This six-week quasi-experimental study compared the effectiveness of two English storybook reading styles (preview-review reading versus concurrent translation) on the vocabulary development of kindergarteners ( n =50) in China, whose primary language is Chinese, who learn English as a second language. The children (aged 5 to 6) were pretested to evaluate their knowledge of general and targeted words using a researcher-designed instrument tailored to the content of three selected English stories. Validity evidence based on contrasted groups and test-retest reliability had been previously gathered for the 24-word instrument (based on 8 words per story) in a pilot study. The children in the concurrent translation group listened to the English storybook with the reader using both English and Chinese interchangeably to assist children in understanding the story. With the children in the preview-review group, the reader built background knowledge and discussed difficult vocabulary in Chinese before reading the storybook only in English then reinforcing key points in Chinese after reading the storybook. Each of three English stories was read three times by the researcher/reader separately to both groups. Two days after the third reading of each story, children were post-tested on the 8 words associated with that specific story. Total posttest scores, based on combining the three 8-word posttest scores, were compared to the 24-word pretest scores to examine vocabulary gains. Results suggest that both methods of reading English storybooks to Chinese preschoolers were effective. Results also indicate that children in the concurrent translation group performed significantly better than children in the preview-review group, even after initial levels of vocabulary, based on the pretest, were controlled (Cohen’s ƒ 2 = .42, which is considered to be a large effect). Additionally, an Aptitude x Treatment Interaction model was tested, but insufficient evidence was found to suggest that the differential effectiveness of the two methods depended on the child’s initial vocabulary level. Implications for teachers, parents, and early childhood education policymakers are discussed and suggestions for further research are offered.

Children with limited speech using graphic symbols for communication often express themselves predominantly through single symbols rather than symbol combinations. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an intervention strategy that was incorporated into shared storybook reading on the production of graphic symbol combinations. Three children between the ages of 7;9 (years;months) and 10;8 with limited speech and physical impairments participated in the study. A multiple probe design across behaviours (3 different types of semantic symbol combinations) was used, replicated across the 3 participants. Intervention entailed prompting the production of strategic symbol combinations (generated from a matrix) during shared storybook reading by using a prompting hierarchy. The participants’ production of combinations targeted during intervention as well as their ability to generalize to nontarget combinations from the matrix was monitored using a probe test (picture description task). All 3 participants showed some gains in acquiring the combinations and generalizing to nontarget combinations, as measured by the probe test. While 1 participant showed convincing effects, the other 2 showed lower effects. Lower effects may be partly ascribed to participant characteristics as well as to the discrepancies between the intervention and probe contexts. All participants performed better within the shared storybook reading context. Results suggest that the production of symbol combinations can be facilitated during shared storybook reading and that the matrix strategy promotes generalization to untrained semantic combinations. However, participant gains may not reflect immediately in formal testing situations. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

字彙學習是語文能力重要的一環，許多教學也都是以提升孩童單字量之目的設計的，其中，故事閱讀活動就被推崇為是能以提供豐富情境的方式來增進孩童語文能力的有效策略。本研究主旨在探討繪本共讀對EFL國小學童字彙學習的影響，主要的研究方向有：(1) 圖文標指與引導問答教學對學童運用繪本學習字彙的影響; (2)不同教學引導方式對學生字彙保留量的影響; (3)不同教學引導方式對不同程度學生所產生的影響。 受試者為五十四位台北縣五年級國小學童，其字彙測驗成績則為資料分析來源。本研究主要發現有下列幾點。第一，圖文標指和引導問答教學對國小學童運用繪本學習字彙皆有助益。第二，圖文標指和引導問答教學對學童字彙保留量都有正面的影響。第三，英語學習高成就學生在運用繪本學習字彙上收穫比低成就學生多，其中，圖文標指教學對高成就以及低成就學生皆有助益；此外，總括來說，引導問答教學對高成就學生的字彙學習幫助最大。 最後，本文提供了教學者以及日後研究者相關建議，並期盼研究結果能帶給台灣英語老師一些字彙教學上的參考。 / Vocabulary plays an important role in children’s emergent literacy. Many instructions were developed to build children’s word knowledge. Among them, storybook reading is promoted to be an effective strategy that enhances children’s literacy by providing rich contexts. The purpose of the present study aims to examine the effects of the techniques of labeling (L) and labeling plus questioning (L+Q) for vocabulary teaching with storybook reading in EFL elementary school. The study is mainly concerned with three aspects: (1) the effects of L and L+Q on student’s vocabulary learning during shared storybook reading; (2) student’s retention of learned vocabulary affected by the two techniques; (3) the influence of the two techniques on students with diverse English proficiency. Participants were 54 fifth-grade elementary school students in Taipei County, and the data analysis was based on their performance of the Picture Vocabulary Test (PVT). The findings of the study are as follows. First, L and L+Q techniques were both beneficial for student’s receptive vocabulary learning during shared storybook reading. Second, both L and L+Q techniques were effective in retaining student’s word knowledge. Third, overall performance of students with high English proficiency (HEP) in PVT improved more significantly than that of students with low English proficiency (LEP). Besides, L technique was helpful for HEP and LEP’s receptive vocabulary learning, but not for HEP’s word retention. Moreover, HEP were most influenced by L+Q technique in vocabulary learning during shared storybook reading. Based on the findings of the present study, pedagogical implications and suggestions for future study were provided at the end of the thesis.