Cover not available
Part of
Cross-linguistic Transfer in Reading in Multilingual Contexts
Edited by Elena Zaretsky and Mila Schwartz
[Benjamins Current Topics 89] 2016
► pp. 121–144

The effects of bilingual education on the English language and literacy outcomes of Chinese-speaking children

| University of Toronto, Canada
| University of Toronto, Canada
| University of Toronto, Canada

To evaluate the effects of bilingual education on minority-language children’s English language and literacy outcomes, we compared grade 1 Chinese-speaking Canadian children enrolled in three different instructional programs (French Immersion, Chinese-English Paired Bilingual, English-only). ANCOVA results revealed that the French immersion children outperformed the other two groups on measures of English phonological awareness and word reading and that the bilingual groups were comparable to monolingual English norms on a test of receptive vocabulary. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine cross-language transfer of skills. French morphological awareness explained unique variance in English word reading and vocabulary for the French immersion group. For the other two groups, Chinese phonological awareness was significantly related to English word reading. Our results suggest that instruction in French or Chinese does not delay the development of early English language and literacy skills for Chinese-speaking children, as the children may be able to leverage skills from their other language to facilitate their English learning.

Keywords: Bilingual education, cross-language transfer, French immersion
Published online: 3 October 2016
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.89.06hip
References
Adams, Marilyn J
(1990) Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Boston: MIT.Google Scholar
Anglin, Jeremy M
(1993) Vocabulary development: A morphological analysis. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 58(10, Serial No. 238): 1–165. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Anthony, Jason L. & David J. Francis
(2005) Development of phonological awareness. Current Directions in Psychological Science 14: 255–259. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Arab-Moghaddam, Narges & Monique Sénéchal
(2001) Orthographic and phonological processing skills in reading and spelling in Persian/English bilinguals. International Journal of Behavioral Development 25: 140–147. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Arcodia, Giorgio F
(2007) Chinese: A language of compound words? In Fabio Montermini, Gilles Boyé & Nabil Hathout (eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 5th Décembrettes: Morphology in Toulouse, 79–90. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
August, Diane & Timothy Shanahan
(2006) Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on language minority children and youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bérubé, Denis & Stefka Marinova-Todd
(2012) The development of language and reading skills in the second and third languages of multilingual children in French Immersion. International Journal of Multilingualism 9: 272–293. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bild, Eva-Rebecca & Merrill Swain
(1989) Minority language students in a French immersion program: Their French proficiency. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 10: 255–274. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bruck, Maggie & Fred Genesee
(1995) Phonological awareness in young second language learners. Journal of Child Language 22: 307–324. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Caravolas, Marketa & Maggie Bruck
(1993) The effect of oral and written language input on children’s phonological awareness: A cross-linguistic study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 55: 1–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carlisle, Joanne F
(2000) Awareness of the structure and meaning of morphologically complex words: Impact on reading. Reading and Writing 12: 169–190. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Casalis, Séverine & Marie-France Louis-Alexandre
(2000) Morphological analysis, phonological analysis and learning to read French: A longitudinal study. Reading and Writing 12: 303–335. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chen, Xi, Tien-Kim Nguyen, Guanglei Hong, Fen Xu & Yun Wang
(2010) Effects of cross-language transfer on first-language phonological awareness and literacy skills in Chinese children receiving English instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology 102: 712–728. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheung, Alan C.K. & Robert E. Slavin
(2012) Effective reading programs for Spanish-dominant English language learners (ELLs) in the elementary grades: A synthesis of research. Review of Educational Research 82: 351–395. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chung, Keven Kien Hoa & Connie Suk-Han Ho
(2010) Dyslexia in Chinese Language: an overview of research and practice. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties 15: 213–224. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Christian, Donna
(1996) Two-way immersion education: Students learning through two languages. The Modern Language Journal 80: 66–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comeau, Liane, Pierre Cormier, Éric Grandmaison & Diane Lacroix
