Abstract

This study examines differences in English language comprehension, reading fluency, and executive functions among Spanish-English bilinguals with reading difficulties. Reading difficulties examined included general reading difficulties, defined by low word reading and reading comprehension, and specific-reading comprehension difficulties, defined by low reading comprehension yet adequate word reading. Participants (N = 86) were categorized using multiple measures of reading comprehension and word reading in each of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. Participants were also categorized based on persistent difficulties (i.e. remaining in the same group across multiple grades). On two measures of language comprehension, readers with either difficulty tended to demonstrate significant weaknesses relative to average readers. On passage reading fluency, readers with specific-reading comprehension difficulties performed worse than average readers but better than readers with general reading difficulties. On executive functions, readers with general reading difficulties demonstrated weaknesses relative to average readers, but there was little evidence that readers with specific-reading comprehension difficulties showed these weaknesses. These findings typically held when looking at readers with persistently defined difficulties. Longitudinal analyses indicated that 47% of students with S-RCD and 56% of students with GRD remained in their group across the three years, consistent with prior research. Findings highlight potential weaknesses in executive functions for children with general reading difficulties that should be considered when designing instruction for these students. These findings also support prior research on the importance of developing English language and reading fluency for Spanish-English bilingual children with reading difficulties.

摘要

本研究调查了有阅读困难的西班牙-英语双语者在英语语言理解、阅读流利度和执行功能方面的差异。检查的阅读困难包括一般阅读困难，定义为低单词阅读和阅读理解，以及特定阅读理解困难，定义为低阅读理解但足够的单词阅读。参与者（N = 86) 在 6 年级、7 年级和 8 年级分别使用阅读理解和单词阅读的多种测量方法进行分类。参与者还根据持续的困难进行分类（即在多个年级中保持在同一组中）。在语言理解的两个衡量标准中，有两种困难的读者相对于普通读者往往表现出明显的弱点。在段落阅读流畅度方面，有特定阅读理解困难的读者的表现比一般读者差，但优于一般阅读困难的读者。在执行功能方面，一般阅读困难的读者相对于普通读者表现出弱点，但几乎没有证据表明有特定阅读理解困难的读者表现出这些弱点。这些发现通常在查看具有持续定义困难的读者时成立。纵向分析表明，47% 的 S-RCD 学生和 56% 的 GRD 学生在三年内留在他们的小组中，这与之前的研究一致。研究结果强调了在为这些学生设计教学时应考虑的一般阅读困难儿童执行功能的潜在弱点。这些发现也支持先前关于发展英语语言和阅读流利度对于阅读困难的西班牙-英语双语儿童的重要性的研究。研究结果强调了在为这些学生设计教学时应考虑的一般阅读困难儿童执行功能的潜在弱点。这些发现也支持先前关于发展英语语言和阅读流利度对于阅读困难的西班牙-英语双语儿童的重要性的研究。研究结果强调了在为这些学生设计教学时应考虑的一般阅读困难儿童执行功能的潜在弱点。这些发现也支持先前关于发展英语语言和阅读流利度对阅读困难的西班牙-英语双语儿童的重要性的研究。