| Facilitating verbal expression has been a common emphasis of early childhood education, and investigating links between expressive language and literacy a frequent focus of educational research. This project investigated a previously neglected area of research, detailing the contribution of receptive language abilities (those skills tied to language comprehension and the construction of world knowledge from verbal input) to expressive language and emerging literacy skills. The project employed a causal-correlational design. Subjects were preschool-aged children enrolled in Head Start and preschool programs for low-income children. Measures included a series of receptive language assessments (vocabulary, sentence comprehension, story comprehension, and expository test comprehension), corresponding expressive language assessments, and an indicator of emergent literacy. Results revealed moderate to strong relationships among all language measures. Path analysis indicated that receptive language significantly predicted emergent literacy. This relationship remained significant even after accounting for demographic (gender, age, ethnicity) and background (school readiness, parental support) variables. Expressive language did not predict emergent literacy. The results suggest that it is necessary to rethink the recommended linguistic environments for early childhood classrooms and to begin placing more emphasis on the development of receptive language skills. |
