Language of Early Reading Instruction: A Correlate of Print Exposure

The Matthew effects suggest that children who struggle when learning to read are less likely to read for pleasure later in life compared to children who ease into reading quickly. One aspect of early literacy instruction that might hamper reading progress is learning to read simultaneously in two languages. Despite the long-lasting and widespread benefits of bilingualism, early setbacks in reading development might carry lasting effects for later reading habits. We investigated whether present-day print exposure of adults who learned to read in their first language were different from those who learned to read in two languages. Adults completed: Bilingual Author Recognition, Viewing Recognition, and English and French Word Recognition Tests. Participants who reported that reading instruction took place in their first language recognized more authors than those who learned to read in two languages. These first-language learners were also better at identifying real English words. Bilingual learners were superior at identifying real French words on the corresponding task. Lastly, both groups demonstrated similar viewing habits. The findings from this retrospective study align with the Matthew effects and suggest that a focus on first language reading instruction in Grades 1 and 2 remains correlated with print exposure 25 years later.