Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

Program Name/Specialization

Developmental Psychology

Faculty/School

Faculty of Arts

First Advisor

Alexandra Gottardo

Advisor Role

Professor

Abstract

Second language (L2) acquisition has received increasing interest due to the large number of people immigrating or learning an L2 (e.g., Statistics Canada, 2016). Word reading fluency has been found to be a strong predictor of text reading fluency and comprehension (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp & Jenkins, 2001). For people learning to read in L2, skills such as oral reading fluency serve as an indicator of overall reading competence in their L2. The current study examined oral reading fluency in relation to vocabulary knowledge, rapid naming (RAN) and phonological awareness in English and Mandarin in Chinese-English bilinguals. Participants included 40 Chinese-English bilingual adolescents and young adults, who have been in Canada for less than two years. During the one-year longitudinal study, participants were measured at 2 time points, approximately 12 months apart. Time 1 and Time 2 vocabulary, Time 1 RAN and Time 2 phonological awareness predicted English word reading fluency. Time 1 vocabulary predicted English text reading fluency. Overall, the findings of this research were consistent with previous theories. Although these late-sequential Chinese-English bilinguals demonstrated different profiles compared to their younger bilingual peers, their English skills became more native-like over the one-year period among our adolescent Chinese-English bilingual participants.

Convocation Year

2018

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