Reading Achievement of Chicano Children as a Function of Language Spoken and Language Preference.

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the study was to investigate a group of fourth grade South Texas Chicano students with respect to the relationship between reading achievement and SES, age, time in the bilingual program, form of Spanish spoken (St and ard or Pochismo) and language(s) (English, Spanish, Bilingual, Mixed-English and Mixed-Spanish) spoken and /or preferred in the social context of family, friends and church. This investigation was conducted to determine which variable is the best predictor of reading achievement in both Spanish and English. Procedures. The study sample consisted of 192 fourth grade Chicano students involved in a bilingual program. The study was conducted in the Southern part of Texas known as the Coastal Bend. Interview data and st and ardized test scores were gathered from a school district with a 100% Chicano population in the fourth grade. The design of the study made it possible to ascertain predictors for English and Spanish skills from among 12 variables. The power of each predictor was determined by a multiple regression procedure. Conclusions. The researcher concluded the following: (1) Chicanos speak a language other than pure Spanish or pure English, a dialect of Spanish consisting of a speech mixture along with English borrowing. (2) Those that speak a pure language (English or Spanish), but who borrow from English, acquire better English and Spanish reading skills when reading is taught in a st and ard way than do those who speak other than a pure language. (3) Those that speak Mixed-English and Mixed-Spanish experience difficulty in acquiring English and Spanish reading skills when reading is taught in a st and ard way. (4) Language interference may be attributed primarily to speech mixture rather than to the phenomenon of English borrowing. (5) Those who speak bilingually meet with more reading success in both English and Spanish than those that speak English, Spanish, or a mixture of these languages when reading is taught in a st and ard way. (6) The family language preference, when in conflict with the language actually spoken by the family, will be a factor in the success with English or Spanish reading when taught in the st and ard way. (7) That the preferred-community languages when in conflict with the preferred-family languages will be a factor in the success with English and Spanish reading when taught in a st and ard way. (8) Diverse language spoken and preferred contribute to poor reading performance when the student population is taught to read in a st and ard way.Ph.D.Bilingual educationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/157852/1/8017385.pd