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Learning to Read: the Case of Moroccan Students who Learn Spanish

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2013

Antonio Aguilera-Jiménez ,
Carmen Delgado ,
Alfonso Luque ,
Francisco J. Moreno-Pérez ,
Isabel. R. Rodríguez-Ortiz  and
David Saldaña
Antonio Aguilera-Jiménez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Carmen Delgado
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Alfonso Luque
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Francisco J. Moreno-Pérez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
Isabel. R. Rodríguez-Ortiz*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
David Saldaña
Affiliation:
Universidad de Sevilla (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Isabel R. Rodríguez. Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación. Facultad de Psicología. Calle Camilo José Cela, s/n. 41018. Sevilla (Spain). E-mail: ireyes@us.es
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Abstract

The aims of this study are to assess L1 and L2 variables that influence the reading acquisition of students of Moroccan origin in the South of Spain and compare their reading ability with native Spanish-speaking children. Participants were 38 students of Moroccan origin and 37 native Spanish-speaking students from the same classes. We used an oral vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test, which taps lexical, semantic, and syntactic reading processes, and reading fluency. The results indicated that immigrant students differed from native Spanish-speaking students in word reading, reading fluency, and the use of punctuation marks, but there were no significant differences in reading comprehension. In native Spanish-speaking students, reading comprehension correlated significantly with oral vocabulary and the other reading processes, but in the students of Moroccan origin, only receptive oral vocabulary in L2 correlated with the use of punctuation marks. Being in schools with educational resources specifically aimed at helping the Moroccan pupils was associated with a higher level of word reading in immigrant students.

Keywords

reading comprehensionsecond language learnersMoroccan speakersoral vocabulary
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E107
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

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Footnotes

This investigation was conducted thanks to the funding received by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 CSD2008–00048 projects) and partially supported by the Excellent Research Projects grant (P07-SEJ-02574) of the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa, Junta de Andalucía. The authors also wish to thank Ibtissam El Mamoun and Touria El Akrami for their participation in the data collection, as well as all the teachers, pupils and educational authorities that participated in the study for their collaboration.

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