ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the development of reading readiness, word-level, and text-level skills in language-minority students. In each of the sections, we first review those studies that compared language-minority students with their native-speaking peers. Where possible, within each of these sections, we also report on studies that compared language-minority students who had literacy difficulties with their native-speaking peers who were also experiencing literacy difficulties. Given the complexity of studying literacy development, as well as the significant individual differences in the acquisition of reading skills and the heterogeneity inherent among language-minority children and youth, we also report on studies that examine the skills and factors involved in the development of literacy in language-minority students. We consider factors such as age, instructional context, socioeconomic status (SES), and length of exposure to language and literacy in both the native and target languages as potential mediating factors in the development of literacy skills for this population. Although these factors are described more fully in other parts of this volume, they are referenced here as well to provide a more comprehensive account of development. (See Table 4.1 for a list of the other chapters in which these studies appear.)
The following research questions are addressed in this chapter:
1. What are the differences and similarities between language-minority and native speakers in the development of various literacy skills in the social language?
