READING COMPREHENSION AMONG PONTIAN GREEK STUDENTS FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION DURING UPPER ELEMENTARY YEARS

Abstract

Reading comprehension skills are viewed as essential not only to academic
learning, but also to life-long learning. This study assessed reading
comprehension among Pontian Greek elementary students from the Former Soviet
Union (Greek FSU-Pontians), one the largest minority groups found in Greek
schools frequently identified as demonstrating low academic performance. By
assessing Greek FSU-Pontian students' reading comprehension, one potential
contributing factor influencing their low academic performance was investigated.
A matched sample of 188 students attending the highest three years of Greek
elementary school participated: 94 Greek FSU-Pontian students (47 boys, 47
girls) and 94 Greek classmates (47 boys, 47 girls). Youth were assessed using a
Greek language acquisition competence test that included two subtests of reading
comprehension. Results indicated that these Greek FSU-Pontian students perform
similarly to their Greek counterparts on standardized reading comprehension
assessments and their proficiency with the Modern Greek language is comparable
to native Greek-speaking peers. Implications for the future research are
presented.

Keywords: FSU-Pontian students, bilingualism, diglossia, reading comprehension