Grover J. Whitehurst

Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: evidence from a longitudinal structural model.

This study examined code-related and oral language precursors to reading in a longitudinal study of 626 children from preschool through 4th grade. Code-related precursors, including print concepts and phonological awareness, and oral language were assessed in preschool and kindergarten. Reading accuracy and reading comprehension skills were examined in 1st through 4th grades. Results demonstrated that (a) the relationship between code-related precursors and oral language is strong during preschool; (b) there is a high degree of continuity over time of both code-related and oral language abilities; (c) during early elementary school, reading ability is predominantly determined by the level of print knowledge and phonological awareness a child brings from kindergarten; and (d) in later elementary school, reading accuracy and reading comprehension appear to be 2 separate abilities that are influenced by different sets of skills.

A picture book reading intervention in day care and home for children from low-income families

The effects of an interactive book reading program were assessed with children from low-income families who attended subsidized day-care centers in New York. The children entered the program with language development in standard English vocabulary and expression that was about 10 months behind chronological age on standardized tests. Children were pretested and assigned randomly within classrooms to 1 of 3 conditions: (a) a school plus home condition in which the children were read to by their teachers and their parents, (b) a school condition in which children were read to only by teachers, and (c) a control condition in which children engaged in play activities under the supervision of their teachers. Training of adult readers was based on a self-instructional video

Relative Efficacy of Parent and Teacher Involvement in a Shared-Reading Intervention for Preschool Children from Low-Income Backgrounds.

Abstract The effects of an interactive shared-reading intervention were evaluated with 3-to 4-year-old children from low-income families who attended subsidized child care. The children entered the program with oral language skills that were significantly below age-level as measured by standardized tests. Children were pretested and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) no treatment control, (b) a school condition in which children were read to by their teachers in small groups, (c) a home condition in which children were read to by their parents, and (d) a combined school plus home condition. Parents and teachers were trained in a specific form of interactive reading via an instructional videotape. The intervention was conducted for 6 weeks, after which children were posttested on standardized measures of oral language, and language samples were obtained during a shared-reading assessment. Significant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and were largest for children in conditions involving home reading.

The role of home literacy environment in the development of language ability in preschool children from low-income families☆

Abstract The relations between home literacy environment and child language ability were examined for 323 4-year-olds attending Head Start and their mothers or primary caregivers. Overall frequency of shared picture book reading, age of onset of picture book reading, duration of shared picture book reading during one recent day, number of picture books in the home, frequency of childs requests to engage in shared picture book reading, frequency of childs private play with books, frequency of shared trips to the library, frequency of caregivers private reading, and caregivers enjoyment of private reading constituted the literacy environment, and were measured using a questionnaire completed by each childs primary caregiver. Using a primary subsample of 236 children, a composite literacy environment score was derived from the literacy environment measures and was correlated with a composite child language measure, derived from two standardized tests of language skills. Depending on the form of regression analysis employed and depending on whether primary caregiver IQ and education were entered into the prediction equations, from 12% to 18.5% of the variance in child language scores was accounted for by home literacy environment. These analyses were cross-validated on a secondary subsample of 87 children with similar results. The strength of the relations between home literacy environment and child language are stronger in this study than in previous research, due to the use of statistically derived aggregate measures of literacy environment. The presence of substantial variability in home literacy environments in low-income families, and the substantial relations between these environments and child language outcomes has important implications for intervention.

Effects of a shared-reading intervention on the inclusion of evaluative devices in narratives of children from low-income families

Abstract The impact of a shared-reading program on the narrative skills of children from low-income families was examined. Participants in the study were 4-year-old children (N=123) enrolled in Head Start. Fifty-eight percent of the sample participated in a 30-week shared-reading intervention conducted in Head Start classrooms and homes. The remainder of the sample experienced the regular Head Start curriculum. The shared-reading intervention was found to have a significant effect on childrens inclusion of evaluative devices in their narratives. Specifically, children who participated in the intervention program were significantly more likely to include references to internal states of characters and dialogue in their narratives at the end of the Head Start year than children who did not participate in the intervention program. This study adds to the growing experimental literature demonstrating that preschool literacy interventions can have a positive impact on the language skills of children from low-income families.

