The influence of children’s home language on third grader’s reading and writing performance in a multilingual education setting

Luxembourg´s multi-lingual education system, combined with differences in children’s home language - with approximately two thirds of children attending grade 3 not speaking the languages of school instruction (Luxembourgish/German) at home - complicate the diagnostic process of identifying children with potential learning disorders in reading and/or writing. It is therefore paramount to distinguish between reading/writing difficulties due to lower language proficiency and those due to a learning disorder. To address this issue, we have developed two novel test batteries that are specifically adapted to the country’s multilingual environment: (1) a reading and writing test battery assessing children’s phonological skills, RAN, word and non-word reading, text reading and writing skills, as well as (2) a German receptive vocabulary and syntax test.

The tests were normed in 747 children attending 3rd grade in Luxembourgish public schools across all school districts of the country. Four language groups were created based on children’s reported home language: Luxembourgish/German (languages of school instruction); French; Portuguese; Other languages. Our results show that children who speak the language(s) of instruction at home perform better in most sub-tests of the reading and writing test battery, emphasising the impact of home language on children’s task performance. This is further highlighted by a lack of language group differences in the non-word reading task, which was equally challenging for all children. Importantly, when accounting for children’s German receptive vocabulary, differences in word and text reading performance based on language spoken at home are significantly reduced. We will extend these analyses to additionally explore the impact of children’s home language and German receptive syntax on text reading performance.