Contributions of Vocabulary Depth to Reading Comprehension Among Emergent Bilinguals and English Monolinguals

• In Event: Confronting Complexity: Vocabulary Learning in Diverse Contexts

Abstract

This study examined (a) the difference in vocabulary between Spanish-speaking emergent bilinguals and English monolinguals in Grades 2-4 and (b) the concurrent and longitudinal contributions of vocabulary depth (knowledge of homonyms) to reading comprehension. A total of 490 elementary students completed varied measures at the beginning (Fall) and end (Spring) of one school year. Results suggested that vocabulary breadth and depth of emergent bilinguals were consistently lower than English monolinguals’s. depth contributed significantly to reading comprehension concurrently after controlling for vocabulary breadth and decoding skills. Fall vocabulary depth contributed to Spring reading comprehension, controlling for Fall reading comprehension, decoding skills, and vocabulary breadth only for emergent bilinguals in Grades 3 and 4.

Authors

• Qizhen Deng, Boise State University

• Ana Taboada Barber, University of Maryland

• Kelly B. Cartwright, Christopher Newport University

• Susan Lutz Klauda, University of Maryland