Author Description

Do older English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) children have the same knowledge of words as English-as-a-First Language (EL1) children? How important is vocabulary's role in predicting word recognition in these groups? This study sought to answer these questions by examining the profiles of ESL and EL1 upper elementary aged children, for a 2-year period starting in Grade 5. Multivariate analyses revealed that (a) EL1 and ESL groups did not differ on underlying processing components (e.g., PA, RAN, and working memory) or on word recognition, but ESL children continued to lag behind their EL1 peers on knowledge of words that correspond approximately to their grade level, and (b) vocabulary knowledge (root word and receptive vocabulary), explained additional unique variance on word recognition concurrently and longitudinally, after accounting for the contributions of PA, RAN, and working memory. These findings have instructional and assessment implications since this relationship was especially consistent in the ESL group.