Research on reading skills transfer has taken shape in two major disciplines: second language (L2) acquisition and reading. Inevitably, its evolution reflects major conceptual shifts in their respective research sub-fields. In L2 research, as a case in point, transfer was initially viewed as interference stemming from first language (L1) structural properties. This view, however, was significantly altered by the subsequent postulation that the language proficiency underlying cognitively demanding tasks, such as literacy and academic learning, is largely shared across languages, and therefore, once acquired in one language, it promotes literacy development in another (Cummins Reference Cummins1979). Reflecting the latter view, the current conceptualizations of transfer uniformly underscore the facilitative nature of previously learned competencies as resources available to L2 learners (e.g. Genesee et al. 2007; Koda Reference Koda, Koda and Zehler2008).
Reading transfer research has also been influenced by the shifting views of reading. Although reading was once seen as an indivisible whole, in more recent studies, it is regarded as a constellation of closely related, yet separable, mental operations each entailing a unique set of sub-skills (e.g. Carr & Levy Reference Carr and Levy1990). By dissecting reading into its components, the newer approach allows systematic explorations of functional connections among reading sub-skills within and across languages. Thus, a growing number of studies are now exploring cross-linguistic relationships in reading sub-skills, collectively yielding an increasingly refined picture of reading development among school-age children learning to read in two languages. Another conceptual shift related to the issue at hand pertains to cross-linguistic variations in reading sub-skills. In early reading theories, virtually no attention was given to such variations. Subsequent studies, however, have presented convincing evidence that qualitatively different sub-skills are involved in reading typologically diverse languages. The emerging consensus is that learning to read is constrained by the demands stemming from both universal and language-specific requirements. From the language-specific perspective, current transfer research investigates how transferred L1 skills are integrated in L2 reading by addressing various cross-linguistic issues uniquely associated with bilingual information processing.
In the initial step of constructing the present timeline, we identified a total of 112 publications on reading skills transfer through database searches. Based on the review of these articles, we uncovered six recurring themes, listed below. Using these themes as the selection criteria, we determined the final set of publications to be entered in the timeline. The specific theme relevant to each entry is marked by the corresponding letter in the annotations. Bibliographic cross-references within the timeline are marked by small capitals.
A. Lasting L1 impacts: A1 – interference and A2 – facilitation stemming from transferred L1 skills
B. Cross-linguistic relationships in L1 and L2 reading skills
C. Transfer of language-neutral vs. language-specific skills
D. Relative contributions of transferred L1 skills and L2 proficiency
E. Procedural variations in L2 processing attributable to transferred L1 skills
F. Interaction between transferred L1 skills and L2 input properties
Keiko Koda is Professor in the Department of Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Her research on second language reading and biliteracy development is published widely in journals, books and book chapters. She has edited and co-edited special issues of Language Learning and Reading in a Foreign Language. Her recent books include Insights into second language reading (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and Learning to read across languages (Routledge, 2008).
Pooja Reddy is a doctoral student in the Department of Modern Languages at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Her research revolves around understanding the nature of cross-linguistic influences in biliteracy development. She is particularly interested in the specific role of multilingual oral language proficiency in biliteracy development.
