Grammatical understanding predicts reading comprehension in secondary-level students: insights from a Finnish national survey

Abstract

A lot of research into the relationship between explicit grammatical understanding and literacy development in L1 contexts has focused on writing. A lot less is known, however, about the interconnectedness of explicit grammatical understanding and reading. This study investigated the relationship between grammatical understanding and reading comprehension in Finnish 9th grade students. Using national assessment data (N=6,044) and multilevel quantitative analyses, the study found that explicit grammatical understanding accounted for a significant portion of the variance in reading skills, even after controlling for various background factors such as school, family socioeconomic status, homework and book reading habits, attitudes towards studying L1, and writing ability. The findings suggest, without implying causality, that understanding language structure and making explicit metalinguistic observations are closely connected to reading comprehension. The study encourages further research on the benefits of explicit grammar teaching for reading comprehension using different study designs. Additionally, it highlights the need to investigate how grammar instruction can be linked to reading, as well as explore the effectiveness of such instruction in different educational and linguistic contexts.