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Does learning to read in a second language always put the child at a disadvantage? Some counterevidence from Morocco

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Daniel A. Wagner ,
Jennifer E. Spratt  and
Abdelkader Ezzaki
Daniel A. Wagner*
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Jennifer E. Spratt
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Abdelkader Ezzaki
Affiliation:
Université Mohamed V
*
Daniel A. Wagner, Literacy Research Center, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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Abstract

Researchers have gathered a variety of evidence to support the theory that learning to read in one's “mother tongue” or first language enhances a child's achievement relative to that of children obliged to learn to read in a second language. Evidence collected primarily in Europe and America has been applied by international organizations to support early mother-tongue education programs in many Third World countries. The data reported in this article suggest that a general application of this conclusion is not justified. The present article reports on a longitudinal study of literacy acquisition among 166 grade 1 children from a rural town in Morocco. Children in the sample came from two distinct linguistic communities (Moroccan Arabic and Berber), but lived in the same village, attended the same schools, and received literacy instruction in Arabic and subsequently French. The study also considered a number of background variables that might influence learning to read, such as Quranic preschooling experience, parental literacy, gender, and SES. Analyses showed that while there were significant differences in Arabic (first literacy) reading achievement between Berber- and Arabic-speaking groups in the first year of the study, such differences virtually disappeared by year 5. Quranic preschooling, also conducted in Arabic, was found to be a mediating influence on achievement in grade 1. Learning to read in French (second literacy) was unrelated to Berber or Arabic linguistic background, but highly related to reading achievement in Arabic, thus providing support for Cummins's (1979) “interdependence” hypothesis. Overall, the findings support the proposition that children in certain social and linguistic contexts need not be taught in their mother tongue in order to achieve literacy norms of the majority language group. These findings are discussed in terms of the context of language use and language prestige in the Moroccan setting, and in terms of their potential generalizability to other linguistic and cultural contexts.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 1989 , pp. 31 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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