(1999) A longitudinal study of phonological processing in children learning to read in a second language. Journal of Educational Psychology 91: 29–43. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Deacon, S. Hélène, Lesly Wade-Woolley & John Kirby
(2007) Cross-over: The role of morphological awareness in French immersion children’s reading. Developmental Psychology 43: 732–746. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dunn, Lloyd M. & Douglas M. Dunn
(1997) Peabody picture vocabulary test (3rd edition). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
(2007) Peabody picture vocabulary test (4th edition). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Durgunoğlu, Aydin Y., William E. Nagy & Barbara J. Hancin-Bhatt
(1993) Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness. Journal of Educational Psychology 85: 453–465. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Francis, David J., Nonie Lesaux & Diane August
(2006) Language of instruction. In Diane August & Timothy Shanahan (eds.), Developing literacy in second-language learners, 365–413. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Genesee, Fred
(2004) What do we know about bilingual education for majority language students? In Tej K. Bhatia & William C. Ritchie (eds.), Handbook of bilingualism and multiculturalism, 547–576. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Genesee, Fred & Debra Jared
(2008) Literacy development in early French immersion programs. Canadian Psychology 49: 140–147. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, Fred, Kathryn Lindholm-Leary, William Saunders & Donna Christian
(2006) Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goldenberg, Claude
(2008) Teaching English language learners: What the research does – and does not – say. American Educator 32: 8–44.Google Scholar
Gottardo, Alexandra, Bernice Yan, Linda S. Siegel & Lesly Wade-Woolley
(2001) Factors related to English reading performance in children with Chinese as a first language: More evidence of cross-language transfer of phonological processing. Journal of Educational Psychology 93: 530–542. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Greene, Jay P
(1998) A meta-analysis of the Rossell & Baker review of bilingual education research. Bilingual Research Journal 21: 103–122. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jared, Debra, Betty-Ann Levy, Pierre Cormier & Lesly Wade-Woolley
(2011) Early predictors of biliteracy development in children in French immersion: A 4-year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology 10: 119–139. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koda, Keiko
(2005) Learning to read across writing systems: Transfer, metalinguistic awareness, and second language reading development. In Vivian J. Cook (ed.), Second language writing systems, 311–334. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Ku, Yu-Min & Richard C. Anderson
(2003) Development of morphological awareness in Chinese and English. Reading and Writing 16: 399–422. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuo, L.-J. & Anderson, R.C
(2006) Morphological awareness and learning to read: A cross-language perspective. Educational Psychologist 41: 161–180. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lafrance, Adèle & Alexandra Gottardo
(2005) A longitudinal study of phonological processing skills and reading in bilingual children. Applied Psycholinguistics 26: 559–578. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lambert, Wally E. & Mary Cazabon
(1994) Students’ views of the Amigos program (Research Rep. No. 11). Santa Cruz, CA and Washington, DC: National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language Learning.Google Scholar
MacCoubrey, Sharon J. Lesly Wade-Woolley, Don Klinger & John R. Kirby
(2004) Early identification of at-risk L2 readers. Canadian Modern Language Review 61: 11–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marinova-Todd, Stefka, Jing Zhao & May Bernhardt
(2010) Phonological awareness skills in the two languages of Mandarin-English bilingual children. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics 24: 387–400. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Markus, Paula
(2012) English language learners: Policy and school support in Ontario, Canada. Retrieved from [URL]Google Scholar
McBride-Chang, Catherine, Jeung-Ryeul Cho, Hongyun Liu, Richard K. Wagner, Hua Shu, Aibao Zhou, Cecilia S–M. Cheuk & Andrea Muse
(2005) Changing models across cultures: Associations of phonological awareness and morphological structure awareness with vocabulary and word recognition in second graders from Beijing, Hong Kong, Korea and the United States. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 92: 140–160. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McBride-Chang, Catherine, Him Cheung, Wing Yin Bonnie Chow, C.S.-L. Chow & L. Choi
(2006) Metalinguistic skills and vocabulary knowledge in Chinese (L1) and English (L2). Reading and Writing 19: 695–716. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Metsala, Jamie L
(1999) Young children’s phonological awareness and nonword repetition as a function of vocabulary development. Journal of Educational Psychology 91: 3–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
National Centre for Education Statistics
(2009) Fast facts: English language learners. Retrieved from [URL]Google Scholar
Pasquarella, Adrian, Xi Chen, Katie Lam, Yang C. Luo, Y.C. & Gloria Ramírez
(2011) Cross-language transfer of morphological awareness in Chinese-English bilinguals. Journal of Research in Reading 34: 23–42. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ramírez, Gloria, Xi Chen, Esther Geva & Heidi Kiefer
