This study examined the early reading development of native English speaking (L1) and children who speak English as a second language (ESL) who are receiving instruction in English. The study addressed whether there are original differences in pre-reading and language skills between L1 and ESL-speaking children, and whether similar patterns of reading development in English from kindergarten to grade 2 exist across language groups. As well, the study examined which skills in kindergarten identify those children at-risk for reading failure from all language backgrounds. The participants of the study were 978 grade 2 children who were seen as part of a longitudinal study that began in their kindergarten year. Within the sample, there were 790 children who are L1 speakers and 188 children who have a first language other than English and who spoke little or no English upon entry to kindergarten (ESL). In kindergarten, participants were administered standardized tasks of reading and memory as well as experimental tasks of language, phonological awareness, letter identification, rapid naming, and phonological memory. At the end of grade 2, children were administered various tasks of reading, spelling, language, arithmetic, and memory. All children received phonological awareness instruction in kindergarten and systematic phonics instruction in grade 1 in the context of a balanced early literacy program. In kindergarten, 23.8% of L1 speakers were identified as at-risk for reading failure and 37.2% of ESL speakers were identified as at-risk for reading failure. In grade 2, 4.2% of L1 speakers were identified as reading disabled and 3.72% of ESL speakers were identified as reading disabled. By the end of grade 2, the majority of the ESL speakers had attained reading skills that were similar to the L1 group. Although there were differences on each of the measures of reading, reading comprehension, spelling, phonological processing and arithmetic between average and disabled readers in grade 2, the ESL and L1 speakers had similar scores on all these tasks.

The first study examined the development of reading, spelling and syntactic skills in English speakers (L1) and children with English as a Second language (ESL) from kindergarten to grade 3. This longitudinal study also investigated procedures for identifying reading difficulties in the early grades of elementary school for both English speakers and children with ESL. Reading, spelling, phonological processing, syntax, lexical access and working memory skills were assessed in kindergarten. Additional tasks were incorporated into the battery to assess cognitive and reading processes in grade 3. By the end of grade 3, the L1 and ESL normally achieving readers performed in similar ways on all tasks except on the spelling, arithmetic and syntactic awareness tasks. The ESL normally achieving readers performed better than the L1 on spelling and arithmetic tasks, however the L1 normally achieving readers performed better than the ESL on the syntactic awareness task. Similar cognitive and reading components predicted word reading and reading comprehension in grade 3 for both language groups. The results show that learning English as a second language is not an impediment to successful literacy learning, and may even be an advantage. In the second part of this study we examine whether the first language of children with ESL affected the reading, spelling and syntactic awareness in English. Seven language groups, Chinese, Farsi, Slavic, Japanese, Romance, Tagalog, and native English speakers groups, were compared in a cross sectional study. This study included all the children with ESL in kindergarten and grades 1, 2 and 3. The results demonstrated positive as well as negative effects in spelling and syntactic skills, resulting from the transfer to English for members of different language groups. Differences across language groups reflect the nature of the native language. Specifically, a positive transfer occurred when the L1 grammar system was more complex than the L2 grammar system. When investigating second language it is necessary to consider the native language and effect on the acquisition of a second language.

This investigation, into the efficacy of LEAP, as exemplified by Breakthrough to Literacy, as the main strand in a mixed method for the teaching of beginning reading, was motivated by the following considerations: 1. Breakthrough to Literacy has been and is being used with tremendous success not only in Great Britain, where it was launched, but also in Canada and Australia, and increasingly in South Africa. 2. A pilot investigation by Professor P T Pienaar revealed that the incidence of reading retardation among the South African Indian pupils at all levels in Primary Schools was high. 3. Reading is a very important, if not the most important aspect of language learning and, in turn, language plays a dominant role in the total curriculum of Junior Primary pupils. 4. The Department of Indian Education is introducing the "mixed Breakthrough method" referred to above on an increasing scale. If the present trend is maintained LEAP will become the sole method for the teaching of beginning reading. The investigation comprised the following: 1. The use of Experimental and Control classes at two different schools. LEAP as exemplified by Breakthrough to Literacy, was used in Experiment classes while the Look-and-Say Method, as exemplified by the Let's Learn to Read Series, was used in the Control Classes. 2. The use of questionnaires to obtain information on the pupils and their families. 3. Personal observations of the work of the teachers and pupils in the Experimental and Control classes. 4. The use of questionnaires to elicit the opinions of various teachers who had experience of LEAP and the Look-and-Say Method used by the classes in the study. 5. Tests of the reading and creative writing abilities of pupils in the Experimental and Control classes. The overall results show: 1. That pupils taught by LEAP, as exemplified by BL, got a better start to reading than pupils on the "Look-and-Say" method, as exemplified by LLR. Breakthrough pupils also performed better in reading "new" material. 2. That "Breakthrough" pupils not only wrote more but also wrote better in respect of both content and style. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1981.

This study examined the effects of an early reading intervention with 652 students with disabilities and students at-risk of reading failure over the 2004-2005 school year. An intervention was put into place in a general education setting in Kindergarten (n=155), first (n=246) and second grade (n=251) that consisted of 30 minutes a day of explicit intensive instruction that focused on phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency in a small group setting. The intervention met the requirements of a Tier II intervention. After one school year of intervention, students who were at risk of reading failure or who were already identified as being eligible for special education services made significant progress toward predictive reading benchmarks as assessed by using DIBELS measures. The greatest gains were seen in kindergarten and first grade.This study provided evidence that the intervention was effective with students who were socio-economically at risk. Sixty-five to 80% of students in the study were eligible for free or reduced lunch and 31 to 54% were students with disabilities yet made significant progress toward reading benchmarks. The intervention seemed to ameliorate the `negative' effects of special education status or low socio-economic status. As urban schools struggle to meet AYP, this is an encouraging and welcomed development. / Department of Special Education

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Elementary Education

Thesis (M.S.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "May 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 31-33). Also available online.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-84). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-33).