The Interdependence Continuum: A Perspective on the Nature of Spanish–English Bilingual Reading Comprehension

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to elaborate on the statistical nature of the linguistic interdependence hypothesis (CitationCummins, 1979). It is argued that reading skills across the languages of bilingual learners are differentially robust to interdependence, falling along a continuum mediated by the commonalities between Spanish and English. Reading data were collected from a sample of 91 Spanish–English bilingual fourth-grade students, and structural equation modeling was used to test a path model of the interdependence continuum. The model assumed that Spanish–English interdependence would be strong for alphabetic knowledge, moderate for reading comprehension, and mild for the link between Spanish oral language and English reading comprehension. The model fit the data well, providing some initial evidence for an interdependence continuum that varies as a function of language typology.