The Cross-Language Transfer of Phonological Skills of Hispanic Head Start Children

This article determines the interlanguage relationships between oral language skills and phonological awareness abilities in 100 Spanish-speaking Head Start children learning English. Children's oral language abilities, measured using the pre-Language Assessment Scale 2000, along with their phonological awareness, measured using the Phonological Sensitivity Test, were assessed in both English and Spanish. A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted in which the unique variance of oral proficiency in each language and phonological awareness in Spanish indicated an effect on performance for phonological awareness tasks in English, with Spanish phonological awareness and English oral proficiency accounting for the most variance. Results suggest strengthening the language and metalinguistic skills of these children in their first language as a tool for later acquiring English literacy skills.