Children's Home Language Research Articles

Supporting Young Children's Oral Language and Writing Development: Teachers' and Early Childhood Educators' Goals and Practices

THIS PAPER REPORTS ON interview research involving 36 primary teachers and early childhood educators from northern communities in four Canadian provinces. Interview responses show that participants support young children's oral language by creating meaningful contexts to use language for a variety of purposes. They use repetition and provide contextual information when teaching vocabulary through songs, rhymes, visuals and dramatic play. Those who teach indigenous and French Immersion students identify a need to learn more about bridging children's home and school cultures and languages. Although participants value writing as a social practice, their teaching focuses on supporting children's fine motor development and understandings about concepts about print. Given the importance of oral and written language to children's learning, our research has potential to bring needed attention to professional development needs in these two important areas.

Associations between child home language, gender, bilingualism and school readiness: A population-based study

This paper examines school readiness profiles of kindergarten children for the largest language groups in British Columbia, Canada. School readiness data were drawn from a population-level database that contains teacher ratings of children's school readiness, obtained via the Early Development Instrument (EDI; Janus & Offord, 2007). School readiness profiles (N=95,537) were compared according to children's home language background (English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, and Tagalog) serving as a proxy for cultural/ethno-cultural background, and gender (49% female). Furthermore, children speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, Punjabi, or Tagalog as their home language were divided into monolingual and bilingual groups according to their English proficiency, using administrative records of children’s home language and English Language Learner (ELL) status. Analyses were conducted via multilevel modeling, controlling for the nested structure of the data (children within classrooms) and for children's families’ socioeconomic status (i.e., income). The most prominent findings were that bilingual children were rated higher than the overall average on virtually every aspect of school readiness. Cantonese and Mandarin speaking children were rated most highly on pre-academic skills, and Punjabi-speaking children on emotional and social competencies and behaviors. English Language Learners in all language groups were rated as being more shy and reluctant to display socially scripted behaviors than non-English Language Learners.

Using dialogic reading to enhance emergent literacy skills of young dual language learners

This study examined the effects of an early reading intervention on preschool-age dual language learners' (DLL) early literacy skills. Instruction in phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge was embedded in interactive reading strategies, also known as dialogic reading. A single subject multiple baseline across subjects design was applied to 15 DLL preschool children. The intervention was delivered in participating children's home language, Spanish (L1). Children's growth in emergent literacy skills in Spanish and in English was monitored during baseline and intervention conditions. Visual analysis of single subject graphs indicated gains across all participants. In addition, paired-samples t-tests showed significant growth between pre- and post-tests in both English and Spanish of participating children. The findings have implications for research, practice, and policy-making.

Teacher feedback to support oral language learning for young dual language learners

With the increasing numbers of dual language learners (DLLs) in early childhood programmes, the use of research-based and effective pedagogical strategies to support oral language learning is important. Early childhood classrooms can provide many opportunities to support language learning. Teacher feedback is an intentional teaching strategy to support oral language skills for both English and children's home language. We first present an overview of contexts for language learning in early childhood including a discussion of intentional teaching. Next, we discuss considerations for early childhood teachers’ provision of feedback to children regarding their oral language use. Finally, we present six teacher feedback strategies to foster oral English and/or home language skills for DLLs.

Home language and literacy practices among immigrant second-language learners

Because certain home language and literacy practices have been found to be beneficial to monolingual children's literacy development, we examine immigrant children's home language and literacy practices in different countries. Presenting findings from 92 post-2000 articles, we examine research into these practices, what factors influence their occurrence, how they influence immigrant children's development of literacy in the societal language, and what factors seem to moderate or mediate the effects of home literacy activities on societal-language literacy. We found that immigrant families engage in a wide variety of oral language and literacy activities at home, but that most of these practices have not been investigated in relation to immigrant children's literacy development. Book reading, the most-studied practice, seems to promote such development. Additional research is needed into the many factors that influence children's literacy development, including government policies and community context. In addition, researchers need to build on existing descriptive and correlational studies to design and implement innovative school curricula and family literacy programs that connect home and school practices and encourage parental involvement in the school.

