The impact of bilingual preschool education on the language development of Spanish-speaking children

This study addressed the question of what effect bilingual preschool education has on the Spanish and English language development of Spanish speaking children. This question was addressed by measuring the language proficiency of children enrolled in a bilingual preschool program and children who stay at home during the day. Three dimensions of language proficiency were examined: language reception, production, and verbal complexity. Using a repeated measures design, it was found that children enrolled in preschool gained proficiency in English at a faster rate while maintaining a similar level of Spanish proficiency as those children who stay at home during the day. Results of this study are discussed in terms of current issues in the early childhood education of non-English-speaking children.     

The effect of preschool dialogic reading on vocabulary among rural Bangladeshi children

The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of a 4-week dialogic reading intervention with rural Bangladeshi preschoolers with the intention of increasing their expressive vocabulary. Eighty preschoolers randomly selected from five preschools participated in the 4-week program. Their expressive vocabulary, measured in terms of definitions, was tested on 170 challenging words before and after the program and compared with that of control children who participated in the regular language program. Both groups were read in Bangla eight children's storybooks with illustrations, but the dialogic reading teacher was given a set of “wh” and definitional questions to enhance children's verbal participation. The mean vocabulary scores of dialogic program children increased from 26% to 54% whereas the control children remained at the same level. Results are discussed in terms of the successful application of dialogic reading to low-resource preschools.     

Internal and external influences on vocabulary development in preschool children

Competency in society's lingua franca plays a major role in the emergence of social disparities within education. Therefore, the present longitudinal study investigates vocabulary development and its predictors in preschool years. We focus on whether internal (phonological working memory) and external variables (preschool and home learning environment) have different impacts depending on parental native language. The study considers 547 children from 97 German preschools. Children's vocabulary was assessed at the ages of 3, 4, and 5 years. Latent growth curve models show that non-native German language children are characterized by reduced vocabulary at first assessment and lower progress compared to monolingual peers. Phonological working memory has a strong impact on all children's initial vocabulary but also on vocabulary growth in those whose parents speak German as an additional language. The effects of preschool and home learning environment are comparatively smaller.     

Effects of a preschool intervention on cognitive development among East-African preschool children: A flexibly time-coded growth model

The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of the Madrasa Resource Center (MRC), a child-centered intervention program, on East-African (Kenya, Zanzibar, and Uganda) preschool children's cognitive development. Altogether 321 children (153 non-intervention and 168 intervention) participated in a cross-sequential study over three time-points during preschool (mean ages 4.3, 6.0, and 7.1 years). A multilevel model (MLM; time-points nested within children nested within schools), in which time was coded flexibly (i.e., child's age operationalized as months from start of the intervention), showed a beneficial curvilinear effect of the intervention program on children's cognitive gains. A moderation analysis suggested that the effect of observed preschool quality (ECERS) was stronger in the intervention program. The findings are discussed within the context of East-African preschool policy.     

Depth of lexical knowledge among bilingual children: the impact of schooling

The majority of studies examining the language and literacy skills of second generation immigrant bilingual children have focused on the breadth of lexical knowledge in populations with a low level of involvement in literacy activities. This study extends previous work in three ways. First, we focused on a sample of second generation immigrant bilingual children from favorable socio-cultural backgrounds. Second, we examined whether these children show lexical knowledge gaps in their second language on various measures of breadth and depth, as compared to their monolingual peers. Finally, we asked whether this gap tends to increase, remain stable, or decrease with formal schooling. Bilingual (n?=?70) and monolingual (n?=?55) children between the ages of 7 and 8?years were evaluated on measures of depth and breadth of lexical knowledge in the second language of the bilingual group. Both groups were tested twice: at the beginning of second grade and at the beginning of third grade. The findings indicate a significant gap between the target groups with respect to most measures of both depth and breadth at the beginning of second grade. However, after a year of schooling, the bilingual children showed significant progress in their lexical knowledge in their second language. The discussion addresses theoretical and clinical implications of these findings.     

