Metalinguistic awareness skills (i.e., phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, morphological awareness) contribute to children’s spelling as well as reading. Although the multidimensional nature of these metalinguistic awareness skills has been acknowledged, little research has been conducted on the simultaneous investigation of these three metalinguistic skills, and it is especially true for Korean Hangul. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously examine these three inter-related constructs and the unique and shared contributions of each construct to English spelling as well as Korean spelling of typically developing fourth, fifth and sixth grade Korean-speaking students (n= 287). Korean metalinguistic awareness skills represented by three-first order factors (i.e., phonological, orthographic, morphological awareness) predicted 83% of the total variance in Korean spelling, and 52% of the total variance in English Word Spelling. It was particularly noteworthy that Korean metalinguistic awareness skills determined 12% of the variance in English Word Spelling, even after controlling for English vocabulary, demonstrating that there was a transfer effect between the two different orthographies. Findings from the present study provide strong support for the relationships between first language and second language literacy skills in terms of spelling and the concrete relationship between morphological awareness and spelling.

This thesis investigates development and transfer of oral reading fluency among early French immersion students. Using a longitudinal design, students were assessed on phonological awareness, rapid naming, word-level fluency and text-level fluency in English and in French in Grade 2 and Grade 3. In three related studies, this thesis examines transfer both within levels of fluency individually (word-level and text-level) and between levels of fluency (from word-level to text-level). The results indicated that word-level fluency significantly improved over the one-year period in both English and in French. Language status comparing English-as-first-language students (EL1) and English-language-learners (ELLs) did not influence fluency performance in either language. Further, results showed bidirectional transfer of fluency at the word-level and the text-level independently, and unidirectional transfer from word to text fluency from French to English only. These findings provide evidence supporting cross-language transfer of oral reading fluency both within and between levels of the construct.

This thesis investigates development and transfer of oral reading fluency among early French immersion students. Using a longitudinal design, students were assessed on phonological awareness, rapid naming, word-level fluency and text-level fluency in English and in French in Grade 2 and Grade 3. In three related studies, this thesis examines transfer both within levels of fluency individually (word-level and text-level) and between levels of fluency (from word-level to text-level). The results indicated that word-level fluency significantly improved over the one-year period in both English and in French. Language status comparing English-as-first-language students (EL1) and English-language-learners (ELLs) did not influence fluency performance in either language. Further, results showed bidirectional transfer of fluency at the word-level and the text-level independently, and unidirectional transfer from word to text fluency from French to English only. These findings provide evidence supporting cross-language transfer of oral reading fluency both within and between levels of the construct.

We examined the relationship between orthographic processing and spelling in French immersion children. Study 1 included 148 first graders and they were assessed on orthographic processing and spelling in English and French. In Study 2, we followed 69 second graders for two years. Orthographic processing and spelling in English and French were administered in second and third grade. In Study 3, we analyzed the spelling errors made by the third graders in Study 2. In Study 1, we found a within-language relationship in English and French between orthographic processing and spelling. Cross-language transfer from French orthographic processing to English spelling was also observed. In Study 2, Grade 2 English spelling predicted gains in Grade 3 English and French orthographic processing. Study 3 showed that children made transfer errors when spelling in English and French. Overall, the current research highlights the importance of orthographic processing and spelling in French immersion children.

Thesis advisor: C. Patrick Proctor / The role of immigrant generation status on Latinos' English language development has not received much attention. Empirical studies (Bean & Stevens, 2003) and descriptive data (Fry & Passal, 2009), suggest an intergenerational shift from Spanish to English, such that the first generation primarily speaks Spanish, the second generation speaks both Spanish and English, and the third generation primarily speaks English. Indeed, this intergenerational shift suggests the important role of immigrant generation status in the language and reading comprehension development of bilingual Latinos. If first generation students are more likely to be Spanish dominant, arguably their English language and reading development are likely to be distinctive from their American born peers. Logically, this would suggest a lockstep intergenerational improvement such that second and third generation peers would significantly outperform the first generation in English language and reading. To address this role of immigrant status in the English language and reading development among Latino bilinguals, this dissertation is divided into two studies. The first study was guided by a component view of reading within the context of the immigrant paradox. The second study was concerned with the role of immigrant generation status on the linguistic interdependence (Cummins, 1979) between Spanish language, English language, and English reading comprehension. Both studies utilized multi-level growth modeling to develop longitudinal growth trajectories of English language and reading development. Results indicated that Latino children's English language and reading comprehension performance increased over time. For Study 1, significant effects for generation status suggested a Generation 2 and Generation 3 advantage. For Study 2, significant effects for generation status and Spanish language on the English language growth trajectories provide evidence for paradoxical immigrant generation status trends and cross-language transfer. Both studies emphasize the need for educators to be cognizant of linguistic differences within the bilingual population - particularly for newcomers and students who are less likely to speak English. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

