Within- and Cross-Language Contributions of Oral Reading Fluency and Vocabulary to L1 and L2 Reading Comprehension of Grade 7 Bilingual Students

Abstract

This study examined the extent to which oral reading fluency and vocabulary in Filipino (L1) and English (L2) contributed to the reading comprehension of Grade 7 bilingual students. Using a predictive correlational design, the study involved 180 Grade 7 learners from a public secondary school in Quezon Province, Philippines, equally distributed across the independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels. Data were gathered through researcher-made vocabulary and reading comprehension tests in Filipino and English, as well as oral reading fluency measures using the Revised Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) and a multidimensional fluency scale. Pearson’s r and regression analyses were employed to determine the relationships and predictive contributions of the variables.

Findings revealed that the contribution of oral reading fluency and vocabulary to reading comprehension was not uniform across reading levels. Among independent readers, L1 vocabulary and L1 oral reading fluency significantly predicted L1 reading comprehension. Among instructional readers, the relationships were generally weak and unstable, indicating that factors such as L2 vocabulary and L2 oral reading fluency may not be good predictors of reading comprehension. Among frustration-level readers, L2 oral reading fluency showed the strongest contribution, particularly to L1 comprehension. At the same time, L2 vocabulary provided limited support, indicating that oral reading fluency is an important correlate of reading comprehension in these readers.

Across the three reading levels, cross-linguistic transfer was generally weak and appeared only under specific developmental conditions. The interaction oflanguage, reading level, oral reading fluency, and vocabulary shapes reading comprehension in a bilingual context, according to these findings. The study emphasizes the necessity of differentiated and language-sensitive reading instruction to better support bilingual learners in Philippine classrooms, particularly by incorporating strategies that address their unique linguistic backgrounds and varying levels of proficiency in both languages, such as tailored vocabulary exercises and culturally relevant reading materials.