When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children attending bilingual preschool

This article discusses two investigations which explored the bilingual language development outcomes of comparable groups of low-income, Spanish-speaking, Mexican American children who either did or did not attended a bilingual (Spanish/English) preschool. Study 1 is a replication of a study by Rodríguez, Díaz, Duran, and Espinosa, involving a new sample of 26 children who attended bilingual preschool for one year and 20 control children who remained at home. Study 2 represents a 1-year, longitudinal follow-up of Rodríguez et al.'s, sample of children during and after the children spent another year at home or in the preschool. In both investigations, standardized, objective measures of three components of children's language proficiency (productive language, receptive language, and language complexity) in English and Spanish were obtained at the beginning and end of the academic year. Contrary to fears that have been expressed by some that early exposure to English would lead to children's native language loss, the results of both studies offered no evidence of Spanish proficiency loss for children attending bilingual preschool. Children who attended bilingual preschool, compared to those who remained at home, showed significant and parallel gains in Spanish language development as well as significant and greater increases in English language proficiency over time. Results are discussed in terms of the need for more systematic research to be conducted in this area to inform policy and practice in the early education and development of language-minority children.     

An evaluation of the preschool PATHS curriculum on the development of preschool children

This study evaluated the efficacy of preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), an early years curriculum designed to improve children’s social and emotional competence, and reduce problem behaviour. Fifty-seven children aged three to four years took part in the study over one academic year. The control group (Group 1) received no preschool PATHS curriculum, Group 2 received an adapted version, and Group 3 received the full preschool PATHS curriculum. Relevant vocabulary and perspective-taking skills were assessed before and after the intervention alongside behavioural questionnaires completed by preschool staff and parents. Staff views were investigated. Group 3 significantly improved on some measures, but Groups 1 and 2 showed no significant improvements. Children who received the full version of the preschool PATHS curriculum exhibited less problem behaviour, showed better emotional knowledge, better attentional skills, and better prosocial behaviour. The contribution of the local Educational Psychology Service to the initiative is discussed.     

论网络词汇及其对现代汉语词汇影响

随着信息时代的来临和网络的广泛普及,网络语言的出现彻底改变了人们的日常交往形式。作为网络语言的核心组成,网络词汇在某种程度上标志着网络文化的特质及独特存在。网络词汇的产生及演变是内外因共同作用的结果,它将在可预见的未来几十年里,对现代汉语词汇的发展产生重要的影响。     

Expressive vocabulary development in children from bilingual and monolingual homes: A longitudinal study from two to four years

The early course of language development among children from bilingual homes varies in ways that are not well described and as a result of influences that are not well understood. Here, we describe trajectories of relative change in expressive vocabulary from 22 to 48 months and vocabulary achievement at 48 months in two groups of children from bilingual homes (children with one and children with two native Spanish-speaking parents [ns = 15 and 11]) and in an SES-equivalent group of children from monolingual English homes (n = 31). The two groups from bilingual homes differed in their mean levels of English and Spanish skills, in their developmental trajectories during this period, and in the relation between language use at home and their vocabulary development. Children with two native Spanish-speaking parents showed steepest gains in total vocabulary and were more nearly balanced bilinguals at 48 months. Children with one native Spanish- and one native English-speaking parent showed trajectories of relative decline in Spanish vocabulary. At 48 months, mean levels of English skill among the bilingual children were comparable to monolingual norms, but children with two native Spanish-speaking parents had lower English scores than the SES-equivalent monolingual group. Use of English at home was a significant positive predictor of English vocabulary scores only among children with a native English-speaking parent. These findings argue that efforts to optimize school readiness among children from immigrant families should facilitate their access to native speakers of the community language, and efforts to support heritage language maintenance should include encouraging heritage language use by native speakers in the home.     

The motor and cognitive development of overweight preschool children

The aim of this study was to investigate the development of overweight compared with healthy-weight children attending kindergartens in Munich, Germany. Mean age of the children at the beginning of the study was 53.2 months (SD?=?7.5); the duration of the study was 20 months. At the beginning of the study children were classified as overweight (n?=?32) or healthy weight (n?=?318) using BMI scores. Dependent variables were aspects of physical growth, physical fitness, body coordination, manual dexterity, and cognitive performance. A higher rate of socially disadvantaged children was overweight compared with socially advantaged children. There was no association between weight and sex. Motor skills improved over trials. Socially disadvantaged and overweight children performed less well in gross motor skills compared with children from backgrounds of higher socioeconomic (SE) status or healthy-weight children. There was also an association between weight and socioeconomic status: overweight children of lower SE status performed less well compared with overweight children of upper SE status in all gross motor tasks. No connection could be found between weight and manual dexterity and cognitive performance.     

