A whole lot of holes

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to explore the relation between joint picture-book-reading experiences provided in the home and children's early oral language skills. Subjects were 41 two-year-old children and their mothers. Measures included maternal report of the age at which she began to read to the child, the frequency of home reading sessions, the number of stories read per week, and the frequency of visits by the child to the local library. Measures of language skill used were the child's receptive and expressive scores on the revised Reynell Developmental Language Scales. Multiple regression analyses indicated that picture-book reading exposure was more strongly related to receptive than to expressive language. Age of onset of home reading routines was the most important predictor of oral language skills. Directions of effect, the importance of parental beliefs as determinants of home reading practices, and the possible existence of a threshold level for reading frequency are discussed.

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What Impacts Early Language Skills? Effects of Social Disparities and Different Process Characteristics of the Home Learning Environment in the First 2 Years

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2020.557751 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Manja Attig ◽

Sabine Weinert

Keyword(s):

Academic Success ◽

Learning Environment ◽

Picture Book ◽

Language Skills ◽

Panel Study ◽

Socioeconomic Background ◽

Book Reading ◽

Home Learning Environment ◽

Process Characteristics ◽

Home Learning

It is well documented that the language skills of preschool children differ substantially and that these differences are highly predictive of their later academic success and achievements. Especially in the early phases of children’s lives, the importance of different structural and process characteristics of the home learning environment (HLE) has been emphasized and research results have documented that process characteristics such as the quality of parental interaction behavior and the frequency of joint activities vary according to the socio-economic status (SES) of the family. Further, both structural and process characteristics are associated with children’s language development. As most of the studies focus on single indicators or didn’t take the dynamics of parenting behavior across age into account, the present paper aims to investigate the associations of different characteristics of the home learning environment as well as their potentially changing impact on the language skills of 2-year-old children. Using data of 2.272 families of the infant cohort study of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), longitudinally assessed process characteristics (sensitivity in the sense of maternal responsivity to the child’s behavior and signals in mother–child interaction; maternal stimulation behavior which goes beyond the child’s actual level of action and development; frequency of joint picture book reading) and structural characteristics (mother’s education, equivalised household income, parental occupational status) were considered. Language skills (vocabulary and grammar) of the children at the age of two were measured by a standardized and validated parent report instrument (child language checklist). Results showed that (1) all three process characteristics of the home learning environment (HLE) are associated with the family’s SES; (2) across three assessment waves nearly all process characteristics predicted children’s vocabulary and grammar skills with some process-specific changes across waves; (3) despite separate direct effects of nearly all HLE-process characteristics in each wave, the amount of explained variance in a joint model including the HLE facets from each wave is hardly higher than in the separate models; and (4) socioeconomic background predicted both language facets of the children in each model even when controlling for the assessed process characteristics of the home learning environment.

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Narrative production skills of language minority learners and their English-only classmates in early adolescence

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716415000314 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 933-961 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

PERLA B. GÁMEZ ◽

NONIE K. LESAUX ◽

ANDREA ANUSHKO RIZZO

Keyword(s):

Early Adolescence ◽

Picture Book ◽

Language Skills ◽

The United States ◽

Language Minority ◽

Early Adolescent ◽

Story Structure ◽

English Only ◽

Spanish Speaking ◽

Narrative Production

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the narrative production skills of early-adolescent, Spanish-speaking language minority (LM) learners (n = 43) and their English-only (EO) peers (n = 38). The sample was born in the United States, educated in English, and representative of low- and high-income backgrounds. Using a picture book as a prompt, students’ narratives were transcribed, coded, and compared on macrostructure skills (story structure), microstructure skills (discrete language skills: vocabulary and grammar), and use of mazes (disruptions in speech). Results demonstrated that the groups did not differ on story structure. However, LM learners produced lengthier narratives than their EO peers, ones that resulted in stories that were less grammatically diverse and included more grammatical revisions and errors in prepositions. Thus, by early adolescence, EO and LM learners in urban schools may have well-developed macrostructure skills, yet the LM learners may still be developing specific microstructure skills.

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Toward Digital Picture Books for a New Generation of Emergent Readers

AERA Open ◽

10.1177/23328584211063874 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 233285842110638

Author(s):

Adriana G. Bus ◽

Rosalie Anstadt

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

Language Proficiency ◽

Picture Book ◽

Language Skills ◽

Still Images ◽

Time Processing ◽

Digital Picture ◽

New Information ◽

Processing Information ◽

New Generation

The study tests the efficacy of a new sort of digital picture book. It includes camera movements to guide children’s visual attention through the pictures and the possibility to control page-turning and the pace at which the camera moves through pictures. There were 56 participants (Mage = 60.34 months, SD = 6.24) randomly assigned to three conditions: still images, camera movements (no control over pace), and camera movements (control over pace). For the 50% of children least proficient in language skills, sparingly adding well-chosen camera movements to the illustrations helps children understand the story. In addition, the camera movements’ effect can be enhanced by enabling control over the pace at which new information appears. Particularly the 50% low-language proficiency children benefited from camera movements and spending more time processing information.

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Effects of picture book Reading on Improvement of Language Skills of Children in Multi-Culture Family

The Journal of Special Children Education ◽

10.21075/kacsn.2010.12.2.255 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 255-272

Author(s):

선애순 ◽

Shoonhwang Kwon

Keyword(s):

Picture Book ◽

Language Skills ◽

Book Reading ◽

Picture Book Reading

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Development of Picture Book Media for Expressive Language Skills of Children With Autism

Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics ◽

10.21462/ijefl.v4i1.94 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Resha Fitria Suistika ◽

Ishartiwi Ishartiwi

Keyword(s):

Learning Process ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Communication Theory ◽

Picture Book ◽

Language Skills ◽

Expressive Language ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Design Development ◽

The Media ◽

Selection Of

The expressive language skills of children with autism can be improved through teaching and learning. One of the factors supporting the success of teaching and learning process in improving the expressive language skills of children with autism is the selection of media which is in accordance with the characteristic of children with autism as target of learning. Children with autism are known to conceive information based on visual as their characteristic, so visual-based media will be more effectively in the learning process. This study uses the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) development model that aims to develop visual-based media that can accommodate the expressive language skills of children with autism. The media developed is in form book-shaped media that contains a combination of writing and image illustration. This study produces a decent picture book media based on material conformity with curriculum, grammar used, media display, and communication theory used.

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African American and Caucasian Preschoolers’ Use of Decontextualized Language

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461(2004/023) ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 35 (3) ◽

pp. 240-253 ◽

Cited By ~ 101

Author(s):

Stephanie M. Curenton ◽

Laura M. Justice

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Ethnic Groups ◽

Low Income ◽

Picture Book ◽

Language Skills ◽

Age Groups ◽

Noun Phrases ◽

Clinical Implications ◽

Preschool Period ◽

Age Related

Purpose: Low-income preschoolers’ use of literate language features in oral narratives across three age groups (3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) and two ethnic groups (Caucasian and African American) was examined. Method: Sixty-seven preschoolers generated a story using a wordless picture book. The literate language features examined were simple and complex elaborated noun phrases, adverbs, conjunctions, and mental/linguistic verbs. Results: Literate language features occurred at measurable rates for 3- to 5-year-old children. Conjunction use was positively associated with the use of complex elaborated noun phrases and adverbs, and the use of complex and simple elaborated noun phrases was inversely related. There were no differences between African American and Caucasian children’s usage rates. Age-related differences were observed in the use of mental/linguistic verbs and conjunctions. Clinical Implications: The importance of supporting decontextualized language skills during the preschool period is discussed.

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