Reading Acquisition in Monolingual Spanish-Speaking First Grade Children

The first aim of the current study was to identify the relative contribution of several theoretically relevant skills in accounting for variance in both word reading and reading comprehension in a normal sample of one-hundred Spanish-speaking children in first grade (average age of 6 years and 10 months; 47 boys; 53 girls). In hierarchical regression analyses, we showed that there is dissociation between the skills that account for variance in word reading, and those that account for variance in reading comprehension. Significant variance in reading comprehension depends on measures of word identification-decoding, rapid naming, and vocabulary. By contrast, word reading ability was best explained by measures of phonological awareness and vocabulary.
The second aim was to explore the double-deficit hypothesis. Four groups were formed on the basis of their performance in rapid naming and phonological awareness. The double-deficit subgroup (slow naming speed and low phonological awareness) showed marked difficulties in a range of reading tasks, including reading comprehension. The phonological awareness deficit subgroup showed weaker word decoding skills than did the naming-speed deficit and the no-deficit subgroups. Fewer differences were shown between the naming-speed deficit and the no-deficit subgroups. Implications for early literacy learning and for diagnosis and intervention are discussed.