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Promoting vocabulary, phonological awareness and concept about print among children at risk for learning disability: can e-books help?

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Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of activity with an educational electronic book (e-book), as compared with adult reading of the printed version of the same book, on the vocabulary, phonological awareness as well as concept about print of preschool children at risk for learning disabilities. The study involved the participation of 110 children aged 5–7. All participants were identified as having developmental delays placing them at risk for learning disabilities. The sample was randomly assigned to three groups: activity with the e-book, listening to the book’s printed version read by an adult (reading-as-usual) and a control group. The findings indicated that the children exposed to the e-book displayed significantly higher emergent literacy improvement (vocabulary and phonological awareness) when compared with the children who participated in the other two groups. These findings and their implications are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The study was sponsored by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Adina Shamir, Ofra Korat & Renat Fellah

Authors
  1. Adina Shamir
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  2. Ofra Korat
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  3. Renat Fellah
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Correspondence to Adina Shamir.

Appendix 1: Adult reading to children

Appendix 1: Adult reading to children

Children were read the printed book by the same experimenter six times (the same number of times that the children read the e-book). The experimenter’s reading was structured according to a protocol based on responses to a questionnaire administered to 20 kindergarten teachers. Prior to the reading, the experimenter presented the book to the children (the book’s name and author, in a way similar to the e-book presentation).

In the first reading, the story was read straight through, without any interruptions for comments and questions. During the second to sixth readings, the experimenter made comments and provided explanations about the plot and selected vocabulary (the identical 10 words explained in the e-book’s dictionary), a format resembling reading-as-usual by teachers to kindergarteners. Brief answers were also given to questions that children posed regarding the plot or vocabulary. Following are some examples.

Page no

Objective

Print version (teacher reading-as-usual)

Cover

Presentation of the cover’s elements

The name of this book is Yuval Hamebulbal (Confused Yuval); it was written by Miriam Roth. Here is Yuval. Let’s see what happened to him

1

Presentation of the main characters

Look; here is Yuval and here is his rabbit

2

Word definitions

Defining the word “stretching”: Who knows what it is to stretch? Let’s stretch together

Comment

Here is Yuval waking up, why do you think he is in a hurry?

8

Word definition

Defining the word “hidden” with a more common synonym

Comment aimed at connecting the situation to the child’s world

What happened to Yuval’s shirt? Have you ever gotten confused when getting dressed? Who helped you?

Word definition

Defining the word “twice”: two times. The experimenter provides additional examples using a more common synonym

Comment aimed at connecting the situation to the child’s world

Do you sometimes get confused when putting on your shoes? Is it easier to put on your shoes when you’re standing up?

22

Comprehension question

Why doesn’t his daddy’s hat fit Yuval? (Expected answer: Because it’s too big and covers his eyes)

30

Comment transcending the plot

See how happy Yuval is now when waking up. The first thing he does is to put on the hat that Grandma made for him

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Shamir, A., Korat, O. & Fellah, R. Promoting vocabulary, phonological awareness and concept about print among children at risk for learning disability: can e-books help?. Read Writ 25, 45–69 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-010-9247-x

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