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Effective Early Literacy Skill Development for Young Spanish‐Speaking English Language Learners: An Experimental Study of Two Methods
Author(s) -
Farver Jo Ann M.,
Lonigan Christopher J.,
Eppe Stefanie
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01292.x
Subject(s) - psychology , literacy , curriculum , intervention (counseling) , language development , scope (computer science) , english language , emergent literacy , developmental psychology , early literacy , pedagogy , mathematics education , psychiatry , computer science , programming language
Ninety‐four Spanish‐speaking preschoolers ( M age = 54.51 months, SD = 4.72; 43 girls) were randomly assigned to receive the High/Scope Curriculum (control n = 32) or the Literacy Express Preschool Curriculum in English‐only ( n = 31) or initially in Spanish transitioning to English ( n = 31). Children’s emergent literacy skills were assessed before and after the intervention in Spanish and English. Children in the English‐only and transitional groups made significant gains in their emergent literacy skills in both Spanish and English compared to the control group, The English‐only and transitional models were equally effective for English language outcomes, but for Spanish‐language outcomes, only the transitional model was effective. The results suggest that a targeted early literacy intervention can improve Spanish‐speaking preschoolers’ preliteracy skills.