Alejandra Meneses

Core academic language skills: An expanded operational construct and a novel instrument to chart school-relevant language proficiency in preadolescent and adolescent learners

Beyond academic vocabulary, the constellation of skills that comprise academic language proficiency has remained imprecisely defined. This study proposes an expanded operationalization of this construct referred to as core academic language skills (CALS). CALS refers to the knowledge and deployment of a repertoire of language forms and functions that co-occur with school learning tasks across disciplines. Using an innovative instrument, we explored CALS in a cross-sectional sample of 235 students in Grades 4–8. The results revealed between- and within-grade variability in CALS. Psychometric analyses yielded strong reliability and supported the presence of a single CALS factor, which was found to be predictive of reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that the CALS construct and instrument appear promising for exploring students’ school-relevant language skills.

Initial reading predictors in Spanish according to SES: is semi-transparency sufficient to explain performance? / Predictores de la lectura inicial en español según NSE: ¿es suficiente la semi-transparencia para explicar su desempeño?

Abstract Research has established that letter knowledge, phonological processing and rapid naming are the main predictors of early readers. Their role has been studied in view of the depth characteristics of different orthographic systems. However, the influence of environmental variables such as SES must also be considered when explaining its development. In a sample of 101 first grade children, stratified by SES (69 children were from a low SES), a longitudinal study was carried out to evaluate the predictive role of letter knowledge, phonological processing and rapid naming in word reading at the end of the academic year. The results suggest that SES determines which variables best predict word reading. Therefore, initial reading predictors are not fully conditioned by the characteristics of the orthographic system since environmental variables must also be considered.

Impact of a computer-based intervention in Chilean children at risk of manifesting reading difficulties / Impacto de una intervención basada en ordenador en niños chilenos con riesgo de manifestar dificultades lectoras

Abstract Reading difficulties have reached a prevalence of 3–10% in school-age children. Those who present these difficulties avoid reading and benefit very little from school-based learning opportunities, resulting in maladjustments, dropping out of school and having to repeat grades. Presented here are the results of an intervention based on a computer game intended for explicit phonic training in first-grade school children at risk of possessing reading difficulties. Fifty-six children from a low socioeconomic status (SES) and 31 children from a high socioeconomic status, divided into two groups (control and experimental), participated in the study. After the intervention, participants from the low-SES experimental group had enhanced their skills regarding letter sound recognition, whereas the high-SES experimental group had improved their naming speed. The results are discussed in light of the impact of interventions based on computer games and of the importance of the development of sublexical skills in children at risk of manifesting reading difficulties in transparent orthographies.

Syntactic development in Chilean students’ narrative and expository discourse throughout schooling: different measures of syntactic complexity / Desarrollo sintáctico en narraciones y exposiciones orales de estudiantes chilenos a través de la escolaridad: diferentes mediciones de complejidad sintáctica

Abstract While there are studies that describe early syntactic development, less research has focused on oral syntactic development in Spanish throughout schooling according to text structure. This article describes syntactic patterns in Chilean school age students and compares the differences between narrative and expository discourse. The oral production of 462 students aged 5–18 years old from eight schools in a central Chilean region was analysed. Their oral productions were transcribed and segmented at clause and clause package levels; clause package length, clause package density and the clause density were calculated. Results show that students are more productive and construct more complex syntactical discourse as they advance through their education. The results also suggest that syntactic development patterns function differently in narrative and expository discourses. This indicates that students firstly master their syntactic resources before producing narratives. In addition, the implications of using different syntactic measures to describe syntactic development by text structure are explored.