Spanish Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten Uniquely Supports Second-Grade English Morphological Awareness in Spanish–English Dual Language Learners

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated the longitudinal, cross-linguistic developmental relationships of phonological awareness (PA), letter identification (letter ID), and morphological awareness (MA) in 71 heritage Spanish–English dual language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten and second grade. Method: Multiple linear regression was used to test if kindergarten Spanish and English PA (sound elision and sound matching) and letter ID significantly predicted later English MA (oral derived word stress judgment, oral derivational morpheme blending, written derived word decomposition, and morphologically complex word spelling) performance in second grade. Results: Cross-linguistically, the PA skill of sound matching in kindergarten was the most reliable predictor of MA in second grade for Spanish–English DLLs. Spanish PA explained the majority of variation in oral MA skills in English. English PA was only uniquely predictive of written MA skills in English. Conclusions: Both the cognitive operation of sound sequence manipulation in PA (elision or matching) and the modality of morpheme representation in MA (oral or written) appear to mediate the transfer of metalinguistic knowledge in Spanish–English DLL development in early elementary school. Results are discussed within the context of classroom practices.