The association between maltreatment and obesity among preschool children

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether child maltreatment is associated with obesity in preschool children. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort study of 4898 children born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large US cities. At 3 years of age, 2412 of these children had their height and weight measured, and mothers answered items on the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales about three types of child maltreatment--neglect, corporal punishment, and psychological aggression. The frequency of each type of maltreatment behavior in the prior year was analyzed using categories--ever/never for neglect and quintiles for the other two types of maltreatment. Child obesity was defined as measured body mass index (kg/m(2)) > or =95th percentile. RESULTS: Eighteen percent of the children were obese, and the prevalence of any episode of neglect, corporal punishment, and psychological aggression was 11%, 84%, and 93%, respectively. The odds of obesity were increased in children who had experienced neglect (odds ratio 1.56, 95% confidence interval, 1.14-2.14), after controlling for the income and number of children in the household, the mothers' race/ethnicity, education, marital status, body mass index, prenatal smoking, and age, and the children's sex and birth weight. Neither the frequency of corporal punishment nor psychological aggression was associated with an increased risk of obesity. CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of preschool children from 20 large US cities, maternal self-report of neglectful behavior was associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity, after controlling for birth weight, maternal obesity, and multiple socioeconomic factors.     

Social interaction development among behaviorally handicapped preschool children: Research and educational implications

Literature is reviewed that documents the effectiveness of a behavioral approach for increasing the social behaviors of behaviorally handicapped preschool children. However, this literature also suggests that reciprocal interaction between target subjects and significant others seldom generalized beyond treatment settings. The importance of developing positive, reciprocal interaction has been well documented. The results of observational studies suggest that with respect to both quantity and quality of interaction, the child creates his own social environment. For example, the passive, withdrawn child is the more frequent recipient of social rejection than is the more socially active child; the physically aggressive child receives more hostile social bids from peers than less aggressive youngsters; and, of course, the child who initiates positive interaction with peers tends to receive more positive social attention than less socially adept youngsters. Thus, children's behavior patterns tend to set the occasion for that kind of social approach by peers that validates, in a sense, their own approach to peers. If affective education for young handicapped children is to become a reality, additional research is necessary to identify those response patterns that set the occasion for positive reciprocal interaction.     

汉语外来词对汉语词汇系统的影响

本简要回顾了汉语外来词的基本情况，从语言学的角度探讨了汉语外来词数量巨大、特色独具的深层原因及外来词对汉语词汇系统的深远影响。     

学前双语教育师资存在的问题及对策探讨

目前学前双语教学发展势头迅猛,要进行双语教学,教师不仅要完成学科教学目标,同时英语要达到一定的专业水平,必须具备使用外语授课的能力。合格的双语师资短缺成为制约双语教学发展的主要因素,师资问题是开设学前双语教育首先需要解决的问题。     

The interrelationships among preschool predictors of reading acquisition for German children

A sample of 169 German children were tested in general verbal ability, verbal memory span, phonological awareness, lexical access speed and accuracy, and letter knowledge in preschool. These tests were used as independent measures predicting performance on second grade reading comprehension, word discrimination, and word decoding speed. Tests of verbal ability, memory capacity, and phonological awareness were also given over a year later in elementary school. After determining that the influence of verbal ability, memory capacity, and phonological awareness on reading comprehension was comparable when measured in preschool and elementary school, the effects of all preschool measures on the three dependent reading measures were assessed. These analyses revealed differential main effects and interactions for the three dependent measures. However, a significant three-way interaction among lexical access, memory capacity, and phonological awareness was found for all three reading measures. These results indicate that the interaction and subsequent effects of these linguistic skills precedes and influences reading acquisition. This is contrary to the view that these skills interact as a result of reading experience. The implications of these results, as well as comparisons of conducting such studies with German rather than English speaking children are discussed.     

浅谈父亲在学前儿童心理发展中的角色和作用

父爱如山,在学前儿童的心理发展过程中,父亲扮演着重要的角色,如果缺少父亲的陪伴,将会对儿童的心理发育产生严重的影响。长期拥有父亲陪伴的儿童具有更加积极的性格,相反,如果长期没有父亲的陪伴,会在学前儿童的内心深处产生深刻的自卑心理,因此,父亲的作用是十分重要的,尤其是学前儿童正处在身心发育的关键性阶段,如果不能得到父亲的关怀与细心的呵护,将会对今后的人生产生严重的心理障碍。本文的论述重点就是针对父亲在学前儿童的成长过程中所扮演角色进行论述,并且分析父亲对儿童心理所具有的作用,希望通过本文的论述,能够为父母起到一定的警示性作用,为了孩子的健康成长,我们要重视起父亲的角色。