| Summary: | 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. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
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