Introduction
As an essential skill for knowledge acquisition, reading is believed to have an overarching implication on future academic success. Weak reading is often hypothesized as a later manifestation of inadequate language development. Past research on the topic investigates the association between later reading and early language capabilities of learners start among preschoolers and follow their growth to school age (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). The current study is the first to be retrospective and includes younger children. The research objective is to examine how fifth graders’ reading skill level is linked to how toddlers (less than three years old) practice their language abilities in everyday activities.
Background
The foundation of later reading comprehension is the development of code-related and language comprehension skills. Several language capabilities are significant in reading skills development, and earlier studies are limited to a few or one language development aspects. The present study accounts for this gap by examining several elements, including linguistic awareness, interaction, word production, and linguistic awareness, among other reading features (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). Earlier studies on toddlers’ language skills are often based on data collected from parents or a combination of testing done by researchers unknown to the children and parental reporting. The current study employs observation by familiar individuals to the child, which is the best way to know language skills are incorporated in everyday activities and play (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). Earlier studies also established that late-talking toddlers whose vocabulary skills are ten percent lower than their age level are at risk of later reading challenges. However, most of them will have developed standard grammar and vocabulary ranges before completing preschool.
Methodology
Toddlers who took part in the present study were recruited from all sixty-one ECEC Stavanger municipality and twenty-five private institutions in Norway. The inclusion criteria were that the child was enrolled in a contributing ECEC facility before thirty months old and born between 1st July 2005 and 31st December 2007. Eight hundred fifty-one children from thirty-two schools participated in the study; 433 were boys, and 16.7% were multilingual (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). Data were collected when the kids were thirty-three months old and between 9 ½ and ten years old (fifth grade). Familiar ECEC staff observed the children’s use of language during everyday activities and play for three months to obtain information on their functional language abilities in a natural setting. Early Registration of Language Development (TRAS) was used in monitoring key early language development aspects of the participants. The standardized National Reading Test (NRT) assessed their fifth-grade reading skills. Statistical analysis of the collected data was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0.
Results
NRT grouping in fifth grade reflected a significant association to language skills among toddlers. The research findings show that the mean NTR scores for all three groups (low, moderate, and high) on Total TRAS increased with the NRT level (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). The set with low NRT readings had the most inadequate toddler language skills. On the other hand, the group showing the highest NRT scores in Grade 5 has the best toddler language skills. The effects of the relationship between toddlerhood and language skills were small to moderate, with the most significant influence on language comprehension. Based on the Post hoc Dunnett’s C test, all TRAS sections significantly differed between the high and low NRT groupings. Additionally, significant differences were found between all groups in the sections of language comprehension, sentence production, word production, and pronunciation.
Discussion
The current study examined the relationship between fifth-grade reading skills levels (high, moderate, and low NRT) and functional language skills in toddlerhood. According to the results, the three groups had significant differences in TRAS Total (language in toddlers). The association between early language skills and reading established in this research is consistent with earlier studies’ conclusions (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). The present analysis reveals that children with low reading scores in fifth grade had weaker language capabilities in toddlerhood compared to children with high and moderate reading skills. Consequently, this emphasized the significance of identifying children with poor language skills early in their growth and taking appropriate measures to prevent problems in later reading.
The authors considered different language skills separately and found that kids within the low NRT group had considerably weaker language skills in all eight TRAS sections than children with high reading skills in toddlerhood (Reikerås & Dahle, 2022). The NRT grouping influence was the largest on language comprehension, with moderate effect. The finding aligns with earlier research showing that early age language comprehension skills are a foundation for reading as children develop. The phenomenon also predicted vocabulary development and showed that different language skills are not strictly separate.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the current study contributes to a more comprehensive explanation of the relationship between students’ early language and reading levels. It includes a variety of language skills, unlike previous research, which is based on a few or one reading skill. The authors used a large sample size, which consisted of kids at all skill levels. The research findings provide critical information for ECEC staff and education because it enlightens pedagogy. Additionally, the study emphasizes the need to evaluate and intervene on toddlers to prevent them from having reading difficulties in the future. One limitation of the study is that it assumes that ECEC staff assess children’s abilities in a positively biased manner. Since it uses only three reading levels to test fifth-grade reading skills, further research is needed to establish whether different toddlerhood language skills are associated with reading aspects, such as vocabulary and decoding.
Reference
Reikerås, E., & Dahle, A. (2022). Relations between reading skill level in fifth grade and functional language skills at toddler age. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 1-14. Web.