Cognition, engagement, and motivation as factors in the reading comprehension of Dual Language Learners and English Speakers: Unified or distinctive models?

Previous studies offer mixed evidence regarding whether a unified model of reading comprehension predictors applies to Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and English Speakers (ESs), or whether distinctive models across language groups are empirically supported. The present study adds another dimension to this body of work by examining multiple reading engagement and motivation predictors alongside cognitive predictors of reading comprehension. The participants—188 DLLs and 166 ESs in the fourth and fifth grades—completed measures of word identification, linguistic comprehension, cognitive strategy use, internal motivation, and extrinsic motivation, and their teachers rated their reading engagement. Language status did not moderate the relations of any predictors with either concurrent reading comprehension performance or growth of reading comprehension across the school year, supporting a unified model of reading comprehension for DLLs and ESs. Word identification and linguistic comprehension showed the strongest relations with concurrent reading comprehension and growth. While the role of reading engagement was less prominent, it was demonstrated to be a plausible partial mediator of the relation of word identification with concurrent reading comprehension.