PURPOSE: In this study, we examined (a) whether children who spoke Nonmainstream American English (NMAE) frequently in school at the beginning of 1st grade increased their use of Mainstream American English (MAE) through the end of 2nd grade, and whether increasing MAE use was associated with (b) language and reading skills and school context and (c) greater gains in reading skills. METHOD: A longitudinal design was implemented with 49 children who spoke NMAE moderately to strongly. Spoken production of NMAE forms, word reading, and reading comprehension were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of 1st and 2nd grades. Various oral language skills were also measured at the beginning of 1st grade. RESULTS: Results indicate that most children increased their MAE production during 1st grade and maintained these levels in 2nd grade. Increasing MAE use was predicted by children's expressive vocabulary and nonword repetition skills at the beginning of 1st grade. Finally, the more children increased their MAE production, the greater were their reading gains from 1st grade through 2nd grade. CONCLUSIONS: The findings extend previous reports of a significant association between NMAE use and specific reading skills among young children and have implications for theory, educational practice, and future research.
PURPOSE: In this study, we examined (a) whether children who spoke Nonmainstream American English (NMAE) frequently in school at the beginning of 1st grade increased their use of Mainstream American English (MAE) through the end of 2nd grade, and whether increasing MAE use was associated with (b) language and reading skills and school context and (c) greater gains in reading skills. METHOD: A longitudinal design was implemented with 49 children who spoke NMAE moderately to strongly. Spoken production of NMAE forms, word reading, and reading comprehension were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of 1st and 2nd grades. Various oral language skills were also measured at the beginning of 1st grade. RESULTS: Results indicate that most children increased their MAE production during 1st grade and maintained these levels in 2nd grade. Increasing MAE use was predicted by children's expressive vocabulary and nonword repetition skills at the beginning of 1st grade. Finally, the more children increased their MAE production, the greater were their reading gains from 1st grade through 2nd grade. CONCLUSIONS: The findings extend previous reports of a significant association between NMAE use and specific reading skills among young children and have implications for theory, educational practice, and future research.
Authors: Nicole Patton Terry; Carol McDonald Connor; Shurita Thomas-Tate; Michael Love Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res Date: 2010-02 Impact factor: 2.297
Authors: Jan Edwards; Megan Gross; Jianshen Chen; Maryellen C MacDonald; David Kaplan; Megan Brown; Mark S Seidenberg Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res Date: 2014-10 Impact factor: 2.297
Authors: Carol McDonald Connor; Beth M Phillips; Michael Kaschak; Kenn Apel; Young-Suk Kim; Stephanie Al Otaiba; Elizabeth C Crowe; Shurita Thomas-Tate; Lakeisha Cooper Johnson; Christopher J Lonigan Journal: Educ Psychol Rev Date: 2014-05-16