The silent reading strategies in Spanish and English of fourth-grade bilingual pupils

The major purposes of this investigation were to gain insights into (a) the silent reading processes through readers' use of grammatical, syntactic, semantic, and maintenance of meaning cueing strategies; (b) the use of search strategies within languages and levels of abilities; and (c) the specific similarities or differences in the use of these strategies to maintain meaning within languages and levels of abilities.;Selected by socioeconomic background and attendance in Spanish-English bilingual programs or schools in the New York City Public School System, 52 fourth-grade pupils were placed in four reading ability groups: (1) Average Spanish/Average English; (2) Average Spanish/Above-Average English; (3) Above-Average Spanish/Average English, and (4) Above-Average Spanish/Above-Average English. Pupils were administered the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), reading subtests, Espanol, Form S, Level 1; and the English version, Form S, Level 2. Through use of the test stanines, subjects were placed on graded English and Spanish rational cloze tests based on graded stories. Rational cloze deletions were made of specific words requiring the use of four cueing strategies (i.e., grammar, syntax, semantics, and maintenance of meaning) and four search strategies (i.e., backward reference, forward reference, prior knowledge, and cumulative buildup).;Using one-way analyses of variance and the Scheffe S method on paired comparisons, the data were tested at the.05 level. Findings demonstrated that (a) above-average readers in English consistently replaced more words on the English rational cloze tests using the cueing strategies than average readers in English; (b) all groups used the grammatical and syntactic cueing strategies on the Spanish rational cloze tests, but significant differences were observed for semantics and maintenance of meaning strategies on the Spanish rational cloze test, indicating inconsistent use of these strategies by the average readers in Spanish; (c) above-average readers in English consistently replaced more words using the search strategies than average readers in English on the English rational cloze test; and (d) all groups on the Spanish cloze tests used the backward reference, forward reference, and prior knowledge search strategies in replacing words, but on the cumulative buildup strategy, the average readers in Spanish failed to consistently use this strategy and, consequently, maintained less meaning than above-average readers in Spanish.;Above-average readers, proficient readers in Spanish, their first language (L1) or in English, their second language (L2), or both, through their consistent use of these strategies seemed to demonstrate how they maintained meaning. Transfer of the cueing and search strategies appeared to be stronger from L1 (Spanish) to L2 (English) than from L2 (English) to L1 (Spanish).