Estefania Bou Assaf
Research Mentor(s): Ioulia Kovelman
Mentor Department: Psychology and CHGD
Authors: Estefania Bou Assaf, Isabel Hernandez, Luna Pava
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 13
Abstract
Access to home literacy resources is a key factor in bilingual children’s reading development, yet little research has examined how Spanish-language book availability relates to Spanish fluency. This study investigates the relationship between the number of Spanish books in the home and children’s performance on a Spanish Sentence Fluency Task. Data were collected from children aged 7.18 to 10.98 years through fluency assessments and parent surveys on home literacy practices. A moderate positive correlation was found between Spanish book availability and fluency scores (r = 0.38, p = 0.004), which remained significant after controlling for age (r = 0.53, p < 0.001). Additionally, Latino-identifying children in our sample tended to have fewer Spanish books at home (r = -0.49, p < 0.001), raising concerns about disparities in access to literacy resources. These findings highlight the importance of Spanish-language materials in supporting bilingual literacy development. Future research should explore how independent reading habits, parental language use, and media exposure contribute to Spanish fluency, as well as investigate structural barriers to book access in Latino households. By identifying factors that promote bilingual literacy, this study contributes to ongoing efforts to support reading development in multilingual contexts.
