The Commutability Paradigm

Patrick Proctor

February 25, 2008

Linguistic Interdependence (Cummins, 1979)

L1 L2

Common Underlying Proficiency

Linguistic InterdependenceIf L1 is good, likely L2 is good

Younger Kids

- Goldenberg (1994): concepts of print, letter

names and sounds, rich linguistic input

- Lesaux & Siegel (2003): K-2 ELLs in Canada comparable to monolinguals– Update, Lesaux, Rupp, & Siegel (2007): ELLs

and monolinguals look comparable over time

Linguistic InterdependenceIf L1 is good, likely L2 is good

Older Kids

- Jiménez, García, & Pearson (2006): Reading strategies, translation, cognate awareness

- Proctor et al. (2005, 2006): English reading looks comparable to monolinguals, Spanish vocabulary affects English reading for average to good English readers

Reflect

Do these studies prove the interdependence hypothesis?

Sort of…Linguistic Interdependence is slightly

underspecified in that it doesn’t explicitly

consider:• L1 of the learner• Individual literacy skills

– “size”

– Metalinguistics

• L1 literacy development is key

Size and metalinguistics

TOMAR

TOMARv. To take

RÁPIDO

RÁPIDOadj. Fast, rapid

Mi mamá es inteligente.

My mother is smart/intelligent.

Si mi mamá fuera inteligente, sería feliz.

If my mother were intelligent, I’d be happy.

Nature of the L1

AMARILLO

ROJO

AZUL

VERDE

紅

綠

黃

藍

RED

YELLOW

GREEN

BLUE

Commutability Paradigm

Typological Relationships

Between Languages

MetalinguisticNature of the SkillDomain

Size of the Skill Domain

Commutability

Limits on Transfer

Different skills cross languages in different ways…• Print concepts• Alphabetics• Phonemics• Vocabulary • Strategies

Defining those limits determines commutability

Orders of magnitude

What skills are more or less likely to transfer?

L1 = Spanish vs. L1 = Arabic

Listening comprehension

Alphabetic knowledge

Vocabulary knowledge

Sound-symbol understanding

Reading comprehension

Commutability Model*

* Same sample and measures from students from Proctor et al. (2005, 2006). Oral language = vocabulary knowledge + listening comprehension; Spanish-English decoding = Spanish alphabetic knowledge + English alphabetic knowledge.Fit indices: (2 (2, N=91) = 1.88, p = .39)

Commutability ParadigmSize, orthography, grammar/syntax, metalinguistics

Consider again…

My mother is intelligent

Mi mamá es inteligente

ذكية هي أمي           我 媽媽 很 聰明

Application to practice