The Relations of Morphological Awareness and Syntactic Awareness with L2 English Reading Comprehension: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 9:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Reading, Writing, and Literacy Instruction

Abstract

This meta-analysis examines how morphological awareness (MA) and syntactic awareness (SA) relate to reading comprehension in L2 English learners. Drawing on 184 effect sizes from 65 studies, robust variance estimation revealed strong overall correlations for MA (r = .51) and SA (r = .55). Moderator analyses showed the MA–reading comprehension relationship was significantly stronger in ESL than EFL contexts, with higher effect sizes for decomposition tasks and those administered orally. For SA, correlations were strongest among students in Grades 3–5; additionally, tasks combining visual and oral input produced higher effect sizes than oral-only tasks. The findings emphasize the developmental and contextual specificity of morpho-syntactic skills and call for more refined instructional and assessment practices to support L2 literacy.

Authors

• Yanfang Zeng, Texas A&M University

• Li-Jen Kuo, Texas A&M University

• Xiaojie Zhang, Texas A&M University