The Contribution of Cognate Awareness to Word Reading and Reading Comprehension in French Immersion Children

• In Event: Strategic Approaches for Literacy Development

Abstract

The current study had three goals: first, to examine the extent to which French-English bilinguals demonstrate cognate awareness; second, to determine cognate attributes that influence their awareness; and third, to examine the effect of cognate awareness on word reading and reading comprehension. The participants were 81 grade-one children in French immersion. Cognate awareness was assessed using a direct measure that required children to distinguish between true cognates with same and different spellings, false friends, and non-cognates. Results demonstrated that cognate awareness is evident as early as grade one, but that it is constrained by cognate attributes. Furthermore, cognate awareness predicted both second-language word reading and reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that increasing children’s cognate awareness can enhance second-language literacy skills.

Authors

• Kathleen HIpfner-Boucher, University of Toronto - OISE

• Xi Chen, University of Toronto - OISE

• Adrian Pasquarella

• Helene Deacon