This study determined the degree to which the phonological and executive components of memory reflect language–specific capacities in reading achievement. We tested whether the memory processes in a sample of English–language learners that played a major role in predicting second–language acquisition and risk for reading disability (RD) in Grade 1 (Swanson, Sáez, Gerber, & Leafstedt, 2004) also predicted reading performance in Grade 2. The present results showed that Spanish short–term memory (STM) performance in Grade 1 predicted basic Spanish–reading skills and Spanish comprehension in Grade 2, whereas Grade 1 English STM performance predicted English vocabulary and English comprehension in Grade 2. More importantly, children at risk for RD in Grade 1 differed from the counterparts in Grade 2 on both English and Spanish measures of reading, whereas their memory deficits were isolated to Spanish STM and working memory (WM). The relationship between language–specific processes in memory and reading are discussed.
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