The problem of this study was to compare the relative gains made in the development of oral language skills in two groups of first grade pupils when two different approaches to beginning reading instruction were used. The two approaches were: (a) the language experience approach, Approach A, and (b) the traditional basal reader approach, Approach B. The six aspects of oral language development considered were: extent of verbalization, spoken vocabulary, expressions of tentativeness, use of structural patterns, colorful and vivid expressions, and use of mazes.

No description available.

The purposes of this study were 1) to ascertain the effectiveness of puppets with instructional media in oral language development of culturally disadvantaged first-grade children, and 2) to derive the implications of this effect for instructors, teachers, and volunteers working in programs for the culturally disadvantaged child.

Phonological awareness (PA) can be defined as the ability to recognize that orthographic patterns represent specific phonemic elements of speech (Nitrouer, 1999). Alternatively, some view PA as a purely linguistic skill that involves the ability to recognize and manipulate specific speech sounds (e.g., Catts, 1991). A large body of research indicates the primary problem for children who do not learn to read is a deficit in PA (e.g., Morris et al., 1998; Stanovich, 1988). Far less work has examined what drives the development of PA (Metsala & Walley, 1998). Recently, it has been suggested that oral language skills influence the acquisition of PA (e.g., Dickinson, McCabe, Anastasopoulos, Peisner-Feinberg, & Poe, 2003; Olofsson & Niedersoe 1999). The primary purpose of this study was to examine the development of PA skills in children classified with a reading disability who evidenced either typical or below-average oral language skills based on measures of receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and listening comprehensions skills. In addition, this study examined whether differing conceptualizations of PA resulted in differential findings concerning the relationship between oral language skills and PA. Finally, this study examined the relationships that exist between different domains of language and different aspects of reading achievement. Elementary school age students participated in the study with 211 students receiving 70 hours of small group reading intervention. Sixty-eight students served as a control group. Children’s PA was assessed at three time points throughout the school year. Repeated measures ANCOVA and HLM analyses were conducted with letter sound knowledge and phonological processing skills as dependent variables. Students with below-average oral language skills evidenced significantly (p < .05) lower scores on both measures compared to students with typical oral language skills. Children with below-average oral language skills did not acquire PA skills at a significantly slower rate than children with typical oral language skills. Analyses also indicated that the relationship between oral language skills and PA skills remains consistent across different conceptualizations of PA. SEM analyses showed that receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary knowledge independently contributed to PA skills. Only expressive vocabulary knowledge entered into a relationship with word identification skills.

Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur lärare på mellanstadiet undervisar språkutvecklande för att främja den muntliga förmågan hos flerspråkiga elever. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i den sociokulturella teorin. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar har observation och intervju använts som insamlingsmetod. Genomförandet av observationer gjordes i tre klassrum på olika skolor i södra Sverige. Vidare genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer muntligt med lärarna som deltog under respektive observation. Studiens resultat pekar bland annat på att smågruppssamtal är ett främjande arbetssätt för den flerspråkiga elevens muntliga utveckling. Smågruppssamtal bidrar till muntlig kommunikation där eleverna får lyssna, prata och repetera tillsammans. I arbetet med flerspråkiga elevers muntliga förmåga, framkommer det också att boksamtal är ett främjande arbetssätt som bidrar till att elever vågar uttrycka sig muntligt. Lärarna anser dock att det saknas resurser och förutsättningar för att utveckla flerspråkiga elevers muntliga förmåga på ett sätt som hade önskats.

Syftet med studien var att utröna hur fem lärare i årskurs 1–3 resonerar om och uppfattar dokumentation av elevers talspråkliga färdigheter. Vilken form av dokumentation lärare beskriver sig använda i syfte att bedöma och följa upp elevers talspråkliga färdigheter och vilka ändamål med denna dokumentation lärare redogör för var de frågor studien syftade att besvara. Fem lärare i årskurserna 1–3 intervjuades på plats i sina respektive skolor. Intervjumaterialet transkriberades och analyserades utifrån analysmetoden innehållsanalys och Åsa Hirshs (2015) fem ändamål med IUP:er. Resultatet visar att lärare använder flera olika former för att dokumentera elevers talspråkliga färdigheter. Det ändamål med dokumentationen lärarna framhäver mest frekvent är att de nyttjar den som ett informationsbärande dokument för föräldrar och elever. Alla lärare lyfter fram minst ett dokumentationsändamål som inte omfattas av Hirshs (2015) typologier vilket bidrog till att tre nya dokumentationsändamål skapades. Därtill visar det sig att skriftliga anteckningar används utifrån flest antal ändamål medan elevskapat och nedskrivet material bara används för att engagera eleverna i bedömningen av sina kunskaper och observationsscheman bara för att informera om elevens nuvarande kunskaper.

Second language (L2) learners are a growing population in Canadian school systems, and acquisition of literacy skills is critical to their success in Canadian society. While much research has been devoted to writing development in first language (L1) learners, text-level writing remains relatively underexplored in L2 populations. The present study sought to address this gap by considering the relative contributions of component oral language and word-level literacy skills to writing in elementary students speaking English as a first (EL1) or second (EL2) language. A sample of 124 kindergarten students (56 EL1, 68 EL2) and 112 grade three students (51 EL1, 61 EL2) completed a battery of standardized measures assessing oral language, word-level literacy, and writing skills. An ordinary least squares (OLS) regression-based mediation path analysis was used to test associations among oral language, word-level literacy, and writing skills in each group. Results indicated that word-level literacy skills had a significant direct effect on writing in all groups, but that oral language had no significant direct effect on writing in any groups. Instead, the effect of oral language on writing was significantly mediated by word-level skills in the kindergarten EL1 and EL2 groups, and the grade three EL1 group. The indirect effect of oral language on writing through word-level skills was not significant in the grade three EL2 group. Despite this, no significant differences in variable associations were found between EL1 and EL2 groups in either grade. Oral language skills were additionally found to have a significant effect on word-level literacy skills in the kindergarten EL1 and EL2 groups and the grade three EL1 group; the significance of this effect in the grade three EL2 group was unclear. Results of this study are discussed in relation to existing literature, and existing theories of L1 and L2 writing. / Graduate