A Multidimensional Screening Tool for Preschoolers With Externalizing Behavior

Externalizing behavior (EB) in preschool has been found to predict maladjustment later in life. Therefore, it is important to identify children most at risk for continuing EB beyond preschool. To date, a number of questionnaires are available for teachers to assist in identifying those children. A frequently overlooked aspect in this screening process is the consideration of different dimensions of EB instead of the use of broadband scales. Therefore, a brief, user-friendly teacher questionnaire was adapted to capture different dimensions of EB (hyperactivity, opposition, and physical aggression). First, the a priori three-factor structure of this questionnaire was assessed in a large sample of preschoolers ( N = 3,610). Second, factorial invariance of the questionnaire over child gender and child home language was investigated. Results confirmed the three-factor structure of the questionnaire. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance was found for child gender and child home language, which indicates that teachers assigned the same meaning to the three EB-dimensions across these groups.

Using Personal Response Systems to Assess Speech Perception Within the Classroom

The assessment of the combined effect of classroom acoustics and sound field amplification (SFA) on children's speech perception within the "live" classroom poses a challenge to researchers. The goals of this study were to determine: (1) Whether personal response system (PRS) hand-held voting cards, together with a closed-set speech perception test (Chear Auditory Perception Test [CAPT]), provide an appropriate method for evaluating speech perception in the classroom; (2) Whether SFA provides better access to the teacher's speech than without SFA for children, taking into account vocabulary age, middle ear dysfunction or ear-canal wax, and home language. Forty-four children from two school-year groups, year 2 (aged 6 years 11 months to 7 years 10 months) and year 3 (aged 7 years 11 months to 8 years 10 months) were tested in two classrooms, using a shortened version of the four-alternative consonant discrimination section of the CAPT. All children used a PRS to register their chosen response, which they selected from four options displayed on the interactive whiteboard. The classrooms were located in a 19th-century school in central London, United Kingdom. Each child sat at their usual position in the room while target speech stimuli were presented either in quiet or in noise. The target speech was presented from the front of the classroom at 65 dBA (calibrated at 1 m) and the presented noise level was 46 dBA measured at the center of the classroom. The older children had an additional noise condition with a noise level of 52 dBA. All conditions were presented twice, once with SFA and once without SFA and the order of testing was randomized. White noise from the teacher's right-hand side of the classroom and International Speech Test Signal from the teacher's left-hand side were used, and the noises were matched at the center point of the classroom (10sec averaging [A-weighted]). Each child's expressive vocabulary age and middle ear status were measured individually and each child's home language and any special educational needs were recorded. All children were able to use the PRS handsets, and the CAPT speech perception test was sufficiently sensitive to highlight differences in perception in the different listening conditions. Scores were higher in quiet than in any noise condition. Results showed that group performance was significantly better with SFA than without it. The main demographic predictor of performance was expressive vocabulary age. SFA gave more benefit to the poorer performers in the group. There were no significant effects on performance relating to middle ear status or home language; however, the size of the population was too small to be able to fully explore these aspects in greater detail. PRS together with the CAPT provides a sensitive measure for in situ speech perception testing within the classroom. Vocabulary age has a large effect on a child's ability to perceive the speech signal. SFA leads to improved speech perception, when the speech signal has been degraded because of poor acoustics or background noise and has a particularly large effect for children with lower vocabulary ages.

Variation in Voice Onset Time in Stops in Gurindji Kriol: Picture Naming and Conversational Speech

Gurindji Kriol is the home language of children and adults under about 40 years of age in the traditionally Gurindji-speaking communities of northern Australia. Nearly all words in Gurindji Kriol are derived from Gurindji or from Kriol, both of which have been described as lacking a stop voicing contrast, at least in basilectal varieties in the case of Kriol. In this study, we describe variation in voice onset time in Gurindji Kriol, in both picture naming and in conversational speech by young Gurindji Kriol speaking women. For picture naming, Australian English comparison data are also reported. The results indicate that in Gurindji Kriol, VOT varies systematically in expected ways by place of articulation, and position in word and utterance, but not according to the phonological voicing category of cognate English words. Initial stops tend to have short-lag VOT of up to 30 ms; values can be longer in English code-switched forms. Medial stops tend to have negative VOT. The present data do not suggest a voicing contrast based on VOT.

