Predictors of listening and reading comprehension in multilingual and monolingual children: do text type and modality matter? (2025-2027)
Ludovica Serratrice and Alessandra Valentini (University of Greenwich)
Economic and Social Research Council Research Grant
This UKRI-funded project investigates what supports listening and reading comprehension in primary school children with different language backgrounds, from monolingual to multilingual. It aims to advance theory on how language experience shapes comprehension and to inform teaching practices for linguistically diverse classrooms.
With 20% of pupils in England speaking English as an Additional Language, and even higher percentages in cities, understanding how children with varied English experience learn is increasingly important. While multilingualism is an advantage, learning English and academic content at the same time can be challenging. Listening and reading comprehension are key to academic success, but research on the predictors of these skills, especially in multilingual learners, is limited and often focused only on narrative texts.
This project will examine how comprehension varies by:
- Language experience (seen as a continuum)
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Modality (listening vs. reading)
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Text type (narrative vs. expository)
We will collect detailed data on children’s language and literacy backgrounds to better understand the links between experience and comprehension. A key innovation is the inclusion of expository texts, essential for learning subjects like history and science.
The findings will contribute to theory, promote educational equity, and support teachers in meeting the needs of all learners more effectively. For more information, please see the project’s UKRI Gateway to Research webpage.
