Testing the Language Interdependence Hypothesis: The role of primary language in second language literacy.

摘要

The author tested Cummins' (1981, 1991) Language Interdependence Hypothesis by examining how the level of grammatical proficiency in the first language (L1) will affect the level of proficiency attain in a second language (L2). Participants were 30 freshmen students from Kean University, who were native Spanish-speakers, enrolled in ESL classes. Participants were tested on reading, spelling, and grammatical skills, in English and Spanish, to measure their proficiency levels in both languages. The results indicated positive significant correlations within and across languages, thus supporting Cummins' hypothesis. Furthermore, spelling skills in Spanish, the first language, was a strong predictor of overall proficiency in English, the second language. The educational implications of the results are discussed in the discussion section.