Implementing Dialogic Reading with Culturally, Linguistically Diverse Preschool Children

The purpose of this research-to-practice article is to describe dialogic reading (DR) as a professional development intervention that took place in a state-funded public universal prekindergarten program, partnering with a university. Our goals were to use a research-based literacy program to measure child outcomes related to vocabulary development in English and Spanish. Through our professional development, faculty at our university provided in-service workshops, consultations, and reflections within community of practice meetings. Children varied in their home language experiences and we used a few data sources to provide insights about children's home language abilities. We categorized children's language exposure as English only, bilingual, and Spanish dominant. Teachers’ fidelity of implementation of weekly DR lessons learned during in-service training was monitored by university faculty. Practical implications of the findings to replicate this research with diverse populations are provided for earl...

Comparing Vowels in Gurindji Kriol and Katherine English: Citation Speech Data

Gurindji Kriol is the home language of children and adults under about 40 years of age in traditionally Gurindji speaking communities of northern Australia. For phonetics and phonology, a significant aspect of the mixed language status of Gurindji Kriol is that, in running speech, approximately two-thirds of word tokens are Kriol-derived, and one-third are Gurindji-derived. In this study, we describe vowel pronunciation in the Kriol-derived words relative to their English cognates, by comparing picture-prompted citation speech from five young Gurindji Kriol speaking women and four young Australian English speaking women from Katherine, the nearest town. The results indicate systematic differences in vowel pronunciation and vowel variability between Gurindji Kriol and Katherine English, in monophthongs and diphthongs. We also consider the vowel variation in these tokens in the context of the likely vowel phoneme inventory in Gurindji Kriol, or the extent of permitted within-category variation in the languages.

Cochlear-implanted children from homes where English is an additional language: findings from a recent audit in one London centre

A 5-year retrospective audit of demographic, audiological, and other records of 147 children implanted at one London centre was conducted. The aim was to detail the number of children implanted, with a specific focus on children from families with English as an additional language (EAL), and to compare these children with children from monolingual English-speaking families on a variety of characteristics known to affect paediatric cochlear implant outcomes. In all, 28% of children were from families where English is an additional language, with 15 different languages recorded. There were no differences between EAL and English-speaking children with respect to age of implantation; bilateral versus unilateral implants or hearing levels in better ear. There were differences between these groups in aetiology, in the occurrence of additional needs, and in educational placements. Information about speech and language outcomes was difficult to gather. Conclusions indicate the need for more detailed record-keeping especially about children's home languages for purposes of planning intervention and for the inclusion of children with EAL in future studies.

Confirming Chanclas: What Early Childhood Teacher Educators Can Learn From Immigrant Preschool Teachers

The immigrant teacher perspective has been largely missing from local and national debates on early childhood pedagogy and has certainly been marginalized in debates about language in early childhood settings. Interviews with dozens of preschool teachers in multiple U.S. cities about children of immigrants' language choices at school (as part of the Children Crossing Borders study) revealed a specific immigrant teacher critique of typical English language modeling techniques. These immigrant teachers reposition children's home languages as a valuable form of expression and thus argue for a more empathetic and constructivist view of children of immigrants. Hearing the perspectives of immigrant preschool teachers is especially important for early childhood educators who are preparing young teachers to serve a growing number of children of immigrants in early childhood settings. This article asserts that early childhood educators need to talk honestly with students about the implications of their responses to children of immigrants in the classroom and in doing so, can benefit from consulting the personal experiences and perspectives of practicing immigrant preschool teachers.

Children's Representations of Cultural Scripts in Play: Facilitating Transition From Home to Preschool in an Intercultural Early Learning Program for Refugee Children

This article focuses on the role of play as a cultural activity in refugee children's transition from home to preschool. The “culture-free” view of play as a means for development of a “universal” child was challenged and an alternative view presented of play as a culturally leading activity in the development of a culturally situated child based on the work of Vygotsky and Leont'ev. That view framed a community-initiated project that aimed at providing learning opportunities in both children's home languages (first language [L1]) and English (second language), so a smooth transition from home to school cultures is provided for the children. The program was unique in that 4 languages were spoken in the classroom (i.e., Kurdish, Somali, Sudanese Arabic, and English) by both the children and the L1 facilitators chosen by their respective ethnocultural communities. The pilot study that used the Participatory Action and Learning methodology demonstrated that the intercultural approach to education could open possibilities for new directions in early childhood practice in which a hybrid space is open for children and adults who share it to bring their knowledge and ways of being in the world. In this space, play is a vehicle for preserving cultural group identities while creating a common culture.

The Prevalence and Risks of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in Toronto, Canada

To determine the prevalence and risks of early childhood caries (ECC) among children less than 71 months of age in Toronto, Canada, and to evaluate the association between parental/caregiver depression and ECC. A secondary analysis of data previously collected by the Toronto Public Health as part of the 2003 Toronto Perinatal and Child Health Survey was performed. The 90-item survey was conducted over the telephone to 1,000 families with children from zero years (birth) to six years of age. Parents/caregivers were asked about factors related to the development and health of their children. For this study, only children younger than six years of age (less than 71 months) were included (n=833). The primary outcome of interest was self-reported and measured by the response to the question of whether a physician/dentist had ever told the parent/caregiver his/her child had ECC. The prevalence of ECC was 4.7 percent (37 of 791 children). The child's age, his/her history of dental visits, teeth brushing, the use of fluoridated toothpaste, the parent's/caregiver's depressive tendencies, the language spoken at home, and the household annual income were all significant in the bivariate analysis. Multiple logistic regression identified four factors associated with ECC: the child's age (being three years of age or older), having at least one parent/caregiver with depression, not speaking English at home, and having an annual household income less than $40,000 in Canadian dollars (CAD). While a child's age, home language, and household income are known risks for ECC, the finding that parental/caregiver depression may be related to ECC is new. Multiple risk factors are involved in the development of early childhood caries. Of particular importance are demographic (e.g., child's age), social (e.g., annual household income), and psychosocial factors (e.g., parental/caregiver depression) that are indirectly linked to ECC. More attention needs to be placed on understanding the role and process by which these factors influence the development of ECC.

Biliteracy and Bilingual Development in a Second-Generation Korean Child: A Case Study

Through case study methodology, this study examined how a second-generation bilingual child developed his two languages and associated literacies, the role of the parents' and child's goals as well as the family's daily effort to attain those goals, and the influences of environmental, social, and cultural factors. Based on sociocultural theoretical frameworks, extensive qualitative data from multiple sources were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, document reviews, and informal/narrative assessments of the focal child's bilingual and biliteracy development over 10 months. Findings suggest that the focal child's oral home language and literacy were supported through tutoring and heritage language school attendance, the family's value on bilingualism and biliteracy, and the parents' significant financial resources. Consequently, the focal child made gains in Korean literacy. Nevertheless, this child's Korean language abilities were largely supplanted by his rapidly growing oral English language and literacy abilities, in part due to his all-English schooling. This study has implications for families, educators, and researchers who hope to support children's oral language and literacy abilities in two languages: English and their heritage language.

Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities

Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities

Variability in Community Characteristics and Spanish-Speaking Children's Home Language and Literacy Opportunities

Drawing on data from 14 communities in California and Texas, this paper examines the variability in language and literacy resources across communities with large numbers of Latino families. Spanish-speaking children live in communities that vary considerably with respect to language use, ethnic composition and education levels. Children's community experiences vary with respect to exposure to English and Spanish and in terms of access to print materials in one or both languages. Immigrant Spanish-speaking families residing in these communities also demonstrate variation with respect to home literacy practices. However, community-level characteristics only modestly predict a few aspects of children's language and literacy experiences. While this suggests that community characteristics can influence children's language and literacy opportunities (relative to Spanish-speaking children in other communities), the weak associations also show that educators should not presume to know children's home language and literacy experiences based on observable community characteristics. Overall, school-related literacy was the most common and frequent type of literacy activity in the home across communities. Schools provided literacy materials and activities to families in communities where they were lacking, thereby helping compensate for an overall scarcity of literacy opportunities for children in the low-income communities in which they resided.

It's Not Just about Teaching Kids to Read: Helping Preservice Teachers Acquire a Mindset for Teaching Children in Urban Communities

This study looks at preservice teachers' attitudes toward children and teaching in an urban high-poverty community in relation to their involvement in two different literacy education experiences: one literacy course sequence addressed issues of cultural diversity with respect to this community, and the other did not explicitly address these issues. The study specifically examines preservice teachers' (a) attitudes toward children's literacy potential, (b) confidence in teaching children to read, and (c) interest in teaching in urban schools. The diversity-oriented literacy experience, combined with highly satisfying field placements, positively affected preservice teacher's confidence and interest in teaching children in this community. Further, these preservice teachers tended to recognize children's literacy potential, while those who took the more typical literacy courses tended to doubt these children's literacy abilities. They also exited the diversity-oriented literacy courses with an enriched sense of children's culture and home language, although their awareness of literacy as culturally situated practice remained superficial. Analysis of preservice teachers' cultural autobiographies provided evidence that they acquired many new understandings about race, class, culture, literacy, children, and teaching in the first literacy course. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for reforming preservice teacher curricula and forming stronger alliances with schools in high-poverty communities. What happens in classrooms is first and foremost about the personal and collective connections that exist among the individuals who inhabit those spaces. Consequently, teachers' beliefs and values, how these are communicated to students through teaching practices and behaviors and their impact on the lives of students—these are the factors that make teaching so consequential in the lives of many people (Nieto, 1999, p. 130).

Increases in the verbal and fluid cognitive abilities of disadvantaged children attending preschool in the Netherlands

Abstract The current longitudinal study examined the development of general cognitive abilities of 4–6-year-old children of low-income, ethnic-minority families in preschool over two and a half years by determining the changes in general, and in verbal and fluid cognitive abilities, relative to age norms, using an intelligence test. The results revealed significant increases over time, relative to age norms, in full scale and in both verbal and fluid intelligence test scores of disadvantaged children, with medium effect sizes. These gains in measured intelligence were moderated by children's home language and age. Children who gained most also profited most from their increased abilities with respect to emergent school skills. Gains in verbal intelligence predicted emergent school vocabulary, but gains in fluid intelligence did not. Overall, gains in fluid intelligence predicted emergent math skills, and gains in verbal intelligence predicted emergent math skills only among older children.

Early Language and Reading Development of Bilingual Preschoolers From Low-Income Families.

Learning to read is a complex process and a number of factors affect a child's success in beginning reading. This complexity increases when a child's home language differs from that of the school and when the child comes from a home with limited economic resources. This article discusses factors that have been shown to contribute to children's success in early reading, namely-phonological awareness, letter-word identification, oral language, and the home literacy environment. Preliminary evidence suggests that bilingual children from low-income backgrounds initially perform poorly on phonological awareness and letter identification tasks, but appear to acquire these abilities quickly in kindergarten once these abilities are emphasized in early reading instruction. In addition, the findings show that bilingual preschoolers' receptive language abilities in English and Spanish positively impact their early letter-word identification abilities at the end of kindergarten. A positive relationship between bilingual preschoolers' home literacy environment and early reading outcomes has not been found to date. Educational implications for serving young, bilingual children from programs such as Head Start are discussed.