Metalinguistic awareness in reading Hebrew L2
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Elinor Saiegh-Haddad
Abstract
The chapter reports on a study that examined the contribution of different types of metalinguistic awareness to word reading and reading comprehension in Hebrew L2 of L1 speakers of Palestinian Arabic. A total of 104 Arabic-speaking students in 4th, 6th, and 8th grade (ages 9–10, 11–12, and 13–14) were tested on three tasks of metalinguistic awareness – phonological, morphological, and orthographic. All three skills were found to correlate positively with both word reading and reading comprehension. However, after controlling for age/grade-level, verbal memory, and spoken language abilities, each metalinguistic skill explained unique variance in word reading, with phonological awareness predicting the largest amount of variance, whereas oral language ability emerged as the best predictor of reading comprehension. Of the three metalinguistic variables tested, only orthographic awareness emerged as a significant predictor of reading comprehension in addition to oral language, explaining a relatively small amount of variance. Findings are explained in the framework of theories of L2 reading, the special characteristics of Hebrew language and orthography, and the possible effect of L1 Arabic, as a closely related Semitic language, on learning to read in Hebrew.
Abstract
The chapter reports on a study that examined the contribution of different types of metalinguistic awareness to word reading and reading comprehension in Hebrew L2 of L1 speakers of Palestinian Arabic. A total of 104 Arabic-speaking students in 4th, 6th, and 8th grade (ages 9–10, 11–12, and 13–14) were tested on three tasks of metalinguistic awareness – phonological, morphological, and orthographic. All three skills were found to correlate positively with both word reading and reading comprehension. However, after controlling for age/grade-level, verbal memory, and spoken language abilities, each metalinguistic skill explained unique variance in word reading, with phonological awareness predicting the largest amount of variance, whereas oral language ability emerged as the best predictor of reading comprehension. Of the three metalinguistic variables tested, only orthographic awareness emerged as a significant predictor of reading comprehension in addition to oral language, explaining a relatively small amount of variance. Findings are explained in the framework of theories of L2 reading, the special characteristics of Hebrew language and orthography, and the possible effect of L1 Arabic, as a closely related Semitic language, on learning to read in Hebrew.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Transcription and coding conventions ix
- Typology, acquisition, and development 1
- Paths and stages in acquisition of the phonological word in Hebrew 39
- Phonological development in Israeli Hebrew-learning infants and toddlers 69
- Foundations of the early root category 95
- Development of Hebrew derivational morphology from preschool to adolescence 135
- Lexical development in Hebrew 175
- The nature of CDS in Hebrew 201
- From opacity to transparency 225
- Development of intra- and inter-clausal dependency in Hebrew 259
- Expression of temporality in Hebrew narratives written by deaf adolescents 295
- Early development of written language in Hebrew 325
- Metalinguistic awareness in reading Hebrew L2 353
- Author Index 387
- Subject Index 395
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Transcription and coding conventions ix
- Typology, acquisition, and development 1
- Paths and stages in acquisition of the phonological word in Hebrew 39
- Phonological development in Israeli Hebrew-learning infants and toddlers 69
- Foundations of the early root category 95
- Development of Hebrew derivational morphology from preschool to adolescence 135
- Lexical development in Hebrew 175
- The nature of CDS in Hebrew 201
- From opacity to transparency 225
- Development of intra- and inter-clausal dependency in Hebrew 259
- Expression of temporality in Hebrew narratives written by deaf adolescents 295
- Early development of written language in Hebrew 325
- Metalinguistic awareness in reading Hebrew L2 353
- Author Index 387
- Subject Index 395
