Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:24:52.790Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Native language literacy and phonological memory as prerequisites for learning English as a foreign language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1999

Mia Dufva  and
Marinus J. M. Voeten
Mia Dufva*
Affiliation:
University of Turku
Marinus J. M. Voeten
Affiliation:
University of Nijmegen
*
Mia Dufva, Center for Learning Research, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine, with a longitudinal study design, the effects of phonological memory and native language (NL) literacy acquisition on learning English as a foreign language (FL). The subjects were 160 Finnish school children, who were 7-year-old first graders at the beginning of the study. Measures in the first grade were NL word recognition and listening comprehension; in the second grade, word recognition, reading comprehension, and phonological memory; and in the third grade, FL skills. The main result from the structural equation modeling was that both NL literacy and phonological memory have positive effects on FL learning. These skills explained 58% of the variance in English proficiency. Therefore, proficiency in NL literacy skills is highly significant for FL learning, although the orthographic regularity varied a lot (Finnish vs. English). On the basis of the results, it can be concluded that one way to promote FL learning is by diagnosing NL literacy skills early on and by providing training in NL literacy for at-risk children. In addition, the significant role of phonological memory in FL learning suggests that training in the FL phonology may enhance competence in the foreign language.

Type
Research Article
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , September 1999 , pp. 329 - 348
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alderson, J. C. (1984). Reading in a foreign language: A reading problem or a language problem? In Alderson, J. C. & Urquhart, A. H. (Eds.), Reading in a foreign language (pp. 1-27). London: Longman.Google Scholar
Baddeley, A. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Baddeley, A. (1990). Human memory. Theory and practice. Hove: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bernhardt, E. B. (1991). Reading development in a second language: Theoretical, empirical, and classroom perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. E. (1983). Categorizing sound and learning to read - A causal connection. Nature, 301, 419-421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In Bollen, K. A. & Long, J. S. (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136-162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Brumfit, C. J. (1980). Problems and principles in English teaching. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1991). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 451-455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1993). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children: A 1-year followup. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 104-111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, H. (1996). Nonword span as a unique predictor of second-language vocabulary learning. Developmental Psychology, 32, 867-873.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J. (1991). Interdependence of first- and second-language proficiency in bilingual children. In Bialystok, E. (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dufva, M., Niemi, P., & Voeten, M. J. M. (in press). The role of phonological memory, decoding, and comprehension skills in reading acquisition: From preschool to grade 2. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal.Google Scholar
Durgunoglu, A. Y. (1997). Bilingual reading: Its components, development, and other issues. In de Groot, A. M. B. & Kroll, J. F. (Eds.), Tutorials in bilingualism: Psycholinguistic perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Durgunoglu, A. Y., & Hancin, B. J. (1992). An overview of cross-language transfer in bilingual reading. In Harris, R. J. (Ed.), Cognitive processing in bilinguals. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Durgunoglu, A. Y., Nagy, W. E., & Hancin-Bhatt, B. J. (1993). Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 453-465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzgerald, J. (1995). English-as-a-second-language learners’ cognitive reading process. A review of research in the United States. Review of Educational Research, 65, 145-190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ganschow, L., Sparks, R., Javorsky, J., Pohlman, J., & Bishop-Marbury, A. (1991). Identifying native language difficulties among foreign language learners in college: A “foreign” language learning disability? Journal of Learning Disabilities, 9, 530-541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. (1989). Evaluation of the role of phonological STM in the development of vocabulary in children: A longitudinal study. Journal of Memory and Language, 29, 336-360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. (1993a). Phonological working memory: A critical building block for reading development and vocabulary acquisition? European Journal of Psychology of Education, 8, 259-272.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. (1993b). Working memory and language. Hove: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C. S., Emslie, H., & Baddeley, A. D. (1992). Phonological memory and vocabulary development during the early school years: A longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 28, 887-898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, reading, and reading disability. RASE - Remedial and Special Education, 7, 6-10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holm, A., & Dodd, B. (1996). The effect of first written language on the acquisition of English literacy. Cognition, 59, 119-147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoover, W. A., & Gough, P. B. (1990). The simple view of reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2, 127-160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoyle, R. H., & Panter, A. T. (1995). Writing about structural equation models. In Hoyle, R. H. (Ed.), Structural equation modeling (pp. 158-176). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J. H., & Bossers, B. (1992). Individual differences in L2 proficiency as a function of L1 proficiency. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 4, 341-353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jiménez, R. T., García, G. E., & Pearson, P. D. (1995). Three children, two languages, and strategic reading: Case studies in bilingual/monolingual reading. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 67-97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, K. (1996). Language teaching and skill learning. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Jöreskog, K., & Sörbom, D. (1996). LISREL 8.12A [computer software]. Chicago: Scientific Software International.Google Scholar
