The Cross-Linguistic Reading Strategies Used by Elementary Students in French Immersion as They Engage with Dual-Language Children's Books

This study explores the cross-linguistic reading strategies that 16 Grade 3-4 French immersion pupils schooled in Saskatchewan used while reading two types of dual-language children's books: translated and integrated. In the first type, the same text appears in both French and English, whereas in the second one, English and French are integrated in such a way that passages in one language are not a translation of passages in the other. Participants read parts of both books and were asked to report on how they read and made sense of each page; they also took part in a retrospective interview that focused on how they engaged with both languages in each book type. Using a moderate inductive approach, the interviews were analysed and four cross-linguistic reading strategies were identified: the use of equivalent passages in the other language, the use of cognates, the use of context in the other language, and the recognition of the book's structural features. The use of these strategies differed according to the type of dual-language book. Findings are discussed in terms of the differences between the two books' structure and the pedagogical considerations related to dual-language children's books in French immersion.