Within- and Cross-Language Relationships Between Oral Language Skills and Literacy Achievement for Spanish-English-Speaking Dual Language Learners

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 4:55 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Unveiling the Complexity of Bilingual and Biliteracy Development: Quantitative Perspectives (Table 1)

Abstract

Head Start programs in the U.S. prioritize school readiness skills, including oral language and literacy, which are linked to future academic success. Dual language learners (DLLs) have unique school readiness skills distributed across languages, making it critical to understand their abilities. This study examined relationships between language and literacy outcomes for Spanish-English speaking DLLs in PreK through a structural equation model. Results from a sample of 330 DLLs in Head Start revealed significant within-language relationships between oral language and literacy. Positive cross-language relationships were also found, indicating DLLs use their language skills in each language to understand literacy activities. The study emphasizes the need for instructional practices that honor DLLs' full linguistic-repertoires and further research to explore these evolving relationships.

Authors

• Shaunacy Robert Sutter, University of South Florida

• Lisa M. Lopez, University of South Florida

• Matthew E. Foster, University of South Florida

• Sarah Putnam, University of South Florida