Reading Test Performance of English-Language Learners Using an English Dictionary

The authors examined the effects of a simplified English dictionary accommodation on the reading-test performance of Hmong English-language learners (ELLs). Participants included a control group of 69 non-ELL students and an experimental group of 133 Hmong ELLs from 3 urban middle schools in Minnesota. In a randomized counterbalanced design, all students interpreted 2 reading passages, with and without an English dictionary, varying passage order and order of accommodation. Using a repeated measures analysis of variance, the authors found no significant difference in comprehension scores for students in either group under the accommodated condition. However, intermediate-level English proficiency students in the Hmong ELL group who used the dictionary in the accommodated condition performed better than did the control group at a level that was moderately significant. Other dictionary-related issues are discussed.