spelling skills in a cross-linguistic comparison (French vs. Italian) in heritage bilinguals (HBs) and their monolingual peers. The sample included 265 children (French: n = 113; 67 monolinguals and 46 HBs; Italian: n = 152; 82 monolinguals and 70 HBs) attending Grades 3, 4, and 5 while performing oral language, reading, and spelling tasks. The battery included verbal knowledge, morphosyntactic comprehension, nonword repetition, word reading (speed and accuracy), and spelling tasks. Results showed that for reading speed, there were no main effects of single predictors, but a significant interaction of morphosyntactic comprehension by language of schooling emerged. For reading accuracy, there was a main effect of verbal knowledge and syntactic comprehension, with a significant interaction of verbal knowledge and language of schooling. Finally, spelling accuracy was predicted only by linguistic status. The results suggest different pathways for word reading and spelling, with oral language skills' main role in reading accuracy and linguistic status's main role in spelling skills, possibly hindered by linguistic exposure and lexical access. Discussions are focused on potential implications for multilingual settings and cross-linguistic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00220965
Volume :
243
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
176924255
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105926