Children's second language reading : case studies in the Pestalozzi village
Children's second language reading : case studies in the Pestalozzi village
A review of the literature pertinent to second language acquisition and learning indicated a lack of research into second language reading. This study has investigated the second language reading of bilingual children and the influences of cognitive abilities, attitudes, spoken language and culture on performance and progress.
The sample of twenty three subjects (seven females and sixteen males) lived in the Pestalozzi Children's International Village at Sedlescombe, East Sussex; the subjects came from India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibetan refugee settlements in India. At the beginning of the study they were between nine and ten years of age.
The overall design of the enquiry involved the administration of a battery of assessments to identify cognitive abilities, attitudes towards varying aspects of reading and the subjects spoken language proficiency. In addition, ethnographic techniques were employed in the production of twenty three case studies.
The principal findings indicated that:- (i) The use of standardised measures facilitated the identification of different levels of reading proficiency, (ii) Patterns of reading progress were identified with plateaux and differing rates of negotiating thresholds, (iii) Case studies revealed varying reading careers and differing influences of cultural backgrounds, (iv) Cognitive abilities were strongly related to second language reading performance and progress, (v) Positive attitudes towards different aspects of reading were expressed by the group, (vi) Proficiency in spoken language was associated with environmental factors, (vii) The maintenance of first language culture and language contributed to the overall performance of the subjects, (viii) Performance and progress in L2 reading varied to a lesser extent according to sex, nationality and cultural backgrounds, (ix) Age on arrival and length of residence did not influence second language reading to the same extent as other variables.
The findings have been discussed in relation to the pertinent literature and conclusions drawn. The implications of the study have been considered and recommendations for future research have been suggested.
University of Southampton
Irons, Pamela Cynthia
272fff6d-0f6e-4d38-9a65-c54a2351ddb5
1990
Irons, Pamela Cynthia
272fff6d-0f6e-4d38-9a65-c54a2351ddb5
Irons, Pamela Cynthia
(1990)
Children's second language reading : case studies in the Pestalozzi village.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
A review of the literature pertinent to second language acquisition and learning indicated a lack of research into second language reading. This study has investigated the second language reading of bilingual children and the influences of cognitive abilities, attitudes, spoken language and culture on performance and progress.
The sample of twenty three subjects (seven females and sixteen males) lived in the Pestalozzi Children's International Village at Sedlescombe, East Sussex; the subjects came from India, Nepal, Thailand and Tibetan refugee settlements in India. At the beginning of the study they were between nine and ten years of age.
The overall design of the enquiry involved the administration of a battery of assessments to identify cognitive abilities, attitudes towards varying aspects of reading and the subjects spoken language proficiency. In addition, ethnographic techniques were employed in the production of twenty three case studies.
The principal findings indicated that:- (i) The use of standardised measures facilitated the identification of different levels of reading proficiency, (ii) Patterns of reading progress were identified with plateaux and differing rates of negotiating thresholds, (iii) Case studies revealed varying reading careers and differing influences of cultural backgrounds, (iv) Cognitive abilities were strongly related to second language reading performance and progress, (v) Positive attitudes towards different aspects of reading were expressed by the group, (vi) Proficiency in spoken language was associated with environmental factors, (vii) The maintenance of first language culture and language contributed to the overall performance of the subjects, (viii) Performance and progress in L2 reading varied to a lesser extent according to sex, nationality and cultural backgrounds, (ix) Age on arrival and length of residence did not influence second language reading to the same extent as other variables.
The findings have been discussed in relation to the pertinent literature and conclusions drawn. The implications of the study have been considered and recommendations for future research have been suggested.
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Published date: 1990
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Local EPrints ID: 460408
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/460408
PURE UUID: d2efae57-87e3-4018-a3ba-4a36be658c03
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:21
Last modified: 23 Jul 2022 00:58
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Author:
Pamela Cynthia Irons
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