Poster #35 - Reading-Writing Connections: A Cross-Linguistic Investigation of Young Heritage Language Learners

• In Event: Poster Session 13

Abstract

The ability to read and write is one of the most fundamental competencies underlying childhood learning. Success or failure in learning to read and write has a profound impact on children’s academic achievement and later career attainment (Morrison et al., 2008). In accordance, school curriculums place an emphasis on reading and writing throughout a student’s career (Bingham et al., 2018). For second/foreign language (L2) learners and bilinguals, dual-language involvement increases the complexity of literacy learning. Beyond learning each language, there is also evidence of a cross-linguistic interaction between first language (L1) and L2 skills (e.g., Koda, 2007, 2008). Indeed, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that learners typically bring their L1 skills to the process of learning to read and write in a L2 (Zhang et al., 2014) and their L2 skills to the process of learning to read and write in an L1 (Kim & Piper, 2019). While there is now considerable research cross-language transfer of reading (e.g., L1 reading to L2 reading, Zhang & Koda, 2020) and writing (e.g., L2 writing to L1 writing, Pae, 2019), little attention has been given to cross-modal relations between L1 and L2 skills (e.g., L1 reading and L2 writing). The current study aims to fill this critical gap in the literature by examining the within- and cross-language relations between different modalities (e.g., L1 reading and L2 writing) among a unique subset of the bilingual population–heritage language learners (HLLs). In the United States, heritage language learners are individuals who grew up in non-English speaking homes but received English instruction in schools (Valdés, 2005).

The current study includes fifty-two Mandarin Chinese heritage language learners between 8 and 12 years old (mean age = 120.88 months). All children included in the study lived with at least one parent who spoke Chinese with them at home and received formal (school) instruction in American English. Participants were assessed in both English and Chinese on measures of word reading, sentence reading, and passage comprehension, as well as on parallel writing measures: spelling, sentence writing, and text composition. Composite scores of reading and writing in English and Chinese were obtained by adding z-scores of each of the three measures of reading and writing, respectively. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine the within- and cross-language contributions of reading to writing, as well as writing to reading.

Results indicated that heritage language learners reading and writing are closely linked in both their L1 and L2 (see Table 1). Our results fill an important gap in the literature on the bilingual reading-writing connection, indicating that cross-modal, cross-language transfer does occur in young heritage language learners. Further, our results have important implications for informal and formal literacy practices, as even in an L2, writing instruction is positively associated with L1 reading instruction. Taken together, this suggests that literacy activities conducted in children’s heritage language and second language will likely benefit their overall literacy development.

Authors

• Ye Shen, Ohio State University
  Presenting Author

• Stephanie Del Tufo, University of Delaware