Growth and predictors of change in English language learners’ reading comprehension Fataneh Farnia Hincks-Dellcrest Centre/Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Canada Esther Geva Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada This study modelled reading comprehension trajectories in Grades 4 to 6 English language learners (ELLs = 400), with different home language backgrounds, and in English monolinguals (EL1s = 153), and examined an augmented Simple View of Reading model. The contribution of Grade 1 (early) and Grade 4 (late) cognitive, language and word-level reading to Grade 6 reading comprehension was examined. The reading comprehension trajectory was non-linear in ELLs but linear in EL1s. Syntax predicted consistently rate of growth in reading comprehension. ELLs consistently underperformed EL1s on reading comprehension. Word-level reading and all components of language (vocabulary, syntax and listening comprehension) remained stable predictors of Grade 6 reading comprehension. Grade 1 phonological awareness, naming speed and working memory predicted reading comprehension in Grade 6, as did Grade 4 phonological short-term memory. Results support an augmented Simple View of Reading that includes cognitive, word-level and language components, and underscore the importance of considering developmental changes in the constructs. Introduction Growth and predictors of change in ELL reading comprehension Two complementary perspectives form the backbone of this study of reading compre- hension in English language learners (ELLs) and monolingual English-speaking (EL1) students – a long-term developmental perspective and a modelling perspective. Although a range of studies show that reading comprehension is an area of weakness for L2 learners, not much is known about long-term developmental growth patterns in reading comprehension of ELLs or in EL1s in upper elementary grades. Moreover, it is not clear whether growth patterns associated with reading comprehension are similar in ELLs and EL1s. A model of reading development that has received much attention is the Simple View of Reading (SVR) (Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Hoover & Gough, 1990). According to the SVR model, clusters of variables associated with Copyright © 2013 UKLA. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA Journal of Research in Reading, ISSN 0141-0423 DOI:10.1111/jrir.12003 Volume 36, Issue 4, 2013, pp 389–421