Do Phonological and Executive Processes in English Learners at Risk for Reading Disabilities in Grade 1 Predict Performance in Grade 2?

This study determined the degree to which the phonological and executive components of memory reflect language-specific capacities in reading achievement. We tested whether the memory processes in a sample of English-language learners that played a major role in predicting second-language acquisition and risk for reading disability (RD) in Grade 1 (Swanson, Saez, Gerber, & Leafstedt, 2004) also predicted reading performance in Grade 2. The present results showed that Spanish short-term memory (STM) performance in Grade 1 predicted basic Spanish-reading skills and Spanish comprehension in Grade 2, whereas Grade 1 English STM performance predicted English vocabulary and English comprehension in Grade 2. More importantly, children at risk for RD in Grade 1 differed from the counterparts in Grade 2 on both English and Spanish measures of reading, whereas their memory deficits were isolated to Spanish STM and working memory (WM). The relationship between language-specific processes in memory and reading are discussed.