Resumen de Metalinguistic awareness mediates effects of full biliteracy on third-language reading proficiency in Turkish–German bilinguals

Dominique P. Rauch, Johannes Naumann, Nina Jude

• Bilingualism has been reported to be positively associated with both metalinguistic awareness and third-language (L3) acquisition. In the present research, the assumptions were tested that literacy in both first (L1) and second (L2) language (full biliteracy) is needed for bilingualism to be positively associated with L3 reading proficiency, and that positive effects of full biliteracy on L3 reading proficiency are mediated through metalinguistic awareness. L1, L2 and L3 reading proficiency and metalinguistic awareness were measured in 299 German and Turkish-German secondary school students. Overall, fully biliterate students outperformed monolingual and partially biliterate students in both L3 (ΔR2 = .07) and metalinguistic awareness (ΔR2 = .06). An effect of full biliteracy on L3 reading proficiency persisted when SES, gender, general cognitive ability and school track were controlled for. In addition, within the group of biliterate students, positive effects of the individual degree of biliteracy on L3 reading proficiency could be shown to be an indirect effect that was mediated through metalinguistic awareness.