Document Type
Article
Subject Area(s)
Child; Child Language; Computer-Assisted Instruction; Educational Measurement; Female; Humans; Male; Multilingualism; Poverty (psychology); Textbooks as Topic; Vocabulary
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive vocabulary intervention embedded in e-books on the vocabulary skills of young Spanish-English speaking English learners (ELs) from low-socioeconomic status backgrounds. Method: Children (N = 288) in kindergarten and 1st grade were randomly assigned to treatment and read-only conditions. All children received e-book readings approximately 3 times a week for 10-20 weeks using the same books. Children in the treatment condition received e-books supplemented with vocabulary instruction that included scaffolding through explanations in Spanish, repetition in English, checks for understanding, and highlighted morphology. Results: There was a main effect of the intervention on expressive labeling (g = 0.38) and vocabulary on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (g = 0.14; Dunn & Dunn, 2007), with no significant moderation effect of initial Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test score. There was no significant difference between conditions on children's expressive definitions. Conclusion: Findings substantiate the effectiveness of computer-implemented embedded vocabulary intervention for increasing ELs' vocabulary knowledge. Implications: Computer-assisted vocabulary instruction with scaffolding through Spanish explanations, repetitions, and highlighted morphology is a promising approach to facilitate word learning for ELs in kindergarten and 1st grade.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Published in Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR, Volume 61, Issue 8, 2018, pages 1945-1969.
© 2018 The Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
APA Citation
Wood, C., Fitton, L., Petscher, Y., Rodriguez, E., Sunderman, G., & Lim, T. (2018). The Effect of e-Book Vocabulary Instruction on Spanish–English Speaking Children. Journal Of Speech, Language, And Hearing Research, 61(8), 1945-1969. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_jslhr-l-17-0368
Rights
© 2018 The Authors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License