The Dependency Relation between Oral Language and Reading in Bilingual Children

Abstract

Issues related to the topic of the dependency relation between oral language and reading in bilingual children were discussed. Literature reviewed includes studies of oral language and reading in monolingual speakers, models of reading processes, phonological recoding as an intermediary process in reading, studies on reading instruction for bilingual children, and the processing of dual languages by bilingual speakers. A model of monolingual versus bilingual reading was developed based on the review of the literature. An experimental study by Chu-Chang (1979) verifying the model was presented. Implications of this model for reading instruction for bilingual children and future research were raised.