Rapid naming, phonological memory and reading fluency in Brazilian bilingual students.

PURPOSE: To characterize the performance of Brazilian students exposed to two languages in reading fluency, phonological memory, and rapid naming, according to grade level, and to investigate correlations between these variables. METHODS: Sixty students took part in this study (50% female), enrolled in the third to the fifth grades of two elementary schools of the city of São Paulo. They constituted two groups - bilingual group: 30 Brazilian children whose mother tongue and language spoken at home was Brazilian Portuguese and who were daily exposed to English at school for a period not shorter than three years; monolingual group: 30 students, from a monolingual Brazilian elementary school, who were paired by gender, age, and grade level with the bilingual students. Foreign children, children with complaint or indication of speech and language disorder, or who had been retained were excluded. A rapid automatized naming, pseudoword repetition, and oral reading tests were administered. The bilingual children were assessed in both languages and their performances were compared among themselves and with the monolingual group, which was only assessed in Brazilian Portuguese. RESULTS: The bilingual group showed better performance in English, rapid naming, and pseudoword repetition tasks, whereas Brazilian Portuguese, in reading fluency. A higher number of correlations were found in Brazilian Portuguese. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the acquisition of a second language may positively influence the abilities of rapid naming, reading rate, and accuracy. Brazilian bilingual students performed better in tasks of phonological memory in English and Brazilian Portuguese performed better in reading fluency. Different correlation patterns were found between the rapid naming, accuracy, and reading rate, in the bilingual group analysis, in both languages.

Rapid naming, phonological memory and reading fluency in Brazilian bilingual students / Nomeação rápida, memória fonológica e fluência leitora em escolares brasileiros bilíngues

PURPOSE: To characterize the performance of Brazilian students exposed to two languages in reading fluency, phonological memory, and rapid naming, according to grade level, and to investigate correlations between these variables. METHODS: Sixty students took part in this study (50% female), enrolled in the third to the fifth grades of two elementary schools of the city of São Paulo. They constituted two groups - bilingual group: 30 Brazilian children whose mother tongue and language spoken at home was Brazilian Portuguese and who were daily exposed to English at school for a period not shorter than three years; monolingual group: 30 students, from a monolingual Brazilian elementary school, who were paired by gender, age, and grade level with the bilingual students. Foreign children, children with complaint or indication of speech and language disorder, or who had been retained were excluded. A rapid automatized naming, pseudoword repetition, and oral reading tests were administered. The bilingual children were assessed in both languages and their performances were compared among themselves and with the monolingual group, which was only assessed in Brazilian Portuguese. RESULTS: The bilingual group showed better performance in English, rapid naming, and pseudoword repetition tasks, whereas Brazilian Portuguese, in reading fluency. A higher number of correlations were found in Brazilian Portuguese. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the acquisition of a second language may positively influence the abilities of rapid naming, reading rate, and accuracy. Brazilian bilingual students performed better in tasks of phonological memory in English and Brazilian Portuguese performed better in reading fluency. Different correlation patterns were found between the rapid naming, accuracy, and reading rate, in the bilingual group analysis, in both languages. .

OBJETIVO: Caracterizar o desempenho de escolares brasileiros expostos a dois idiomas, em fluência leitora, memória fonológica e nomeação rápida, segundo o ano escolar, e investigar correlações entre essas variáveis. MÉTODOS: Participaram 60 escolares (50% meninas) do terceiro ao quinto ano do Ensino Fundamental de duas escolas de São Paulo. Constituíram-se: Grupo Bilíngue: 30 escolares brasileiros, cuja língua materna e falada em casa era o Português Brasileiro, expostos ao Inglês diariamente na escola, por período total não inferior a três anos; Grupo Monolíngue: 30 escolares de escola brasileira monolíngue, pareados por gênero e idade e por equivalência de ano escolar. Excluíram-se crianças: estrangeiras; com queixas ou indícios de alteração de linguagem e fala; com histórico de retenção. Aplicaram-se: testes de nomeação rápida, repetição de pseudopalavras e prova de leitura oral de texto. Avaliaram-se os bilíngues nos dois idiomas e seus desempenhos foram comparados entre si e com o Grupo Monolíngue, avaliado somente em Português Brasileiro. RESULTADOS: O Grupo Bilíngue mostrou melhor desempenho, em Inglês, em nomeação rápida e repetição de pseudopalavras e, em Português Brasileiro, em taxa de leitura. Encontrou-se maior número de correlações nas avaliações em Português Brasileiro. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados sugerem que a aquisição do segundo idioma pode influenciar positivamente essas habilidades. Escolares brasileiros bilíngues mostraram melhor desempenho em memória fonológica em Inglês e fluência leitora em Português Brasileiro. Encontraram-se diferentes padrões de correlação entre variáveis de nomeação rápida, taxa e acurácia de leitura de texto, na análise do Grupo Bilíngue nos dois idiomas. .