We examined the relationship between orthographic processing and spelling in French immersion children. Study 1 included 148 first graders and they were assessed on orthographic processing and spelling in English and French. In Study 2, we followed 69 second graders for two years. Orthographic processing and spelling in English and French were administered in second and third grade. In Study 3, we analyzed the spelling errors made by the third graders in Study 2. In Study 1, we found a within-language relationship in English and French between orthographic processing and spelling. Cross-language transfer from French orthographic processing to English spelling was also observed. In Study 2, Grade 2 English spelling predicted gains in Grade 3 English and French orthographic processing. Study 3 showed that children made transfer errors when spelling in English and French. Overall, the current research highlights the importance of orthographic processing and spelling in French immersion children.

In spite of the significant growth in the Spanish-English bilingual population, there has not been sufficient research on cross-language effects, or how language transfer may affect important components of literacy, such as spelling. Many studies have focused on the influence of Spanish on the acquisition of English spelling skills; however, few studies have focused on how the acquisition of English influences Spanish spelling. The purpose of this investigation was to study the spelling errors of bilingual adolescents as they learn English. A total of 20 bilingual Spanish-English students in grades 6 through 8 (ages 11 to 14 years) were selected from a larger mixed methods study (Danzak, 2009) not concerned with spelling. These students were enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in a public middle school located on the west coast of Florida. The students completed four writing samples in each language (evenly divided between narrative and expository genres). All samples were analyzed using the Phonological Orthographic Morphological Assessment of Spelling-Spanish (POMAS-S), a linguistically-based analysis system that qualitatively describes Spanish spelling errors and is sensitive to effects of cross-language transfer. Misspellings were extracted from the students' writing samples and were examined by looking at the effects of linguistic category, genre, and gender. Results of the three-way ANOVA revealed that the greatest number of errors occurred in the orthographic category, accounting for over 70% of the errors. Errors attributed to the other linguistic categories occurred less than 10% of the time each. There were no effects attributed to genre or gender. The qualitative analysis revealed that the most common linguistic feature error was OAT (orthographic tonic accents) comprising 37% of the total number of errors followed by OLS (letter sound) errors, which comprised 11% of the total number of errors. All other phonological, orthographic, morphological, and phonological-orthographic linguistic feature patterns occurred with a frequency of 5% or less. Knowledge of the English language had a minimal, but obvious, influence on their spelling. These findings would suggest that Spanish-English bilingual adolescents predominantly made spelling errors that did not follow the orthographic rules of Spanish. Educational implications are presented.

The influence of reading ability on cross-language transfer in Mandarin-speaking ninth graders was explored. Each participant's native language (L1-Mandarin Chinese) and second language (L2-English) were assessed. Although the relationship between L1 and L2 reading ability has been discussed in many previous studies, few studies have examined this relationship among L2 readers whose L1 is sharply different from their L2, who are at the junior-high-school age range, and who are learning English in a setting where English is not used in daily communication (e.g., English as a foreign language). To investigate the role of L1 reading competence in the language reading ability transfer, a reformed public examination, called the Basic Competency Test (BCT), was applied in this study. The 30,000 Taiwanese ninth grade participants, randomly selected from the pool of the national examination involved in a consecutive six-year period, were considered as a whole and then disaggregated into six groups based on the year they took the BCT. A preliminary analysis was about reliability coefficients of twelve examinations (six in Mandarin Chinese reading, and six in English reading) used in the present study. Scores from both Mandarin Chinese and English reading comprehension tests were subjected to descriptive, correlational, and regressional analyses. Both correlation and regression analyses revealed congruent results that provided support for the positive influence of Mandarin Chinese reading competence on English reading ability, that is, L2 reading ability is dependent on L1 reading competence. The finding supported the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis. In addition, participants' gender and school district also played statistically significant roles to affect the cross-language transfer of reading ability, whereas the length of time in English exposure had no statistically significant effect on the language reading ability transfer. Thus, cross-language transfer in reading ability was influenced by learners' L1 reading competence, gender, and school district. This suggested educational policy makers in Taiwan that boost native-Chinese speaking students' Mandarin knowledge help support the development of English reading ability. Apparently, if students' L1 reading abilities can be built up more soundly, their L2 reading ability should be easier to acquire.