(2010) Morphological awareness in Spanish-English bilingual children: Within and cross-language effects on word reading. Reading and Writing 23: 337–358. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ramírez, Xi Chen & Adrian Pasquarella
(2013) Cross-Linguistic transfer of morphological awareness in Spanish-Speaking English Language Leaners: the facilitating effect of cograte knowledge. Topics in Language Disorders 33: 73–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Riches, Caroline & Fred Genesee
(2006) Literacy: Crosslinguistic and crossmodal issues. In Fred Genesee, Kathryn Lindholm-Leary, William Saunders & Donna Christian (eds.), Educating English language learners: A synthesis of research evidence, 64–108. New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rolstad, Kellie, Kate Mahoney & Gene V. Glass
(2005) The big picture: A meta- analysis of program effectiveness research on English language learners. Educational Policy 19: 572–594. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rossell, Christine H. & Keith Baker
(1996) The educational effectiveness of bilingual education. Research in the Teaching of English 30: 7–69.Google Scholar
Sinay, Erhan
(2010) Programs of choice in the TDSB: Characteristics of students in French immersion, alternative schools, and other specialized schools and programs. Retrieved from [URL]Google Scholar
Slavin, Robert E. & Alan Cheung
(2005) A synthesis of research on language of reading instruction for English Language Learners. Review of Educational Research 75: 247–284. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Snow, Catherine E., M. Susan Burns & Peg Griffin
(1998) Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada
(2012) Linguistic characteristics of Canadians, Language, 2011. census. (Catalogue number 98-314-X2011001). Retrieved from [URL]Google Scholar
Swain, Merrill & Sharon Lapkin
(1982) Evaluating bilingual education: A Canadian case study. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
(1991) Additive bilingualism and French immersion education: The roles of language proficiency and literacy. In Allan G. Reynolds & Wallace E. Lambert (eds.), Bilingualism, multiculturalism, and second language learning, 203–216. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Swain, Merrill, Sharon Lapkin, Norman Rowen & Doug Hart
(1990) The role of mother tongue literacy in third language learning. Language, Culture and Curriculum 3: 65–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tabachnick, Barbara G. & Linda S. Fidell
(2006) Using multivariate statistics (5th edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Torgesen, Joseph K., Richard K. Wagner & Carol A. Rashotte
(1994) Longitudinal studies of phonological processing and reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities 10: 27–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, Miles, Doug Hart & Sharon Lapkin
(2003) Grade 6 French immersion students’ performance on large-scale reading, writing, and mathematics tests: Building explanations. The Alberta Journal of Educational Research 49: 6–23.Google Scholar
Uchikoshi, Yuuko & Helen Maniates
(2010) How does billingual instruction enhance English achievement? A mixed-methods study of Cantonese-speaking and Spanish-speaking bilingual classrooms. Bilingual Research Journal 33: 364–385. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wagner, Richard K., Joseph K. Torgesen & Carol A. Rashotte
(1999) Comprehensive test of phonological processing. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.Google Scholar
Walley, Amanda C., Jamie L. Metsala & Victoria M. Garlock
(2003) Spoken vocabulary growth: its role in the development of phoneme awareness and early reading ability. Reading and Writing 16: 5–20. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wang, Min, Chengxi Cheng & Shi-Wei Chen
(2006) Contribution of morphological awareness to Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology 98(3): 542–553. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wang, Ming, Chen Yang & Chengxi Cheng
(2009) The contributions of phonology, orthography, and morphology in Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition. Applied Psycholinguistics 30(2): 291–314. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wesche, Marjorie B
(2002) Early French immersion: How has the original Canadian model stood the test of time? In Petra Burmeister, Thorsten Piske & Andreas Rohde (eds.), An integrated view of language development. Papers in honor of Henning Wode, 357–379. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.Google Scholar
Willig, Ann C
(1985) A meta-analysis of selected studies on the effectiveness of bilingual education. Review of Educational Research 55: 269–317. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Woodcock, Richard W
(1984) Woodcock language proficiency battery. Allen, TX: DLM.Google Scholar
Zhang, Jie, Richard C. Anderson, Qiuying Wang, Jerome Packard, Xinchun Wu, Shan Tang & Xiaoling Ke
(2012) Insight into the structure of compound words among speakers of Chinese and English. Applied Psycholinguistics 33: 753–779. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Li, Xiaomeng & Keiko Koda
2022. Linguistic constraints on the cross-linguistic variations in L2 word recognition. Reading and Writing 35:6 ► pp. 1401 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 21 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.