by Kelly B. Cartwright, Ph.D

Reading development begins at birth! Many adults assume that learning to read does not start until children begin formal schooling. However, infants, toddlers, and preschool children learn many things essential to skilled reading before formal reading instruction ever begins. This knowledge is acquired through experience with spoken language and experience with books (and other printed materials).

Experience with Spoken Language

Because written language is based on spoken language, children's experiences with speech and conversation provide them essential knowledge that supports later reading development. Researchers have found that children develop the ability to reflect on and talk about language through interactions with parents, teachers, and more competent peers (Pellegrini and Galda, 1994). Reading skill is built on this awareness of spoken language. For example, they learn that words are separate units of spoken language, and this is related to their developing abilities to recognize and write words.

The English language is an alphabetic system, meaning that our written symbols correspond to the separate sounds, or phonemes, in spoken language. This kind of system is more difficult to learn than a logographic language, such as Chinese, in which written symbols generally correspond to whole words, rather than parts of words. To learn to read well, children must be aware that spoken words can be divided into separate sounds. Eventually, they will connect those sounds with written symbols, letters, in order to decode print (Gough, Juel, and Griffith, 1992). Children learn about the different sounds in words through experiences with spoken language. Activities that highlight sound categories in spoken language, such as listening to stories with rhyme and alliteration, singing rhyming songs, and playing word games, give children an awareness that words are made up of separate sounds. This provides them essential knowledge on which later reading acquisition is based.

Experience with spoken language also provides children skills that support later reading comprehension. Some researchers make the distinction between contextualized and decontextualized language (Dickinson and Tabors, 1991; Snow, 1983, 1991). Contextualized language is tied to the immediate environment. We use this type of language when we say things like "Get your coat" or "Eat your supper." This kind of language is simple, and it omits important features of language that are important in reading.

When we write, read, and have conversations, we often use de-contextualized language. This is language that is not tied to the immediate context. It may reflect past events, future events, or fictitious events. For example, decontextualized language is used in everyday dinnertime conversation, when adults tell stories of their childhood, or when children tell about their school day. This type of language requires children to use their developing mental abilities to represent ideas, and this process is important to the development of reading comprehension (Dickinson and Tabors, 1991; Snow, 1983, 1991).

Experience with Print

Even before they learn how to decipher the letters on a printed page, children are learning vital information through interaction with books and other printed materials. When children see adults reading or writing notes, lists, and e-mail, they learn that print is meaningful. In addition, they see that print serves important functions in the environment. For example, it enables us to convey information to others without the necessity of face-to-face interaction. To promote the development of this understanding, adults can involve children in writing notes, letters, and e-mail to others. By conveying their own messages and reading (or hearing us read) relevant responses, children learn that print is meaningful to them at a personal level (Purcell-Gates, 1994).

When children are provided age-appropriate books of their own, and when they see adults reading, they acquire important knowledge about the use and handling of books. For example, they learn the proper orientation for holding a book and that reading proceeds from front-to-back and left-to-right in books. Further, they learn that the print in books, rather than the pictures, carries the message. Finally, these activities also allow children to see that print corresponds to speech in fairly regular ways. This knowledge is essential if children are going to master the alphabetic nature of the English language. Each of these ideas is essential to skilled reading, yet they are facts that most adults take for granted (Goodman, 1986).

Young children need experience with both spoken and written language to develop into skilled readers. Parents and caregivers need to provide rich language experiences for children by talking and reading to them frequently. Early, positive experiences with language lay an essential foundation for later reading development.

References:

Dickinson, D. K., & Tabors, P. O. (1991). Early literacy: Linkages between home, school and literacy achievement at age five. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 6, 30-46.

Goodman, Y. (1986). Children coming to know literacy. In W. H. Teale & E. Sulzby (Eds.) Emergent literacy: Writing and reading. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.

Gough, P. B., Juel, C., & Griffith, P. L. (1992). Reading, spelling, and the orthographic cipher. In P. B. Gough, L. C. Ehri, & R. Treiman (Eds.) Reading acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Pellegrini, A. D., & Galda, L. (1994). Early literacy from a developmental perspective. In D. F. Lancy (Ed.) Children's emergent literacy: From research to practice. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing.

Purcell-Gates, V. (1994). Nonliterate homes and emergent literacy. In D. F. Lancy (Ed.) Children's emergent literacy: From research to practice. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing.

Snow, C. (1983). Literacy and language: Relationships during the preschool years. Harvard Educational Review, 53, 165-189.

Snow, C. (1991). The theoretical basis for relationships between language and literacy in development. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 6, 5-10.

About the Author:

Specializing in child development, Kelly B. Cartwright, Ph.D., is a full-time faculty member in the Psychology Department at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. Dr. Cartwright's research has focused on cognitive development, language, literacy, and gender issues.