Kinnunen, R., Poskiparta, E., & Niemi, P. (1994). Käyttäjän opas: Lumotest 3.0. Nimeäminen ja leksikaalinen päätös [User's manual: Lumotest 3.0. Naming and lexical decision]. University of Turku, Centre for Learning Research.Google Scholar
Kinnunen, R., Vauras, M., & Niemi, P. (1998). Comprehension monitoring in beginning readers. Scientific Studies of Reading, 2, 353-375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, J. A., Bartolome, L., Vasquez, O., & Lucas, T. (1990). Meaning construction in school literacy tasks: A study of bilingual students. American Educational Research Journal, 27, 427-471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lundberg, I., Frost, J., & Petersen, O. P. (1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 263-284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, V. A., & Liberman, I. (1984). Phonological awareness and verbal short-term memory. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17, 592-599.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonough, S. (1995). Strategy and skill in learning a foreign language. London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Olofsson, Å., & Lundberg, I. (1983). Can phonemic awareness be trained in kindergarten? Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 24, 35-44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House/Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Papagno, C., Valentine, T., & Baddeley, A. (1991). Phonological short-term memory and foreignlanguage vocabulary learning. Journal of Memory and Language, 30, 331-347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pressley, M., & Woloshyn, V. (1995). (Eds.). Cognitive strategy instruction that really improves children's academic performance. Cambridge, MA: Brookline.Google Scholar
Schneider, W., & Näslund, J. C. (1993). The impact of early metalinguistic competencies and memory capacity on reading and spelling in elementary school: Results of the Munich longitudinal study on the genesis of individual competencies (LOGIC). European Journal of Psychology of Education, 8, 273-287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Service, E. (1989). Phonological coding in working memory and foreign language learning (General Psychology Monographs No. B9). University of Helsinki.Google Scholar
Service, E. (1992) Phonology, working memory, and foreign-language learning. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 45A, 21-50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Service, E., & Kohonen, V. (1995). Is the relation between phonological memory and foreign language learning accounted for by vocabulary acquisition? Applied Psycholinguistics, 16, 155-172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (1991). Foreign language learning difficulties: Affective or native language aptitude differences? Modern Language Journal, 75, 3-16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (1993a). The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners: A replication and follow-up study. Annals of Dyslexia, 43, 194-216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (1993b).The impact of native language learning problems on foreign language learning: Case study illustrations of the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis. Modern Language Journal, 77, 58-74.Google Scholar
Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (1993c). Searching for the cognitive locus of foreign language learning difficulties: Linking first and second language learning. Modern Language Journal, 77, 289-302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., Javorsky, J., Pohlman, J., & Patton, J. (1992). Test comparisons among students identified as high-risk, low-risk, and learning disabled in high school foreign language courses. Modern Language Journal, 76, 142-159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., Pohlman, J., Skinner, S., & Artzer, M. (1992). The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners. Annals of Dyslexia, 42, 25-53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sticht, T. G., & James, J. H. (1984). Listening and reading. In Pearson, P. D., Barr, R., Kamil, M. L., & Mosenthal, P. (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 293-317). New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Stothard, S. E., & Hulme, C. (1992). Reading comprehension difficulties in children: The role of language comprehension and working memory skills. Reading and Writing, 4, 245-256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stothard, S. E., & Hulme, C. (1996). A comparison of reading comprehension and decoding difficulties in children. In Cornoldi, C. & Oakhill, J. (Eds.), Reading comprehension difficulties: Processes and intervention. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Taillefer, G. E. (1996). L2 reading ability: Further insight into the short-circuit hypothesis. Modern Language Journal, 80, 461-477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vauras, M., Kinnunen, R., Dufva, M., Hämäläinen, S., Mäki, H., & Voeten, M. (1997). Listening and reading comprehension in elementary school students. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Vauras, M., Mäki, H., Dufva, M., & Hämäläinen, S. (1995). Diagnostiset testit 2. Kuullun ja luetun ymmärtäminen [Diagnostic tests 2. Listening and reading comprehension]. University of Turku, Centre for Learning Research.Google Scholar
Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1994). Development of reading-related phonological processing abilities: New evidence of bidirectional causality from a latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 30, 73-87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar