Wordless Picture Book Research Articles

A literature review on the benefits of wordless picture books for children’s development.

Wordless picture books contain no printed text, a narrative is conveyed solely through illustrations. Professionals are not always convinced of the usefulness of wordless picture books, and an overview of the benefits or disadvantages of these books is also lacking. The aims of this review study were to 1) investigate the benefits and/or disadvantages of wordless picture books for children’s development, and 2) provide an overview of the characteristics of research on using wordless picture books with children. A systematic search yielded 35 peer-reviewed articles on the use of wordless picture books with children (aged 0 to 12). These articles show that wordless books may benefit children’s speech and language development and their psychosocial development. Wordless books may also have a positive impact on children’s environment, which may in turn benefit child development. For example, adults seem to interact with wordless picture books in such a way that they provide the right preconditions for children’s language development. Research on wordless picture books is characterised by small-scale studies with young English-speaking children. Studies with larger and other participant groups are needed. Nevertheless, this study provides evidence that wordless picture books are a promising tool for benefiting children's development.

글 없는 그림책 연구 동향 분석 : 키워드 네트워크 분석 및 토픽모델링을 중심으로

This study explores research trends in wordless picture books using text mining techniques. For this purpose, abstracts of 181 articles were collected, and then data preprocessing and analysis were performed. In the data analysis process, keyword network analysis and topic modeling analysis were performed. The keyword analysis showed that the most frequent word was ''young children'', followed by ''storytelling'' and ''wordless picture book activities''. The network analysis showed that the strength of the connections between ''wordless picture book activities → young children'' and ''using wordless picture books → young children'' was high. This suggests that in studies of wordless picture books, the use of picture book activities or wordless picture books is mainly targeted at young children. Topic modeling resulted in four themes: multicultural approach and visual literacy, playfulness and artistic development, integration of language and art, and methodology of integration and repetition. This study is significant in that it identifies major research themes in the field of wordless picture books and suggests future research directions.

Image perception and reception in wordless picture books: Eye movements of children with intellectual disabilities.

Wordless picture books enhance comprehension and vocabulary growth and motivate children with intellectual disabilities (ID) to participate in literary activities. However, the reception of picture books can be challenging because deliberate selective attention processes and recognition of the image's meaning are often delayed. Examining eye movements may help explore these cognitive processes. Therefore, we examined eye movements in 29 children with mild and moderate ID as they explored a wordless picture book, presented on a screen and compared them to 14 typically developing children using a Tobii Pro X3-120 eye tracker. The findings showed that children with moderate ID had shorter fixation duration, fixated less often, and revisited regions of interest less frequently. Our results suggest that children with moderate ID have greater difficulties in selectively directing their attention toward regions of visual input with a high level of informativeness and expend less cognitive effort to understand their meaning.

Disfluencies as a window to macrostructure performance in the narrative of bilingual children

Disfluencies mirror processes of speech production and when examined in both languages of bilingual children, can provide valuable information regarding their linguistic skills. The aim of this study is to characterize the rates and the types of disfluencies across episodes of a narrative as well as across different story grammar (SG) elements in participants’ home language (Russian) and societal language (Hebrew) as a reflection of narrative macrostructure skills. Twenty bilingual Russian-Hebrew children aged 60–78 months produced narratives in Russian and Hebrew using the wordless picture book Frog, Where Are You? (Mayer, 1969). Narratives were transcribed, divided into five episodes, and coded for main SG elements (Character + Setting, Initiating event, Internal response, Plan, Attempt and Consequence). Four types of disfluencies (silent pauses, filled pauses, repetitions, and self-corrections) were analyzed in relation to each SG element per episode in both languages. Overall children produced more SG elements in Russian with a finer analysis showing that Initiating Event, Character and Setting differed across languages while Attempt, Plan and Internal response were similar. Disfluencies significantly impacted macrostructure differently across languages such that in Russian, a high percentage of disfluencies was associated with higher production of Character + Setting and Plan, whereas in Hebrew it was associated with lower production of Attempt and Consequence. The present research suggests that disfluency has impact on macrostructure, and consequently on overall narrative quality differently across the languages. The theoretical contribution may shed light on the understanding of planning and formulation processes among bilingual children. The application of the results may relate to these processes impacting diagnosis and/or intervention protocols in bilingual children.

Narrative Ability in Autism and First-Degree Relatives.

Narrative is an important communication skill for sharing personal experiences and connecting with others. Narrative skills are often impacted in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have important consequences for social interactions and relationships. Subtle differences in narrative have also been reported among first-degree relatives of autistic individuals, suggesting that narrative may also be an etiologically important language-related skill that is influenced by genes associated with ASD. This study examined narrative ability and related visual attention during narration in ASD and first-degree relatives of individuals with ASD (siblings and parents) to understand how narrative and related attentional styles may be variably impacted across the spectrum of ASD genetic influence. Participants included 56 autistic individuals, 42 siblings of autistic individuals, 49 controls, 161 parents of autistic individuals, and 61 parent controls. Narratives were elicited using a wordless picture book presented on an eye tracker to record concurrent gaze. Findings revealed parallel patterns of narrative differences among ASD and sibling groups in the use of causal language to connect story elements and the use of cognitive and affective language. More subtle differences within the domain of causal language were evident in ASD parents. Parallel patterns in the ASD and sibling groups were also found for gaze during narration. Findings implicate causal language as a critical narrative skill that is impacted in ASD and may be reflective of ASD genetic influence in relatives. Gaze patterns during narration suggest similar attentional mechanisms associated with narrative among ASD families.

Shared Book-Reading Amongst Parents of Autistic and Non-Autistic Children

ABSTRACT Shared book-reading (SBR) is a commonplace interaction in the home, yet for families with autistic children, little is known about the types of books parents read with their children, their frequency of reading these books, or how this routine relates to those in families with non-autistic children. This study thus compared the frequency of SBR amongst parents of autistic/non-autistic children, focusing on various book genres (narrative, informational, alphabet, wordless). We also took parents’ variables (age, education, self-efficacy) into consideration. Participants were 216 parents (183 mothers, 33 fathers): 74 with autistic children (Mage = 6.56, SD = 1.33), and 142 without an autism diagnosis (Mage = 4.79, SD = 1.30). Parents of autistic children read wordless picturebooks, narratives, and alphabet books significantly more frequently with their children than those without autism, with no significant differences in terms of overall frequency of SBR. Understanding how these variables relate and interact can facilitate the creation of programmes that more effectively support families’ promotion of children’s literacy development, especially children with autism.

Internal State Terms in the Narratives of Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder: The Role of Microstructure and Macrostructure.

We examined the role of narrative microstructure (production of words and sentences) and narrative macrostructure (organization of events) in the use of internal state terms (ISTs) in narratives of bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD) in their school language (SL). Fifty-eight Russian-Hebrew bilingual preschool children aged 55-78 months divided into two groups participated: 16 bilingual children diagnosed with bilingual DLD and 42 with typical language development (TLD). Narratives were elicited in SL/Hebrew using the wordless picture book, Frog, Where Are You? Narratives were transcribed and coded for frequency of ISTs and classified as perceptual, linguistic, motivational, linguistic, emotional, or physical. ISTs were also examined in terms of their role in microstructure (tokens and types) and macrostructure (Character, Setting, Initiating Event, Internal Response, Plan, Attempt, and Consequence) categories. In terms of microstructure, bilingual children with DLD produced fewer word types and tokens in general and fewer perceptual ISTs than bilingual TLD peers. In terms of macrostructure, children with DLD used six out of the seven story grammar elements in their narratives less than bilinguals with TLD. For ISTs and macrostructure, bilinguals with DLD produced fewer linguistic ISTs in Attempts than their peers with TLD. Bilingual children with DLD have difficulties in producing ISTs, and this difficulty is shown to be related to both microstructure and macrostructure abilities. Suggestions for clinical intervention are offered to assist children with DLD in producing narratives that involve mental state language related to characters' feelings, intentions, and goals.

Early parent-child intervention with Dialogic Book-Sharing: effects on child communicative and socio-emotional development and on parenting. Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial in Italy

BackgroundResearch in the neurosciences has highlighted the importance of intersubjective relationships in promoting neuromental development of the child. Children’s learning in early childhood occurs mainly in a dyadic context of an interaction with their parents: from this perspective, good dialogic parent–child communication is required to be promoted also through good educational practices. Dialogic Book-Sharing (DBS), a dialogic form of parent–child communication through the use of wordless picture books, provides a privileged ‘intersubjective’ space and is highly effective in promoting communication, language, attention, behavioural development and the parent–child relationship. DBS programme, successfully previously trialled in South Africa and the UK, will be applied for the first time in Italy for research purposes in Italian health, educational and maternal-child centres.MethodsA multicentre randomised controlled trial is being conducted to evaluate DBS parenting intervention for children aged between 14 and 20 months. Parent–child dyads are randomly allocated to a book-sharing intervention group or to a wait-list control group. In the intervention, parents are trained in supportive book-sharing with their children by local staff of the centres. DBS intervention is carried out in small groups over a period of 4 weeks. Data are collected at baseline, post-intervention and at 6 months post-intervention with a questionnaire and video recording of parent–child interaction.DiscussionDBS programme in early childhood could enhance the educational resources offered by Italian health, educational and maternal-child centres, in support of child’s development and parenting. DBS represents a strategic opportunity for bringing about positive effects, also in terms of prevention of socio-emotional and cognitive difficulties. As such it represents a promising response to the new social, health and educational needs of the post-COVID-19 pandemic era caused by the social isolation measures. Furthermore, the application of the DBS methodology is a way to promote the use of books, and thereby counteract the excessive use of technological devices already present in early childhood.Trial registrationThe trial is registered on the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number database, registration number ISRCTN11755019 Registered on 2 November 2023. This is version 1 of the protocol for the trial.

Increasing Reading Motivation and Vocabulary of South Asian Children in Hong Kong: A Home–Based Intervention

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study investigated the effectiveness of a home-based intervention in increasing the intrinsic reading motivation and Chinese oral vocabulary of minority South Asian children in Hong Kong. A quasi-experiment was conducted with 78 children (M age = 51.54 months; control: 37 children, intervention: 41 children) and their parents. Intrinsic reading motivation was measured by parent report and oral vocabulary was measured by child direct assessment. The intervention group received picture books, prerecorded stories, and guidance on carrying out home activities over four weeks. The control group received two wordless picture books. After controlling for sociodemographic factors, Multivariate Analysis of Covariance revealed a significant Group X Time interaction. Follow-up tests revealed that children in the intervention group scored higher in posttest intrinsic reading motivation and oral vocabulary than children in the control group. Practice or Policy: These findings support the development of evidence-based interventions to cater for Chinese language learning of South Asian children in Hong Kong and have the potential to inform the design of future intervention programs that aim to enhance the Chinese language proficiency of minority children in Hong Kong and other settings where Chinese is used as a second language.

Examining Adolescent Language Performance in Discourse Production Across Four Elicitation Tasks.

Comprehensive spoken language assessment should include the evaluation of language use in naturalistic contexts. Discourse elicitation and analysis provides the opportunity for such an evaluation to occur. In this article, our overall aim was to describe adolescents' language performance on four elicitation tasks and determine if there are task-related differences across the elicitation tasks. Forty-four typically developing adolescents with ages ranging from 12;2 to 17;11 (years;months; M = 15;2; 21 boys and 23 girls) participated in the study. They completed four spoken discourse tasks: (a) story generation using a wordless picture book, (b) fable retell, (c) six personal narratives in response to emotion-based prompts, and (d) monologic response to two stories that contained a moral dilemma. Responses were transcribed and analyzed for four language performance measures tapping into language productivity, syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, and verbal facility. Despite individual variability in performance, mean scores were close to median scores for most measures, suggesting a symmetrical distribution. As expected, all four language performance measures were significantly different across the four elicitation tasks. The personal narrative task elicited the longest samples, with the highest verbal fluency. In contrast, both lexical diversity and syntactic complexity were the strongest in response to the fable retell and the moral dilemma tasks. This investigation provides speech-language pathologists with an overview of how task-related factors may impact adolescent language performance. These findings may be used to support their clinical decision-making processes in choosing a suitable discourse task when conducting a comprehensive spoken language assessment. Three hypothetical case examples are used to illustrate the decision-making process. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25761768.

Sounds of Silence: Sharing Wordless Picturebooks in the Classroom

AbstractWordless picturebooks are most often used in classroom settings as writing prompts or scaffolds for developing language proficiency. This article introduces and describes a teacher‐led instructional practice that we call silent orchestration. The practice provides a place and space for students' personal transactions with wordless picturebooks situated in a community of learners. Silent orchestration has three main components: preparation, guided exploration, and appreciation. Each component is described and illustrated with an extended vignette from a fifth‐grade classroom.

Narrative Skills in Mandarin–English Dual Language Immersion Learners

Abstract This article investigated the development of narrative production skills among Mandarin-English dual language immersion (DLI) students. A total of 60 children in first (N = 20), third (N = 21), and fifth-sixth (N = 19) grades generated oral narratives from wordless picture books in Mandarin and English. We examined variability in children’s macrostructure and microstructure production by language and grade level. We also examined within-language associations and cross-language transfer in narrative skills. Children in higher grades incorporated more macrostructure and microstructure elements in their narratives than children in lower grades. Within each language, microstructure skills were correlated with macrostructure skills. Evidence for development of shared skills across languages and language-specific patterns of narrative skills were also identified. Results contribute to the growing body of evidence for facilitative transfer in immersion contexts and highlight the importance of measuring outcomes in both the societal and the partner language.

Is Referent Reintroduction More Vulnerable to Crosslinguistic Influence? An Analysis of Referential Choice among Japanese–English Bilingual Children

This study aims to examine whether a crosslinguistic influence (CLI) is exerted on the referring expressions of the spoken narratives of Japanese–English bilingual children in different discourse contexts. Thirteen early bilingual (school-age) children separately presented Japanese and English narratives for a wordless picture book and a speechless video clip. Further, seven Japanese and nine English monolingual children participated as controls. The linguistic devices that the children adopted to introduce, reintroduce, and maintain the topic were compared with those of their monolingual controls to detect any CLI. As predicted, CLI for English on Japanese was observed but not vice versa. In Japanese, bilinguals utilize significantly more noun phrases (NPs) compared with their monolingual counterparts. More crucially, this was observed only in the referent reintroduction context, indicating that only discourse contexts that require the integration of much pragmatic information may be vulnerable to English influence. Null forms are barely utilized in English narratives; thus, no influence from Japanese was observed. We present the referential choice patterns in the elicited spoken narratives of bilingual school-age children acquiring an under-researched language pair. By controlling for the discourse context, we demonstrate that CLI is more likely to manifest in the reintroduction context. These findings offer additional evidence for the interface and structural overlap hypothesis, further highlighting the criticality of considering information structure as an influencing condition.

4∼5세 유아의 발생적 쓰기 발달 양상

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the writing development patterns of 4-5 year old children from the perspective of emergent literacy.
 Methods For this purpose, writing data were collected twice in the first (June) and second (December) semesters from 130 children aged 4 to 5 years in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. To promote children's writing, wordless picture books were used. Data analysis in this study used qualitative content analysis.
 Results The developmental aspects of emergent writing of 4-5 year old children can be divided into ‘pre-conven-tional writing aimed at communication’, ‘language’, and ‘conventions.’ Pre-conventional writing involves ‘picture quality’ and ‘sophistication of symbols.’ Language includes ‘quality of narrative genre’, ‘sophistication of vocabu-lary’, and ‘quantity and quality of ideas.’ Conventions include ‘punctuation and spacing’ and ‘sophistication of spelling.’
 Conclusions Based on these research results, I suggest implications for future writing research and education in young children. Interpretation about children's writing may vary depending on theoretical perspectives on writing, so teachers and parents must have a sufficient understanding of emergent writing. Since young children are active participants in literacy activities, it is necessary to provide a physical, psychological, and human environment for young children. I suggest using wordless picture books as one of the ways to promote children’s writing.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Grammaticality and Utterance Length in Bilingual Children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of two measures derived from spontaneous language samples, mean length of utterance in words (MLUw) and percentage of grammatical utterances (PGU), in identifying developmental language disorder (DLD) in Spanish-English bilingual children. We examined two approaches: best language and total language. The participants in this study included 74 Spanish-English bilingual children with (n = 36) and without (n = 38) DLD. Language samples were elicited through a story retell and story generation task using Frog wordless picture books in English and Spanish. Stories were transcribed and coded using the Systematic Analysis of Language Samples (Miller & Iglesias, 2020) to extract MLUw and PGU in both languages. Logistic regression analyses suggested that a model that included PGU, MLUw, and age achieved the best diagnostic accuracy in predicting group membership. Both approaches, best language and total language, had fair diagnostic accuracy. In combination, PGU and MLUw seem to be useful diagnostic tools to differentiate bilingual children with and without DLD. Clinical implications and usability are discussed.

Evaluating the usefulness of a wordless picture book for adults with intellectual disabilities about the COVID-19 vaccination programme using co-production: The CAREVIS study.

To explore the usefulness of a co-designed wordless book showing processes of receiving COVID-19 vaccines designed by, and for, adults with intellectual disabilities. A qualitative evaluation of the resource using mixed methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people with intellectual disabilities, carers and health professionals about resource content, and use. This was analysed thematically. A survey was circulated to intellectual disabilities networks to understand resource need, use, sharing and content. Understanding the COVID-19 vaccine was a process, not a single event using one resource. A visual resource had a place in facilitating conversations about vaccines between people with intellectual disabilities and carers. Differing perspectives were expressed regarding personal needs, existing awareness of vaccine programmes and communication preferences. Changes were suggested to improve the suggested storyline and relevance around COVID-19 restrictions changing. A visual resource may help conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine for people with intellectual disabilities.

The use of wordless picture book to stimulate EFL students’ oral descriptive text production in speaking class: a case study at junior high school in Ciamis

This research discusses the use of Wordless Picture Books to stimulate EFL students’ oral descriptive text production in speaking class. Particularly, the purpose of this study was to find out students' perceptions of using Wordless Picture Books to stimulate EFL students’ oral descriptive text production in speaking class. This qualitative case study was conducted in one of the Junior high schools in Ciamis, involving 15 students. Likert scale questionnaires were used to gather the data. The results of this study showed that students responded positively to the use of Wordless Picture Books to stimulate their oral descriptive text. Most of them agree that a Wordless Picture Book for learning descriptive text makes the process more enjoyable, easy, and fascinating. Wordless Picture Books can help students relax, confident and reduce anxiety. For the other researchers, it is suggested to conduct research concerning the implementation of using Wordless Picture Books in teaching other skills, such as teaching writing, teaching reading, etc. In addition, it is recommended that further research concern the use of Wordless Picture Book in descriptive text, by different approach, skills, and ways which was used in the present study.

A preliminary investigation on core lexicon analysis in dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

Core lexicon (CL) analysis is a time efficient and possibly reliable measure that captures discourse production abilities. For people with aphasia, CL scores have demonstrated correlations with aphasia severity, as well as other discourse and linguistic measures. It was also found to be clinician-friendly and clinically sensitive enough to capture longitudinal changes in aphasia. To our knowledge, CL has never been investigated in individuals with neurologically progressive disease. As a preliminary investigation, we sought to investigate (1) whether CL scores correlate with dementia severity, (2) whether CL scores correlate with measures of discourse quality, and (3) whether CL scores correlate with other measures of lexical/semantic access. Twelve participants with a cognitive impairment associated with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT) completed several measures of language and cognitive ability, as well as provide a language sample from the wordless picture book, Picnic. Results are informative, as they provide insight into characteristics of CL and provide support for potential use of CL in individuals with neurologically progressive disease. The results indicated that CL scores do correlate with dementia severity and several measures of language ability, indicating they may provide a useful measure of language abilities in DAT, but more research is needed. What is already known on the subject Core lexicon (CL) analysis is an assessment measure of discourse ability, most closely related to informativeness or productivity, used in aphasiology that is easier to use and less time consuming than previous measures of informativeness, such as correct information units or type-token ratio (TTR). For people with aphasia, CL analysis correlates with aphasia severity, measures of informativeness, as well as other measures of discourse quality. It has also been shown to be faster and more reliable between scorers than other informativeness measures. What this study adds Core lexicon analysis is a new simple and online method for assessing the informativeness of a discourse sample without the need to record or transcribe the language sample. CL is receiving a lot of attention in aphasia, correlating with everything from aphasia severity to measures of productivity and lexical access, as well as measures of informativeness. Unfortunately, no one has investigated CL analysis in dementia. The study demonstrates the first evidence that CL analysis may be a useful measure for determining dementia severity and language quality in people with dementia. What are the clinical implications of this work? Core lexicon analysis may provide clinicians and researchers with an easy method for assessing the discourse of people with a cognitive impairment associated with dementia of the Alzheimer's type. This will improve initial assessment, as well as improve ongoing language assessment that may provide clues into their functional ability to communicate effectively.

REPREZENTACIJA RATA U SLIKOVNICAMA BEZ TEKSTA: ZAPITANOST, STRAH, BEZNAĐE I NADA

In this paper, we analyse ways of transposing emotionally delicate/traumatic content and their immersion within the (assumed) discourse of children’s literature, using the genre of wordless picture books as an example. The first part of the paper introduces theoretical perspectives on the challenges of incorporating war themes into children’s literature, as well as the genre-specific characteristics of wordless picture books. Given that the treatment of war themes in wordless picture books has not been extensively explored in academic discussions, the central focus of the paper revolves around two case studies: Why? (1995) (Warum?) by Nikolai Popov and The Yellow Butterfly (2022) (Жовтий метелик) by Oleksandr Shatokhin. The research aims to demonstrate the significance of wordless picture books as a medium that enables both young and adult readers to gain a deeper understanding of the traumatic experience of war. This is achieved through the narrativization of emotions within the wordless picture books and by fostering empathy towards (fictional) victims.

Exploring Social Imagination Challenges in a Child with ADHD: A Case Study of Wordless Picture Book Session

Social imagination is a mindset which provides the ability for children to realize the relationship between their personal experiences and the larger society in which they live their lives, which may include people's thoughts, feelings and intentions. This study aims to explore the challenges of social imagination in a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during wordless picture book session. Through a case study approach involving a child diagnosed with ADHD, we analyze the expressions of social imagination during reading activities to gain deeper insights into social cognitive development. Findings indicate specific challenges in the social imagination of ADHD children, providing crucial cues for tailored intervention and support strategies.