The Predictors of Literacy Skills among Monolingual and Bilingual Finnish–Swedish Children During First Grade

Pia Vataja; Marja-Kristiina  Lerkkanen; Mikko Aro; Jari  Westerholm; Ann-Katrine Risberg; Paula Salmi

doi:10.1080/00313831.2021.1942191

The Predictors of Literacy Skills among Monolingual and Bilingual Finnish–Swedish Children During First Grade

Pia Vataja^*, Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, Mikko Aro, Jari Westerholm, Ann-Katrine Risberg, Paula Salmi

^*Corresponding author for this work

Education

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine which predictor variables are related to literacy skills among monolingual Swedish (n = 269) and bilingual Finnish–Swedish (n = 229) children at the first grade in the Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The participants were assessed in phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN), word recognition, reading fluency, and spelling. The results showed that RAN was the most significant predictor of reading and spelling skills in both language groups, and monolingual children performed significantly better in RAN. Moreover, letter knowledge predicted reading and spelling skills in both groups. However, no significant differences between language groups in reading and spelling skills were observed. The results emphasize the importance of interpreting the pre-literacy screening, especially with bilingual children.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-17
Number of pages	18
Journal	Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1942191
Publication status	Published - 5 Jul 2021
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

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abstract = "The aim of the study was to examine which predictor variables are related to literacy skills among monolingual Swedish (n = 269) and bilingual Finnish–Swedish (n = 229) children at the first grade in the Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The participants were assessed in phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN), word recognition, reading fluency, and spelling. The results showed that RAN was the most significant predictor of reading and spelling skills in both language groups, and monolingual children performed significantly better in RAN. Moreover, letter knowledge predicted reading and spelling skills in both groups. However, no significant differences between language groups in reading and spelling skills were observed. The results emphasize the importance of interpreting the pre-literacy screening, especially with bilingual children.",

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AU - Vataja, Pia

AU - Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina

AU - Aro, Mikko

AU - Westerholm, Jari

AU - Risberg, Ann-Katrine

AU - Salmi, Paula

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AB - The aim of the study was to examine which predictor variables are related to literacy skills among monolingual Swedish (n = 269) and bilingual Finnish–Swedish (n = 229) children at the first grade in the Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The participants were assessed in phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN), word recognition, reading fluency, and spelling. The results showed that RAN was the most significant predictor of reading and spelling skills in both language groups, and monolingual children performed significantly better in RAN. Moreover, letter knowledge predicted reading and spelling skills in both groups. However, no significant differences between language groups in reading and spelling skills were observed. The results emphasize the importance of interpreting the pre-literacy screening, especially with bilingual children.

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The Predictors of Literacy Skills among Monolingual and Bilingual Finnish–Swedish Children During First Grade

Abstract

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