Language difference or difficulty learning? Assessing early language skills to identify risk for reading difficulty among young Spanish-English dual language learners

项目总结/摘要 教育健康研究的一个主要挑战是，没有可靠的方法来确定 识别双语学习者（DLL）阅读困难的早期迹象。考虑到识字对 个人福祉和早期识别的重要性，以最大限度地提高教育的增长，有一个关键的 需要优化评估，以确定在小学早期存在阅读困难风险的西班牙语-英语DLL 年因此，拟议研究的长期目标是建立实用，可靠的方法， DLL中阅读障碍的早期识别。总目标是朝着这一目标迈出的一步， 本项目的主要目的是确定幼儿园语言和学前教育的评估：（1）可靠地预测 西班牙语-英语DLL在一年后的阅读发展和（2）对识别DLL高度敏感 在一年级被归类为有阅读困难的风险。我们假设，利用多个 语言知识的基本领域将最有力地预测未来的阅读发展，但 早期语言和后期阅读之间的关系在DLL中不一致，这取决于双语言 接触、使用和早期基于代码的读写技能。我们进一步假设， 语言技能将为预测一年级阅读难度提供最佳的单测量区分度，但 为了达到良好的分类准确性，必须用两种语文进行评估。测试这些 假设，两个具体目标将得到解决。首先，这个项目将确定DLL的英语和 幼儿园语言中的西班牙语技能可以可靠地预测1年级的阅读成绩。第二、 我们将确定双语能力标准化测量的分类函数， 识别1年级存在阅读困难风险的西班牙语-英语DLL。为了实现这些目标，儿童将 西班牙语和英语词汇知识的完整评估，形态句法，早期代码为基础的识字 幼儿园叙事技巧、叙事宏观结构和叙事微观结构。他们的父母和老师会 还被要求描述孩子们在家庭和学校中的双语接触和使用情况 环境一年后，在一年级，孩子们将完成解码和阅读的措施 英语和西班牙语的理解。这项工作意义重大，因为早期可靠的识字预测 困难是关键，以防止学生落后于他们的同龄人在小学早期。早期 识别出可能在学习阅读方面有困难的DLL可以让教育者分配专门的资源 和个性化的指导，以最大限度地提高这些学生的收益。这项工作是创新的，因为它直接 注意到DLL人口的异质性，研究双语暴露和使用如何可能 在两年的学校教育中影响语言和阅读技能，重点是小学的第一年 教育这项工作符合NICHD的使命，即最大限度地发挥所有儿童健康生活的潜力， 富有成效的生活。

Project Summary/Abstract A major challenge in educational health research is that there are no well-established approaches for reliably identifying early signs of reading difficulty among dual language learners (DLLs). Given the value of literacy to individual well-being and the importance of early identification to maximize educational growth, there is a critical need to optimize assessment to identify Spanish-English DLLs at risk for reading difficulty early in the elementary years. Consequently, the long-term goal of the proposed research is to establish practical, reliable methods for early identification of reading disability among DLLs. Representing one step toward this goal, the overall objective of this project is to identify assessments of kindergarten language and preliteracy that: (1) reliably predict Spanish-English DLLs’ reading development one year later and (2) are highly sensitive for identifying DLLs classified as being at risk for reading difficulties in grade 1. We hypothesize that measures that tap multiple underlying domains of linguistic knowledge will most strongly predict future reading development, but that the relations between early language and later reading will be inconsistent across DLLs, depending on dual language exposure, use, and early code-based literacy skills. We further hypothesize that measures of transferable language skills will provide optimal single-measure discrimination for predicting reading difficulty in grade 1, but that assessment in both languages will be necessary to achieve good classification accuracy. To test these hypotheses, two specific aims will be addressed. First, this project will identify measures of DLLs’ English and Spanish language skills in kindergarten language that reliably predict reading achievement in grade 1. Second, we will determine the classification function of standardized measures of dual language abilities for identifying Spanish-English DLLs at risk for reading difficulties in grade 1. To achieve these aims, children will complete assessments of Spanish and English vocabulary knowledge, morphosyntax, early code-based literacy skills, narrative macrostructure, and narrative microstructure during kindergarten. Their parents and teachers will also be asked to describe the children's dual language exposure and use across the home and school environment. One year later, during grade 1, children will complete measures of decoding and reading comprehension in English and Spanish. This work is significant because early, reliable prediction of literacy difficulties is critical to prevent students from falling behind their peers during the early elementary years. Early identification of DLLs likely to have difficulty learning to read allows educators to allocate specialized resources and individualized instruction to maximize gains for those students. This work is innovative because it directly attends to the heterogeneity of the DLL population, examining how dual language exposure and use may influence language and reading skills across two years of schooling, focusing on the first years of elementary education. This work aligns with NICHD’s mission to maximize the potential of all children to live healthy and productive lives.