Contributions of Abstract Extratextual Talk and Interactive Style to Preschoolers' Vocabulary Development.

Amber Muhinyi,Caroline F Rowland

doi:10.1017/s0305000921000696

Abstract

Caregiver abstract talk during shared reading predicts preschool-age children's vocabulary development. However, previous research has focused on level of abstraction with less consideration of the style of extratextual talk. Here, we investigated the relation between these two dimensions of extratextual talk, and their contributions to variance in children's vocabulary skills. Caregiver level of abstraction was associated with an interactive reading style. Controlling for socioeconomic status and child age, high interactivity predicted children's concurrent vocabulary skills whereas abstraction did not. Controlling for earlier vocabulary skills, neither dimension of the extratextual talk predicted later vocabulary. Theoretical and practical relevance are discussed.

Highlights

Caregivers’ extratextual talk during shared-book reading is a stronger predictor of preschoolers’ vocabulary skills than frequent reading (Roberts, Jurgens & Burchinal, 2005; Zucker, Cabell, Justice, Pentimonti & Kaderavek, 2013)
Proportional measures were used in subsequent analyses, as we were interested in the quality of extratextual talk
We investigated the relation between the level of abstraction and an interactive style during shared reading, and their separate contributions to variance in preschool-age children’s vocabulary skills

Summary

Introduction

Caregivers’ extratextual talk (verbal deviations from the print) during shared-book reading is a stronger predictor of preschoolers’ vocabulary skills than frequent reading (Roberts, Jurgens & Burchinal, 2005; Zucker, Cabell, Justice, Pentimonti & Kaderavek, 2013). One aspect of the extratextual talk considered especially beneficial for language development in the preschool years is the more challenging, ABSTRACT TALK ( known as decontextualized, inferential, high-demand, and non-immediate talk). Such talk – connecting the book to the child’s life, predictions, and explanations – contrasts with concrete language such as labelling and describing the pictures, and predicts vocabulary and emergent literacy skills into the school years (DeTemple, 2001; Dickinson & Porche, 2011; Dickinson & Smith, 1994; Hindman, Connor, Jewkes & Morrison, 2008). Abstract talk provides children with the opportunity to learn a more diverse syntax and vocabulary, and can strengthen semantic networks (Blewitt, Rump, Shealy & Cook, 2009)

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