Degree
Master of Arts
Program
Education
Supervisor
Friesen, Deanna C.
Abstract
The Simple View of Reading (Hoover & Gough, 1990) assumes that reading comprehension success is determined by decoding skill and language comprehension (e.g., vocabulary). However, the strategies readers recruit during text comprehension should also uniquely contribute to reading comprehension success in both their first and second language. Seventy fourth- and fifth-grade French immersion students were assessed on language proficiency measures and on strategy use during a reading comprehension task by using a think-aloud procedure. Results indicate that students used more complex strategies (i.e., background knowledge, predicting and visualizing) in their dominant language, and more textbase strategies (i.e., summarizing) in their less proficient language. For both languages, using textbase and complex strategies each accounted for unique variance in reading comprehension performance beyond language proficiency. Relying on these strategies allow readers to both construct an understanding of a text and consolidate it into memory. Implications for second language teachers will be discussed.
Recommended Citation
Frid, Bailey, "Reading Comprehension and Strategy Use in Fourth- and Fifth-Grade French Immersion Students" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5423.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5423