The development of English grammar and reading comprehension by majority and minority language children in a bilingual primary school
The development of English grammar and reading comprehension by majority and minority language children in a bilingual primary school

Summary/Abstract: Both for the first language (L1) and for all additional languages (L2 or L3),grammatical knowledge plays a vital role in understanding texts (e.g.,Grabe, 2005). However, little is known about the development and interactionof grammar and reading comprehension in beginning foreign languagelearning, especially with respect to children with a minority language background. This longitudinal study, therefore, examined minorityand majority language children’s English grammar and reading comprehension skills. The children attended a German-English partial immersionprimary school and were tested at the end of Grades 3 and 4. As expected,we found grammar to affect reading comprehension but also reverse effects.Most importantly, the results did not reveal any differences between the two language groups, irrespective of the test. Therefore, immersionprimary school programs seem to be suitable for minority language children,and these children do not automatically represent an at-risk group for foreign language learning.

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