Working Memory Capacity and Reading Skills: A Study Comparing Dutch-English

We investigated possible differences between Dutch monolingual and Dutch-English bilingual children ages 11 to 13, in terms of working memory, reading comprehension and the influence of the former on the latter. We addressed three possible manifestations of these differences. First, we studied whether bilinguals and monolinguals perform differently on working memory tests. Our study, however, did not find any significant differences between the two groups. Second, we studied differences in performance of monolingual and bilingual children in understanding while reading sentences. We compared accuracy and reaction times on a reading comprehension task including sentences with temporal connectives. No differences between groups were detected at the level of accuracy. In reaction times, however,the analyses revealed significant interactions between groups and position of the temporal connective in the sentence. These interactions occurred for different connectives in monolingual and...Show moreWe investigated possible differences between Dutch monolingual and Dutch-English bilingual children ages 11 to 13, in terms of working memory, reading comprehension and the influence of the former on the latter. We addressed three possible manifestations of these differences. First, we studied whether bilinguals and monolinguals perform differently on working memory tests. Our study, however, did not find any significant differences between the two groups. Second, we studied differences in performance of monolingual and bilingual children in understanding while reading sentences. We compared accuracy and reaction times on a reading comprehension task including sentences with temporal connectives. No differences between groups were detected at the level of accuracy. In reaction times, however,the analyses revealed significant interactions between groups and position of the temporal connective in the sentence. These interactions occurred for different connectives in monolingual and bilingual children, suggesting that the groups have different approaches to reading comprehension. Third, we explored a possible correlation between working memory and reading comprehension for the whole sample, first merged and then split by groups of monolinguals and bilinguals. The results showed medium to strong negative correlations between working memory tasks and reading comprehension tasks for the whole sample as well as for each of the groups. These correlations, however, are manifested differently in monolingual and bilingual children, a fact that provides another indication of different comprehension mechanisms for each of the groups. Our pilot study indicates, therefore, that bilingualism is associated to differences in reading comprehension mechanisms and in how these mechanisms correlate with working memory capacities. Further elucidation of these differences, by more extensive investigations, could be useful for the design of adapted educational approaches.Show less

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Working Memory Capacity and Reading Skills: A Study Comparing Dutch-English