Learning to read in two languages: A cross-country investigation of L1↔L2 skills transfer

• In Event: Languages and literacies: What lessons for theory and policy from practice?

Abstract

A recent meta-analysis of L1 and L2 skill acquisition asks questions like, “Can L1 reading abilities and strategies be transferred to reading L2 texts? Will poor L1 readers end up being poor L2 readers as well? Must a threshold of L2 knowledge be attained before L1 reading strategies can be transferred to L2 reading?” While these questions warrant investigation, it is important to consider the questions that are not being asked. Specifically, can L2 language skills be transferred to L1? This question is especially relevant in developing contexts where mother tongue languages often have shorter or recent written traditions and students do not begin to practice reading fluency and comprehension skills until they encounter L2 instruction in primary school. This paper will consider the extent to which expectations of identifiable trends set by the contrastive hypothesis: (that the degree of similarity/divergence between L1 and L2 mediates transfer of skills), interdependence hypothesis (that skills learned in both languages mutually feed each other) and/or the threshold hypothesis (that a child must reach a certain degree of proficiency in one language before transferring those skills to the other) are met in an analysis of skills attainment in bilingual children across eight country samples. In a subset of four, the theories are explored vis-à-vis learning across baseline and endline scores for the same children over time.

Author

• Amy Jo Dowd, Save the Children