Erfassung früher Schriftsprachkompetenz mit „Concepts about Print“ (CaP)

Zusammenfassung. Gängige Diagnostikverfahren zur Prävention von Lese- Rechtschreibschwierigkeiten erfassen typischerweise sprachliche und metasprachliche Kompetenzen der Kinder. Bedeutsam für die spätere Lesekompetenz sind jedoch auch die, in der literalen Praxis mit Büchern erworbenen, schrift- bzw. buchbezogenen Kenntnisse, die sog. „concepts about print“ (cap). Für sie steht bislang kein standardisiertes deutschsprachiges Verfahren zur Verfügung. Daher wurde das gleichnamige englischsprachige Verfahren CaP von Clay (2000a) adaptiert und in einer Pilotstudie an n = 30 einsprachig deutschen Vorschulkindern erprobt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Aufgaben zu konzeptionellen Aspekten der Schriftsprache wie Leserichtung, deutlich geringere Schwierigkeitsindizes aufweisen als Aufgaben zu medialen Aspekten wie Wort für Wort lesen. Zudem ergeben sich teils nur geringe Zusammenhänge zwischen den CaP-Werten und der literalen Praxis in Kita oder Familie. Der erwartungsgemäß hohe Zusammenhang mit dem Untertest zur visuellen Aufmerksamkeit aus dem BISC dagegen liefert einen ersten Hinweis auf konvergente Validität des CaP. Anwendungsbereich, Grenzen und Verbesserungsbedarf des Verfahrens werden diskutiert.

Development of vocabulary in Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking English language learners

ABSTRACTThis study examines vocabulary growth rates in first and second languages for Spanish-speaking and Cantonese-speaking English language learners from kindergarten through second grade. Growth-modeling results show a within-language effect of concepts about print on vocabulary. Language exposure also had an effect on English vocabulary: earlier English exposure led to larger English vocabulary in kindergarten. There was no interference of early English exposure on native-language vocabulary. Moreover, Cantonese-speaking children had higher English expressive vocabulary scores than Spanish-speaking children and this difference remained for the 3 years. In contrast, although there were no significant differences in first language vocabulary at the start of kindergarten, Spanish-speaking children had steeper growth rates in first-language vocabulary than Cantonese-speaking children, after controlling for language of instruction and first-language concepts about print.

On the contribution of kindergarten writing to grade 1 literacy: A longitudinal study in Hebrew

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between kindergarten word writing and grade 1 literacy in a large sample of Israeli children. In kindergarten, a majority of children produced writing which displayed most of the graphospatial characteristics of conventional word writing, although only one-third of the children demonstrated a working knowledge of the alphabetic principle. Kindergarten writing significantly predicted variance in all three measures of grade 1 literacy (decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension), even after controlling for general intelligence. We also investigated the role of alphabetic skills and socioliteracy variables in accounting for the predictive power of kindergarten writing. Kindergarten alphabetic skills (phonemic awareness and knowledge of letter names), but not socioliteracy factors (parental print exposure, parents' reading to child, and Clay's Concepts about Print), explained all the variance contributed by kindergarten writing to grade 1 decoding and spelling. In the case of reading comprehension, both alphabetic and socioliteracy variables were able to account for the predictive power of kindergarten writing. As a precursor of reading comprehension, kindergarten writing appears to reflect both domain-specific alphabetic skills and broader socioliteracy factors underlying the higher order cognitive competencies essential for comprehending text.

Early Literacy: A Developmental and Comparative Analysis

In two experiments, the acquisition of literacy skills by three to six year olds was examined to (1) assess a possible developmental sequence of knowledge about print and word reading, and (2) compare the skill levels of good and poor six year old readers using a developmental model.The first experiment involved 30 three, four and five year olds from a preschool and primary school who were assessed on a battery of tasks designed to measure five aspects of awareness of print and word reading concepts. The five aspects assessed were concepts about print, graphic awareness, phonemic awareness, grapheme-phoneme correspondence knowledge and word reading. Analysis of the data showed a developmental expansion of print related concepts and skills with age.In the second experiment, using similar methodology, 25 good six year old readers performed significantly better than 22 poor six year old readers across all component measures and a developmental lag reading disability model was thus implied.

Language development, metalinguistic awareness, and emergent literacy skills of 3-year-old children in relation to social class

ABSTRACTThis is an investigation of the relationships among selected aspects of normal language development, emerging metalinguistic skills, concepts about print, and family literacy experiences in 3-year-old children who vary in their socioeconomic backgrounds. Forty-three normally developing children, whose family incomes ranged from under $10,000 to over $100,000, were given 4 tests of language development; 12 metalinguistic tasks measuring phonological awareness, word awareness, and structural awareness; and 2 measures of literacy knowledge. The children's family literacy experiences were described following a parent interview. The data analysis had two main purposes. The first was to examine the family literacy experiences of the children using a qualitative analysis. The second was to describe, in a quantitative way, the relationships among family literacy experiences, socioeconomic factors, language development, metalinguistic performance, and concepts about print. The interview data revealed that, while parents varied in the emphasis they placed on literacy activities, all of the children were at least somewhat involved in literacy activities at home; family report of literacy activities was associated with family income. Quantitative analyses revealed that amount of family literacy involvement and the children's race were related to oral language development, and language development was the most powerful predictor of metalinguistic awareness. When language development was controlled statistically, family literacy and socioeconomic factors had negligible effects on metalinguistic skills; however, knowledge of print concepts was related to metalinguistic performance, especially in the phonological domain, and was associated with the children's family literacy experiences, maternal education, and race.

Shared Reading Experiences and Head Start Children's Concepts about Print and Story Structure

Differences among three groups of 24 4-yr.-old Head Start children's responses on concepts about print and story structure were found in scores on print concepts for the group given shared reading experiences with predictable books versus placebo and control groups, but no differences were observed in scores on story structure.

Language development, metalinguistic skills, and print awareness in 3-year-old children

This is an investigation of the relationships among selected aspects of normal language development, emerging metalinguistic skills, and concepts about print in 3-year-old children. Forty–three normally developing children were given four tests of language development; twelve metalinguistic tasks measuring phonological awareness, word awareness, and structural awareness; and two measures of literacy knowledge. The results clearly demonstrated that most 3-year-olds can make metalinguistic judgments and productions in structured tasks, with overall metalinguistic performance improving with age in months. Specific metalinguistic tasks varied in difficulty and probably in developmental order. The major domains of metalinguistic awareness (phonological, word, and structural) were significantly intercorrelated and also correlated with overall linguistic skill. Literacy knowledge was positively correlated with overall metalinguistic skill and, specifically, with phonological awareness. It is concluded that, as young as age 3, children are already rapidly developing a mental framework for analyzing language structure separately from language meaning