Is language acquired through imitation

The role of imitation in language acquisition is examined, including data from the psycholinguistic, operant, and social learning areas. From the psycholinguistic data, four empirical statements have been extracted: (1) there is no evidence that spontaneous imitations of adult speech influence grammatical development, (2) imitation of speech does not appear to occur with frequency beyond age 3 years, (3) speech and hence imitation are not necessary for the comprehension of linguistic structures, and (4) most utterances of a child are novel and therefore could not have been exactly modeled. The first and second propositions are seen to be based on a too restrictive definition of imitation-immediate and exact copying. Selective imitation-a functional relationship involving similarity of a particular form or function of the models responses-is proposed as an alternative, thus leaving the validity of statements (1) and (2) in question. Concerning assertion (4), certain data from the operant literature are presented as evidence of the compatibility of novel responding and modeling, imitation, and reinforcement. Finally, it is proposed that statement (3) suggests a mechanism by which selective imitation can be understood. A three-stage process is proposed in which comprehension of a grammatical form sets the stage for selective imitation of that structure, which leads in turn to spontaneous production. Thus imitation is a process by which new syntactic structures can be first introduced into the productive mode.

Behavioral correlates of developmental expressive language disorder.

The association of behavior problems with preschool language disorders has been documented extensively. However, researchers have typically failed to differentiate subgroups of language-impaired children, to use observational data in documenting the behavior disorders, or to study children at the youngest ages. Using a multimodal assessment, this study examined parent-child interaction and behavior problems in a clearly defined subgroup of language-impaired children, those with developmental expressive language disorder (ELD). These children exhibit a delay in expressive language compared with receptive language and nonverbal cognitive skills. Subjects were identified and studied at the youngest age at which the disorder can be assessed. A group of ELD children, averaging 27 months of age, was contrasted with a group of normally developing children, matched for age, sex, and receptive language ability. Groups were compared on observed parent-child interactions as well as maternal responses on the Parenting Stress Index, the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, and a behavior-related structured interview. ELD children, when compared with normally developing children, exhibited higher levels of negative behavior and were perceived as different by their parents.

What is the role of reinforcement in early language acquisition

Monolingual American and Mexican 2- and 3-year-old children were exposed to a foreign language in a naturalistic but controlled environment. Children were randomly assigned to 2 groups. 1 group was differentially reinforced throughout the study for the use of foreign vocabulary. The control group was first reinforced nondifferentially for use of the native language or the foreign language and later was switched to differential reinforcement for the foreign language. Frequencies of spontaneous foreign word production and other verbal responses were computed, and formal assessments of comprehension and production of the foreign words were conducted. Differential reinforcement resulted in accelerating frequencies of spontaneous foreign language use and better performance on both comprehension and production tests. Under nondifferential reinforcement, rates of spontaneous foreign language use were low and static. Results are interpreted as evidence that the acquisition of expressive vocabulary is a function of socially mediated reinforcement.

Selective imitation of the passive construction through modeling

Abstract Six 4- to 5-yr-old subjects were exposed to five sessions in which an adult model used passive sentences to describe a set of modeling stimuli. Probe stimuli, which the subjects were asked to describe without benefit of modeling and without selective reinforcement were interspersed among modeling stimuli. A matched group of control subjects received probletrials but no modeling trials. Both groups of subjects were subsequently tested on their ability to comprehend active and passive sentence forms. Every subject in the experimental group produced passive sentences on probe trials even though there was considerable variability in the number of passives produced. No control subject produced passives. The modeling procedure increased the comprehension scores of the experimental group above those of the control group though the scores of both groups were above chance. The results were contrasted with earlier studies in which modeling was ineffective in producing passive usage and in which comprehension of the passive was not demonstrated by even older children.

Inattention-Hyperactivity and Reading Achievement in Children from Low-Income Families: A Longitudinal Model

This study examined how preschool inattention-hyperactivity is related to elementary school reading achievement. Prereading skills were hypothesized to be a link between them. This link was explored using longitudinal data on 105 low-socioeconomic-status (SES) childrens inattentive-hyperactive behavior and prereading skills in Head Start and in kindergarten and their inattentive-hyperactive behavior and reading skills in first grade. A model of this relationship was tested using structural equation modeling. The results failed to show a significant path between inattention-hyperactivity and prereading skills at both the Head Start and kindergarten levels. A significant path was found between first grade inattention-hyperactivity and reading skills, confirming that the strong relationship between inattention-hyperactivity and poor reading achievement commonly found in children from other SES levels was also significant in this low-SES sample. Strong relationships were found between pre-reading skills and reading skills, as well as among hyperactivity levels at the three grades. The issue of the direction of the path of influence between attention-behavior and reading achievement is addressed briefly; however, the results indicate that further longitudinal work is necessary to resolve this issue.